Fair4All Finance launches credit union transformation programme for England

Fair4All Finance launched a credit union transformation programme for England on 10 February 2026, with a public consultation running from 10 February to 23 March¹. The programme is underpinned by an additional £30m of dormant assets funding and will be delivered with HM Treasury, ABCUL and other partners as part of the Government's Financial Inclusion Strategy¹.

The organisation set out a vision for 2035: to double the number of people in England saving and borrowing with a credit union, enabled by realignment across 8 to 11 regional concentrations and scaling of payroll and workplace credit unions¹. Delivery would follow a "hub and spoke" model aligned to devolved geographies so that mayoral and local leadership can convene partners along with key employment sectors¹. Investment would be prioritised where there is long-term regional buy-in and would support technology and shared services, product innovation and marketing, and governance and capital¹.

Fair4All Finance said it has invested over £20m in the credit union sector since it was formed in 2019¹. It cited figures on the scale of the sector and the need it addresses: there are 350+ UK credit unions serving around 2.15m adult members; around 16m adults are financially underserved and struggle to access affordable credit; one in four UK adults have less than £100 in savings; and LEK estimates up to £2bn of unmet affordable credit demand in the UK¹. It also said over 10m people in the UK are saving less than they used to, or have stopped completely, and that 24% of people in financially vulnerable circumstances have no insurance products versus 16% nationally¹.

The programme points to existing collaboration as a model. The SoundPound Group, a credit union cooperative in Greater Manchester backed by Mayor Andy Burnham, has developed partnerships including a product with Transport for Greater Manchester helping people make savings on annual bus travel¹. London Mutual Credit Union, Serve & Protect Credit Union and Plane Saver Credit Union recently marked a 10 year partnership with the Ministry of Defence enabling service personnel to save and borrow directly through payroll deduction; together the three credit unions now serve more than 28,000 members, reaching around 15% of the Armed Forces¹. Fair4All Finance also cited the ReBo programme in Ireland, which supported 212 credit unions in merger projects¹.

The dormant assets funding is for England only, though Fair4All Finance said it would like to collaborate across all four nations¹. It said the programme moves beyond piecemeal targeted grants to a single, coherent plan that removes financial barriers to change, allowing credit unions to act without carrying the usual restructuring risks¹. It also said it can support the incubation of Credit Union Service Organisations (CUSOs) so that functions from risk and analytics to member operations can be shared¹.

Why it matters for households

The programme concerns how credit unions in England are structured and funded, not the terms of individual accounts or loans. For members, the stated aim is more people saving and borrowing with a credit union by 2035, with growth concentrated in 8 to 11 regional areas and through payroll and workplace schemes¹. The consultation is open to feedback on the proposed outline, so the shape of the programme is not yet fixed¹. No changes to interest rates, fees, membership rules or the common bond that decides who can join a particular credit union have been announced¹. Anyone weighing a credit union against other providers can read how applying to borrow from a credit union works and how a credit union loan appears on a credit file. The wider policy context sits under financial inclusion.

What happens next

The public consultation runs on the Fair4All Finance website from 10 February to 23 March 2026¹. No date has been reported for the outcome of the consultation or for the start of programme delivery.