Clockwise Credit Union

Clockwise is a credit union: a financial co-operative that lends and takes savings in and around Leicester, Coventry, Warwickshire, Nottingham and Rutland¹. It offers personal loans for a wide range of purposes, plus specialist loans such as credit builder loans, car loans, home improvement loans and loans for key workers, alongside savings accounts, a Cash ISA, a current account with a debit card and a budget account for bill paying¹. You can join if you live or work in Leicester, Leicestershire, Rutland, Coventry, Warwickshire, Nottingham or Nottinghamshire¹.

What it sells falls into two broad groups: borrowing and saving. On the borrowing side it offers personal loans for a wide range of purposes, plus specialist loans such as credit builder loans, car loans, home improvement loans and loans for key workers¹. On the saving side it offers instant access savings, a Gold Saver account, a Prize Saver account, a Cash ISA, a Round Up saving feature linked to its current account, a budget account for bill paying, and a current account with a debit card¹. Savings are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which covers savings up to £120,000 per person, the limit that has applied since 1 December 2025².

What Clockwise Credit Union offers its members

Clockwise describes itself as member-owned and not for profit, and its products are built around small-scale borrowing and regular saving rather than around a full banking range¹. There are no mortgages, credit cards or investment products. Instead the range covers the ground a local credit union typically covers: loans from small amounts upwards, savings accounts of several kinds, a current account with a debit card, a budget account that helps people spread the cost of household bills, and payroll membership, where loan repayments and savings are deducted directly from your wages¹.

The scale of the organisation is worth knowing, though its own pages do not entirely agree with each other. Some Clockwise pages report 32,500+ active members and £12m+ currently lent locally¹; others report 36,000+ active members and £30m+ lent locally⁵. Either way, Clockwise is one of the larger credit unions in its region, and its lending is concentrated in the communities its members live in.

Credit unions generally work differently from banks, and this shapes what Clockwise offers. MoneyHelper, the government-backed money guidance service, notes that credit union current accounts typically let you pay in or take out cash, have wages, benefits and pensions paid in, bank online, by mobile or by phone, and get budgeting advice and support, all for free⁶. The Building Societies Association adds that larger credit unions offer extra services such as Christmas savings accounts, Cash-based Child Trust Funds, ISAs, budgeting accounts and current accounts⁷. Clockwise fits that pattern: its product list is a close match for what the larger credit unions offer.

If you are comparing credit unions with banks generally, the credit unions guide sets out how they work, and the loans guide and savings guide cover the product types in depth.

Clockwise loans: how amounts, terms and purposes work

Clockwise's core product is the personal loan. Borrowing starts from as little as £50 and runs up to a maximum that depends on your individual circumstances⁸. Loan terms run from a minimum repayment period of 90 days to a maximum of 60 months⁸. Clockwise does not publish a single rate on all its pages, and the rate you are offered depends on the amount, the term and your circumstances; if you do not meet the criteria for a specific lending rate, it states it may offer you an alternative loan at an alternative rate⁹. For today's rates and a quote for your circumstances, check Clockwise's own loan pages.

The purposes you can borrow for are broad. Clockwise lists home improvement, holiday, car, wedding, appliance repair, moving cost, solar panel, credit builder and back to school loans among its options¹⁰. Several of these are specialist products with their own conditions: the home improvement loan, for example, is only available to members who are homeowners and are employed or self-employed, with a good recent credit history, and has a maximum term of 60 months¹¹. A homeowner Personal Plus loan follows the same pattern, with a maximum repayment period of 60 months¹².

The application process is designed to be quick. Clockwise aims to give an instant decision or let you know within one working day, and once approved, funds are typically transferred to your account within 24 hours⁸. You need to be aged 18 or over and able to provide proof of income¹³. The first stage is an eligibility check using a soft search, which has no impact on your credit score; a full credit check, using TransUnion, Experian or Equifax, comes only if you proceed to a formal application⁹. Loan decisions are made against criteria that consider affordability, credit history and your borrowing history with Clockwise¹⁵.

Credit builder and car loans from Clockwise

Two of Clockwise's specialist loans deserve their own explanation because they work differently from a standard personal loan.

The credit builder loan is a personal loan designed to help you build or rebuild your credit history with clear, manageable repayments⁹. The mechanism is simple: you borrow a small amount, repay it on schedule, and the repayment record is reported to credit reference agencies. Clockwise is careful about what it promises: making repayments on time may help your credit history, but improvement is not guaranteed, and missed or late repayments may harm your credit history⁹. In other words, the same feature that can build a credit file can damage it if payments are missed. If a credit builder loan appeals because your credit history is thin or damaged, the credit scores guide explains how credit files work and what lenders see.

Car loans from Clockwise work on an unsecured basis. Clockwise states that its car loans are completely unsecured and that it does not register a charge against the vehicle itself¹⁶. Two practical things follow from that. First, the loan funds are paid directly to you and not to the vehicle dealer or seller, so you can buy from a private seller as well as from a garage, with the approved funds transferred to your bank account as cash¹⁶. Second, because the lender has no security over the car, you can sell the car at any time, as StepChange, the debt charity, notes is the case with unsecured borrowing for a vehicle¹⁷. Selling the car does not end the loan: you remain responsible for the repayments either way.

Who can join Clockwise: the common bond area

Every credit union has a "common bond": something its members all share. MoneyHelper explains that credit unions work by all members sharing a common bond, such as living, working, studying or volunteering in a certain area, working in the same industry or for certain employers, or belonging to the same trade union⁶. Find Your Credit Union makes the same point: anyone can become a member, but you must share a common bond with the other members¹⁸.

Clockwise's common bond is geographical. You can join if you live or work in one of the following local areas: Leicester, Leicestershire, Rutland, Coventry, Warwickshire, Nottingham or Nottinghamshire¹. Membership is free¹⁹, and once you are a member you can use the full product range, not just one account.

The common bond can extend beyond the person who qualifies. The Building Societies Association notes that as long as one member of a family meets the common bond requirements and has joined, other family members living at the same address can usually join too⁷. StepChange similarly reports that anyone in the house of a person with a common bond with a credit union can usually join²⁰. So if one adult in a household lives or works in the Clockwise area, the rest of the household may be able to join as well, even if they do not themselves meet the area test. Clockwise's own pages state the live-or-work test, so it is worth confirming household eligibility with Clockwise directly before applying.

For how credit unions compare with banks and building societies as a category, see the credit unions guide.

Saving with Clockwise, the current account and the budget account

Clockwise's savings range has several distinct accounts, each aimed at a different saving habit.

• Instant Access savings: money is available with instant access, and you need to be a member to open one²¹.
• Gold Saver: a savings account open to Clockwise members, with interest paid quarterly²².
• Prize Saver: a savings account with instant access where savers are entered into prize draws rather than, or as well as, earning interest; Clockwise's ISA page sets a yearly limit on entries for this account²³.
• Cash ISA: a tax-free savings wrapper; Clockwise's Cash ISA terms confirm it is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme²⁴.
• Round Up savings: available to members who have an eligible Clockwise current account with a debit card; purchases are rounded up and the difference saved automatically²⁵.

The current account comes with a Visa debit card. Clockwise publishes a schedule of fees and charges for the account, effective from April 2025, under which depositing or withdrawing cash at a Clockwise branch is free, as is the virtual card in the Clockwise app and website²⁶. The account terms state that cash paid in is available immediately and all other payments, including any received via an associated debit card, are available within two hours²⁷. Cheques take longer: up to 15 working days after Clockwise receives the cheque²⁷. You can close the account at any time and there are no closure fees²⁷. The debit card account is an electronic money product issued for Clockwise by a third-party card issuer; the issuer named in Clockwise's current card terms²⁸ differs from the one named in its earlier terms²⁹. Check the current terms on Clockwise's site for which firm issues the card today.

The budget account is aimed at people who struggle to budget for important bills or make payments on time³⁰. You agree with Clockwise the amount you transfer into the budget account each week or month, and Clockwise pays the bills from it. The bills it can cover include council tax, mortgage or rent, gas, electric and water, home insurance, satellite or cable subscriptions and telephone³⁰. Any money left over can be transferred to another Clockwise account or to an external account³⁰. MoneyHelper notes that budgeting advice and support is one of the things credit union accounts typically offer for free⁶.

Two related services round out the range. Child Benefit can be paid into a Clockwise account by telling HMRC to update the account details, either by signing in to the Government Gateway or using the HMRC app³¹. And payroll membership lets you have loan repayments and savings deducted directly from your wages: you apply for Clockwise membership, add a payroll deduction to your application when prompted, and Clockwise contacts your employer to arrange it¹⁹. Clockwise publishes payroll partner pages for around 35 employers¹⁹.

For background on these product types, see the savings guide, the ISAs guide and the current accounts guide.

Repaying a Clockwise loan, paying early and cancelling

There are three main ways to make loan repayments to Clockwise: by standing order from your current account (either a Clockwise current account or any other), by having benefits or wages paid into your Instant Access account, or via payroll membership, where the repayment is deducted directly from your wages or salary¹³. Repayments can be made weekly, fortnightly or monthly, by debit card, standing order or from your benefits, and Clockwise charges no fee if you need to change your repayment arrangement¹⁴.

Paying early is free. Clockwise states there are no application fees and no early repayment charges on its loans⁹, and that you can pay off your loan early or make overpayments at any time with zero penalty fees¹³. This is worth comparing with some other forms of credit, where early settlement can trigger charges; with a Clockwise loan, clearing the balance early reduces the interest you pay overall.

Every Clockwise loan comes with a cooling-off period. You have 14 days from the date you signed the loan agreement to request a cancellation of the agreement¹³. To cancel, you must return the full amount borrowed under the agreement, and Clockwise will then refund anything you have paid, including any interest charged¹³. The same terms appear across Clockwise's loan products, including the homeowner Personal Plus loan¹².

If you repay by continuous card payment authority, a recurring payment taken from your debit or credit card, you may cancel that arrangement at any time by contacting Clockwise or your card issuer, and you must set up a new payment method¹⁵. Cancelling the payment authority does not cancel the debt: the loan still needs repaying by another route.

One thing Clockwise does not offer is doorstep lending, where an agent collects repayments in person. It explains that providing doorstep lending would dramatically increase its costs and therefore increase the rate of interest offered¹⁵. Repayments are collected by the methods above instead.

If repayments become unaffordable, help exists. StepChange notes that you have the right to complain to your lender if it gave you credit irresponsibly and you are now struggling financially as a result³², and free debt advice is available from charities such as StepChange; the debt guide sets out the options.

Complaints and what to do if something goes wrong

Clockwise publishes its own complaints procedure. Once you have made a complaint, it aims to contact you by the end of the next working day, and it aims to provide a full response within 8 weeks, although it normally resolves concerns much earlier². That eight-week timescale matches the standard MoneyHelper describes for credit unions generally: they have eight weeks to investigate and give you their final response⁶.

If Clockwise cannot settle your complaint, you can refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Clockwise's Cash ISA terms state it plainly:

The referral must be made within six months of receiving Clockwise's final response²¹. The ombudsman is free to use and independent, and its decisions bind the firm if you accept them. For how the process works across financial services, see the consumer protection guide.

For the card account specifically, the terms set two further deadlines. The terms require you to contact Clockwise without undue delay, and in any event within 13 months, on becoming aware of an unauthorised or incorrectly executed payment²⁹. Clockwise will respond to a card account complaint within 15 business days of receiving it²⁹. For unauthorised withdrawals on your account more generally, Clockwise states it will investigate and normally refund you by the end of the next working day²¹.

If your complaint is about lending rather than service, for example if you believe a loan was granted without proper affordability checks, StepChange sets out your right to complain to the lender about irresponsible lending³². Complaints about how your data has been handled can be taken to the Information Commissioner's Office, which also handles disputes about complaint outcomes².

How your money is protected at Clockwise

Savings with Clockwise are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS deposit limit has been £120,000 per person since 1 December 2025, and Clockwise's Cash ISA page states that money held with Clockwise is protected by the FSCS up to £120,000 per person and that the FSCS would refund you up to the £120,000 limit²³. The Building Societies Association confirms that credit union savings are protected by the FSCS⁷. For joint accounts, each person is protected up to Clockwise's maximum deposit limit²¹.

The current account is covered too: the account terms state it is covered by the FSCS, which would pay compensation to eligible depositors if the credit union became insolvent²⁷. The card account is different. Because it is an electronic money product, the terms state it is not covered by the FSCS; instead, funds received are held in a segregated account, so that if Clockwise became insolvent your funds would be protected against claims made by its creditors²⁹. In practice this means savings balances and current account balances carry FSCS protection, while the e-money card balance relies on segregation instead.

Loans are not protected in this sense: FSCS covers deposits, not borrowing. If you have a loan with Clockwise and the credit union failed, the loan would still be repayable. Clockwise appears on the Prudential Regulation Authority's list of UK credit unions⁴, and anyone can check its status on the FCA Register³.