Saving with a Credit Union  

All members must save	Members of a Credit Union are shareholders with a maximum share holding of £5,000. To be a member you must save in a Credit Union; the act of saving enables the facility to obtain a loan. Members need firstly to have a record of saving over 13 consecutive weeks before loan applications can be considered. Once they have shown they can save consistently, members are then encouraged to seek loans within their budget. All Credit Unions must put their monies into their own Reserve Fund and profits, after all the expenditure needed to run the organisation has been fully covered, are returned to the membership, pro rata according to the shares they hold. By law a Credit Union may pay a dividend of up to 8%. Junior members (up to 16 years of age) are subject to different regulations and are restricted to holdings of up to £750. You can save as much or as little as you want. Saving is a condition of membership, because without regular savings by the members a credit union cannot improve its services. The supporters
Do my savings make interest?	YES, all Credit Unions must put money into their Reserve Fund and pay their expenses; the rest of the profit goes back to the members in a profit sharing scheme called ' dividends'. By law a Credit Union can pay a competitive return of up to 8% dividend.
Depositing money	Cash or cheque deposits can be made at collection points during normal opening hours. Cheques should be made payable to Stainforth and District Credit Union. Cash cannot be drawn on cheques for 3 working days. Third Party Cheques, (a cheque made payable to yourself) can be accepted, however a charge of £1 is payable to clear the cheque. Please note cash cannot be drawn on these cheques for 10 working days.
Withdrawing money	YES, providing a member has no outstanding loan, savings can be withdrawn at any time: Up to £100 instant withdrawal Up to £500 3-day notice Over £5001 week's notice. The amount of cash held on premises is kept to an absolute minimum - this is to protect staff and members' money. Cash withdrawals may be made from 1 Station Road up to a maximum of £100 per day. Amounts in excess of £100 are at the discretion of staff depending on the amount of money held on the premises. Larger amounts should be ordered three days in advance. Cash withdrawals from other collection points should be ordered in advance. Cheque withdrawals should be ordered, as the cheques require two signatories. There is usually no limit to the value of cheques and these can be made payable to third parties.
Example of the procedure for the withdrawal of shares held in a Credit Union	The rules governing Credit Unions allow members to withdraw their shares. This has to be done according to a given format and the member has to complete a form like the one illustrated below and agree to forfeit their rights to take out a loan for a period of 13 weeks: WEEK NO...............QUARTER.................W/D NO............................ NAME (IN FULL..PRINTED) .............................................................. ADDRESS........................................................................................   ACCOUNT NO.............   PRESENT SHARE BALANCE £................PRESENT LOAN BALANCE £......... I HEREBY APPLY FOR SHARE WITHDRAWAL £............. ......... NEW SHARE BALANCE £........... As a member of Stainforth and District Credit Union, by withdrawing these Shares/Savings, I have according to Legal requirements and Policy Rules of the Credit Union, forfeited my rights to apply for a Credit Union Loan until I have saved for 13 consecutive weeks. I acknowledge that I forfeit the right to any dividend on share withdrawn before the declaration of Dividend at the Annual General Meeting. DATE...........................PAID CASH/CHEQUE NO.................................... APPLICANT'S SIGNATURE............................WITNESS ................................   ALL WITHDRAWALS ARE SUBJECT TO MODEL RULES 'D' AND CREDIT UNION ACT 1979