HEY Credit Union Awarded National Award Highlighting Fairness Approach to Finance

Friday 28 November 2025

HEY Credit Union last year marked its 25^th anniversary by targeting new growth areas has now boosted its reputation with a national award for putting customers first. HEY Credit Union, was named UK Treating Customers Fairly Champions in the 2025 Smart Money People Consumer Credit Awards.

Matthew Stevens, CEO of HEY Credit Union said the accolade is a repeat of the organisation’s success in 2021 – the only other time it has entered the awards – and sends an important message of trust to the millions of potential customers who live in its expanded area.

Matthew said: “We’re delighted to receive this award, which reflects our team’s ongoing commitment to putting our members first. Treating people fairly is at the heart of everything we do – it’s what we aim for every single day. I’m proud of our dedicated staff and volunteers, whose hard work and empathy help to make a real difference in our members’ lives.”

Jacqueline Dewey, CEO of Smart Money People, added: “It’s a well-deserved win for HEY Credit Union, which is deeply committed to the financial wellbeing of its community. In difficult times, being treated with fairness and respect by a financial organisation is both noticed and truly deserving of praise.”

HEY Credit Union was founded in 1999 and has become the region’s leading member-owned financial co-operative. It now serves over 19,000 members and looks after their collective savings of more than £15 million. Since it was established, it has issued 88,000 loans with a total value of £67 million to help its member-customers afford their lives.

Matthew said the amount loaned has increased by around 10% in the past year and will continue to rise as a result of the move agreed at last year’s AGM to expand the geographical field of membership to include the whole of Lincolnshire and the York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority area.

Matthew said: “The expansion was successfully registered in January 2025 and builds on our traditional heartlands of Hull, East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire. It means we can now welcome members into our Credit Union who live or work anywhere in a wide region from the Yorkshire Dales in the north-west to Spalding and Boston in the south-east.   Our new area covers 2.54 million people and spans 118 postcode areas.”

Originally known as City of Hull Credit Union, the organisation started in a back room in Hull Guildhall to help council employees build up savings and get cheaper credit than they could get from other lenders. Over the years it opened up to serve anyone living or working in East Yorkshire and across the Humber and by the end of 2024 had a branch presence in Beverley, Bridlington, Driffield, Goole, Grimsby, Hessle, Scunthorpe and Withernsea, and membership extending into North Yorkshire.

Members have turned to HEY Credit Union for loans to help spread the cost of major spending on home improvements, cars, caravans and motorbikes, as well as holidays, furnishings, domestic appliances and household goods.  Other reasons for borrowing have included computer equipment, clothing, school uniform, vets fees, legal fees, family celebrations, bereavement costs, paying off a mortgage and consolidating debts to reduce monthly outgoings.

A Christmas Saver account, which lets members lock funds out of temptation’s way until the festive season, was introduced in 2006 at the request of members and is believed to be the largest Christmas Club in the Humber Region, with around £1.1 million saved into it each year.

The HEY Credit Union board has calculated that its members have saved more than £28m in interest charges by coming to them for affordable loans instead of dealing with doorstep lenders and other high cost credit providers.

In winning the UK Treating Customers Fairly Champions award, HEY Credit Union received 1,167 glowing reviews from member-customers, with an average score of 4.97 out of five stars and overcame competition from many well-known UK-wide financial service brands. HEY Credit Union was also a finalist in the categories for Customer Service Champion, Best Credit Union (North), and Best Credit Union Loan Provider.

Matthew said: “It was truly heartwarming to read the reviews on our website and we appreciate our members taking the time to give such positive feedback about their experience with the Credit Union. It reflects the ongoing mission of HEY Credit Union to provide fair, friendly, and ethical financial services that support the wellbeing of our members, and it is a standard we have upheld over the years.”