What is a Credit Union?

A Credit Union is a means of helping people to save and borrow money. It is a community 'bank' to help local people plan and budget for better financial stability. It operates as a financial co-operative, owned and run by those who use it. Why do we need it? Having access to low cost loans and friendly financial advice can help us plan our finances properly. Being able to take out small loans to tide us over sometimes can make a big difference. It makes us feel safer and be more secure.

Who is it for?

It is for all of us! Everybody who lives or works in the Blackmore Vale area can join. The Credit Union is for the whole community. It is also owned and controlled by the members, who run it for the benefit of all.

People join the credit union for many reasons. Some join because they want a secure place to hold their savings; some join because they need the help of the credit union to overcome financial hardship; some join because they want their savings to help support their community - others because they want to volunteer their time to benefit others.

What does it do?

It encourages people to save and creates a fund of money to be lent to members at very competitive rates. The rate if you are a borrower, is currently at 1% per month - also as the amount you owe goes down, so does the amount you pay in interest.

For example here is a comparison between First Dorset Credit Union rates and a well known doorstep lender, for a loan of £500 over 12 months:

So a credit union helps you understand and control your own finances, and helps people who can't easily use High Street banks to save and take out loans and by involving local businesses it encourages us to spend our money locally within our community.

What else?

Because those who work in the service points are unpaid volunteers, the interest on savings and loans is enough to cover the cost of running the Credit Union. Anything left over is paid back to savers as a bonus.

There simply aren't all the overheads of commercial banks.

The Credit Union is run by local people for local people.

See www.firstdorsetcreditunion.co.uk for more details.