FAQs

Got a question? Let’s help you find an answer!

Am I eligible to open an account?

As we are a Credit Union our Members have a “Common Bond”. See our eligibility details. The list is extensive and if you are not certain if you qualify please contact us.

How do I apply for an account?

By reading our full eligibility details and then visit our join page. If you’re unsure, please read our help & advice or contact us.

How is Churches Mutual Credit Union Ltd regulated?

Churches Mutual Credit Union is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Reference number 654709.

How is my money protected?

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), the current limits are up to £85,000 per person.

Why do you need my bank account details, passport or driving licence?

The Credit Union has a responsibility to ensure that individuals who apply to open a Credit Union account are who they say they are, and that any monies deposited have not been obtained through illegal or fraudulent means or will be used for illegal purposes. The system the Credit Union uses to identify applicants uses the information held by the Passport Office, DVLA and UK banks therefore you need to provide details about yourself that can be matched to their records.

I do not have a passport, driver’s licence or bank account. Can I still join?

Unfortunately you are not able to join the Credit Union without at least one of these items. Your local Citizens’ Advice Bureau may be able to assist you in obtaining a basic bank account.

Do I receive interest on my account? What is a dividend?

Like many Credit Union’s Churches Mutual pays a dividend on all its savings accounts rather than interest. The dividend is a ‘profit-share’of the Credit Union’s surplus once all expenses have been met.

Churches Mutual’s financial year runs from 1st October to 30th September, the accounts and transactions are then audited and the trading surplus calculated. The Board of Directors (acting within the regulatory framework and taking advice from the auditors) are then able to recommend a dividend. This is taken to the Annual Meeting of Members which takes place in January and the dividend approved is paid into members’ accounts shortly after this. Dividends are paid on the average daily balance of the account during the appropriate financial year.

The amount of dividend depends on the the amount of trading surplus achieved by Churches Mutual in the previous financial year and is not guaranteed. In the interest of transparency we do advise that since the rapid rise in the Bank of England base rate the return on Churches Mutual savings accounts are unlikely to match rates available elsewhere .

Do you Deduct Tax on the Dividend?

No. We pay the dividend gross at the end of our financial year and you have to pay any tax due, based on your circumstances, yourself.

Can I open more than one account?

If you require more than one account please contact our membership team on 01452 903 945 or email us at admin@cmcu.org.uk. Please note that our current maximum savings per individual is £40,000.

Do you offer joint accounts?

Churches Mutual does not offer joint accounts.

What account opening checks do you carry out?

As with all UK savings accounts, we check your identity and address before you open an account. To make this as easy as possible for you, we do this by checking a number of electronic databases.

In a minority of cases we may sometimes need to ask you to send us some identification by post. If this is necessary we will tell you before you open an account. We also carry out a number of fraud checks when we open your account.

Do I need to give you my National Insurance number?

We ask for your National Insurance number for several reasons because it helps us to formally identify you; which we have to do under Anti-Money Laundering Legislation.

Can I change my mind?

Savings – you may close your account at any time, providing you have not used your shares (savings)
to guarantee a loan. Savings will be returned in full apart from the joining/administration fee of
£5.00 which is non-refundable.

Loans – you may withdraw from a loan application at any time before the loan has been disbursed.
However, once you have received the funds you will need to ask for a settlement figure to close your
loan account. In order to cover the administrative costs incurred by Churches Mutual when assessing your loan application and processing payments we do charge a fee if the loan is settled in full within the first nine months of the loan. This fee is usually equivalent to nine months’ loan interest, minus any interest you have already paid.

How do I pay money into my account?

There are a number of ways to pay into your Credit Union account:

Churches Mutual works with a number of employers within the church sector to offer savings direct
from your salary/stipend into your credit union account. Please download and complete a
payroll deduction mandate form and forward it to us by email in addition to completing the
application process.

If you are not a paid employee or your employer does not offer payroll deduction you will need to
complete a bank standing order form.

Once your application for membership has been approved, we will forward the payroll deduction
form to your employer. In the case of payments from your bank, if you use online banking you can
use the information on the form to set up a payment or send the completed form to your bank.
Please makes sure to quote your membership/account as the payment reference. If you are not sure
what this is, please contact us.

If you wish to make a one off deposit into the Credit Union please contact us.

Can I make partial withdrawals money from my Covenant Account?

There are no penalties for withdrawals but if the balance on this account falls below £1995 for more than 30 consecutive days the account transfers to a Regular Savers’ Account. Withdrawals will only be made by BACS transfer into your nominated bank account.

Withdrawals will normally be credited to your account the next working day but may take up to five working days. At busy times (such as January and August) the Board may request up to sixty days’ notice from a Member of their intention to withdraw their shareholding. You will be notified in advance of the Credit Union implementing this rule.

How do I set up my Online Access?

Once you have received your Welcome Letter confirming your membership number you can register for online access to your account by visiting the page and using the details in your Welcome Letter.

I've forgotten my Password - what do I do?

If you have forgotten either your PIN or your Password you can ask for these to be reset via the login page. If you have forgotten both these you will need to contact us at admin@cmcu.org.uk and we will reset them for you. Please keep your password and PIN confidential. If someone uses it to access your account we might not be able to prevent fraudulent transactions on your account.

How do I make a complaint?

Churches Mutual always strives to give members a quality service. If you have a complaint please first refer your complaint to the original point of contact.

You may contact us though the form on this website, by telephone on 01452 903 945 or in writing to the address at the bottom of this page. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, you will be given the opportunity to go through our complaints procedure.

A copy of this procedure is available upon request. As a last resort if you are not happy with the response you receive you can refer your complaint to the Financial services Ombudsman.

How long do you keep my information?

Churches Mutual does need to hold information for various lengths of time depending on what we use the data for. In many cases we will hold this information for a period of time after the member leaves the Credit Union but this must be reasonable and clearly stated.

A summary of our policy for retaining members’ data is available and a full copy is freely available upon request from admin@cmcu.org.uk.

How do I send in my bank statements?

If you need to send us bank statements, for example if you cannot use Open Banking, most online banking provides the facility to download bank statements as a PDF or a CSV file and these can be sent to us as an email attachment or uploaded through our secure document submission form on this website. If you usually receive paper statements these can be scanned or if you use a smartphone photographed and sent as an email attachment to loans@cmcu.org.uk. If you would prefer not to email bank statements, you may submit them by post to

212 Conway House,
Worcester Street Gloucester,
GL1 3AJ

but please be aware this may cause a slight delay to your application.

Why Churches Mutual?

Ethical • Competitive • Friendly • Transparent

We offer competitive, affordable loans and ethical savings to lay or ordained ministers, employees or trustees associated with our partner churches. Our friendly personal service provides direct access to a member of our expert, impartial staff advisors.

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