General Enquiries: 020 7561 1786 or Email: info@credit-union.coop      |       CU Loan Repayment Issues Only: 020 3763 8397  or Email: loansupport@credit-union.coop

Secure Ethical Savings

We promote financial wellbeing by making money work for people rather than short term profit. You can start a regular ethical savings plan from your salary, your bank account, or by using your child benefit. Your savings enable us to provide a real ethical credit alternative to the very high interest rates charged by most lenders, particularly to those with impaired credit or on low incomes.

Secure Ethical Savings

We promote financial wellbeing by making money work for people rather than short term profit. You can start a regular ethical savings plan from your salary, your bank account, or by using your child benefit. Your savings enable us to provide a real ethical credit alternative to the very high interest rates charged by most lenders, particularly to those with impaired credit or on low incomes.

OUR SAVINGS PRODUCTS

Check out our great savings products below

PrizeSaver

The PrizeSaver account is a credit union savings account with monthly prizes. Every pound you save to your PrizeSaver account enters you into a monthly prize draw (up to £200pcm). 

Salary Saver

Employees of a growing list of employers can have savings or loan payments deducted directly from their salary. See if your employer is on the list and how easy it is for your employer to join our scheme.

Young Saver

We offer savings accounts for your children or grandchildren below the age of 18 to encourage them to learn the value of money, the importance of saving & record keeping, and to help them practice their numeracy.

Ethical Saver

A Community Investment is an ethical one-off deposit of £500+, allowing us to help others escape from debt and poverty. We promote mutual self-help rather than charity, & saving rather than borrowing, with the savings being pooled and “reinvested” into the community in the form of low-cost ‘Saver Loans’ as an alternative to loan sharks.

Corporate Saver

Corporate Membership is for organisations rather than individuals. Businesses, charities, sole traders and voluntary groups. This account is to allow organisations to place reserves securely with the credit union to support our social objectives. It is not a transactional ‘business account’.

Regular Saver

Save a regular amount in your credit union account. You can save as little or as much as you like, though we recommend at least £20pcm or £5pw.

To access our great savings plans you must be a member

Join NOW and start saving with us:

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Access to Savings

You can withdraw your savings upon demand, unless you have a loan with us, but you must allow up to 3 working days for a withdrawal. It is usually quicker but depends on your bank. The minimum share/savings withdrawal is £10. You can check your balances online, by phone or by texting the word ‘MyBalance’ to 60060. To transfer savings directly to your bank account by BACS simply complete the online form, call us, or by complete a share withdrawal form available on the forms page. We must have valid proof of your ID and address on record, and you must complete the BACS form to set up the security password before we can allow withdrawals. In order to check account balances and activity online you must first  register for online access.

Budgeting

We also offer multiple ‘budgeting accounts’ so a single payment to the credit union can be allocated to different savings accounts for things such as Christmas, holidays, funeral plans, pets& vets, dental costs, children’s accounts or a new car.

Profit Sharing Dividend (Interest)

Every £1 of a member’s savings is a £1 share in the co-operative so we often use the terms shares and savings interchangeably. We do not pay interest on adult savings accounts as such, but distribute any trading surplus to our members as a dividend on savings calculated on average savings. We also distribute any surplus as a rebate of loan interest paid. In 2025 we have paid over quarter of a million pounds to our members. Dividends are calculated in the same way as interest, based on the average saving value for the year in which the profits were generated.

Modest interest is normally paid on Young Savers Accounts.

Financial Security

The credit union is Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Firm Ref. No. 214094.

This requires robust financial systems, training of staff, and internal/external audit systems. Insurance policies protect member’s savings from fraud, theft and dishonesty. Although volunteer led, the credit union has a compliment of staff that are highly qualified and experienced in the field. Ultimately the members’ savings are protected against business failure by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

For further information please click here: https://protected.fscs.org.uk/

PROFIT SHARING

Dividends are calculated on your average savings the previous financial year between 1st of October and the 30th of September. So, if your average savings was £1,000 and the dividend is 1.1% then you would receive £11 dividend to your savings account as share of our profits.

Loan interest rebates are paid based on any interest you have paid to us during the previous financial year.  So, if you had paid £500 in loan interest to us over the year and we offer a 3% rebate then you would receive £15 paid to your savings account as a share of our profits.

The value of dividends and loan interest rebates is dependent on the levels of surplus so no payment is guaranteed.  All dividends and loan rebates are paid gross of tax.

When comparing returns on savings it pays to be wary. Things are not always as they seem!  READ MORE

Making deposits into your Credit Union account.

We are not able to have DWP or HMRC payments made to your credit union account, other than child benefit.

Standing Order & Bank Transfer

These payment methods are suitable for one-off deposits and/or recurring payments into savings from your bank account.
The easiest way to set up a Standing Order is to use online banking or to contact your bank.

You must use your membership number (or NI Number) as the reference for every payment.

Our Bank Name: The Co-operative Bank

Our Sort Code: 08-92-50

Our Account Name: London Capital Credit Union
NB Some banks may say account does not match the name because our full name, London Capital Credit Union Ltd., is too long. You can ignore the error message and use these details.

Our Account Number: 67003299

Your Reference: Your credit union membership number or your NI number in order that we can credit the payment to the correct account.


Salary Savings Schemes

Many people can make regular savings deposits or loan repayments directly from salary. CLICK HERE to access the Online Salary Savings Schemes Form.


Cash

We only accept cash for initial deposits. If you make your first deposit by cash the maximum we can accept is £50.


Cheques

Cheques should be made payable to 'London Capital Credit Union' or payable to yourself. We can also accept cheques payable to yourself. You should note that it will take at least 12 working days before you are able to draw on funds paid in by cheque.


Save with your Child Benefit

Once you have your credit union membership number you can save by having your Child Benefit paid directly to your savings account. complete the form below. You will need your membership number and your child benefit reference number to complete the form.

How We Decide to Whether to Offer a Loan – The Basics

The Credit Union’s primary objective is to help members avoid or escape from debt by promoting a culture of saving. When we offer loans, we only do so if the borrower agrees to save a little while they repay. The establishment of a savings habit is proven to reduce the harms and risks of long-term borrowing becoming problem debt. Basically, when we get a loan application our decision is based on the following two principles:

1. Do we trust the applicant to repay the loan?

2. Can the applicant afford the loan repayment

This guide is designed to help members understand our thinking so you can best prepare if you should need to apply or re-apply for a loan.

1. Key Points in Our Assessing Trust of the Applicant

a) Has the applicant started saving? The money we lend is members savings so, especially at busy times, we have to give priority to loan applications from members who have made at least one savings payment. That first payment is good evidence that you are a real person and helps us confirm identity.

b) Proper Proof of ID & Address? What forms of proof of identity and address has the member provided? If you are able to connect your bank account through ‘open banking as art of the loan application process it a good way of proving ID. First time loans may be required to use online Open Banking.

c) Previous Borrowing History. Has the applicant borrowed and repaid us previously? Previous good repayment record supports any application.

d) Did the applicant inform us of other money owed? Failure to list all debts in the application process is likely to result in the loan application not being approved. It suggests that the applicant is either not in control of their money or not being completely honest with us and in either case we cannot put our members savings at risk by lending. Credit Reference Agency checks are used to show us what money is owed and to whom.

e) Is the member sensible with money? When we review the bank transactions of the loan applicant, we often see patterns of expenditure that suggest the applicant is not taking a sensible approach to expenditure. Changes in the way they manage their finances would suggest that the loan would not really be necessary. We want to help people be in control their finances and do not want to lend members savings to people who are not deemed sensible with the way they spend. This may be things like gambling, excessive shopping and/or eating out/takeaway food deliveries.

f) Always be ‘up front’ in your application. Honesty pays. We do not judge.

2. Key Points in Our Assessing Affordability for the Applicant

a) Is this loan in the member’s best interest? The value of the loan application in comparison with your income is a key measure of affordability. The loan interest members pay on loans pays our staff salaries, but we are not out to profit from you, rather we want members to borrow less over time and take control of their finances.

b) Positive Bank Balance at Month End? Is there money left in the members bank account at the end of the month that would be sufficient to cover the loan repayment if approved? If not, the member must explain how the loan would become affordable, for instance, by reducing expenditure in other areas.

c) Is the applicant struggling with existing debts? When we review the bank transactions of the applicant we can see income and expenditure. If the loan applicant tells us how the loan will clear other debts and reduce their expenditure this will help us understand affordability.

d) Is the purpose of the loan considered sensible? If the applicant is not paying essential bills such as mortgage or rent then a loan for a car or holiday is likely to be unwise and unaffordable.

e) Has the applicant fully explained why they need to borrow? Always feel free to email or call us explaining the circumstances that mean you need to borrow. The reasons for needing to borrow are complex, but being honest and explaining the circumstances can often help the ordinary humans on the Loans Team at the Credit Union to be able to assess trust and affordability. You briefly explaining your thinking about affordability gives us confidence that you are thinking sensibly about money, and sometimes allows us to suggest alternatives that may well be in your best interest.

f) Is the loan to clear other more expensive debts? Credit Reference Agency checks are used to show us what money is owed and to whom. If your loan application is to pay off other debts, stop and list every one of those debtors.Work out the cost of each. Consider clearing one or two at a time if its your first Credit Union loan. Pick them off one or two at a time, the most expensive first.

g) Has the applicant stopped to think about affordability? The ‘Your Money’ section of our website provides access to a budget planner which, if used and shared, gives us good evidence of affordability. Particularly helpful for loan applicants in financial stress. We hope this gives you an idea of how we decide yes or no to loan applications. The decision is by one or more other credit union members on our Loans Panel. We hope this helps you understand our thinking so you can best prepare if you should need to apply or re-apply for a loan.

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