About Us

What is a credit union?

Credit unions are co-operative savings and loans businesses, owned and controlled by the people who save and borrow with them, and are run on a 'not for profit' basis for the benefit of all members. They are managed by a volunteer board of directors who are democratically elected by the membership at AGM, and volunteers and/or staff run the day to day business of the credit union. Members must share a 'common bond'.  The common bond of Renfrewshire Wide Credit Union is: 'living or working in Renfrewshire'.  The common bond is what makes credit unions unique.

We offer savings and great value loans plus we are local, ethical and know what our members want, and are currently developing a range of services including Housing Benefit Direct, Foreign Currency Exchange and Member Reward Discounts. As a credit union we have lower operating costs and overheads than commercial banks and building societies, profits are returned directly to the members and not third party shareholders and therefore remain in the community, and we provide a friendly and local service.

What is our aim?
The aim of the Renfrewshire Wide Credit Union is to increase the wealth of our members by encouraging savings and providing services and affordable loan facilities to everyone who lives or works within Renfrewshire.

Confidentiality
All business within the credit union is conducted in the strictest confidence and each elected officer and staff member must sign a pledge of secrecy which is binding for life. Credit unions must also comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and are regulated and authorised by the Financial Services Authority.

How safe is the Renfrewshire Wide Credit Union?
Savings are protected in a credit union in different ways:
Credit unions are regulated and authorised by the Financial Services Authority. This is the same regulator as banks and building societies and all other providers of financial services in Britain.

A group of members known as the Supervisory Committee checks that the credit union is running safely and is safeguarding members’ money. An auditor carries out an annual inspection of the Credit Union’s business, and the credit union is required by law to maintain an insurance policy (fidelity bond) to protect the credit union against fraud or theft.

Members of credit unions with savings are protected by the Financial Services and Compensation Scheme. The FSCS is a safety net for customers of financial firms – all savers with credit unions have 100% protection from the FSCS for the first £85,000 of their savings. This is the same level of protection that customers of banks and building societies enjoy.