London Plus Credit Union Limited is 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

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...

and operating in the City of

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

and west London boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Wandsworth and Hounslow. Wandsworth Plus Credit Union is a trading name of London Plus Credit Union working in partnership with

Wandsworth Council Wandsworth London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Wandsworth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Wandsworth is divided into 20 wards, eac ...

in south-west London.

History

Originally established as H&F Credit Union in 2008, the

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

adopted the London Plus name in 2012. It was one of the first wave of 31 credit unions to team up in an initiative managed by 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 ...

(ABCUL) in 2013, to force out payday lenders by saving consumers up to £1bn in loan interest repayments. Following the Archbishop of Canterbury's lead, Canon Guy Wilkinson, Dean of Hammersmith and Fulham in the

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames. For centuries the diocese covered a vast tract and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the nort ...

has worked closely with London Plus to promote credit unions over payday lenders, such as

Wonga Wonga may refer to: Species * Wonga pigeon, a pigeon that inhabits areas in eastern Australia * ''P. pandorana'' (wonga vine), a species of the genus ''Pandorea'' Places in Australia Queensland * Wonga, Queensland, a town in Queensland * Wong ...

, throughout its operating area. The credit union was awarded a grant of £100,000 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 Ban ...

Credit Union Development Fund in 2014, to support its reserves in anticipation of it reaching 10,000 members in 2015.

Activities

Membership of London Plus Credit Union is restricted by common bond to people living or working in the London boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Wandsworth, Hounslow and the City of Westminster, employees and residents of various local housing associations, worshippers at parishes in the Hammersmith and Fulham Deanery and Holy Trinity Brompton churches and members of

Unite the Union Unite the Union, commonly known as Unite, is a British and Irish trade union which was formed on 1 May 2007 by the merger of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU). Unite is the second largest trade union in the UK (afte ...

living or working in the capital. A member of ABCUL (a key supporter and advisor in the process of creating H&F Credit Union), registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts, London Plus Credit Union is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the

Financial Conduct Authority The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a 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 FCA regulates financ ...

and PRA. Ultimately, like the banks and building societies, members' savings are 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 meet ...

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

References

External links

London Plus Credit UnionWandsworth Plus Credit UnionAssociation of British Credit Unions
{{Credit Unions in the United Kingdom Credit unions of the United Kingdom Banks established in 2008 Financial services companies based in London Non-profit corporations Companies based in London

History

Activities

See also

References

External links