Credit Union savers make a million for Christmas

Christmas savings with Wales’s network of credit unions have topped the £1 million mark for the first time according to new figures released this week by the Welsh Government.

Welsh credit union savers, who have been putting money away since January, have saved an average of £515 each. Over 2,000 people had Christmas savings accounts with credit unions in Wales. The Welsh Government is taking action to help people to manage their budgets and plan for the future, especially in light of the tough economic climate and the cuts to welfare support. Credit unions, which are run as not-for-profit organisations, are seen as having a key role in this agenda.

Ministers are also concerned about the rapid rise and availability of payday loan companies and the easy access to high interest money they provide. The Welsh Government wants to expand the number of people using credit unions to cover 6% of the population by 2020.

Earlier this year the Welsh Government made available £1.9 million of new funding to the credit union movement to help them develop their services and encourage more people to use them.