Background
Credit Unions are non-profit making Co-
operatives. Co-operatives or Mutual
Societies have been around for
centuries; they were formed to enable
small or large communities help each
other through sharing skills, food,
property and money around the whole
community in such a way that every
individual could both contribute to the
community and benefit through having
access to something they needed which
they couldn’t otherwise afford. In the
UK Building and Friendly Societies
became the most common form of co-
operative, but in Ireland, the USA,
Australia and many parts of Europe
credit unions are the leading co-
operative organisations. In the USA
one in 3 people belong to a credit
union.
How do they work?
Members of a credit union agree to save
money with the credit union to form a
pool of money from which they, or other
members, can borrow to meet particular
expenses. A low rate of interest on
the loans is charged, normally 1% per
month. Very flexible repayment schemes
are possible. After deduction of any
running costs the money earned in
interest is distributed to all the
members, usually in the form of an
annual dividend.
How do I join?
To join you must either live or work in
South Wiltshire. An application form
is available thorugh the "Forms" page.
You will have to produce evidence of
who you are (e.g. Passport/driving
licence/Photo ID) and where you live
(e.g utility bill/benefit book). A
joining fee of £1 is charged to cover
administrative costs and the minimum
amount of savings is £5. After joining
you can save as much or as little as
you like, when you like, up to a
maximum of £10,000. Your savings are
fully protected by free insurance and
they can be withdrawn at any time,
provided any outstanding loans are
covered.
How do I borrow?
Once you have joined and are saving
regularly, you may apply for a loan.
Initially only small loans will be
granted, but once you have shown that
you can keep your repayments up to
date, larger loans will be considered.
The legal limit for borrowing is £5000
more than your total savings. No
formal credit checks are carried out,
but you will have to satisfy the Credit
Committee that you can repay the loan.
There are procedures for arranging
loans at short notice in case of
emergency. Loans can be repaid in
weekly or monthly instalments over
periods of up to 3 years (or 7 years if
a large loan and you can offer some
security)
Who runs the credit union?
The credit union is owned and run by
the members. Each year members elect a
Board of Directors to carry out the day-
to-day administration on the members’
behalf. The whole procedure is closely
regulated by law through the Financial
Services Authority who have a remit to
ensure members’ money is properly
applied and is safe. All staff are
volunteers, and no-one receives any
payment apart from genuine expenses.
Two or three members are nominated to
carry out continual checks to ensure
that the credit union is being properly
run, and there is an independent
auditor who will also ensure that all
the rules and procedures are being
followed.
Where is the credit union?
Most activity takes place at
the “collection points” which are set
up at convenient places around the
community (see the "Collection Point"
page. Alternatively, you can contact
us by telephone, post or e-mail - see
the "Contact Us" page.
click here to register your interest in participating in the community
