What is a Credit Union?

A credit union is a group of people who save together and lend to each other at a fair and reasonable rate of interest. Credit unions offer members the chance to have control over their own finances by making their own savings work for them. Regular savings form a common pool of money, which in turn provides many benefits for members. -

Each credit union is owned by people like you, the members, who both save with, and borrow from it. As a member, you will receive a dividend, if declared, on your savings and you have access to loans at fair and reasonable rates.

What are the benefits of a Credit Union?

The big difference between your credit union and any other savings account is that members own the credit union. Our Philosophy has always been to look at things differently.

The core idea is this:

All your savings with the credit union are called ‘Shares’. In northern Ireland, minors (anyone under the age of 16) savings are called 'Deposits'. Some credit unions also have deposit accounts
Each share you hold is eligible for a dividend should your credit union declare one
In the event of your death your credit union savings are insured - subject to terms, conditions and eligibility criteria - at no direct cost to you
No matter how much you have saved, all members aged 16 or over, have equal voting rights on issues affecting their credit union

A credit union is an organisation of people - for people. It exists only to serve its members - not to profit from their needs. Credit unions are non-sectarian and non-political, and continue that Irish tradition of co-operative self help.

It’s the money that members save with their credit union that provides the money to lend to other members. So everybody benefits because any surplus that is generated is returned to members as a dividend or as a loan interest rebate. Alternatively, the surplus can be used to provide enhanced services to members.

The credit union movement across Ireland is one of the most successful in the world.