Credit unions are not for profit and offer services similar to banks and building societies.
What they offer includes:
- school and junior savings
- individual savings accounts (ISAs)
- insurance products
- loans
- rent, budgeting and debt management advice
- pre payment debit cards
- payroll deduction scheme with money taken from employees salaries
They are member-owned, community savings and loans providers.
Credit unions are a good alternative to pay-day loan companies or loan sharks as they cannot legally charge more than 26.8% APR and many will charge less (typically 12.68% APR).
Similar to banks savings they are also protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.