Frequently Asked Questions
General FAQs
A credit union is a community savings & loans provider that exists to provide financial services to a common group of member. Unlike banks and other commercial finance providers, a credit union does not operate to generate a profit - it exists solely for the benefit of its members.
A credit union is a community of its members, whose aims are to promote their financial wellbeing through savings, affordable and appropriate lending opportunities, and through the promotion of greater financial awareness. Members are the owners of the credit union and the absence of third-party shareholders results in beneficial rates for depositors and borrowers. The pressure to generate profit for shareholder dividends is greatly reduced, and any surpluses generated by the credit union are redistributed among the members.
The structure and nature of a credit union frequently enables it to help those who are currently excluded from access to ordinary bank products. It can become a lifeline for people who may otherwise have to resort to payday loans or doorstep lending which often carry incredibly high interest rates.
Yes. We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS can pay compensation to depositors if a credit union is unable to meet its financial obligations. Most depositors – including most individuals and small businesses – are covered by the scheme. In respect of deposits, an eligible depositor is entitled to claim up to £85,000.
We are also authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. This means that we meet strict conditions for trading, we are required to submit information on our financial performance to the regulators every three months and our directors and senior staff are vetted by the regulators.
Joining us FAQs
Please see our common bond page for more information on requirements for joining.
You can join online. If you have any questions or need to speak to us about joining, please contact us.
On receipt of a fully completed application we will verify your identity and open your account. This verification is usually done electronically. In some cases, we may need to ask for additional identification before we can open your membership account. Once your account is open you will receive a welcome pack with all the information you should need.
All financial organisations need to know who their customer is. The level of ID we request will be the level required by the Money Laundering Regulations.
We are registered with the office of the Information Commissioner and operate entirely within the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018. This also allows you to get copies of information we hold about you in our records.
All our board members and staff sign a confidentiality agreement and none of your details are passed outside of the credit union except with your permission or as allowed under our Data Protection Registration or where required by law. Please see our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy for more information.
Savings FAQs
You can save as much as you like up to £20,000. This can be by a lump sum deposit or by regular monthly savings from £10 per month. We also operate a Christmas Savings Account into which you can save extra money that can only be taken out in November and December so you never need to worry about how you will pay for Christmas. If you would like a separate savings account for longer term saving, that can also be arranged.
Those who take advantage of borrowing from other members' savings are required to continue to save alongside their loan repayments. For those with loans, a minimum savings balance equal to one month's loan repayment must be maintained in the account at all times.
The credit union is a members’ co-operative run on a not-for-profit basis. Once operating costs have been covered, any excess income can be paid back to saving members in the form of an annual dividend, approved by members at the Annual General Meeting.
WE PAY NO INTEREST ON YOUR SAVINGS AND PAST DIVIDENDS ARE NOT A GUARANTEE THAT THERE WILL BE *ANY* FUTURE DIVIDEND.
We welcome supporters of the co-operative community credit union movement, however we recommend that those who rely on a guaranteed income from savings seek independent financial advice as to whether a credit union is really the place for them.
To withdraw your savings, you can either:
- complete a withdrawal request form and post to us
- complete a money transfer request via the online members area
We would then process this and your money would be transferred to your bank account by BACS. This process will take 3 working days. You need to keep at least £5 in your account to remain a member of the credit union.
You might also consider keeping your savings intact and applying for an affordable credit union loan for your needs instead.
You can increase or decrease the amount you regularly save whenever you like by contacting the office. You should not reduce your amount to less than the minimum of £10 per month if you wish to remain an active member. You can do this by emailing us.
Any member can open a Christmas Savings Account to run separately from their ordinary share account. Money put into the Christmas account is locked in. These accounts will unlock on the 1st November and be open for withdrawals until the 24th December, at which time they will lock again for you to start saving for next year.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Christmas Accounts have been unlocked to allow members to withdraw funds from their Christmas Saver Account.
Loans FAQs
- We won’t offer loans you can’t afford.
- We can offer lower levels of loans that the banks just don’t offer.
- There are no arrangement fees or early repayment penalties and the maximum interest rates are set by law.
- This all means that you will only get affordable loans from us.
- If you have been using doorstep lenders, then a credit union loan is less expensive by a huge amount.
Loans are only available to CLEVR Money members. Nobody else will be considered.
The minimum loan is currently £200, the maximum loan £15,000.
How much you can personally borrow depends on various things like how long you have been a saving member, your payment history, whether you can afford to pay it back and how much money for loans the credit union has available when you apply.
The credit union aims to support you and at the same time protect its members’ money and we do that by assessing each application individually. It is not in our interests or yours to lend you money you can’t repay.
Interest on Credit Union loans is limited by law, so you will never pay more than 3% per month (42.6% APR) and many loans are lower. We regularly compare prices with high street banks as well as doorstep and other lenders to ensure that we are as competitive as possible.
Representative APR's for our loan products are shown on the loan calculators on our website.
You may see lower APRs advertised but we recommend that you check whether the advertised rate applies to the loan amount you actually need.
You might find that they won’t even provide the loan amount that you need at any rate.
Also, check what you will actually pay monthly and what is included. We charge interest on the reducing balance only, whereas they might apply interest up-front on the total loan.
In addition, with CLEVR Money, you build up savings so that you can pay off your loan early or, if your loan runs its full term, you have a savings balance to keep.
As we are a regulated Credit Union, you know that you are not paying for outside shareholders or profits. Surpluses, after operating costs and allocation to reserves, are used to pay dividends to savers.
Loans can be repaid by direct payroll deduction, by direct debit, or through benefit payments directly to your CLEVR Money account.
Yes. If you wish to repay your total outstanding loan early you can do so in one payment. Just contact CLEVR Money to check the final payment required. There are no early repayment charges for this.
If you have extra money you can pay this into your savings account at any time. When the balance of your savings account is enough to pay off the balance of your loan, you can do this.
If you leave your employer, you can still retain membership of the Credit Union; however it is your responsibility to contact us to keep us updated and to make alternative arrangements for paying into your account or repaying your loan.
You can apply for a loan online or by completing a loans application form available from us. The amount a new member can apply for depends on their circumstances. The application and approval process in simple cases can be completed same day.
If approved, you will be sent a loan agreement to sign and return to us before we make payment to you.
Once we receive your loan application, you will be requested to provide your latest 1 months bank statement(s) and payslip(s).
You can send these to our office or upload electronic copies to us.
Alternatively, you can provide your transaction information via our Open Banking partners.
A credit union is a local co-operative. The money it loans out belongs to your friends and colleagues and fellow members and we must loan it out responsibly. For this reason, we need to check that you are able to repay any amount we lend to you and this is why we ask for all this information. Please note that all information provided to the credit union remains strictly confidential.
Once your loan has been approved we will send out a loan agreement for you to sign and return to us. You will usually receive your money within 3 working days of us receiving the signed agreement and your account being activated.
Yes. We carry out a detailed credit check on loan applications. This is to help ensure we are lending sensibly and protecting the interests of all members who save with us.
The credit check will in part be used to verify the information you provide on your application. It is therefore vital that you accurately record all other outstanding credit on your application.
By only making affordable, responsible loans and by working in partnership with independent, local, free money advice services we hope that you won’t get into serious difficulty.
We have a duty to recover our members' money. Members who fail to pay and fail to work with us to come to repayment arrangements will be entered into a strict debt collection process, including court action, bailiffs, attachments to earnings, charging orders and other available forms of enforcement.
CLEVR Money is a professional, local, ethical, not-for-profit financial services organisation, owned and governed by its members. We aim to provide affordable savings, loans and financial products to our members and are supported by major employers across the Fylde Coast.
If you are having difficulty with your repayments, please contact us.
Account management FAQs
Yes. Click the PIN reminder link, complete the form with the same details that you used when you registered, and a PIN reminder will be emailed to you within one business day.
You can retrieve your password by clicking on the password reminder button and completing the form. Please note that the details on the form MUST be the same details that you registered on the web site.
NOTE: The password reminder will only be sent to the email address you used when you registered on the site.
This means that something you are entering into the form is not the same as information as you used to register on the web site.
Contact us for assistance.
Our staff do not have access to your password and cannot give it to you over the telephone.
Contact us for assistance if you are unable to access your account.
You may contact us about your account by telephone provided that you can answer security questions. Some transactions, such as loan agreements, will always need to have your signature before they can be processed. We cannot take withdrawal instructions over the telephone.
Any member can open a Christmas Savings Account to run separately from their ordinary share account. Money put into the Christmas account is locked in. These accounts will unlock on the 1st November and be open for withdrawals until the 24th December, at which time they will lock again for you to start saving for next year.
Online Accounts FAQs
Yes you can. Just click on "Register" button.
Complete the registration form and choose your own PIN and Passwords.
You will receive an email within one business day (often much faster) confirming your account is active.
Once this is active you can log in and view balances, make withdrawals, make loan applications, change PIN & Passwords and more.
There are 3 reason why this might happen:
- A minimum of £5 must be kept in your share account at all times. Our system will automatically reduce your money transfer to a level which keeps £5 in your account.
- If you have a loan, shares are attached to the level of one loan payment. Our system will automatically retain in your account one loan payment plus the £5 minimum balance and will transfer anything above that level.
- You don't have enough in your account to make the transfer you have requested.
When you log in to the members' area we strongly recommend that you check your balance before asking for a money transfer and bear in mind the above when deciding how much to ask for.
A form will not submit until it is properly completed with all the required fields. Fields that are not verified show with a red arrow pointing at them. If your form is not submitting then check the form and fix any fields that have a red indicator. Common errors include:
- not completing a required field
- email address not in correct format
- telephone number has a space in it
Once all fields are correct the form will submit.
This issue is seen by a small number of members and is due to the security settings on their own computers. The members' area uses "cookies" (small files on your computer) to track logged-in members. If your security/privacy settings don't allow third party cookies, then you wont be able to use our members' area. Check your internet browser instructions for details on how to change your security/privacy settings.
The web site data is updated each time you login.
Please note deposits take 1 working day to clear in your account.
Transactions occurring over a weekend, bank holiday or outside of standard business hours will usually be processed the following working day.
Withdrawal request processing: Requests are processed on working days after scheduled loan repayments are taken.