"Credit Unions look to rebuild communities, support local people and lend responsibly. The pandemic has caused many people to feel financially unstable and we want to help with that."
Sheila Murtagh, Chief Exec Salford Credit Union
Eight Greater Manchester credit unions - who all form part of the SoundPound consortium - have joined forces to launch a new campaign - #HowsYourBalance #CreditUnionAwareness - asking members of the public to take part in a balancing act challenge to start a conversation about their financial well being.
The ‘How’s your balance?’ campaign marks Credit Union Awareness Month (October 1 to October 31)
Staff from Unify Credit Union, Salford Credit Union, and Manchester Credit Union, are posting photos of themselves balancing items on their heads as a way of engaging with members of the public to encourage them to talk to their local credit union about stabilising their bank balance with an affordable loan and savings plan.
Chief executive of Salford Credit Union, Sheila Murtagh, said: “Credit Unions look to rebuild communities, support local people and lend responsibly. The pandemic has caused many people to feel financially unstable and we want to help with that.
“Addressing your financial wellbeing is so important to making all areas of your life more balanced. It is a serious topic but we also want to have a bit of fun while doing it.
“Our staff have been taking on the How’s Your Balance challenge and posting them on our social media channels and I am looking forward to seeing how members of the public get involved.”
More than 65,000 people are members of credit unions across Greater Manchester, 80% of people who borrow from Greater Manchester credit unions spend the money locally and 70% of members continue to save regularly after repaying a credit union loan. Greater Manchester Credit Unions also have £20 million pounds available to lend and save borrowers £13 million in charges and interest.
To find out how you can improve your balance visit: https://soundpound.co.uk/
