The CMCU project began in 2008 and is supported by the Church of England, the Church of Scotland, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Methodist Church and the Church in Wales.
Individuals can join CMCU from Thursday February 12 2015. CMCU) has loaned over £1 million to members in its first year of lending. The credit union was launched in February 2015 to serve ordained ministers, lay ministers, employees and trustees of the Church of England, the Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church, the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Church in Wales. CMCU granted its first loan in May 2015, and passed the £1 million mark in April 2016.
In addition to 113 car loans, the new credit union has helped members purchased two caravans and a motorbike, helped improve seven homes and furnish two others, and helped a couple pay for their wedding. The credit union has also helped 12 households turn unmanageable debt into affordable credit. In its first 15 months of operation, the credit union has attracted more than 700 members and holds over £1.6 million of members’ deposits.
CMCU Chief Executive Hilary Sams said: “Although many of our members are ordained ministers, our common bond is wider than that and includes Parochial Parish Council members, trustees and office staff from five (shortly to be six) different denominations, resulting in a membership that is as diverse as our churches. “We aim to continue to do our part in promoting credit unions as a mainstream alternative in the financial sector and widening the scope of membership to individuals from all walks of life and financial circumstances.”
CMCU in 2016 offered its services to ministers and staff of the United Reformed Church too. Early 2017 has added clergy and employees of the Catholic Church to its common bond approved by the regulators means an estimated further 37,000 people in eligible roles within the Catholic Church in England and Wales and in Scotland
Churches Mutual credit union has helped families in all sorts of situations, including helping a parent to pay for a child’s university education when the whole family was strapped for cash. Credit unions are not just about emergency debt, but also about quality of life and human kindness. In 2020 the credit union through the Covid 19 epidemic remained open for business, and would get through this together with their members currently at 1300 and, after five years, has granted just under £7 million in loans.
Want to find out more?
Visit the Churches Mutual Credit Union website, or get in touch with their team:
Telephone – 01452 500 463
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British Credit Union Historical Society 