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Membership

Churches Mutual is a Credit Union – a mutual society offering savings and loans which is co-operative owned and controlled by its members.

Who is Churches Mutual?

It was formed in collaboration by the Church of England, the Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church of Great Britain, the Church in Wales and the Scottish Episcopal Church. It is run by a small but professional staff and governed by a volunteer board. The Common Bond now includes eligible members of the United Reformed Church and The Roman Catholic Church of England & Wales and of Scotland.

Since launching in February 2015 it has processed over 1500 applications from individuals and a further 62 from corporate bodies such as individual churches and regional church bodies such as presbyteries and synods.

More information about Churches Mutual, including a copy of our most recent accounts can be found on the news page.

Why choose a credit union?

Credit Unions exist for the benefit of the people who use them. They are mutual, not-for-profit organisations therefore the only shareholders they have to satisfy are the savers and borrowers. It is a simple method of circulating money for the benefit of all who belong to the credit union.

Join Churches Mutual

When you apply for an account with Churches Mutual, we ask you to provide information about yourself. This includes information about who you are, where you live, and who you bank with. This information is sent through our secure website to Transunion, an external credit reference bureau who validate the information given and provide us with a report in order to satisfy identity checks and Anti-Money Laundering legislation.

Full details of how Churches Mutual treats your personal information can be found on our Privacy Notice.

If you are happy to provide Churches Mutual with information to use in this way, please proceed to the account application page. If you are not willing to provide this information, please contact us but please be aware that we cannot open an account for you if we are unable to verify your identity.

Corporate membership

Churches Mutual is a not-for-profit savings & loans co-operative. It is dedicated to encouraging people to save, but also promotes responsible borrowing by providing low cost loans at times of need.

Membership Benefits

The Credit Union offers a Corporate Savings Account with similar terms and conditions as the Covenant Account but without the minimum investment requirement (although the maximum remains £40,000) and can be added to at any time. Withdrawals can be made at any time -- however at busy times, such as May and June, the Credit Union reserves the right to request a 60 day notice period - please read the .

We also appreciate that it is often the Treasurer or Finance Officer who is faced with explaining the benefits of the Corporate Saver's Account to their committee. We have produced a sheet of FAQs or 'Treasurer's Tips' which may be useful. It can be downloaded here. If there is anything we have missed or could be clearer, please let us know.

Corporate Eligibility

Organisations that qualify under the Credit Union's common bond criteria can become corporate members and place sums on deposit with the Credit Union in order to help its other members.

These include Anglican, Church of Scotland, United Reformed, Roman Catholic and Methodist churches as well as other charities associated with these denominational churches.

How to apply

If your organisation would like to open a Corporate Savings Account with Churches Mutual Credit Union please read the information on this page and send us a completed corporate membership form. If you have any questions about the form or your eligibility please contact us.

Corporate Account Requirements

An organisation wishing to join the Credit Union as a corporate member should appoint representatives to be signatories to the account and to act on the organisations behalf (a minimum of two but no more than four).

Confirming & Verifying Signatories

In common with other financial institutions we require validation and identification of all signatories to the Credit Union account.

These representatives will be required to produce identification documents giving proof of name, date of birth and address in accordance with the Credit Union's normal identification requirements for individual members.

Details of the Organisation

In addition we will require details of all shareholders, directors or beneficial owners holding more than 25% of shares in the organisation who are NOT signatories.

Note – the Credit Union uses a Credit Referencing Agency to establish identification and verification and to prevent fraud and money laundering. The agency used retains your information for 12 months regardless of whether this application is successful or not.

To open a corporate account the Credit Union will also require additional information:
1. To verify you as a bone fide organisation one of the following:

  • A registered charity limited by guarantee or shares.
    • A copy of the registration documents.
  • A trust.
    • A copy of the Trust Deed.
    • A list of trustees, including names and addresses.
  • An unincorporated charity (such as a Church, Church Council or other church governing body).
    • Charity registration number and church number if applicable (if not the full name of the parish or church).
    • A list of officers, including names and addresses.

Note – The Charity Commission accepts that the churches within Churches Mutual Credit Union’s common bond are charities. The Charities Act 2006 required all religious charities in England and Wales with annual income over £100,000 to register with the Charity Commission. The Charities & Trustee Investments (Scotland) Act 2005 required all religious charities in Scotland to register with OSCR (The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator) whatever their level of income.

2. A copy of the following resolution: "We confirm that at a properly convened meeting it was resolved that":

  • "We wish to open an account with the Churches Mutual Credit Union and in doing so agree to abide by the social objects, rules, policies and procedures of the Credit Union."
  • "The individual/s representing our organisation will complete all required personal details and agreed to provide identification documents according to the requirements of the Credit Union, together with individual instructions regarding the conduct of the account (such as: any two to sign, address for correspondence)"
  • "The Credit Union will rely on the appointed representatives unless it receives written confirmation of changes to representatives."
  • "We will provide the Credit Union with evidence of eligibility to join the Credit Union."
Next Steps

Once you have appointed your representatives and passed the required resolution you may apply for corporate membership of Churches Mutual Credit Union using the corporate membership form. If you would like to discuss this further please call us on 01452 930360.

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.

Get in touch

For General Enquiries please fill in the form below. Or call us on
01452 930 360

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