The credit unions of U.K are functional under the regulations of Financial Services Authority or FSA. There are two types of credit unions in the United Kingdom – smaller credit unions and larger credit unions. There are about 140 credit unions in Britain that serve about 35,000 people. According to the study, around one third of adults in the Irish Republic are members of some credit union.
The assets of UK based credit unions amounted to GBP 6.8 billion in the year of 1992. By 1995 there were 400 credit unions in United Kingdom with a membership of 130,000. There are also credit unions run by employers for their employees in the UK.
The biggest Credit Union trade association in United Kingdom is the Association of British Credit Unions Limited. It is more popularly known as Association of British Credit Unions, ABCUL. The Scottish Credit Unions in the United Kingdom are represented by Scottish League of Credit Unions (SLCU) that is headquartered at Glasgow.
Among the two types of credit unions in UK, many of the larger credit unions have started providing debit card accounts to their member from November 2006. For the first time in United Kingdom, the members of credit unions will be able to get funds from the Link ATM. The credit unions of U.K don’t offer checks as they are being phased out for the various UK financial transactions. The credit unions of United Kingdom are also offering most of the services that are available from other financial institutions like standing orders and direct debits.
In order to provide financial services to the underprivileged society of the economy, the credit unions of the country are carrying out the government’s financial initiative. One major objective of the credits unions in UK is to reduce the influence of door step lenders in a significant way. It has been seen that a £300 loan for over 30 weeks makes the borrowers to pay back around £450. On the other hand, a credit union loan will require the borrowers to pay back around £325.
For more information on credit unions of UK, please visit the following links:
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