Monday 18th June 2018
London Mutual Credit Union launches a dedicated new financial support service for the armed forces on this year’s Armed Forces Day (Saturday 30th June).
Since first partnering with the Ministry of Defence in 2015, London Mutual Credit Union has provided £2 million worth of loans to over 1000 armed forces personnel, saving them an estimated £1.3 million compared to the cost of high street lenders and various payday lenders such as Wonga.
The new Forces Finance initiative will give serving members of the armed forces and their families access to a range of specially developed financial services which meet the unique requirements of armed forces personnel.
London Mutual Credit Union is a financial co-operative that exists for the benefit of its members who live and/or work in the London boroughs of Southwark, Lambeth, Westminster or Camden, as well as serving members of the British Armed Forces. Established in 1982, London Mutual Credit Union has over 28,000 member-owners.
Historically, service personnel have encountered difficulties accessing credit and other financial services, due in part to moving regularly and not being able to build up a good credit rating. Some have also been targeted by payday loan companies.
Lucky Chandrasekera, Chief Executive of London Mutual Credit Union, says:
“Our figures show the clear demand for financial services built around the specific needs of armed forces personnel and their families. The disruptive and often highly mobile nature of life in the services can make financial planning difficult for many service personnel, as well as making it harder to build an address history or a strong credit record.”
Unlike banks, credit unions are owned by their borrowers and savers and serve a specific community. This enables them to offer advantageous rates, products and terms tailored to the specific circumstances of their members.
Lucky adds: “The launch of the Forces Finance service is designed to build on our experience of working with armed services personnel over the past three years and underscores our commitment to delivering a bank built around ‘serving those who serve’.”
In the months ahead, the credit union will work with its members who are in the armed forces to design new financial products and member benefits built around the needs and realities of forces life.
In addition, on this year’s Armed Forces Day the credit union will launch a dedicated website and large scale marketing campaign designed to reach serving members of the armed forces.
