Commsave Credit Union

Commsave Credit Union is a member-owned savings and loans provider with more than 43,000 members¹. It offers a range of savings accounts and affordable loans for almost any purpose, from a new car to Christmas expenses, along with a lottery, educational tools and a dedicated app². It began life as a workplace credit union for postal workers in Northamptonshire and now serves members across the country, having marked 35 years of growth³.

If you are looking for somewhere to save and borrow where the surplus goes back to the people who use it, Commsave is one of the larger UK credit unions. It is not a bank, and it does not offer the full range of services a bank does⁵. Loans can be applied for through an online account on the website and app, or by phone on 0303 0402 660⁶.

This page covers what Commsave offers across its products, who can join and how, how to bank with it, how to complain, and how your money is protected.

What Commsave Credit Union offers its members

Commsave describes itself as offering a range of services such as savings and loans². That is the core of what any credit union does: all credit unions offer savings accounts and loans, and they are not-for-profit community lenders providing affordable loans and savings¹⁰. A credit union provides loans, savings, bank accounts and other services to its members, and it is run by members to benefit communities rather than to make a profit¹².

Commsave's loans are available for just about any purpose, including a new car, children's savings, a computer, holidays, weddings, Christmas expenses or home improvements². The credit union also runs a monthly Friends of Commsave Credit Union Lottery, which all members are eligible to take part in². It offers a free and impartial benefits calculator, so members can get an assessment of all the benefits and tax credits they are entitled to and how to claim them².

Across the credit union sector more widely, many providers offer additional products such as junior savings accounts, Christmas savings accounts, prepaid debit cards, insurance products, cash ISAs and in some cases even mortgages¹³. Services vary by provider, and can include savings accounts, loans, foreign exchange and prepaid debit cards, with some offering current accounts¹⁴. Some credit unions also offer small, interest-free loans to members¹⁵.

Savings accounts at Commsave

Commsave offers a range of different savings accounts². Credit unions generally offer a range of savings accounts, including instant access accounts and ISAs¹⁶. Because credit unions are owned by their members, the savings you hold are your share of the organisation, which is why they are sometimes described as shares rather than deposits⁹.

The way a credit union works is that members pool their savings so they can borrow from each other at a low rate of interest¹⁷. Members' savings are used to fund loans to other credit-worthy members of the credit union⁹. That is the central mechanic: your savings do not sit idle, they fund lending to other members, and the interest paid by borrowers helps the credit union cover its costs and build a surplus.

Commsave does not publish its savings rates on this page, and rates change. For today's figures, check Commsave's own website. For the wider picture on how savings accounts work, including interest, access and protection, see the savings accounts guide. If you are considering a tax-free savings account, the ISAs guide explains how those work.

Loans from Commsave: what members borrow for

Commsave's affordable loans are available for just about any purpose, including a new car, children's savings, a computer, holidays, weddings, Christmas expenses or home improvements². You can apply as soon as you receive your membership number⁶.

To apply, you need to sign up for an online account to apply via the website and app, or you can call 0303 0402 660⁶. Commsave aims to give a decision as quickly as it can, with over a third of applications receiving an instant decision, though it can take 2 to 3 days during busiest periods or if additional information is requested⁶.

Across credit unions generally, if you are a member you can usually borrow at least two or three times the amount you have in savings, depending upon the loan policy of your credit union¹⁸. Borrowing is usually at a low interest rate and the repayments can have some flexibility²⁰. You usually need to have a history of saving with a credit union before you can borrow long-term loans and mortgages²¹.

How much a loan costs depends on the rate the credit union sets and the term you borrow over, so the interest you pay is worked out on the balance outstanding. Commsave sets its own rates and terms, and publishes them on its website.

For the wider picture on borrowing, including how interest and repayments work, see the loans guide. If you are weighing up whether to combine existing debts, the debt guide sets out the options and the risks.

Dividends: how a credit union shares its surplus

Unlike banks, Commsave distributes its profits to its members in the form of dividends and into projects and services that serve the community². That is the credit union model: the profit made by a credit union is shared evenly among savings accounts, and this is called the dividend¹⁰. Surplus income generated is returned to the members by way of a dividend and/or is directed to improved or additional services for members⁹.

A credit union will normally pay out a dividend to you once a year¹⁸. The amount you get depends on how much you have saved and how much profit the credit union has made²². Profit shares are distributed amongst credit union members annually and are known as a dividend¹⁶.

It is worth being clear about what a dividend is not. It is not a guaranteed interest rate, and it is not fixed in advance. It depends on how the credit union has performed and on the decisions its board takes about how much surplus to share and how much to reinvest. That is a different arrangement from a bank account, where the interest rate is set out in the terms.

Who can join and how to apply

Anyone can become a member of a credit union, but you must share a common bond with other members¹³. Each credit union has a common bond which determines who can join, based on living or working in the same area, working for the same employer, or belonging to the same association such as a trade union or church¹⁰. Membership of a credit union is based on a common bond¹³.

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 union¹². A credit union is a group of people connected by a common bond based on the area they live in, the occupation they work in, or the employer they work for, who save together and lend to each other at a fair and reasonable rate of interest⁹.

There is some flexibility around households. Anyone in the house of a person with a common bond with a credit union can usually join²³. As long as one member of a family meets the common bond requirements and has joined the credit union, the other family members living at the same address can usually join¹⁰.

To join Commsave, you fill in an application form to get started². For comparison, other credit unions handle this differently: Citysave Credit Union, for example, asks applicants to complete a simple online application form and aims to respond within one working day²⁴. Commsave's own joining process and any membership requirements are set out on its website.

Credit unions are registered societies. The legislation defines a credit union as a society registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965 by virtue of section 1 of the Credit Unions Act 1979, or a society registered under the Credit Unions (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 or the Industrial and Provident Societies Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 as a credit union²⁵. That registration is what makes the model distinct from a company.

Banking with Commsave: the app and online tools

Commsave supports all its members with their financial wellbeing and has a host of educational tools, including a dedicated app and a bank of financial blogs². That means day-to-day banking with Commsave is built around its app and online account rather than a branch network.

For loan applications, you need to sign up for an online account to apply via the website and app, or you can call 0303 0402 660⁶. So there are two routes: digital, through the app and website, or by phone.

Credit unions as a sector are not banks, and a credit union cannot offer overdrafts, mortgages, electronic banking services and payment methods or business loans in the same way as a bank⁵. That is a limit worth knowing before you join, particularly if you want a full current account with an overdraft. Some credit unions do offer current accounts, and MoneyHelper explains how credit union current accounts work¹². For the wider picture on day-to-day banking, see the current accounts guide.

Making a complaint to Commsave

Commsave defines a complaint as any expression of dissatisfaction from, or on behalf of, a person about its products or services, where they have suffered or may suffer financial loss, material distress or material inconvenience⁸. Complaints can be made in person, by telephone call, by email, by secure message, or by letter⁸.

The timescales are set out in Commsave's complaints policy, which was last reviewed on 22 June 2026⁸. On receipt of a complaint, Commsave will send a written acknowledgement within one working day⁸. Where a complaint is resolved and the complainant has accepted the response, verbally or in writing, within three working days, that concludes it⁸. Where that does not apply, a final written response will be provided within eight weeks⁸. If Commsave is not able to provide a response within eight weeks, it will write to the complainant to explain why it is not in a position to make a final response and state when it expects to be able to provide it⁸.

Complaints of a data protection nature must be acknowledged within 30 days⁸. Commsave keeps complaint records for a standard retention period of three years, unless a longer period is required due to legal, regulatory, or safeguarding considerations⁸. The Member Services Manager is responsible for the policy and keeping it up to date⁸.

For comparison, Citysave Credit Union acknowledges complaints within three working days of receipt and provides a final resolution within eight weeks²⁶. Credit unions generally have eight weeks to investigate and give a final response¹².

When to take a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman

If you are unhappy with Commsave's final response, or the eight weeks have passed without one, you can take the complaint to the free Financial Ombudsman Service¹². The ombudsman's own guidance is to make a formal complaint to the company first, and if they do not send a final response letter within eight weeks, or you are unhappy with their response, you can bring the complaint to the ombudsman²⁷.

Commsave states that complaints received from the Financial Ombudsman Service will be treated with the same level of competence, diligence and impartiality as direct complaints⁸. Where Commsave receives a complaint which is outside the time limits for referral to the Financial Ombudsman Service, it may reject the complaint without considering it and then explain this to the complainant in a final response⁸.

The ombudsman can look at how a lender or debt collection agency has behaved when dealing with your account, for events from April 2007 onwards, after you have been through the lender's complaints procedure²⁹. Under the Consumer Credit Act 2006 there are rights to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service about how your lender has dealt with your account³⁰. If you have a complaint about something a credit repair company has done since October 2008, you can ask the Financial Ombudsman Service for help³¹.

The Financial Ombudsman Service is free to consumers. If you are struggling with debt more broadly, free and impartial help is available from MoneyHelper and from debt advice charities such as StepChange and National Debtline.

How members' savings are protected

All shares, meaning savings, in an affiliated credit union are eligible for protection under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme⁹. Loans and savings are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme¹¹. Credit unions in the UK are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority³².

Commsave Credit Union Limited is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, with status effective from 2 July 2002, and its permissions include accepting deposits⁷. It also appears on the Bank of England's list of credit unions incorporated in the UK, under FRN 213407³³.

For context on the scale of the sector, UK credit unions had 2.17 million adult members in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of 0.60%³⁴. Membership stood at 2.15 million in the fourth quarter of 2024³⁵, and at 2.29 million in 2025. The figures come from different reporting points and are not directly comparable.

For the wider picture on how protection works across financial products, see the consumer protection guide. For how credit unions compare with other providers, see the credit unions guide.