By Leeza Clark

AMID A general disillusionment with main High Street banks, and a gradual erosion of a stigma of credit unions as a “poor man’s bank,” more and more Fifers are opting to take care of their money locally.

Susan Dryburgh is Fife Council’s credit union development worker and is passionate about the role they can play in changing people’s lives.

She said credit unions can help not only with savings and loans, but can also point the way to additional help if someone turns up with more serious money problems or a variety of concerns, so all the support and help they need is made available to them.

Susan felt the tide was changing and more people saw their local credit union, run by volunteers, as a friendly, more personal way to organise their finances. “It is for everybody, it is social banking,” she said.

New customers must show they can save first and build up their history with the credit union before applying for loans. People from all walks of life are now clients, not just those on low incomes, and many people needed help in managing their finances.

“There are a lot of people on relatively good incomes who have serious money problems,” she added. For example, members can have benefits paid in, automatically save some and repay a loan all under one roof.

The network will provide loans at competitive rates and encourage saving and can help with budgeting accounts that allow members to pay utility bills and rent by direct debit through their credit union account.

This allows them lower rates on utility bills, for example, without worrying about higher bank charges if they inadvertently go overdrawn.

“Everybody is treated as an individual. We try and do it holistically and work everything out. We are not salesmen, nobody is making anything out of it,” Susan said.

Fife’s credit unions also stepped in to offer help after the Farepak collapse. Collectively, the Fife network gave immediate loans of around £20,000 to Farepak customers.

To help the credit unions themselves is the Fife Forum of Credit Unions, established 10 years ago to provide support, training and advice and raise their profile. With credit unions identified as a key tool in tackling social exclusion and the Scottish Government viewing them as integral to the fight against financial exclusion, the credit unions look to the future.