DISCOVER.....All about us
What is Discovery Credit Union?
Formed in 2003, we are a locally based not for profit financial co-operative owned and run by its members, for its members. We provide our members with a safe, secure place to save as well as a place to borrow money.
Our members all have something in common - we share what is known as a 'common bond' - we all live, work, volunteer or study in the City of Dundee.
How it works
When someone joins a credit union they open a share account and have shares in the credit union. It is known as a share account because individuals become part owner of the credit union. Your savings are your shares in the credit union. The value of your savings determines how many shares you have in the company.
Credit unions encourage members to save on a regular basis - how much you decide to save is entirely down to you. All our members' savings (shares) are pooled together. This pool is then used to make low interest loans to our members. We only lend to members of Discovery Credit Union.
We are directed and controlled by members who volunteer their time to sit on our Board of Directors.
Every member has an equal vote in the running of the credit union regardless of how many shares they own.
We hold an Annual General Meeting each year which gives our members an opportunity to have a say in how Discovery Credit Union is run.
Since we are a financial co-operative, instead of paying interest on your savings as high street banks and building societies do, any surplus the business makes after the deduction of operating costs and transfers to reserves, in line with legislative requirements, is returned to members in the form of a dividend. So any profit made goes back into the community, not into paying out big bonuses! As credit unions go, Discovery Credit Union is a fairly new credit union and has only been trading a few years, so we are still building up the business reserves and growing the membership. This means that to date, we have not yet been in a strong enough financial position to award an annual dividend. As the business continues to grow, we are hopeful that we will be able to announce a dividend within the next few years.
What's so different about Discovery Credit Union?
- - We don't have external shareholders to keep happy
- We don't pay out big bonuses!
- All our profits are reinvested in services for you
- We help the local economy by keeping your money in the community
- We won't take any unnecessary risks with your money
- We are regulated and insured so your know your money is safe
- You know you will be dealing with a friendly local face
- We look after our members and their families by providing free life insurance on your savings and loans - - Loans have no hidden fees or transaction costs
- We will never knowingly put members in debt that they cannot afford
- Loans can be repaid early with no penalty - and a saving on interest
Our promise to members
How we operate
Like all credit unions, Discovery Credit Union could not operate without all the hard work and dedication of our staff and volunteers.
Discovery Credit Union currently employs five members of staff:-
Anne Walker, Member Services Manager
Anne has responsibility for managing the every day running of the credit union.
Carole Smith, Sam McCallum and Ann Roberts, Member Services Officers
Their role is to assess loan application's, monitor the repayment of loans, pursue bad debt and deal with member enquiries and transactions.
Emma Allan, Member Services Assistant
Emma deals with all our member services at the front desk and is probably the first face you will see when visiting our main office.
Our Team of Volunteers
Volunteers are a valuable resource to Discovery Credit Union. They contribute their time and enthusiasm to compliment the work of our paid staff. We are very lucky to have several dedicated volunteers without whose help we would not be able to bring you our collection points. Hidden away in our back office, our team carry out many activities to help with the smooth operation of the business.
If you have some spare time on your hands and would like to find out more about volunteering with Discovery Credit Union, we are always welcome to receive enquiries. Please visit our Getting Involved page for more details.
Who manages Discovery Credit Union?
The strategic leaders in our organisation are all members who come from a variety of walks in life to form our Board of Directors.
The Directors are responsible for looking after your money, developing the business and ensuring we comply with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and Credit Union Act regulations. Directors have to be approved as 'fit and proper' by the FSA before they are allowed to make any decisions and receive full training for their role. The Board meets each month to monitor the performance of the credit union and make business decisions. We also have sub committees who may meet on a more regular basis to look at specfic parts of the business in more detail such as finance, marketing and HR issues and make recommendations to the Board.
Directors usually come from within the membership and serve for a period of three years before seeking re-election at our Annual General Meeting.
If you think you have got what it takes and would be interested in joining our board, please visit our Getting Involved page for further details.
Credit Committee
The Credit Committee is made up of members who meet weekly to assess loans, monitor and recover delinquent loans and look at ways to improve our loan policy.
Supervisory Committee
Known as the eyes and ears of the credit union, the Supervisory Committee acts as our internal audit ensuring the staff, volunteers and board members conduct the business as laid down in our policy and procedures.
Our Credit and Supervisory Committees are always welcoming members who would like to get a little more involved, so again, if you have some spare time on your hands, please visit our Getting Involved page for more information on volunteering with Discovery Credit Union.
The Credit Union Mission Statement
The mission of the credit union is to promote the financial well being of its members. To achieve this purpose the credit union is committed to providing a broad range of innovative financial products supported by the excellent service of a dedicated, well-trained staff team, assisted by volunteers from service point staff to helpers in the office, all overseen by our Board of Directors.
Our fair financial products and services are administered in accordance with sound management practices to maintain the financial strength of the credit union. The Board of Directors, Management and staff of the credit union hereby affirm that the efforts of Discovery Credit Union will be consistently and professionally dedicated to the accomplishment of our mission - providing fair financial services for all.
The Credit Union Story
The modern credit union movement traces its origins to Germany and to Friedrich Willheim Raiffeisen, The Mayor of a small town in southern Germany, who in 1849 formed societies, which later evolved into credit unions. The purpose of these credit unions was to enable people to help themselves in relieving debt and poverty.
A credit union is a democratic, financial co-operative owned and controlled by its own members. Each credit union is run only to benefit its members, all of whom have something in common - the 'common bond'. Discovery Credit Union's common bond is that all members live, work, volunteer or study in Dundee.
Credit Unions in the UK were in existence for some time before the movement gained momentum in 1979, when the Credit Unions Act was passed.
Since then, the Credit Union philosophy of mutual self-help has proved very popoular, and there are now over 450 credit unions affiliated to the Association of British Credit Unions (ABCUL) throughout Scotland, England and Wales.
In the UK over 750,000 members have recognised the value of credit unions, and have savings of over 500 million pounds. There are thousands employed in the sector and many more thousands are volunteers involved in the movement.
