Frequently Asked Questions

Credit Unions are financial co-operatives, owned and controlled by their members.

Each credit union has a ‘common bond’ based on living or working links or membership of an association – which determines who can become a member.

Only certain people can join a Credit Union. This depends on the Credit Unions ‘field of membership’. See if you qualify to join Prison CU by clicking here.

Payroll deduction is available to serving and retired police officers and serving police staff via the certain police forces, to find out which police forces are eligible for payroll deduction, click here.

For the prison and probation family, deduction from your pay is available through NOMS payroll and the Scottish Prison Service.

For the military family, deductions via payroll are available through the MOD payroll for serving personnel and veterans.

If payroll deduction is not available, a direct debit arrangement can be set up instead.

In addition to your regular savings deduction via payroll, you may also arrange a bank transfer online or by contact us on 0121 700 1222 to make a debit card payment. You may also send a cheque payable to ‘Police Credit Union Ltd’.

You can amend your savings by sending in a written request to your local branch or phoning on 0121 700 1222.

Withdrawal requests may be made via the secure members access area, by telephone quoting your secure word (0121 700 1222) or via a signed request by post.

If you are between 16 and 65, your savings balance (to a maximum per member of £25,000) is doubled in the event of a claim on our life policy, available at no extra cost but initially subject to satisfaction of conditions. The sum is then paid to your estate, subject to legal requirements imposed on us.

Under the Cooperative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 a member may nominate a beneficiary to receive the balance of their account(s) on death, subject to a maximum of £5,000. If you would like to nominate a beneficiary please complete and return the Beneficiary Nomination Form.

We monitor your savings balance throughout the financial year on a daily basis and allocate dividend to your savings account in direct proportion to your balance over the year.

Your dividend is paid annually in arrears, very soon after the Annual General Meeting which is held early in the new year. The Board of Directors make a proposal for the dividend rate, based upon the income for the previous year (October to September) less operating costs and the allocation to reserves that we have to maintain at a regulated level. The dividend rate requires approval by the members attending the AGM.

Please note, it is your responsibility to declare gross income (but not returns from a Cash ISA) to HMRC.

Prison CU is a trading name of Police Credit Union Ltd.

Police Credit Union Ltd. is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority & the Prudential Regulation Authority (Registered No 213306)

Police Credit Union Ltd. is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. This means a members savings are covered by the FSCS Depositor guarantee scheme up to the value of £85,000.

If you are already a member of Prison CU, you can apply for a loan using our online application form, please click here. Alternatively, you can apply over the phone by calling 0121 700 1222, where a member of our team will be happy to talk you through the process.

If you are not already a member of Prison CU, but you would like to join and borrow in one convenient application form, please click here.

Any existing member of Prison CU that is over the age of 18, can apply for a loan via their online account management.

Any non-member over 18 who qualifies within our common bond can apply to join and borrow. If you are not already a member of Prison CU but you would like to join and borrow in one convenient application form, please click here.

Yes, it is our policy to perform a credit search with every loan application. This is to help ensure we are lending responsibly and protecting the interests of the members who save with us, however, the approval decision does not rely solely upon your credit score. All Prison CU loan applications are assessed by considering income and expenditure, level of debt and ability to repay.

Your repayments will remain the same but this will allow your loan to be cleared at an earlier stage. Therefore, you will pay less interest on the loan than was originally calculated.

There are absolutely no penalties for paying off a loan early, either in part or full. If you are in a position to do this, it will benefit you because you will not pay interest for the initial full term.

Loans are covered by life insurance at no extra cost up to age 70 (conditions apply). In the event of a claim, loans are paid off without further liability. At the same time, savings balances to a maximum of £25,000 are doubled and paid into the member’s estate.

If you are struggling financially and would like us to consider a reduced payment plan, please contact the office on 0121 700 1222.

Please be aware that before applying for reduced payments, you will be required to supply proof of household income and expenditure (usually payslips and bank statements) as part of our review process.

Any information submitted via the website is protected by standard industry encryption (https). In addition, we do not store any of your personal information on this website. Any details or correspondence regarding your account will remain strictly private and confidential for the purposes of a loan assessment, in accordance with the Data-Protection Act.

24/7 access to the following services:

• Account balances
• Loan applications
• PDF statements
• Withdrawals
• Internal transfers between accounts

You should receive one code to the mobile number and one code to your email address we have on file within one working day.

If you have checked your junk folders and still cannot find your codes please call 0121 700 1222 (Mon-Fri 9am – 4:30pm) and request your account is activated and a PIN number sent to your home address.

If you have forgotten your membership ID or PIN please call 0121 700 1222 (Mon-Fri 9am – 4:30pm).

Membership IDs can be confirmed over the phone and new PINs can be requested to be posted to your home address.

If you have changed address, your contact number or email address please call 0121 700 1222 (Mon-Fri 9am – 4:30pm) so that we can update your account.