1 in 10 UK adults have no savings: Are Credit Unions the answer?

Overview

UK Credit Unions and Community Banks are entrusted to look after £4.1 billion in savings. During UK Savings Week 2025 this session will look at how the co-operatives are supporting communities to improve their financial resilience. Hear from a not-for-profit about the products the sector has developed to help build saving habits, answer questions from practitioners in different sectors and discuss how they use the Money Guiders programme to provide safe guidance to their account holders.

This session will be facilitated by David Harris, Chief Marketing Officer at Northern Community Bank.

Money Guidance Competency Framework

Technical Domains 6) Savings & 3) Borrowing

Accessibility

The event takes place online and will be delivered in English. If you have any accessibility requirements such as visual or hearing impairment, or a neurodiverse condition that might affect your experience of the forum, please let us know in advance when you register your place and we will do our best to make sure you can access the session in a way that meets your needs.

The Money Guiders Programme

Money Guiders is provided by the Money and Pensions Service. It is a programme which seeks to help money guidance practitioners improve their knowledge, skills and confidence. Everything that the Money Guiders programme offers centres around the Money Guidance Competency Framework - it's there to help you better understand the full breadth and depth of money related issues that fall outside of the regulated financial advice service sector - the things you talk to your customers about.

Before attending the session, you could:

• Try out our money guidance confidence checker, to find out how you feel about the conversations you have with customers about money
• Spend some time considering the challenges you face in your work, specifically when you provide help and guidance to your clients or service users around money issues.
• Consider how you spot potential problems, how you can start conversations about money in a sensitive way and at an appropriate time?
• Think about how you can maintain good boundaries in your role as a money guidance practitioner within your main area of work?