Fintech Talents

Fintech Talents

Kallyas is an ultra-premium, responsive theme built for today websites.

T (212) 555 55 00
Email: sales@yourwebsite.com

Your Company LTD
Street nr 100, 4536534, Chicago, US


Content

STAY TUNED

Mapping out the modern Credit Union

by Lisa Moyle / Tuesday 13 September 2022 / Published in Opinion

There’s no question that the operating environment for credit unions has transformed significantly in recent decades. The impact of the pandemic required a rapid shift to what was already growing pressure for digital access. New competitors continue emerge and offer products that may well draw business from their members.

But credit unions have a compelling proposition when it comes to the “common bond” that requires all members to have something in common with each other. This communal power and not-for-profit status present a completely different alternative from the broader financial sector when many traditional high street banks are closing their physical stores. There is a real opportunity for credit unions to capture the growing demand for ethical financial products and services.

Credit unions also need to ensure they are keeping up with larger societies and institutions in the mutual sector. Not for profit credit union, London Mutual, has been one of the players leading the drive for new and innovative products. After asking its customers what they wanted from a payment card and credit product, the Commodo card was launched.

Offering customers a debit card with a revolving loan facility, where a portion of their salary is paid into each month, direct debits or manual bank transfers are a thing of the past. The Family Saver Loan is another product from London Mutual that provides members with a loan of up to £1,200, if child benefit payments are sent to the credit union account.

Modernising moves

Recent data from the Bank of England finds that the number of UK adults who are a member of a credit union has increased to reach more than 1.9 million last year. Thanks to £3.8 million in funding from the UK government, a number of credit unions are piloting a no-interest loan scheme to people who can’t afford to pay high levels of interest.

Another innovation in the credit union ecosystem came in 2019 when a savings account called PrizeSaver was introduced where account holders would gain one entry for every £1 in the account, up to a maximum of £200, for monthly prize draws.

Yet, attracting younger members remains a priority for credit unions, as this group has been difficult to reach. This challenge is compounded by the fact that only a limited number of people who have links to the union can join. In an increasingly digital financial ecosystem, products that lack either an online or digital element are unlikely to appeal to younger consumers.

A few online platforms have launched in recent years that support credit unions in their goal to reach digital-native clients. One of the platforms, CULoans.co.uk, uses price comparison website, Moneysupermarket, to process loan applications and takes over 50,000 loan applications every year. More than three-quarters of the UK is covered by this service and any credit union can join.

With spiralling inflation and increasing bills, credit unions have a unique role to play in supporting consumers. While most banks simply won’t offer small loans of a few hundred or thousand pounds, credit unions can fill this gap and help ensure that members don’t fall into a costly credit trap.

Join us for FTT Building Societies on the 14 & 15 November. Co-located with the Fintech Talents Festival this year, means new opportunities for credit unions to explore how fintechs and new technologies are creating exciting pathways for innovative change. From learning about broader changes in the sector to meeting potential partners, connection to our community of innovators provides lots of opportunities.

If you are working at a Credit Union (or other financial services providers), don’t forget to apply for a complimentary pass to the event.

By Finbarr Toesland, Editorial Contributor, VC Innovations

 

 

 

 


Tagged under: building societies, Credit Union, Splash, Splash page

Recent Posts

  • Empowering Members, One Loan at a Time: A Conversation with Ciara Davies, CEO of Metro MoneyWise Credit Union

    Who says that credit unions can’t innovat...
  • Lending through change: A conversation with Simon Taylor, Melton Building Society

    Data, niches, and AI: Simon Taylor on the evolu...
  • Registration now open for the 2025 edition of the FTT Fintech Festival

    2nd June 2025, London: Registration for the 202...
  • From complex to seamless: A chat with Roger Vincent, Bourn

    Built for growth, designed for simplicity At FT...
  • Smarter lending through open banking: A chat with Matthew Barr, Moneyhub

    Empowering lenders with real-time insights: The...


  • Home
  • Call for speakers
  • View all events
  • Fintech Talents events
    • FTT Fintech Festival 2025
    • FTT AI Transformation 2025
    • FTT Mutuals 2025
    • Breakfast briefing: Lending with intelligence 2025
    • FTT Financial Services Futures 2025
    • FTT Lending 2026
    • FTT Payments 2026
    • Fintech Talents Road Trip 2026
    • Fintech Talents North America 2026
  • FTT Embedded Finance & Super-Apps events
    • FTT Embedded Finance & Super-Apps Europe 2026
    • Customer Alpha Europe 2026
    • FTT Embedded Finance & Super-Apps North America East Coast 2026
    • Customer Alpha North America East Coast 2026
    • FTT Embedded Finance & Super-Apps North America West Coast 2026
    • Customer Alpha North America West Coast 2026
  • Future Identity events
    • Future Identity Festival 2025
    • FID Fraud & FinCrime – Fall Europe 2025
    • Future Identity Finance Europe 2026
    • FID Fraud & FinCrime – Spring Europe 2026
    • Future Identity Customer Europe 2026
    • FID Fraud & FinCrime – Summer Europe 2026
    • Future Identity Finance North America 2026
    • Future Identity Customer North America 2026
  • Past events
    • Fraud prevention & customer experience webinar 2025
    • Open Finance & Consumer Duty webinar 2024
    • FTT SME Banking 2023
    • Unboxing the Next Generation of Embedded Finance 2023
    • FTT AI Transformation webinar 2024
  • Content
    • All Content
    • Interviews
    • Opinion
    • Videos
    • Digital Reports
  • VC INNOVATIONS – Accelerated Marketing

GET IN TOUCH

T +44 203 835 2829
Email: marketing@vcinnovations.co.uk

LONDON
85 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4TQ
Open in Google Maps

NEW YORK
477 Broadway, 2nd Floor, Suite 1033, New York, NY 10013
Open in Google Maps

QUICK LINKS

  • Home
  • About VC INNOVATIONS
  • Events
  • FAQs
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

RECENT POSTS

  • Empowering Members, One Loan at a Time: A Conversation with Ciara Davies, CEO of Metro MoneyWise Credit Union

    Who says that credit unions can’t innovat...
  • Lending through change: A conversation with Simon Taylor, Melton Building Society

    Data, niches, and AI: Simon Taylor on the evolu...
  • Registration now open for the 2025 edition of the FTT Fintech Festival

    2nd June 2025, London: Registration for the 202...
  • Privacy Policy

© VC Innovations 2018. All Rights Reserved.



TOP
 
SAVE £700 WITH THE SUPER EARLY BIRD BEFORE 4th JULY
BOOK TODAY
 
 
SAVE £700 WITH THE SUPER EARLY BIRD BEFORE 4th JULY
BOOK TODAY
 
 
SAVE £700 WITH THE SUPER EARLY BIRD BEFORE 4th JULY
BOOK TODAY
 
Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Get involved


FTT Payments 2025 - Download previous attendee list


Download now


Press & Media Pass


Get involved



FTT Mutuals 2025 - Download previous attendee list


FTT AI Transformation 2025 - Download previous attendee list


Get involved


Get involved