Community First Community Bank

Community First Community Bank is a credit union, not a bank. It is a not-for-profit lender owned by its members, and it offers savings accounts and personal loans to people who live or work in its common bond area¹. It also appears on the Bank of England's list of UK-incorporated credit unions².

It offers personal loans, business loans, community group loans, savings accounts and a budgeting account service. Membership is the gateway to all of it: you must be an account holder to borrow, and a loan applicant must be in receipt of direct electronic payment to their credit union account, which may be wages, benefits or a pension³.

Money held with it is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £120,000 per saver, the same protection that covers banks and building societies⁴. Anything above that limit is unlikely to be covered⁴.

What Community First Community Bank offers

Community First is a credit union, which means it is a not-for-profit financial provider that helps people access banking products such as accounts, savings and loans, and is run by its members to benefit communities rather than to make a profit⁶. Credit unions are cooperative financial institutions, and most local areas have one⁷. The Welsh Government's guidance describes them plainly as not-for-profit community lenders providing affordable loans and savings⁹.

Its product range covers four areas. Personal loans are the main borrowing product, assessed by its own loan officers. Business loans and community group loans extend borrowing to enterprises and to groups funding local projects. On the savings side it offers savings accounts, including a Young Savers account that encourages saving for juniors⁴. The Budgeting Account Service is a separate account for paying regular bills⁴.

Credit unions generally offer loans, savings and current accounts to their members¹⁰. Community First's own range is narrower than that of a high street bank: it does not publish a current account with an overdraft, and its savings and budgeting products are built around regular saving and bill payment rather than day-to-day card spending. If you want a full current account with a debit card and overdraft, the current accounts guide sets out how those work and what to compare.

For savings more broadly, the savings guide explains how interest is calculated and how to compare accounts. For borrowing in general, the loans guide covers the different types of loan and what lenders look at.

Personal loans from Community First

Personal loans are the core of Community First's lending. The credit union states that all its loans are provided subject to status and affordability, and that it will never encourage you to borrow more than you can afford, with loans tailored to your needs⁵. Each application is assessed by its loan officers for affordability, and your personal circumstances are taken into consideration⁵.

That approach reflects how credit unions generally work. The Welsh Government's guidance notes that credit unions always consider affordability when assessing loan applications⁹. Credit unions often support people on a low income, or people who have never borrowed before, which is a group that mainstream lenders can decline⁷.

It is worth being clear about cost. Credit union loans are often more expensive than personal loans from a bank or building society¹². That does not make them a bad option, but it means comparing them against what else is available before committing. The loans guide explains how lenders price personal loans and what the total cost of credit includes.

Community First does not publish its loan rates on this page, and rates change. Its own site carries today's figures. What matters for a borrower is the total amount repayable over the term, not the headline rate alone.

Business loans and community group loans

Community First lends to businesses as well as to individuals. It describes its business loan as a solution at a competitive rate with flexible terms¹¹. It also offers community group loans, for funding activities that benefit a local community, whether that is a community project or developing the local area¹¹.

This puts Community First in a category of lender sometimes called a community development finance institution, or CDFI. CDFIs across the UK support different types of customers: people and households, businesses and entrepreneurs, and social enterprises and charities¹³. If you run a small business, a social enterprise or a community group and a high street bank has declined you, this is the part of the market that exists for exactly that situation.

For a business borrower, the practical questions are the same as for any loan: how much is being borrowed, over how long, at what total cost, and what happens if income falls. Business Debtline's guidance on business and household budgets is written for people in that position, and it separates business debts from household ones so that a business problem does not automatically become a household one¹⁴.

Community group loans work differently from personal loans because the borrower is an organisation, not an individual. That usually means the group needs to show how it is constituted and how it will repay, and the people running it need to understand that they may be personally responsible depending on the structure. The debt guide covers what happens when repayments cannot be met and what options exist at that point.

The Budgeting Account Service

The Budgeting Account Service is designed for paying regular bills. Community First describes it as making regular bill payments easy⁴. The idea is straightforward: you pay regular amounts into the account, which helps you plan ahead and keep up with your regular bills¹⁴.

This is a well-established approach to household money management, and it suits people whose income arrives in a lump, such as monthly wages or benefits, but whose bills fall at different points in the month. By separating bill money from spending money, the account reduces the risk that a bill is missed because the money was spent earlier in the month.

To use it you need to be a Community First account holder⁵. The account is not a current account in the usual sense: it is a place to hold money earmarked for bills rather than a spending account with a card and overdraft.

If you want help with budgeting more generally, free and impartial services exist. Community Money Advice offers budgeting or debt advice through its local centres¹⁵. The Consumer Council offers talks, presentations and resources for community organisations, businesses and charities to help people learn about budgeting¹⁶. Budgeting apps and price comparison sites can also let you view accounts from multiple providers in one place, through account information sharing services¹⁷.

Who can borrow: membership and eligibility

You must be a member of a credit union to get a loan from it, and some will ask you to build up savings first¹⁸. Community First's own requirement is that you are a Community First account holder, and that a loan applicant must be in receipt of direct electronic payment to their credit union account, which may be in the form of wages, benefits or a pension³.

You must also be over 18 years of age to apply⁵. Membership of a credit union is based on a common bond, which is the link that qualifies you to join, such as where you live or work⁸. Credit unions have been widening eligibility: one industry announcement describes eligibility widening to include students, local workers and relatives of existing members, reflecting the way people live and work¹⁹.

Credit unions are customer-owned financial institutions based across the UK in local communities²⁰. That ownership model is why membership matters: as a member you are one of the owners, not a customer of an outside shareholder.

If you are not sure whether you qualify, the credit unions guide explains how common bonds work and how to find the credit union for your area. The getting started guide covers the basics of opening any kind of account.

How loan applications are assessed

Community First assesses each application through its loan officers, looking at affordability and taking your personal circumstances into consideration⁵. This is a manual, human assessment rather than an automated score alone, which is characteristic of credit union lending.

The affordability check looks at what is left after you have paid your bills. Credit unions generally check affordability against the money left after paying bills, and some will lend as soon as you become a member while others only lend after you have saved for a set period²¹. Community First's terms allow it to refuse a loan, defer granting one, or limit the size of a loan granted³.

You will need to provide supporting documents. Community First asks for the last two months' bank statements for all accounts you hold, including savings accounts, to prove household income and expenditure⁵. It may also ask for proof of housing benefit or council tax benefit, proof of any other creditors, proof of deductions from benefits, a Universal Credit breakdown of award entitlement, and any other relevant supporting documents⁵.

Separately, its terms state that proof of ID and proof of address must be held on record for all members³. If you have moved recently, getting that up to date before applying avoids a delay.

For comparison, banks and building societies should give a decision about a loan application within a couple of days²². Community First states that it may take up to five working days to get a decision back to you, and that this can apply at peak times⁵. That is a longer wait, and it is worth knowing before you apply if you are working to a deadline.

How to apply: online, in branch or at an outreach centre

You can apply for a loan online through the member's area by logging into your account, or in branch or at an outreach centre using an application form⁵. The outreach centre route matters for anyone who cannot easily reach a branch, and it is a common feature of credit union lending in local communities.

For context, most account applications in the wider market can be made online, using an app, over the phone or in person, depending on the account²³. Personal loans can generally be applied for in person at a branch or by post, phone or online²⁴. Credit cards can be applied for online, by post, by phone, or at a bank or building society²⁵. Community First's routes are narrower than that, which reflects its branch and outreach model.

If you are applying for a basic bank account elsewhere, note that you will often need to apply for one of the bank's other accounts first, such as their standard current account, and you can usually apply online, by phone or in a branch²⁶. Credit union current accounts may carry a monthly fee²⁶. Community First's own account opening process runs through its member services, and its site carries the current steps.

Saving from your wage through payroll deduction

One of the distinctive features of credit union saving is payroll deduction: money is taken from your wages before it reaches your spending account and paid into your savings. Community First's terms refer to members being in receipt of direct electronic payment to their credit union account, which may be wages, benefits or a pension³. That direct payment is the mechanism that makes regular saving automatic.

The principle is the same as any direct payment into an account. Basic bank accounts let you pay in wages, salary, benefits and tax credits directly, pay in cheques and cash, pay bills by direct debit, and withdraw money from cash machines, though they do not come with a cheque book or an overdraft²⁷. A credit union savings account works on the same direct payment principle, with the difference that the money is being saved rather than spent.

Community First offers savings accounts including a Young Savers account that encourages saving for juniors⁴. For anyone building a savings habit from scratch, the savings guide explains how regular saving accounts work and what to look for. If you are saving towards a specific goal, the ISAs guide covers the tax-free options.

How your savings are protected

Eligible deposits with Community First are protected up to a total of £120,000 per saver by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the UK's deposit guarantee scheme⁴. Any deposits you hold above that limit are unlikely to be covered⁴. Credit union savings are protected by the FSCS in the same way as bank and building society savings²¹.

The limit applies per saver, per firm. If you have money in multiple accounts with multiple banks that are part of the same banking group and share a banking licence, they are treated as one bank, and the limit applies across all of those accounts⁴. Community First is a single firm, so money held across its savings accounts and budgeting account counts together towards one limit.

Community First's own terms also state that savings are insured by the board of directors against loss, costs and expenses incurred as a result of mismanagement, fraud and dishonesty³. That is an internal protection and is separate from FSCS cover, which is the statutory scheme.

Before dealing with any financial firm, the FSCS advises checking that your provider is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority³³. You can check a firm's authorisation and reference number on the Financial Services Register¹. Community First Community Bank is authorised, and its permissions include entering into regulated credit agreements as lender, excluding high-cost short-term credit, bill of sale agreements and home collected credit, and accepting deposits¹.

Contacting Community First and complaining

If something goes wrong with a loan, a savings account or the budgeting account service, the first step is to raise it with Community First directly. Its branches, outreach centres and member services are the routes in, and its site carries current contact details.

If you are not satisfied with the response, you can take the complaint further. Banks and building societies have a set complaints process, and the same principles apply to credit unions: complain to the firm first, and if it is not resolved you can escalate³⁴. Business Debtline's guide to complaining about your lender sets out how the process works and what to expect at each stage³⁴.

Free and impartial help is available if you need it. StepChange Debt Charity provides debt advice²⁹. Independent Age explains the different types of debt and how they are treated³⁵. National Debtline has guidance on harassment by creditors, which covers what a lender may and may not do when chasing a debt³⁶. StepChange also has information on help with the cost of living³⁷.