Credit union continues to support officers financially through pandemic

11 February 2021

A not-for-profit organisation that helps to secure the financial future of officers says it is proud to have been able to continue supporting its members after adapting services in response to the ongoing pandemic.

In its annual report, Serve and Protect, which includes Police Credit Union (PCU), says it took measures early on in 2020 to ensure it could remain fully operational for its members during the Covid-19 crisis.

Reflecting on the past 12 months, CEO Paul Norgrove, says he is both “humbled” and “proud” of his team, the organisation and its members.

“In these challenging times, it was you, our members, that responded to the needs of the nation and embodied the notion of people helping people,” he says.

“Last year, we promised we would deliver the highest standard of service, little did we know at the time that the world as we knew it was about to change. 

“While 2020 was not the year we had planned, we have continued to move from strength to strength issuing more loans than ever before, with almost half of these to help our members consolidate higher cost credit and reduce their monthly expenditure.”

The annual report explains Serve and Protect, which also includes the Military, Prison, Fire and Health Credit Unions, welcomed 6,000 new members, looking after £62 million of members’ savings, while lending more than £25 million in affordable loans.

Serve and Protect currently serves over 34,000 members – with 23,728 members from the police family, helping them save over £60 million and with over £25.5 million out on loan.

“In these difficult times we were able to offer support to our members who were unable to meet loan payments due to their household income being affected by coronavirus,” added Paul.

“We also launched a member wellbeing call back service where our team volunteered to call members who may have been isolating and were alone in their homes - something that we are all incredibly proud of."

Over the year, Serve and Protect launched a faster payments system, which meant members could withdraw and receive any necessary funds on the same day and launched a mobile app, which means members are now able to access their services from across the globe.

Officers and staff can benefit from a range of deals on their savings accounts, having paid a 1.2 per cent return on the easily accessible Regular Saver, it also offers a Junior Saver, which helps members to financially prepare for the future of their children or grandchildren.

Learn more.

Read the Serve and Protect annual report.