Your Credit Union Partner is proud to celebrate the launch of the Community Development Credit Union Program and Designation in the United Kingdom. As a partner to the Association of British Credit Unions Limited (ABCUL) on this project, the establishment of this new program will equip British credit unions with the capacity to provide specialized financial products and services to low-income communities throughout the nation.
“It’s been an amazing experience working with ABCUL on this project,” said Scott Butterfield, principal, and founder of Your Credit Union Partner. “This new program is fully inspired by the work that community development credit unions in the United States have been doing for decades. We were proud to host this group to see how credit unions in the U.S. help low-income communities, giving them the background on how British credit unions can do the same. This development will make a huge difference in the lives of citizens in the United Kingdom.”
In collaboration with Inclusiv, Your Credit Union Partner has been working with ABCUL on this project for more than a decade, ultimately inviting a group of ABCUL representatives to Madison, Wis., in 2022 to meet with credit union and industry representatives about how they structure their services to low-income communities in the United States.
After years of work on the project, ABCUL announced the new designation during a launch event on Sept. 26. During the meeting, Alison Carr, chief strategist at Your Credit Union Partner, recalled the hard work that went into developing this new CDCU program.
“Speaking from the US perspective, this work has made a measurable difference in the lives of members, the lives of credit union staff, and the communities they serve,” Carr said during the event. “Financial inclusion not only matters, it is in our DNA as credit unions. When you see the impact being made, bringing someone up out of poverty, breaking the cycle of predatory lending, giving them hope and then seeing them through from breaking a debt cycle, to securing their first mainstream loan, to building savings, to purchasing their first home, there is no better feeling.”
The designation will recognize U.K. credit unions that demonstrate a strong commitment to community development, providing them with access to capital, loan loss reserves, and technical assistance to expand their community lending capabilities. ABCUL’s pilot group of eight credit unions will be the first to receive this designation.
Robert Kelly, ABCUL CEO, said that this program will help differentiate credit unions from other financial institutions in the United Kingdom, while also addressing critical gaps in financial services for marginalized communities. The CDCU program is expected to attract additional funding and support from government, philanthropic organizations, and social investors, ensuring the long-term sustainability and growth of credit unions committed to community development.