75 Years On – How the Windrush Generation Shaped the British Credit Union Sector

Friday 26 January 2024

The 22^nd June 2023 marked the 75^th anniversary of the HMT Empire Windrush ship arriving in Britain. Over 800 passengers were bought over on the boat from the Caribbean, and this has become a key moment in the story of the Black British contribution to our society. Members of the Windrush Generation have made incredible contributions to life in Britain, including in business, sport, entertainment, and politics and they were instrumental in the British credit union sector.

Many members of the Windrush Generation had great aspirations for their new lives in Britain but were sadly met with discrimination and barriers in daily life. Charles Nyamukasa from London Mutual Credit Union highlights in a blog piece that many individuals were excluded from the banking system due to explicit racism. This exclusion took the form of being denied loans or being charged unfairly high interest rates compared to other customers. These individuals often found themselves financially excluded and had little-to-no financial services to meet their needs.

Following this discrimination which barred many from accessing credit or savings products, a group of British-Caribbeans set up the first credit union in Britain in 1964; Hornsey Co-operative Credit Union. The credit union was founded by ten members of the congregation at Ferme Park Baptist Church and set out to provide fair savings and loans to its members no matter their race or financial situation. Hornsey later merged with London Capital Credit Union in 2013 and the legacy of the early credit union pioneers lives on.

British migrants from the Caribbean also brought their religious practices and faith-based groups as many Windrush migrants experienced exclusion from local places of worship. This led to the growth of Pentecostal faith groups in Britain which often started in living rooms and later graduated to rented church halls. As the Pentecostal ministries grew and looked to purchase buildings, Pentecostal leaders were turned away from banks when they sought credit. As a result, the Pentecostal Credit Union was officially born in 1980 founded by Reverend Carmel Jones.

Reflecting on their history, Shane Bowes CEO of Pentecostal Credit Union said:

“Despite the humiliation of racial prejudice, he [Rev Carmel Jones] made significant and groundbreaking achievements in his life. In fact, this racist exclusion propelled and inspired his attainments, one of which was founding the Pentecostal Credit Union – trading now for over 43 years.  PCU were proud to take part in the National Windrush 75^th Anniversary Service at Southwark Cathedral on 22^nd June 2023, where I retold his story.  We feel honoured to be given the opportunity to celebrate and to demonstrate our deeply held gratitude and respect for the courage and fortitude of the trailblazing and pioneering individuals that we today call ‘The Windrush Generation’.”.

“These stories are just some examples of the revolutionary work Windrush migrants undertook to make the British financial sector more inclusive and we give thanks to their efforts 75 years later” says ABCUL CEO, Robert Kelly.  For more information on the Windrush 75 visit here, and Charles’ full blog can be found here.