Bradford District Credit Union Launches New Initiatives to Help Communities During Festive Season

Friday 29 November 2024

Designed to help families take the stress out of the festive period, Bradford District Credit Union (BDCU) has unveiled two new loan products.

The first product is the company’s new Christmas Loan, which borrowers can use for the likes of food, presents and travel, as well as energy bills. Also created to help people take care of unexpected family expenses, BDCU’s new Family Loan allows families or individuals in receipt of child benefit to apply for a loan of as much as £1,500

Katie Hurrell, CEO at BDCU said: “We know that Christmas is an expensive time of year, so we’re delighted to be able to offer even more affordable loan options to the local community to help them reduce their money worries ahead of what can be a very stressful period.

“People should be aware that borrowing with a reputable credit union like ourselves is often significantly cheaper than borrowing from high-interest lenders and even some high street banks; only one is offering comparable rates to our updated Family Loan, for example.”

The two new loans come off the back of two successful projects that were available earlier this year: the £200 Microloan and the UniformSavers projects, both of which were funded by Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin’s ‘Cost of Living Fund’.

Following a meeting with BDCU and its partners, Mayor Brabin said: “Our emergency cost of living fund is making a real difference to people’s lives. I got to see the fantastic work that our partners at Bradford Credit Union are doing to distribute the fund and help the people in our communities hit hardest by the crisis.”

Both projects delivered significant positive outcomes for the local community, with the £200 Microloan Project enabling individuals with ultra-low credit scores to access mainstream lending and improve their financial stability and wellbeing.

Since launching last year, the UniformSavers Project has helped 285 single parent households develop positive saving habits and improve their financial resilience by providing them with access to a range of savings accounts and a £100 bonus to help with the cost of school uniforms.