Cashfields Credit Union

Cashfields Credit Union was registered by the Financial Services Authority in March 2007 and started operation in May 2007. Cashfields FSA Registration Number is 450158. It started with one collection point at Seymour Road Baptist Church on Thursday mornings and now has 6 collections. This means that it is open somewhere across the area for 65.5 hours a week.

Membership of Cashfields is open to anyone over the age of sixteen who lives or works (paid or unpaid) within the Ashfield District Council area or the villages of Linby, Newstead and Papplewick. Membership costs just £3 a year and is deducted from accounts at the beginning of October. This helps with the cost of administration. Members are entitled to a vote at the Annual General Meeting and have a say in how the credit union is run. Cashfields is a co-operative so members must have at least £1 in shares at all times.

Cashfields is run by members for members so none of the committee members are paid. Most of the collection points are also staffed by volunteers. All the committee members have Approved Person Status with the FSA and have had training in their role. There are 3 committees:

The Board of Directors

  • Manages the credit union and has a legal responsibility to protect members’ money
  • Manages staff and resources
  • Sets policies and procedures for operations
  • Plans for the future
  • Complies with all relevant legislation

The Credit Committee

  • Makes decisions about loans and share withdrawals
  • Carries out credit control

The Supervisory Committee

  • Carries out regular internal audit
  • Monitors the decisions made by the Board
  • Makes recommendations to the Board

There are currently two members of staff paid for by grants from Nottinghamshire County Council and Sutton Fair Share Trust, with money from the Big Lottery.

Amanda Osborne is the Administrative Assistant. She runs the back office, manages members’ accounts and supports the collection points. She recently gained a Level 2 NVQ in Customer Service.  Amanda says “Working here is really interesting and varied and I’ve met a lot of nice people”.

Pam Kearney is the Development and Training Officer/Manager. She is working on a project to develop collection points in Sutton-in-Ashfield and to recruit volunteers and develop the membership. She also supports the Board in finding new products and services, keeping up to date with changes in legislation and applying for funding.

Pam says “Credit Unions are like all small businesses. You have to be ready to do whatever needs doing, whether that means handing out leaflets or producing a business plan or making tea for volunteers. Everyone has to pull together”.   (photo to go with this)

Cashfields is affiliated to the Association of British Credit Unions Ltd. It is covered by the Financial Services Ombudsman (FSO) and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).