The decision by big banks to back away from new fees has slowed down new member signups at one Georgia credit union, but the numbers are still good, a spokeswoman there says.

New member signups at the $59 million Northwest Georgia Credit Union in Rome has noticeably slowed down during the last few days before Bank Transfer Day, said Tiffany Greenway, NWGACU's director of marketing and strategy, although the credit union ran a promotion that included “LESS FEES, MORE LOVE” T-shirts and a drawings for Visa gift cards and an iPad this week.

Greenway said NWGACU won't be open Saturday but that from August through October, the 12,500-member credit union gained 316 new members, compared with 231 in the previous three months.

“That's nearly a 37% increase,” Greenway said. “Now that the banks have rescinded their fees, it's affected us a little bit. But I still believe the positive message we're getting out, from a public relations perspective, is as much a benefit for us as the new accounts opened.”

She said the viral social media nature of Bank Transfer Day has been particularly notable, including at her own credit union.

 “To me this is a trend we're seeing around the world, with young people using social media and then it all moves into the mainstream media,” Greenway said. “I believe that's the primary driver for banks rescinding those new fees.”