Rainbow Saver Anglia Credit Union Limited was a not-for-profit member-owned financial

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

, based in

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and sou ...

and operated through 18 collection points in the

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

n counties of Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and certain districts of Norfolk. It was established in 1999 and had 3,500 members. In 2021, the Board of Directors announced a planned controlled closure of the

credit union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including depo ...

. In 2022, Rainbow Saver Anglia Credit Union was placed into administration and ceased trading. At the same time, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme declared it as failed (in default).

Activities

Rainbow Saver Anglia Credit Union operated for the purpose of promoting thrift, providing credit and other financial services to its members at reasonable rates. In addition to the Lowestoft head office, it opened a branch in

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

in 2013, which traded as Peterborough Rainbow Savers. Originally limited to members of

Anglia Regional Co-operative Society Anglia Regional Co-operative Society Limited was the fifth largest consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom. It was formed by the merger of the Greater Peterborough Regional and Anglia (formerly Waveney) co-operative societies in 1987. The S ...

, membership of Rainbow Saver Anglia Credit Union was restricted by common bond to corporate bodies or individuals living, working, studying or volunteering in the counties of

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

and

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

(including the City of Peterborough unitary authority area) and the districts of

South Norfolk South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Long Stratton. The population of the Local Authority District was 124,012 as taken at the 2011 Census. History The district was formed on 1 April 197 ...

and the

Borough of Great Yarmouth The Borough of Great Yarmouth is a local government district with borough status in Norfolk, England. It is named after its main town, Great Yarmouth. History The borough was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merg ...

. Individuals associated with certain employers by virtue of the provision of housing, education, welfare or support services or related to and living in the same household as a member were also eligible. In 2014, the credit union was awarded a grant of £20,000 by the

Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Banking Group is a British financial institution formed through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB in 2009. It is one of the UK's largest financial services organisations, with 30 million customers and 65,000 employees. Lloyds Bank w ...

Credit Union Development Fund to assist with the process of merging with

Eastern Savings and Loans Eastern Savings and Loans Credit Union Limited is a not-for-profit member-owned financial co-operative, based in Ipswich and operating through 25 local payment and information points in the East Anglian counties of Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and No ...

in the near future, subject to a vote of members.

Products

Rainbow Saver Anglia Credit Union ran a payroll deduction savings and loans scheme in conjunction with

Addenbrooke's Hospital Addenbrooke's Hospital is an internationally renowned large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England, with strong affiliations to the University of Cambridge. Addenbrooke's Hospital is based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campu ...

and a number of local authorities. The credit union was responsible for the operation of the scheme, with the employer facilitating monthly deductions from salary. A payment card, accepted at

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

and

PayPoint PayPoint plc is a British business offering a system for paying bills in United Kingdom, Ireland and Romania. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The PayPoint network was set up in 1996 with the aim of enabling customers to load g ...

outlets, was issued free of charge on request. Credit unions do not pay a fixed rate of interest on savings balances. Instead, they distribute any trading surplus to members in the form of an annual dividend calculated on average savings or as a rebate of loan interest paid. Rent processing enables members to have

housing benefit Housing Benefit is a means-tested social security benefit in the United Kingdom that is intended to help meet housing costs for rented accommodation. It is the second biggest item in the Department for Work and Pensions' budget after the state ...

paid direct to landlords; the credit union made a small charge to the landlord for this service. The ABCUL Credit Union Prepaid Card, issued on behalf of Rainbow Saver Anglia Credit Union by

Clydesdale Bank Clydesdale Bank ( gd, Banca Dhail Chluaidh) is a trading name used by Clydesdale Bank plc for its retail banking operations in Scotland. In June 2018, it was announced that Clydesdale Bank's holding company CYBG would acquire Virgin Money for ...

, functioned in a similar way to a High Street bank account. A member of the

Association of British Credit Unions The Association of British Credit Unions Limited, commonly known as ABCUL, is the leading trade association for credit unions in Great Britain. ABCUL represents around 70% of credit unions who in turn provide services to 85% of the British credit ...

Limited, registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts, Rainbow Saver Anglia Credit Union was authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the

Financial Conduct Authority The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulation, financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but operates independently of the UK Government, and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The ...

and PRA. Ultimately, like the banks and building societies, members’ savings were protected against

business failure __NOTOC__ Business failure refers to a company ceasing operations following its inability to make a profit or to bring in enough revenue to cover its expenses. A profitable business can fail if it does not generate adequate cash flow to mee ...

by the

Financial Services Compensation Scheme The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the UK's statutory deposit insurance and investors compensation scheme for customers of authorised financial services firms. This means that FSCS can pay compensation if a firm is unable, or l ...

.Credit Union Guide
Financial Services Compensation Scheme (retrieved 2 April 2015)

References

External links

Rainbow Saver Anglia Credit UnionAssociation of British Credit Unions
{{Credit Unions in the United Kingdom Credit unions of the United Kingdom Companies based in Suffolk British companies established in 1999 Banks established in 1999 Lowestoft

Activities

Products

See also

References

External links