Who We Are
As a financial not-for-profit co-operative, Advance Credit Union is ‘owned’ by the 5,000 members who save and borrow with the credit union. Unlike a conventional bank, a Credit Union is run by the people who use it. All of our adult members can vote on key decisions at our Annual General Meeting or volunteer for one of our committees or board. Anyone who lives or works within a ‘B’ postcode including Birmingham and Solihull Borough can join.
The board of directors are unpaid volunteers and bring their skills and experience to the running of the credit union and ensure compliance with our statutory duties.
We have 8 staff at our office in Erdington who manage the day-to-day operation led by our CEO Phil Cole.
Volunteers act on our committees and staff our community Collection Points. Find out more about Volunteering.
We also work with partner organisations who provide essential support and promote credit union membership.
Find out more about our ethics, governance and transparency.
What We Do
We offer a convenient and safe way to put some money away for the future and a cost-effective way to borrow ethically and responsibly. Most of our members save by Payroll Deduction, standing order, Child Benefit or other benefits paid in. We have a customer service desk at our office in Erdington plus a network of community Collection Points across our region.
Membership of Advance Credit Union is open to everyone who lives or works within a ‘B’ postcode including Birmingham and the whole of Solihull Borough, find out more about joining.
We encourage everyone to save regularly, even a small amount, and those savings are lent back exclusively to credit union members in our community. As part of our ethos, we do what we can to help people manage their money. We won’t lend if repayments are not affordable for the borrower. Every year we loan more than £2.2m to our members to help spread the cost of Christmas, home improvements, car purchase, holidays, weddings, funerals and many other purposes.
Credit unions are for everyone in our community, regardless of income. For this reason we especially provide essential financial services to many people who would otherwise be financially excluded and susceptible to loan sharks and sub-prime lenders.
In addition to savings and loans Advance Credit Union offers a variety of other services:
- Internet banking
- Prepaid debit card Account
- bill payment/ debt management
- Tenant Saver accounts
- Free life and loan insurance
Not only do we help individuals and families manage their money, we also provide valuable volunteering opportunities that help to boost the CV and work experience of those between jobs or seeking work. We also enable those with specific skills and experience to apply their capabilities to the operation of the credit union and ensure compliance with our statutory duties. Find out more about volunteering with Advance Credit Union.
Vacancies
Paid and volunteer roles with Advance Credit Union are posted here and on our Careers Portal. Volunteer roles are also listed on Reach Volunteering and Linkedin. Paid roles may also be listed on Indeed and other recruitment portals.
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Interim Chief Operations Officer Full time (35 hours a week) six-month, fixed term contract: start date January 2024 for initial six months Salary dependent on experience: circa £50k p.a + bonus for performance against objectives set by the Board Location: Advance Credit Union offices are located in Corporation Street (Birmingham City Centre) and in Erdington. The role can work flexibly across both offices. To apply please provide your CV and a cover letter explaining your suitability for the role to va@advancecu.org.uk Application deadline: 5pm on November 29th 2023
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Business Analyst Full time (35 hours a week) six-month, fixed term contract: start date January 2024. Salary dependent on experience: circa £21k p.a Location: Advance Credit Union offices are located in Corporation Street (Birmingham City Centre) and in Erdington. The role can work flexibly across both offices. To apply please provide your CV and a cover letter explaining your suitability for the role to va@advancecu.org.uk Application deadline: 5pm on December 1st 2023
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Volunteer Director The role of a Credit Union Director is to help shape the strategic direction of the Credit Union and ensuring the credit union maintains a sound financial state and operates within the law, rules and the Credit Union’s policies and procedures. As part of a team of volunteer Directors, you will work with the CEO and staff, bringing your experience, knowledge and skills to work together in promoting the continued success of Advance CU. Apply
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Volunteer Internal Auditor A great opportunity to gain experience or apply your knowledge as part of our internal audit team, verifying our compliance. A part-time volunteer role with flexible working hours. Contact us for further information. Volunteer
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From time to time we do have Volunteering opportunities, find out more about volunteering with Advance Credit Union. |
What our Members think of us
‘Great service the people are very helpful’, ‘Thank you for helping me out of a hole :)’
‘It’s just a fabulous place and has outstanding staff and services it’s brilliant …thank you for everything you do. Top marks’
‘Have always had a fabulous experience at advance credit union, professional non-judgemental staff, excellent service ‘
‘Very happy with credit union their loans have really helped me out and I’m happy with the repayments ‘
‘I love it! Paying for a loan but also saving’
Read more of our reviews on Google and Facebook
Membership of Advance Credit Union is open to everyone who lives or works within a ‘B’ postcode including Birmingham and the whole of Solihull Borough, find out more about joining.
History
Advance Credit Union was founded in 1989 as the Erdington and District Credit Union Ltd by a group of people with a common interest who joined together to save money and then loan it out to each other at a small cost.
In 2004 we became the North Birmingham Community Credit Union Ltd (NBCCU), merging Credit Unions in Erdington, Sutton Coldfield, Castle Vale, Kingstanding, then incorporating Saltley District Credit Union in 2007.
In April 2013 we changed our name to Advance Credit Union Ltd to better reflect the growth and outlook of the credit union.
Membership has continued to grow to more than 5,000 adults and 400 juniors. We hold assets in excess of £4million and lend more than £2.5m each year. We have office premises in Erdington and community based Collection Points throughout our region operated by our volunteers and partner organisations.
2019 was our 30th anniversary as a credit union! To celebrate this milestone we extended our Common Bond area to include all ‘B’ postcodes so we now cover the whole of Birmingham, Tamworth, Redditch and Solihull Borough. In 2019 we achieved Fairbanking 5-star status for our loans, and we held this accreditation until the Fairbanking Mark scheme ceased operating on 31 October 2021. 2019 we also employed 2 additional staff, Small Heath Credit Union transferred to AdvanceCU and we continued to see steady growth in active members, savings and loans. 2020 and Covid-19 has been a difficult year for all of us, we worked to support our Members to ensure they had money available when they needed it, we continued to grow with new Members joining us during the pandemic. 2021 sees the opening of our new city centre branch; bringing credit union to even more people in our region. Saving regularly and borrowing affordably remain core to what we do and we have great things planned to continue growing as we serve the communities of Birmingham and Solihull.
Accreditation and Authorisation
Advance Credit Union Ltd is Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Registered number 213228. Registered Company No. IP00130C on the Mutuals Register.
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Your money is safe; savings are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. |
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We operate a complaints policy and any complaints that we can’t settle may be referred to the Financial Service Ombudsman Scheme |
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We are members of the leading credit union trade body Association of British Credit Unions Ltd (ABCUL) |
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Our loans were independently 5-star accredited by the Fairbanking Foundation and we held this accreditation until the Fairbanking Mark scheme ceased operating on 31 October 2021 |
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As an ethical and responsible employer we are registered as a Living Wage Employer. |
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We are registered as a committed Disability Confident employer. |
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We are Cyber Essentials certified. |
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We are members of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce |
Where we are
View Advance Credit Union Ltd in a larger map
The Advance Credit Union has two offices:
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 200 Sutton New Road Erdington, Birmingham B23 6QU (map) |
And our new branch at 118 Corporation Street Birmingham B4 6SX (map) |
0121 350 8883
Phone hours:
| Monday – Friday | 10am | 1pm |
Bus stops outside including: X3,X4,X5,25, 28,38, 53, 66, 88, 89, 110,167, 168, 600,966. Plan your journey
Erdington train station within 300m. Book your ticket
Free street parking outside. Plan your route
Many AdvanceCU members manage their credit union accounts using our internet banking and never visit our office.
Blue badge parking available immediately in front of our Erdington office The customer area is accessible via a DDA compliant power-assisted door, touchpad entry. There is a slight slope, but no steps. Sorry, no public toilets available.
We don’t have a specific autism hour or quiet-hour, but if you prefer to visit when the office is quieter then Thursdays and Fridays are your best option.
We accept payments by Payroll Deduction, Bank Standing Order, Child Benefit, other benefits, cheque and cash (Erdington branch only).
In addition you can learn more about credit union with one of our community partners, see credit union in the community. These are operated by our community partners and volunteers and are open at various times during the week.
Our Partners
Advance Credit Union would not be what it is today without the invaluable assistance of our partnerships.
These organisations help us by operating a Collection Point, promoting our work and by sharing our values and objectives.
