A chance visitor during Co-operatives
Fortnight!
It
was a pleasant surprise recently to welcome to Central Office an unexpected
visitor, all the way from the Isle of Man!
David Talbot is one of an enthusiastic band of Manx residents who are
beavering away preparing the ground for the Island to have its very own Credit
Union. David happened to be passing
through our fair city on the way to the North Sea Ferry terminal en route for a
family holiday and, finding himself with a couple of hours to spare, called in
to Brook Street to take a look at us!
I
hadn't taken a break so it was a perfect excuse to go for a coffee with David
and learn a little more about the Manx Credit Union's ambitions. For me, it was something of a trip down
memory lane because I had previous connections with the beautiful, magical Isle
of Man, having been the Chairman from 1999 to 2009 of the Manx Co-operative
Society. (If you haven't been to the Isle of Man for a holiday, I can
wholeheartedly recommend it!) I well
remember back in those days the idea of a credit union being talked about, and
something that was generally felt to be a good idea. The problem was that, unlike in Britain where
we have our Credit Unions Act 1979 and its regulatory framework, there was
simply no legal provision for them!
However,
David tells me that the idea has gradually but steadily accumulated a
groundswell of support - the Church and some key Manx Government officers are
backing it - and we all know that when that happens, you find yourself knocking
at an open door. Some very patient and
determined folk have spent a lot of hours putting together a legal framework to
allow a credit union to be registered and to enjoy similar protection for its
members' funds as we enjoy. So, with a
fair wind, it won't be too long before the founders' dreams are realised and we
can witness a credit union coming into flower in that part of the world.
Everyone
here at HEYCU certainly wishes David and his colleagues every success and we
hope to keep in touch as their plans unfold.
You can find out more about their progress at http://www.mcu.im/
With
so much ground to cover, I'm afraid our coffee break became extended and it
must have been very boring for David's wife having to roam around Hull's shops
while waiting for him! Apologies Mrs
Talbot!
The
above chance meeting seemed very apt for Co-operatives Fortnight. But what else has the CEO of Hull & East
Yorkshire Credit Union been up to this week?
North Lincolnshire Council sign up days
I
have spent a couple of days over in Scunthorpe, with David Martin, promoting
our Credit Union to the employees of North Lincolnshire Council.
A fair amount of interest was shown with Council staff especially keen
to take up the offer of the £10 matched bonus
on our Christmas Saver, which is open across Northern Lincolnshire
until the end of July. The events took
the form of a couple of "drop in" sessions at the Civic Centre and
Church Square, but also set presentations to those teams who wanted them. We had employees very excited about the
payroll deduction facility - several of them quoting "once set up you
won't miss it" while others were asking about loans for car purchase, and
saving up for children. The Housing Team
were particularly interested in how we'll be able to help local residents to
sort their rent payments in the new world of Universal Credits (the new
state benefit that has now washed its way into Lincolnshire). We also met Councillors who were keen to join
and become CU Champions.
We
are most appreciative of the Council's support and they'll be seeing more from
us, with another sign up day on Wednesday 8 July at Hewson House, Brigg from 10
am to 2 pm, and an advert and feature in their next residents' magazine, North
Lincolnshire News Direct.
School banks project
Earlier
this week a lady called Jessica visited us from our trade association, ABCUL.
The purpose of the visit was to find out how we run our school banks
and just what sort of administrative challenges they pose. Jessica is visiting several CUs who operate
in schools and she hopes to create some ideas for sharing good practice,
streamlining systems and helping to make school saving even more appealing to
today's "tech savvy" rising generation. It was nice to meet her and we look forward
to reading the results of her work.
Meanwhile,
we're still receiving enquiries about opening more school banks and this week
we launched at Paull Primary, a tiny gem of a school near the Humber
foreshore just east of Hull. Aldborough
Primary, on the Holderness coast, has also been in touch. It's "all go" in school just now,
even though the summer holidays will soon be here!
Staffing matters (it really does!)
On
Wednesday I attended a meeting of our Personnel Committee. This Committee, comprising four of our
volunteer directors, is responsible for overseeing our role as an employer (of
22 staff). We meet four times a year to
discuss staffing topics, training and welfare and, importantly, to review our
personnel policies, making sure that we're not only keeping on the right side
of the law, but also honouring our ethical intent to be a "good
employer".
It's
an area of work that our members popping into a branch to make their
transactions perhaps wouldn't realise we do, as it's "behind the
scenes" but a very essential one nevertheless. This time we discussed an action plan
following our successful award of the Bronze Standard of Investors in People. It's very important that we don't rest on our
laurels, but strive for the next awards - Silver and then Gold! So we're planning to re-run a training
session for our staff on the Credit Union's Values and Principles, but
this time extend it to volunteers as well.
We will also introduce a set of Members' Promises, to monitor how
well we are improving our customer care.
It will be exciting to see these plans come to life and I am leaning
heavily on our new elected Employees' Council to help me in this work.
Which
brings me neatly to . . .
Summer E-News
I
hope those 4,000 or so of our members who have given us their email address
have received our Summer E-News, which was issued on 2 July. It's packed with snippets of information
about our products, services and projects.
But there's also an opportunity to take part in our 2015 Member Satisfaction Survey
which offers a chance to win a £50 prize as our "thank you". I hope you will take part in the survey, it
only takes about 5 minutes and can be done on your computer, or if you prefer
on paper in a branch. The directors take
these surveys very seriously and we have brought in several changes as a result
of the things members have suggested.
We'll also share the findings with you at the AGM in December.
Online Loan Applications
I
am so thrilled to announce that you can now apply for a Credit Union Loan
on line! Take a look at our Loans page and
then why not have a go? You'll need to
scan your bank statements and (if any) payslips when prompted, so have them at
the ready.
Are we falling out with cash?
According
to the Payments Council, cashless payments have overtaken the use of notes and
coins for the first time ever.
Apparently in 2014 the use of cash by consumers, businesses and
financial organisations fell to 48% of all payments.
Electronic
transactions, ranging from high-value transfers to debit card payments, and
cheques made up the remaining 52%. Over
the next ten years, they say we're likely to see cash volumes fall by 30%, with
the moves towards debit card, contactless and mobile payments driving the
change.
The
Payments Council,
which oversees the system of transactions, says that 4.4% of adults rarely use
cash at all, and only 1% of consumer payments were made by cheque last
year. Cash is still the most common
method of payment, though, with a staggering 18 billion cash payments worth
£250 billion in 2014. In fact it was
used in 8 out of 10 purchases in pubs, clubs, and newsagents last year, but only
3 out of 10 in petrol stations.
Did
you know there is to be a new 12-sided £1 coin entering circulation in 2017
while the Bank of England is to bring in plastic £5 and £10 notes over
the next couple of years? Well, I
never!
Could our Prepaid VISA card help you this holiday
season?
Going
abroad this year? Take your money with
you on one of our Pre-Paid VISA
cards. It’s a hand way to keep things separate!