December is here!

Christmas Savings reach record high

Our members once again beat previous records in 2015, with total collective savings of £613,000 in their Christmas Saver accounts (last year's figure was just over half a million).   Of course that doesn't reflect the total funds saved up for Christmas as many members use our Instant Access accounts for that purpose (the ones with enough will power to resist dipping in presumably!). 

This tremendous result reflects the efforts we’ve put into promoting Christmas planning in recent years and the enthusiastic way our members have responded to the call.    Many families will surely be glad they did and as a result fewer will dread the arrival of those post-Christmas credit card bills or be tempted to take out high-cost short-term credit to pay for it. 

Since the Christmas Savers were "unlocked" on 1st November, our staff have paid out £470,000 and are still busy responding to requests.  Happy Christmas everyone!

AGM 2015

I am looking forward to our AGM next Tuesday - the 8th December - in Hull's historic Guildhall, starting at 5.45 pm.   For me, it is like a big annual "family gathering" when members of our Credit Union family come together to review all we have achieved, discuss our progress and announce our exciting plans for the year ahead.

Our AGM gives us a chance to show members and guests just what we do and share news and information about our products, services and the people who make it all happen - our wonderful staff, volunteer and partner team.

I do hope you’ll be able to come.  If you aim to arrive a little early, there will be some food and drink, (from 5.15 pm) and an opportunity to mingle with other members.   We will have our ever popular Fairtrade stall to entice you with festive gifts and treats, plus a free raffle and maybe even some goodies to share out as a "thank you" for coming.

The directors and I look forward to seeing you there!

Northern Lincolnshire Partnership Officer

We're delighted to announce the appointment of Carmel Seston as our Partnership Officer for Northern Lincolnshire.

Carmel is very experienced in financial services, the world of education and the voluntary sector.  As a primary school teacher she used resources provided by PFEG to introduce financial capability into the school curriculum.  With Irish family roots, Carmel has always been familiar with credit unions, which are found everywhere in Ireland.  During 2015 she has been our East Riding Project Officer, working to establish school savings clubs on the north bank, a role which will run alongside her new duties.

Carmel has already started working with the Winterton 2022 project to develop school banks and community contact points in the town of Winterton.  She will also support our growing partnerships with the Ongo Group, North Lincolnshire Council and North Lindsey College.  I know she has already met many members of the Northern Lincolnshire community and we wish her every success in her new role.

School Banks News

Our new Pennies 2 Pounds bank at Appleton Primary School in Hull had a fantastic launch with 28 savers joining on the first day.

Pennies 2 Pounds Christmas Card Competition

·        The schools team ran a competition among the P2P schools to colour a Christmas Card, which attracted 24 entries.  The winners of a selection box and £5 HEYCU savings voucher were:

·        Key stage 1 - Leah Pearson (Northfield Primary)

·        Key stage 2 – Abigail Little (Roos Primary).

·        Everyone who entered will be receiving a party bag in the next week or so, with our thanks for taking part.

Credit Unions meet to prepare for transformation

HEYCU joined other credit unions entering the transformation phase of the Credit Union Expansion Project (CUEP) in Manchester for a special conference last week.  Over 70 delegates from 35 credit unions attended.
The Transformation Programme will see credit unions like ours introduce a new range of modern products, services and access channels for our members during 2016.
The conference began with a special message from Lord Freud reiterating the UK Government’s ongoing support for the credit union sector, and the Chair of Cornerstone Mutual Services, Lord Hunt, welcomed credit unions to the event.
Delegates then enjoyed a packed programme of presentations and workshops on topics ranging from the automated lending system known as PowerCurve, how to prepare for migration, credit union governance and the marketing support available for transforming credit unions.
The CUEP is funded by the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Association of British Credit Unions (ABCUL) won the contract to deliver it. CUEP is managed by Cornerstone Mutual Services,  ABCUL’s subsidiary company.
ABCUL Chief Executive Mark Lyonette said: “Credit unions have made a very significant commitment in signing up for transformation, and there is a clear determination to deliver products and access channels that will attract and serve a new generation of credit union members.
“As credit unions continue to engage with the project, 2016 promises to be a momentous year for Britain’s credit union movement.”

Board Assessment

Our members may not be aware of all the work that goes on “behind the scenes” to make sure our Credit Union is governed in the best possible way.

Each year HEYCU's directors conduct a self-evaluation survey, to help them monitor how well they perform as a board, and as individual directors, and discover any areas for improvement.   Each director completes a questionnaire which is then sent confidentially to an independent assessor, who collates all the results and presents them with an Assessment Report.  The annual survey has now run for three years, so it's possible to observe trends in each area.  

The areas covered and a summary of the Assessor’s latest findings are:

·        Board performance - here the overall score was 85% in 2013; 85.2% in 2014 and 88.2% in 2015, showing that the directors feel the Board is working together better than ever.

·        Strategic management - 2014's big increase has been maintained, reflecting the significant work done on two major projects - the North Lincs CU merger and the Credit Union Expansion Project (CUEP)

·        Board governance - the score is up to 82% this year (80.7% in 2014) and only dented slightly by some concerns about lack of diversity in the Board's membership.

·        Individual director performance - an average score of 87.7% (84% in 2014) shows a confident and accomplished team of directors who really do perform well together.

·        When asked what issues had occupied the Board this year, most directors quoted CUEP, the merger, business planning and the loans strategy, with the merger being the stand out success they took special satisfaction from.  Diversity and a good mix of skills are key areas they feel need addressing, while in the coming year they feel the board should focus specially on increasing the Credit Union’s loan activity, CUEP and attracting new members.

The Assessor summed up his report with "Volunteer directors are not easy to keep motivated and focused yet the results of three years of surveying board performances show evidence of consistency that would impress the staunchest Investors in People assessors."  "The leadership of HEYCU must take some credit for the creation of a cohesive board team" and "this survey ... allows greater scrutiny of the workings of the Board of Directors than many similar businesses would allow".   

We hope our member-owners take some pride in these findings, but we will not rest in our aim of working towards world class standards of governance here at HEYCU.

Business Start-up Loans

Do you know anyone who is planning to start their own business, or who has been running one for less than two years? If so, why not tell them about our Business Start-up Loan?   It could be just what is needed to put their new business on the ladder of success.

Applicants can be considered for loans of up to £25,000 per business, repayable over 12 to 60 months.   The interest rate is a very competitive 6.19% APR.  

We can also make available free mentoring and other special offers.

Applications are open to most kinds of businesses – we know for example that people are thinking about the business opportunities that Hull City of Culture 2017 and beyond will bring.

For details of the information we will require to consider a loan please visit our web page.

Member Satisfaction Survey Q&As

Here's another question that a member raised in this year's Member Survey and our response:

Q:  Could members be informed if their money would be better in a higher interest account?

A:  As a Credit Union we are not allowed to advertise rates of interest on dividend-bearing savings accounts.  Returns on different accounts are in the form of a dividend (share of profits) which is declared at the AGM in December each year and posted to accounts the next day.  On our website we show the dividends paid on each account over the last few years, so that members have an idea of past returns (although these cannot be a guarantee of future returns).  The savings accounts we offer have slightly different terms and conditions (some are instant access; others have limits on withdrawals etc) so members can judge for themselves which one is best for their needs.

Get organised for Christmas 2016

Get organised for next Christmas with our special Saver account - an ideal way to save for the festive season 

·        Be prepared and save in advance

·        Easy ways to pay in whenever you like

·        We’ll look after your money safely 

If you've never had a Christmas Saver with us before, we'll match your first deposit up to £10 when you open one.   If you live in Northern Lincolnshire, your friend can also earn £5 for referring you!

Week commencing 21 Sep 2015

It’s all happening at the Credit Union just now, with our busy season about to start, plus it's "year end" next Wednesday!

Driffield 10th Anniversary

Last Wednesday I was proud to attend the celebrations at our Driffield Branch.  In my speech I named and paid tribute to those community-minded residents who founded the branch back in 2005 (at an event in the Blue Bell Inn) and, joined by others over the years, have run it with flair and dedication ever since.  Special achievements have included:

·        pioneering our primary School Banks, which developed into a model that has successfully spread out across  East Yorkshire';

·        playing a big part in the life of the community, raising funds for a whole host of good causes including National Children's Homes, Age Concern, Citizens Advice, Driffield in Bloom, Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Macmillian Nurses, Friends of Guiding, a local skate park, old folks' tea and an overseas flood disaster fund.  

The "birthday party" was well attended and it was good to welcome Paul Rounding of Driffield Town Council (who made the prize draw) and Marc Hall, Financial Inclusion Officer of East Riding of Yorkshire Council (who helped me cut the fabulous decorated cake).

Well done to our Driffield Branch volunteers, and here's to the next ten years!

Lloyds Banking Group

I was invited to join the managers from the region's Lloyds and Halifax banking branches at a couple of training sessions to brief them on our Credit Union.  Lloyds Banking Group recognises that the credit union sector provides a very important service to many people in the UK and are providing a £4 million fund to support its development.  In 2014 we were successful in our application for a Lloyds/Credit Union Foundation grant to assist with our North Lincolnshire merger. 

As part of this ongoing partnership, Lloyds and Halifax have agreed to promote credit union membership to their customers in a leaflet available in their branches which highlights our services, for example loans that are not part of their product range.  They are also interested in sharing business expertise with us by involving bank volunteers in credit unions.  As this initiative develops, it will help UK credit unions to improve and grow significantly over the next four years.

Eastern Raiders Football Club - your team!

The new football season is now well and truly under way. Many of you will be following the fortunes of your favourite high-flyers on "Match of the Day", while fans in these parts will be spurring on the Tigers to regain their place in the Premier League. However, in this piece it's to the East Riding County League that I want to direct your attention.

For HEYCU has just become the proud sponsors of Eastern Raiders FC, an up-and-coming team in Division Two.  The Raiders are based in Goole but play all over East Yorkshire in their quest for league and cup victory. They look splendid in their new purple and white kit featuring our Credit Union name and logo, and it's brought them luck so far, as the first match – away against Hull’s Apollo Rangers – resulted in a decisive 3-0 win, followed by an 8-4 victory over Patrington last Saturday, taking them to the top of the league!   You can follow the weekly fortunes of your sponsored team on our social media pages, so if you are a HEYCU member why not become a supporter and give them a shout?  Go Raiders!

Christmas is coming . . .

It hardly seems five minutes since we were on holiday, relaxing in the garden and enjoying the summer, but now our thoughts are turning to Christmas! 

Many members are already planning ahead and thinking about a Christmas Loan.  If you need to borrow say £400 to spread the cost of your festive spend over the year, you won't find a cheaper deal than your Credit Union.  With repayments of just £9.18 a week, our loans are many times cheaper than a doorstep loan, and more convenient, with payments direct from your bank account or your wages on the day you get your income.  What's more you can now apply on line.   Tell your friends and neighbours. . . why pay more?

Northern Lincolnshire Partnership role

There's just a few days left to apply to be our Northern Lincolnshire Partnership Officer.   All the details are on our website and if this interesting role appeals to you, please get your application form in without delay.

Members' Survey 2015 responses

I've now replied personally to those members who raised issues in our Members' Survey that I felt needed an individual response.  I promised to share a selection, as you may find them of general interest, so here goes:

Member's comment:

"I actually know nothing about the credit union at all. My Mum is a member and said it was a good way of saving some money for Christmas.  When I went into my local branch I was given an application form and a receipt for the deposit and that was that. I now pay in every week by standing order but I still don't know what the CU is all about. I didn't know it helped the local community, I just thought it was an easier way of saving money without all the red tape banks usually have. Perhaps it's my fault for not being more informed but I also don't feel the CU sold itself to me, and I'd never heard of it before my Mum mentioned it."

Our response:

"Thank you for your comments, from the viewpoint of a new member, which make some very good points.  We do want our members to fully understand what the CU is all about, especially the fact that they are more than just customers - they are member-owners with various rights and responsibilities. I am glad your Mum was able to introduce you to us, but you are right we should tell you what membership means when you join.  If we get it right, you will feel properly informed but not bombarded with too much information all at once, which some people don't like. 

"If you have access to the internet, you can learn a lot from our website and, as you have given us your email address, you will be sent twice yearly E-Newsletters, an invitation to our AGM, and a member survey.  As a result of your comments, we have decided to reintroduce a leaflet called Your Credit Union, which will in future be given to new members as they join."

Wearable banking devices

I've heard of people wearing their hearts on their sleeves but never their bank!  According to a publication that crossed my desk the other day, a major building society is pioneering the use of an Apple Watch or Android wrist device for customers to check their balances and move money between accounts.  The wearable app can even be voice activated, so no need to input a password, you simply speak a command and your balance appears on screen.  Since wearable banking arrived on the scene, the response has been sensational, my source explains. 

I was interested to learn that the society's employees play a big role in shaping these deveopments. Earlier this year staff took part in a mass trial of the contactless payment wristband.  Apparently, they were sorry to lose their band when the test ended!  What a great idea - if your staff are enthusiastic about a new product or service it will rub off on the customers.

It's fascinating how quickly technology is changing everyday life, in ways we'd never have imagined. Truly amazing!  Someone will be inventing a wheel next, I am sure.

Pennies 2 Pounds School wins a Centre of Excellence in Education award

Congratulations to Spring Cottage Primary School who were recently awarded excellence status as a Centre for Financial Education by Young Enterprise. The school successfully launched their school bank last year in response to requests from parents for a safe way to save up for expensive residential trips.

The club was initially offered to Year 5 pupils saving for their special end-of-year outing. Soon other family members wanted to join, alongside school staff who enjoyed the convenience of a savings bank at their workplace.

Two pupils volunteered to help run the bank and were very proud to be given their volunteer badges at the end of their training. This sparked great interest among the other pupils. The teachers capitalised on this enthusiasm by running classes in money management.

Soon the word spread among the local community. We were invited to display information about the Credit Union at the Summer Fair. This proved to be one of the busiest stalls as families and local residents were keen to find out more about a safe and convenient alternative to high street banking. Plans are now underway to recruit more volunteers and to launch a roll out programme of saving to the wider school community.

Brownie Badge for Junior Volunteer

Congratulations to Camille Jenkins, one of our youngest volunteers for successfully working towards her Number Fun badge.  Camille is a keen Brownie when she is not busy running the school bank. She was looking for a project to use her new skills during the school holiday.   A Number Fun Brownie Badge is awarded for:

·        Helping at an event where you have to collect money and give change;

·        Keeping a record of money you are given and spend during one month;

·        Knowing how to open a savings account and finding out about one savings account.

Pennies 2 Pounds offers experience in all these areas. Perhaps you know a young saver who may also enjoy working towards this award?

Junior Savers Autumn Competition

Watch our website for details of the latest competition for our Junior Savers.  We'll be inviting them to find out about the currencies used in other countries. Children over the age of seven will have an additional challenge to draw the flags of the countries named in the competition. Vexillology is the term given to the study of flags, a good word to note if you are taking part in a quiz! 

Could a Community Account help your club or group?

We're getting some great comments from users of our Community Account.  Some of our local clubs and groups use it to deposit the grants they receive from funding organisations such as the Council, Big Lottery and Comic Relief.  One says: "As Treasurer of our Residents Association I can rest easy knowing that our funds will be looked after at the Credit Union by people we can trust. Then, when we need to pay our bills, it's so easy, we just send in a signed request and the Credit Union sends a BACS payment without us having to bother with cheques."   Worth finding out more? 

7 Sept 2015

This week’s Blogger – w/c 7 Sep 2015

Summer holidays

I hope you have had a good summer and managed to enjoy a break.  Now it's back to business and I will aim to bring you up to date, every couple of weeks or so, with the happenings at HEYCU:

Member Survey results

A big thank you to all those members who took the time and trouble to complete our 2015 Member Survey.  I won't repeat the survey findings here, as you can read them on our website (About page) but we were very pleased not only that members scored us highly for most of the general satisfaction categories but also had lots of ideas and suggestions to help us improve our (or should I say your) business and do even better in future.   It shows just how much our loyal members care about their credit union and want it to succeed.  How many bank customers would feel the same about their bank, I wonder?

I can assure you that the Credit Union's directors do read all these comments very thoroughly and take note of what our members say.  We had a full discussion on the survey at our Board meeting on Tuesday, and the directors naturally challenged me (that's their job!) to act on many of the findings.  It was very timely, as the September Board meeting is the one where we approve our new 3-Year Business Plan and the financial budgets for the year ahead. 

Over the coming month I shall be sending a personal reply to those members who sent special individual comments or suggestions in the survey - having gone to that trouble, they deserve a response.  It may not always be possible to adopt every idea, but we try to do what we can.  I will feature some of those ideas, and our response, in future Blogs. 

Job Opportunity - Partnership Development

We are looking for a special person, with a passion for the credit union ethos and great organising and communicating skills, to help us develop our business in Northern Lincolnshire.  This exciting part-time opportunity, over a three year period (which could be extended, depending on its success), has been funded by our partners Winterton 2022 and North Lincolnshire Council.  To find out more, visit our Employment Opportunities page.   If you think this is the right role for you, or you know someone else who would match our needs, we need applications by 28 September.  Please use the application form, no CVs will be accepted.

Driffield Tenth Anniversary

We're all looking forward to helping the volunteers of our Driffield branch celebrate their tenth anniversary of serving the town and surrounding community next Wednesday 16 September from 10 am.  If you are in town that day, do pop in and say "hello".  The event is being held at our Credit Union Office at 2-4 Market Walk (that's the Town Council HQ).  There'll be light refreshments and free-to-enter competitions and everyone attending will get a free ticket for a prize draw.  I shall be attending, together with some of our directors, so hope to see you there!

Goole Presentation Event

It was great to attend an event at The Courtyard in Goole last Friday, in the presence of many worthy community groups and organisations, for the Yorkshire Water Goole Community Fund presentations.  The £20,000 Community Fund was created by Yorkshire Water to thank local people for their patience while the company's pumping station at Carr Lane was upgraded after the terrible floods in the town in 2012.   To allocate the funds an independent panel was formed from local councillors and representatives from the media and local college, chaired by Andrew Percy MP.

We were delighted to receive an award to provide a laptop for our Goole Pennies2Pounds School Banks project.  Jo will use this fantastic resource to help us operate our school and community savings points and develop materials for use in educating young people about good money management.   Thank you, Yorkshire Water!  And thanks to Diane, one of our P2P volunteers, who accompanied me to the very uplifting event, to receive our cheque.

Schools - Welcome back!

Just a quick "hello" and welcome back to all our Pennies 2 Pounds School Banks, at the start of another academic year.  We will have some new schools joining us this term and we hope the existing school banks will have another successful year, with lots more savers (junior and adult) enrolled.

Northern Lincolnshire Local Members’ Group

I attended the August meeting of this group and there was a lively discussion about how best to grow our business across the county.  Using local Credit Union champions to encourage interest in the work of the credit union was one idea. The positive "can do" attitude of the staff and volunteers at Scunthorpe branch was commented on.  If you live in the area and would like to join the Group, it meets at the branch on the second Thursday each month at 7 pm.  You'd be most welcome!

Let's Help You . . . find somewhere to live

A new website https://hull.letshelpyou.co.uk/lets/ has been launched to help tenants find affordable rental property across the Hull City Council area.  It's free, quick and easy to use.  You can use it to find one, two, three, four or more bedroomed houses, flats or shared accommodation in an area you'd most like to live.

The website has a useful calculator giving you accurate information about housing allowance rates and you can search in specific areas or throughout the whole of Hull in one go.  You can save property search criteria, such as number of bedrooms, house or flat, postcode, to your profile and store favourite properties, and even opt to get weekly emails showing properties coming up to match your search settings.  That way you can be one of the first to view a tenancy.

Once you find a property, contact the landlord and arrange to view. The service is available to anyone searching for rented accommodation whether receiving housing benefit or not, and there are alternative ways to use it if you don't have internet access, including a free Android app and free iOS app.

Heritage Open Days 2015

Do you like looking round historic buildings, taking part in guided tours or listening to expert talks on local history?   If, like me, you enjoy learning about our fascinating heritage and you are in Hull this weekend (11-13 September), you are in for a treat!

It's that time of year when lots of Hull's interesting buildings throw open their doors and let the public in for free to have a look around and explore our great city's history.  There's about 70 places to visit, ranging from the ever popular Holy Trinity Church to the BBC Building, HM Prison, Annison's Stables in Witham and the factory of Ideal Boilers.  There's some quirky ones to discover too, such as a 1932 Eco-House in Inglemire Avenue and something called the KC Lighthouse, which I've never heard of!  Together with a range of guided history tours such as along Beverley Road and down by the River Hull, there's far too much choice for my liking altogether, so it'll be fun deciding what to miss out. 

We have Hull Civic Society to thank for arranging this family event as always (together with the building owners of course) and more details can be found at www.hullcivicsociety.org.

Other Services page

Have a look at this new page on our website - it gives information about some of the things we offer that you might not know about - including Say Shopping Vouchers and exclusive deals on electrical goods.

Could a Community Account help your club or group?

We have a very handy deposit account for clubs, groups, societies and organisations of all kinds.  Our Community Account offers a "no fuss" way for your group to look after its funds and make payments as they are needed.  And of course you know that those funds are being used for the benefit of your own community.

Week ending 17 July 2015

It's all happening at Bishop Burton College

On Tuesday 14 July, Carmel, our school project officer attended a meeting at Bishop Burton College arranged by Marc Hall, East Riding Senior Policy Officer and John Harrison, IAG and Employability Officer, to discuss setting up a savings club for their students and staff.  Many of the students live on the college campus throughout their course and would welcome the opportunity to manage their money at a convenient contact point.

The first consideration was whether students attending a college in East Yorkshire would be within our common bond. We were delighted to confirm that students do indeed qualify for membership and can remain members for life.

At a recent college Volunteers Fair, students from the Business Studies Department were keen to learn how they might become involved with our Credit Union to gain work experience. They were pleased to discover that volunteering with us would give them access to accredited training to enhance their CVs and practical application of financial skills gained on their course.

Their enthusiasm didn't go un-noticed by college staff. The seeds for a new project were sown! Business Studies courses impart the skills graduates need to set up in businesses ranging from agriculture to tourism. Students learn about start-ups, preparing business plans, working capital and accounts. 

Marc Hall had heard about our Business Start-Up Loan and thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to introduce them to an ethical and trusted source of finance.  The volunteer application process would allow them to experience recruitment and all it entails - preparing for interviews, providing references, induction and codes of conduct.

Marc and John also felt that parents would welcome a secure means of providing money for their son’s and daughter’s living expenses during their stay on campus. Our Prepaid Debit Card allows students to purchase books and resources on-line and to pay for day to day expenses. Parents could control student spending to the limit pre-loaded onto the cards and of course, the students would have to budget carefully to avoid the Bank of Mum and Dad finding out that their allowance had been used up during Fresher’s Week!

We have been invited to a forthcoming event when students and their parents will have the opportunity to learn more about our Credit Union during their induction to college. College staff, meanwhile, are already asking about Christmas Saver Accounts. Fortunately we already have payroll deduction arrangements in place with the College to help them save up painlessly!

School competition proves a big success

This year's Pennies 2 Pounds Summer Competition was a great success and I'd like to say "well done" to everyone who entered!  We were overwhelmed with some fantastic entries and it was difficult to choose the winners. The winners, who received certificates and shopping vouchers, were Kintija Stivka and Emilia Luczka (Boothferry Primary School); Voilet Recchia and Gabriella Becker (St Joseph's RC Primary School); Alfie Taylor (Reedness Primary School); Miah Stafford (Parkside Primary School); Alexander Watt (Roos Primary School) and Bethany Middlewood (Driffield Infants School).  Well done to all the runners up too; we hope you all enjoy your chocolate coins!

Northern Linconshire Members' Committee

Our latest members' committee held its inaugural meeting on 9 July, with Kate, Mike, Len, Andrew, David and Richard being there at the "birth".  The Committee decided to operate fairly informally, to encourage members to play a full part in its discussions and importantly, to enjoy their participation. 

The Committee was pleased to hear of the efforts being made to develop the Credit Union's business in the area since the merger, with many meetings held to promote our services to local organisations.  Members had also flown the flag for us at Winterton Show.  The CU Prepaid Debit Card is now available to members in Northern Lincolnshire and interest from members old and new is developing.

Committee members also suggested some improvements to our loan application forms and felt it would be a good idea to publicise the Committee’s existence in the High Street branch, along with dates and times of future meetings.  Hopefully this will encourage more members to either attend meetings or pass on their thoughts and ideas to committee members. 

If you are a member living or working in Northern Lincolnshire, we'd love you to get involved with our new Members' Committee.  The next meeting is at the branch (162 High Street, Scunthorpe) on Thursday 13 August at 7.00 pm.

Avoiding Telephone Bank Fraud

Sadly, we are reading more in the press these days of people falling victim to telephone banking fraud.   We'd hate to think that any of our members might suffer this crime, so here’s a few tips to help everyone recognise the threat and take steps to protect themselves.

If someone phones you and does any of the following, they are unlikely to be genuine:

•        Asks for your personal and financial information, including your full security details;

•        Tells you that fraud has been detected on your account;

•        Asks you to transfer money into another account - your bank and the police will NEVER ask you to do this;

•        Suggests that you hang up and call the "official bank phone number" - by not hanging up themselves, they can be sure that you will be reconnected directly with them again;

•        Asks you to enter your PIN into the handset. This sounds like a security measure, but the fraudster is actually stealing your PIN and no bank would ask you to do that.

•        Asks you to put your card and PIN into envelopes to be collected - your bank would NEVER collect your card in person.

Do not agree to the callers requests.  If in doubt, inform your bank or the police.

Credit unions and financial inclusion

A question sometimes asked is "what does the Credit Union do to promote financial inclusion?"

Before I attempt to answer, let's get some definitions out of the way:

According to Transact, the national forum for financial inclusion, financial inclusion is achieved when people have access to appropriate, desired financial products and services to manage their money effectively, and when they have "financial capability" - that is, they understand about financial products, and can use them with confidence and motivation.

Relatively few people are totally "financially excluded" but research and experience shows that those groups in society that are most likely to experience financial exclusion are:

•        Lone parents;

•        Long term unemployed;

•        Long term sick or disabled;

•        Lone pensioners, particularly widows;

•        Households headed by students or part-time workers;

•        Residents in geographically remote locations;

•        Migrants or those with low levels of English or poor communications skills.

Why does it matter?  Well, financial exclusion costs money! Without a functioning bank account, those affected pay more to cash a cheque, pay a bill and buy goods and services. As they can't access an authorised overdraft, credit costs considerably more, and insurance may be out of reach.  These extra costs - referred to as the "poverty premium" - were estimated in 2007 to waste around 9% of the disposable income of a family of four.

So, what is HEYCU doing to help?   Well, as a not-for-profit organsation owned by our members, you'd expect us to be passionate about promoting financial inclusion, while accepting of course that there are some limitations imposed by regulators and that we can't change the world all by ourselves.  But here are a few examples:

•        Between 2006 and 2012 under the DWP Growth Fund we issued over 15,000 affordable small loans to people who had previously struggled to obtain credit cheaper than offered by doorstep lenders (250% APR and above).  With our interest rate capped at 2% per month (26.8% APR), the DWP estimated that we saved families in our region over £5 million in interest charges and, since the scheme ended, we’ve continued to lend, despite barely covering the cost of doing so.

•        In 2007 we were a pioneer of the Credit Union Current Account, which helped over 2,500 members to get a proper bank account for the first time, paving the way for them to use Direct Debits and standing orders, and obtain cash at ATMs, for a low weekly fee.  

•        We introduced a Prepaid Debit Card to help people access online shopping and budget effectively without the risk of going overdrawn.

•        In 2014 and 2015 we've run highly successful incentive-based Christmas Saver campaigns, targeted at small savers and low income families, to help them plan ahead for the festive spending burst, while minimising the need to take out expensive short term loans;

•        Our School Bank project is an investment in the future, opening up access to saving for the next generation, as well as their families, helping them to achieve the best possible start to adult life.

•        With partner organisations we have developed a Jam Jar budgeting account to help families to cope with the impact of the new state benefit, Universal Credit.

These are just a few examples of initiatives taken and the way we are working with key partners, and our members, to promote financial inclusion in our region.

Member Survey 2015

There's just a couple of weeks left to take part in this year's Member Satisfaction Survey.  I am delighted that we've had a great response already this year (higher than last year), especially with paper copies in our branches.  But we'd like to hear from as many members as possible, as you are the reason why we are here!

So, if you haven't taken part, please do so before 31 July.  You can fill in the electronic survey on our website or, if you'd rather, pick up a paper version in branch and pop it in the box when completed.  You'd not only be helping us, you might be the lucky winner of a £50 prize!

Have you considered one of our Prepaid VISA cards?

Need a VISA card to use online or in-store?   Our Prepaid Card is an excellent alternative to carrying cash.