A Credit Union is a financial organisation that encourages its members to borrow and save responsibly. We provide an alternative service to banks, building societies and high interest loan providers. We encourage you to save what you can and borrow only what you can afford to repay. You make regular savings which are used to create a pot of funding which is used to lend to other members. Once you have been saving a set period of time you can apply for a loan which includes an interest charge. The interest charge helps to pay the Credit Unions running costs. Some Credit Unions are able to pay their members dividends or interest on savings. If you borrowed £1,000 over one year, you'd be better off with a credit union than if you were with one of the most expensive banks or building societies.
