Bradford District Credit Union Celebrates 30 Years of Service

Friday 26 January 2024

Bradford District Credit Union is marking its 30-year anniversary and celebrating the international acclaim it has achieved for its partnership work in Bradford with a special event on the 14^th July 2023.

Started by Bradford Council in 1993, BDCU was created when interest rates were 15% and staff were unable to get loans from banks. Its vision was to create an organisation that would serve as a beacon of hope for all, and a place where individuals could find financial security and empowerment.

Bradford Council staff member, Sean McNulty was the first member to join the credit union and said: “I am grateful to Bradford Council for setting up the credit union and I’m so glad my union encouraged us to sign up. Joining the credit union was the right thing to do for my family – it has always been there for me”.

BDCU has recently surpassed 9,500 members with savings of over £7.5m. In the past six years, BDCU has seen an increase of 6,000 people joining the credit union and this surge in membership is connected to the financial inclusion work it does for its community.

“We are delighted to share in celebration of 30 years of BDCU we will be providing our members with exclusive offers this summer including our Summertime Loan and much more.” CEO of BDCU, Katie Hurrell said.

A key area of business for the credit union is its community-based projects with local charitable organisations. Most recently, BDCU partnered with Inn Churches and launched its ‘FoodSavers’ campaign. This is a Bradford Council funded project, which has 10 outlets around Bradford and offers low-cost food to the community, where members can save into their BDCU accounts to build up their savings.

Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford Council Leader, said:

“We are very proud of our partnership work with the credit union. They do some great work with our residents across the district, and we are glad that we are able to support them especially at this time when families need the extra help that the credit union can offer more than ever before.

I also want to pay tribute to those staff volunteers’ pioneers who had the courage and foresight to carve out this new cooperative to support their colleagues.”

To find out more about Bradford District Credit Union and its other community projects, please explore their website here.