This past week in Middlesbrough, two suspected loan sharks were arrested on suspicion of illegal money lending and money laundering offences. Warrants were executed as part of a collaboration between the England Illegal Money Lending Team, Cleveland Police, and Middlesbrough Council Trading Standards. Loan sharks…
Here at Moneywise we have been working hard behind the scenes to develop our new Digital Toolkit, designed so that any of our partners will have a raft of marketing materials to promote our services to their employees or communities. Based around 4 key themes…
Moneywise Credit Union have taken over the business of South Central Middlesbrough Credit Union (SCMCU). Moneywise were approached by SCMCU earlier in the year following their decision to look for a suitable credit union to continue their business. SCMCU were suffering from a lack of…
Moneywise, the largest credit union in the Northeast of England, is celebrating its 30th year this year with new outreach initiatives and events in our network of branches. Helping the Community Since 1991 From humble beginnings in 1991, the Moneywise we know now grew from…
Getting Workforces Saving – Payroll Schemes with Credit Unions Research funded by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) shows that 7 in 10 employees enrolled in a workplace payroll scheme save every month and demonstrates that salary saving schemes with credit unions could be a step-change…
Sunderland BID has joined forces with one of the region’s leading credit unions to encourage businesses to sign up to its Payroll Savings Scheme. Moneywise Credit Union is already working with Sunderland City Council on a savings and loans partnership, where council employees can take…
Moneywise beat off competitors to win a contract to deliver credit union services in Sunderland, now offering its services to employees and residents of the City.
With a membership of over 11,000 members, this is set to soar with the backing of Sunderland City Council who were looking for a more local and ethical alternative for saving and lending.
Council research estimated that around £12m annually leaks out of the city in extra interest payments to high cost lenders, rent to own stores and payday lenders.
Leader of Sunderland City Council, Councillor Graeme Miller said: “One of the most important parts of tackling financial exclusion and tackling poverty is creating better credit and debt solutions.
“Most people at some point in their lives need access to credit and the council wants to see affordable options because nobody should be having to resort to illegal lending and extortionate rates.
“It can be good for Sunderland if council staff and other city-based workers save in the new Moneywise Sunderland union to help make it more sustainable.
“This is a co-operative council and credit unions are co-operative solutions helping to create a financial community where members of the union mutually benefit because there’s no profit for share holders.
“Credit unions are for everyone, not just the financially excluded, and a good union with a mixed economy of customers can be very useful for those who cannot get access to ordinary bank products.
“By working and saving together we can create a co-operative financial community in Sunderland. There are benefits too for employees and employers from introducing salary deduction schemes and how people who save regularly are better able to cope with any financial distress or unexpected cost.”
There are already more than 300 unions across the country with more than 1.3 members and Moneywise has over £5.4 million worth of assets with members saving being over £5.1 million and lending at over £3.3 million.
Chair of Moneywise, Phil Goad said, “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Sunderland City Council in delivering the Affordable Credit Solution to the staff of the council and the residents of the City. As a regional provider of Affordable Credit we are an ethical alternative to the high cost lenders that concentrate on the financially excluded of our region and end up costing them more money. We are a viable alternative for savers and borrowers alike.”
great news, we now manage members savings worth over £5,000,000 – why not join us and save for the benefit yourself and your community!
The credit union will provide financial services to those who usually can’t access them A community bank for people in Teesside has taken a major step forward after appointing an operator. North-east based Moneywise Credit Union will offer current accounts, online banking and loans to…