As a financial not-for-profit co-operative, Advance Credit Union is ‘owned’ by the 5,000 members who save and borrow with the credit union. Unlike a conventional bank, a Credit Union is run by the people who use it. All of our adult members can vote on key decisions at our Annual General Meeting or volunteer for one of our committees or board. Anyone who lives or works within a ‘B’ postcode including Birmingham and Solihull Borough can join. We offer a convenient and safe way to put some money away for the future and a cost-effective way to borrow ethically and responsibly. Most of our members save by Payroll Deduction, standing order, Child Benefit or other benefits paid in. We have a customer service desk at our office in Erdington plus a network of community Collection Points across our region. We encourage everyone to save regularly, even a small amount, and those savings are lent back exclusively to credit union members in our community. As part of our ethos, we do what we can to help people manage their money. We won’t lend if repayments are not affordable for the borrower. Every year we loan more than £2.2m to our members to help spread the cost of Christmas, home improvements, car purchase, holidays, weddings, funerals and many other purposes.
