A Kent financial co-operative that helps low income households has signed up to a national group to transform the credit union movement who live or work in Kent, Medway and Bexley, has joined the Credit Union Expansion Project along with 30 other members nationwide.

and attract a million more people.

Kent Savers, based in Maidstone and providing services to 1,200 people

The project aims to increase credit union membership by at least 500,000 people on lower incomes by March 2015, increasing to one million people by 2017. It also aims to increase access to affordable credit so that members can save an additional £1 billion in interest being managed by the Association of British Credit Unions (ABCUL). Britain’s credit unions manage around £800 million of savings and have individual members and deposit accounts for organisations. Several to pool resources and centralise core tasks, we will benefit from cost savings which we will be able to pass onto more members through lower Project will help credit unions offer a much wider range of great value products to many more members from a broad range of income groups. Consumers will be able to benefit from the latest online technology to sign up to credit union services such as current once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which will help to place the credit union movement in Britain on a similar footing to leading credit union movements around the world.”

payments they would have paid to high cost commercial lenders.

The Government is pumping up to £38 million into the project which is

loaned some £600 million.

It offers savings accounts, loans, free life insurance for

employers enable members to save directly from their payroll.

Gail Devries, president of Kent Savers, said: “Because we will be able

loan rates and better returns on savings.”

ABCUL chief executive Mark Lyonette said: “The Credit Union Expansion

accounts, budgeting accounts and Cash ISAs.”

He added: “This is a landmark project for credit unions and a