Nottingham Credit Union

Nottingham Credit Union is a member-owned, not-for-profit financial co-operative based in Nottingham. It offers savings accounts and loans to people who share a connection with the area it serves, and it has previously traded under the names Fair Goose Credit Union and Fair Goose & Radford Credit Union¹. It also appears on the Bank of England's list of credit unions incorporated in the UK². Its website address is www.nottsandlincscu.co.uk¹.

Like all credit unions, it works differently from a bank. Members' savings are pooled to provide the resources for lending to other members, and the organisation exists for the benefit of those members rather than for outside shareholders³. To use its savings accounts or apply for a loan, you first have to become a member, and membership depends on sharing a "common bond" with other members, usually a link to a particular place, employer or industry⁴. Savings held with it are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £120,000 per person, the limit that has applied since 1 December 2025⁵.

What Nottingham Credit Union is and who it serves

Nottingham Credit Union is a credit union: a financial co-operative owned and run by its members. Credit unions are non-profit, mutual organisations in which members' savings are pooled to provide the resources for lending to other members³. There are no outside shareholders taking a share of the proceeds, and each member has a say in how the organisation is run, regardless of how much they have saved.

It serves people who share a common bond with Nottingham, which in practice usually means living or working in the area the credit union covers. All credit unions in the UK may only accept members who have a common bond⁴, and typical common bonds include living, working, studying or volunteering in a certain area, working in the same industry or for certain employers, or belonging to the same trade union⁷. Anyone can become a member of a credit union, but you must share that bond with the other members⁸.

Credit unions occupy a particular place in the UK's financial landscape. They are overseen in Great Britain by both the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority⁶, and the products they offer are typically basic financial services: savings accounts, loans, and at some credit unions current accounts, prepaid debit cards and foreign exchange⁹. Nottingham Credit Union's recorded permission is accepting deposits¹, which covers the savings side of its business; its lending to members sits alongside that as a core credit union activity.

For a consumer, what this means in practice is that a credit union is a place to save small or large amounts affordably and to borrow at costs that are capped by law, from an organisation whose purpose is serving its members rather than maximising profit. The rest of this page sets out how its savings and loans work, what membership requires, how to join, and how your money is protected.

Savings accounts at Nottingham Credit Union

Credit union savings accounts are the foundation of the whole model. Members save into the credit union, and those pooled savings provide the resources for lending to other members³. Members can typically save at whatever level is affordable to them, whether that is a small amount or a larger sum³, and the savings account usually acts as the gateway to the credit union's other services, including its loans³.

Savings with a credit union work differently from a bank savings account in one important respect: as a member you are also a part-owner of the organisation. Any surplus the credit union makes may be returned to members, typically as a dividend on savings, decided by the credit union's own rules and performance. The rate of any dividend is not fixed in advance in the way a bank's savings interest is, so today's figures are published by the credit union itself on its website¹.

What credit unions offer varies by branch and by organisation, but services can include savings accounts, loans, foreign exchange and prepaid debit cards, and some offer current accounts⁹. In Great Britain, credit unions are permitted to offer current accounts, whereas credit unions in Northern Ireland are not⁶. If you are comparing credit union savings with other options, the guides on savings accounts and ISAs explain how each type works, and the credit unions guide covers the sector as a whole.

Savings held with Nottingham Credit Union are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the same way as bank savings, up to £120,000 per person, the limit in force since 1 December 2025⁵. The section on FSCS protection below explains how that works and where it stops.

Loans from Nottingham Credit Union

Credit union loans are personal loans made to members. You need to be a member of a credit union to get a loan from one¹⁰, and members' savings are used to fund loans to other credit-worthy members¹¹. Credit unions lend small loans of around £50 to £3,000¹², with some providing loans starting from £50¹³, and many offer personal loans of up to about £3,000¹⁴. Larger amounts, including long-term loans and mortgages, are less common at credit unions, and you usually need a history of saving with a credit union before you can borrow larger sums¹⁵.

How much you can borrow is usually tied to what you have saved. If you are a member of a credit union, you can usually borrow at least two or three times the amount you have in savings, depending on the loan policy of your credit union¹⁶, and the same two or three times figure is given in other independent guidance¹⁷. Some credit unions lend as soon as you become a member, while others only lend after you have saved for a set period, and affordability is checked against the money you have left after paying your bills⁵.

When you apply, a credit union may make searches at a credit reference agency to assist in the loan application process¹⁸, so a loan application can appear on your credit report like any other. Credit union loans are often used as an affordable alternative to high-cost credit: independent debt charities point people considering a payday loan towards credit unions as a lower-cost option¹⁹, and credit unions are noted for offering very competitive rates of interest on personal loans of up to about £3,000¹⁴. The legal cap on what a credit union can charge is explained in the next section.

For a wider comparison of how personal loans work, the interest and charges involved, and the alternatives, see the loans guide.

How the charges and loan costs work

Credit union loan costs are capped by law, which is the main structural difference from other lenders. In Northern Ireland, the maximum interest a credit union may charge on loans is 1% per month under Article 28 of the 1985 Order⁶. Great Britain credit unions operate under their own legislative framework, including the Credit Unions Act 1979, the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000⁶, with interest caps set under those rules. The specific rate on any Nottingham Credit Union loan is published by the credit union itself, and this site does not carry product rates; check its website for today's figures¹.

The charging structure of credit union loans is generally simple. Credit unions do not charge fees or transaction charges, with no application fees and no early repayment charges²⁰. That means that unlike some bank loans, paying a credit union loan off early does not trigger a penalty, and the interest you pay is worked out on the reducing balance rather than loaded up front in the way payday loan charges are. Independent guidance on understanding interest charges explains how lenders in general must treat customers fairly⁶.

For someone comparing the cost of borrowing, the practical points are:

• Interest is capped by law, so credit union loan costs have a legal ceiling that high-cost credit does not share⁶.
• No application fees and no early repayment charges are the norm at credit unions²⁰.
• Affordability is checked against the money left after paying bills, not just income⁵.
• How much you can borrow is usually linked to your savings, commonly at least two or three times what you hold¹⁶.

If you are weighing a credit union loan against other forms of borrowing, the loans guide and the debt guide set out how the costs of different credit types compare and where to get free help with choosing.

Who can join: the common bond

Membership of any credit union depends on the common bond. All credit unions in the UK may only accept members who have a "common bond"⁴, and typical bonds include living, working, studying or volunteering in a certain area, working in the same industry or for certain employers, or belonging to the same trade union⁷. For Nottingham Credit Union, the bond is tied to Nottingham and the surrounding area it serves, so joining usually means living or working in that area.

The common bond extends to households. Anyone in the house of a person with a common bond with a credit union can usually join²¹, and 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 too⁵. So if one person in a household qualifies, the rest of the household can generally become members in their own right.

This is the key eligibility difference between a credit union and a bank: a bank current account is open to anyone who passes its checks, while a credit union can only accept people within its defined bond. If you are not sure whether you qualify, the credit union itself can confirm, and the findyourcreditunion website helps you locate credit unions you may be eligible to join⁵. The credit unions guide explains the sector, and the current accounts guide covers the mainstream alternative.

Banking with Nottingham Credit Union online and by phone

Credit unions vary in how they let members manage their money, and the general pattern is a combination of channels: online and phone banking, a payroll partnership with your employer, a local branch or service point you can walk into, or a mix of all three²². The same range of delivery channels is described across independent sources²³. Nottingham Credit Union's own website lists its current opening hours, branch or service point locations and contact details¹.

A payroll partnership, where the credit union works directly with an employer, allows members to save and repay loans straight from their pay. This is a common arrangement in the sector and can make regular saving easier, because the money is deducted before it reaches your spending account. Whether Nottingham Credit Union offers a payroll scheme with a particular employer is something to check with it directly.

Services vary by branch but can include savings accounts, loans, foreign exchange and prepaid debit cards, and some credit unions offer current accounts⁹. In Great Britain, credit unions are permitted to offer current accounts, while in Northern Ireland they are not⁶; MoneyHelper publishes guidance on credit union current accounts for anyone comparing them with a bank account⁷. For how credit union current accounts compare with the mainstream, see the current accounts guide.

How to join and open an account

Joining a credit union follows a common pattern across the sector, and Nottingham Credit Union's own website carries its current joining process and application details¹. The steps below set out how it works in general:

1. Check the common bond. Confirm you share the bond the credit union serves, usually living or working in its area⁴.
2. Apply for membership. Contact the credit union through its website, by phone or in person; credit unions can be located through the Association of British Credit Unions' website or by calling 0800 015 3060¹⁹.
3. Open a savings account. Members can save at an affordable level, whether small or large³, and the savings account is usually the gateway to the credit union's other services³.
4. Build a saving record if you want to borrow. Some credit unions lend as soon as you join, others after a set period of saving⁵.
5. Apply for a loan when you need one. Loan applications at credit unions are typically made on a standard application form, in person, by telephone or through the members' section of the website²⁰.

Some credit unions use a secure messaging app for applications; one credit union, for example, asks members to begin saving and apply for loans via a secure messaging app¹⁸. Nottingham Credit Union's current application routes are on its own site¹. If you join a credit union and start saving, you will also be able to apply to borrow money once you have proved you are a reliable saver²⁴, and independent budgeting guidance makes the same point: joining a credit union and saving with it opens the door to borrowing²⁵.

Former names: Fair Goose and Radford

Nottingham Credit Union has traded under earlier names. Two previous names are recorded for the organisation: Fair Goose and Fair Goose & Radford¹. The progression suggests the credit union began as Fair Goose, served the Radford area of Nottingham under the combined Fair Goose & Radford name, and now operates as Nottingham Credit Union.

For members and former members, a name change is administrative rather than substantive. It is the same organisation, trading under its current name since the earlier ones were recorded¹, and savings or loans taken out under a previous name continue under the current one. Protection is unaffected: FSCS cover attaches to the firm itself, not to the trading name, so savings held under either former name are covered under the same £120,000 limit as savings held today⁵.

If you hold old paperwork in the name of Fair Goose or Fair Goose & Radford Credit Union, the credit union's current contact details on its website are the place to start¹. The recorded previous names confirm the continuity of the organisation¹.

FSCS protection for credit union savings

Savings with credit unions are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Your savings are protected by the FSCS⁵, and the level of protection is the same as for bank and building society savings: fully protected up to £120,000 per person per firm, a limit that has applied since 1 December 2025⁵. If a credit union failed and could not return members' money, the FSCS would step in and repay eligible savers up to that limit.

Two points about how the limit works are worth knowing. First, the £120,000 limit applies per person per firm, so if you hold savings with Nottingham Credit Union and with a bank, each is protected separately up to the limit. Second, the protection attaches to the firm behind the accounts, so the former names Fair Goose and Radford do not create separate allowances: they are the same organisation¹.

This protection is one of the reasons a credit union is a safe place to save even though the organisation is small compared with a high street bank. The rules on deposit protection, how joint accounts are treated and what happens when a firm fails are explained in the consumer protection guide, and the FSCS's own website carries the definitive terms of the scheme.

Complaints and where to get help

If something goes wrong, the first step is to complain to the credit union directly, using the contact details on its website¹. Financial firms must handle complaints under the Financial Conduct Authority's rules, and the FCA is the UK's financial regulator, making sure finance companies and lenders treat customers fairly⁶. Give the credit union a chance to resolve the matter and keep a record of what you send and receive.

If you are not satisfied with its response, you can take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which settles disputes between consumers and financial firms. The ombudsman handles complaints about financial businesses, and you can complain to it about the actions of lenders⁶. The ombudsman is free to use and its decisions can be binding on the firm.

Where to get help depends on what the problem is:

• Complaints about the credit union itself: complain to it first, then the Financial Ombudsman Service⁶.
• Debt problems: free help is available from debt charities, which explain credit union loans and other borrowing options²¹, and from sources of guidance on emergency funding¹⁰.
• Finding or checking a credit union: the Association of British Credit Unions can help you locate one on 0800 015 3060¹⁹, and the public register of financial firms shows its recorded status and previous names¹.
• Money worries generally: MoneyHelper guidance and the debt guide set out free, impartial sources of help.

For anything urgent, such as a suspected scam or fraud on your account, the scams and fraud guide explains the immediate steps to take and who to contact.