Membership Terms & Conditions

Eligibility & minimum membership requirements

1.     Anyone meeting the common bond membership criteria of the credit union as agreed by the credit union membership from time to time and set down in the credit union’s rules may join the credit union.  A summary of eligibility is maintained on our website on our ‘Join us’ page.

2.     The credit union may request reasonable evidence of an applicant member’s eligibility upon application before granting membership.

3.     In order to maintain membership, a minimum £5 deposit must be made into a Regular Savings account in the member’s name.

4.     To remain an active member, a regular deposit of at least £10 per month must be made into the Regular Savings account.

Democracy & dormancy

5.     Active members of the credit union have the right to vote at general meetings of the credit union and to stand for election to the Board of Directors of the credit union.  All members have a single vote, regardless of their level of investment in the credit union.

6.     Any member who does not maintain either the £10 minimum monthly deposit or the £5 minimum Regular Savings balance or both shall, after at least 1 year’s account inactivity, be deemed Dormant. Reasonable attempts will be made to make contact with Dormant Members, upon being declared Dormant and periodically thereafter.  Such attempts will be conducted in accordance with the Dormant Accounts Policy agreed from time to time by the Board of Directors.

7.     Any Dormant Member’s account will not attract the annual dividend and a Dormant Member forfeits their rights to vote at General Meetings of the credit union.  The account must be either reactivated by the resumption of regular monthly payments or closed and funds withdrawn upon the Member making contact with the credit union.

Savings, dividend & borrowing

8.     With the exception of interest-bearing savings, all savings held in the credit union attract a dividend which is declared annually by the board at its Annual General Meeting and ratified by a member resolution at that meeting.  The dividend is not guaranteed and is subject to the performance of the credit union, its plans for internal investment and prevailing market conditions.

9.     Accounts which pay interest instead of dividend will be clearly marked as such in the specific product terms and conditions.

10.  The dividend is calculated retrospectively based on savings balances during the previous financial year (1 October to 30 September).  The declared dividend rate will be applied to the lowest balance of each savings account in each month of the year and this amount is credited to each eligible savings account shortly following the Annual General Meeting.

11.  For any Member with an active loan balance, their Regular Savings account will be “attached” to the loan meaning that funds cannot be withdrawn until the outstanding loan balance falls below the Regular Savings balance.  Thereafter, only the Regular Savings balance exceeding the loan balance can be withdrawn.  Regular Savings will be used as security in the event of a member defaulting on their loan agreement.  These restrictions will be explained to you upon taking a loan and contained in your loan agreement. The credit union retains discretion over whether to permit the withdrawal or use of attached Regular Savings deposits outside of this restriction.

12.  Under normal trading circumstances, savings deposits held in the credit union are withdrawable without restriction, unless they are attached to a loan or otherwise pledged according to the terms of a specific savings product.  However, the credit union reserves the right, in accordance with the Credit Unions Act 1979, to require up to 60 days’ notice of a savings withdrawal.  Such notice will only be required in circumstances of extreme financial stress and any such requirement will be subject to advance disclosure by the credit union and exceptional individual withdrawals without the requisite notice will be permitted in circumstances of vulnerability or hardship at the credit union’s discretion.

13.  Members may open additional Special Savings accounts in addition to their Regular Savings, balances of which may be withdrawn at any time.

14.  You can fund your account(s) through payroll deduction (where we have a payroll relationship in place with your employer), recurring card payment or Direct Debit as applicable.  Your regular payment amount will remain until you instruct us to change it – therefore, if you fully repay a loan, the whole amount will roll into your Regular Savings account as a default until you instruct us to do otherwise.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

15.  The maximum aggregate savings balance across all accounts held in the credit union is set at the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) limit, currently £85,000 (February 2025) For information on how the FSCS protects your deposits with the credit union see our FSCS information page (link to FSCS page TBC).

Complaints

16.  Members may complain about any aspect of their membership by contacting us by any of our communication channels and making clear that you wish to make a complaint, the reasons for the complaint and the resolution you would like to see.  Where you remain dissatisfied with the response to your complaint, you have the right to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).  For details of how to complain to FOS, please call 0800 023 4567 or visit: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/how-to-complain

Data protection

17.  We manage your data in accordance with data protection legislation.  For details of how we manage your data and with whom we may share it and your data rights, please refer to our privacy policy.

Frequently Asked Questions

18.  For information about the day-to-day management of your account with us, please see our FAQs or simply ask us a question via any of our usual communication channels.

Amendment 

19.  These terms and conditions are subject to periodic amendment by the credit union at its own discretion or where regulatory changes require it.  In some cases amendments will arise from changes to the credit union’s rules ratified by a General Meeting.  Wherever terms and conditions are proposed to change, all members will be informed in advance of the change.

The Co-operative Family Credit Union Limited, trading as The Money Co-op, is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority.

Credit facilities provided by The Money Co-op, are subject to status and only available to those aged 18 or over and resident in the UK. The Money Co-op is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). FCA & PRA Firm Reference No 213649. Registered Co-operative Society Number: 558c.

Registered office address: 1 Angel Square, Manchester, M60 0AG