Thamesbank Credit Union

Thamesbank Credit Union is a not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperative that exists for the benefit of a group of people rather than to make a profit for shareholders¹. It was set up over a quarter of a century ago by the people of Hounslow and has grown across West and South West London Boroughs and Surrey¹. Its stated mission is to provide every member with access to reasonably priced financial services and to encourage the development of good financial practice¹.

It is a credit union, which means it offers loans, savings, bank accounts and other services to its members, and it is owned and run by those members rather than by outside investors². Membership is open to anybody who lives or works in the London Boroughs of Ealing, Hounslow, Richmond, Kingston and Wandsworth, or in the Borough of Spelthorne in Surrey¹.

Money held with it is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which protects eligible deposits up to £120,000 per eligible person, per credit union³. The scheme pays automatically in most cases, within seven working days of a failure⁴.

What Thamesbank Credit Union is and who it serves

A credit union is a not-for-profit financial provider that helps people access banking products such as bank accounts and savings². Credit unions in Britain are customer-owned financial institutions based in local communities, and there are more than 500 of them, so almost everyone has one they could join⁸. They offer members loans, savings and current accounts⁸.

Thamesbank's own membership is defined by where you live or work rather than by an employer or trade. Anybody who lives or works in the London Boroughs of Ealing, Hounslow, Richmond, Kingston and Wandsworth, or in the Borough of Spelthorne in Surrey, can request membership¹. That area is the credit union's "common bond", the link that decides who can join. Every credit union has one, and it can be 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 church⁹.

The credit union is run and organised by the members themselves along with elected officers¹. It is a member of the Association of British Credit Unions, and part of the World Council of Credit Unions⁷. The Association of British Credit Unions is the trade body for credit unions and covers England, Wales and Scotland⁸.

If you are outside the membership area, the trade body's website can help you locate a credit union that covers where you live⁸. You can also search by visiting the Association of British Credit Union's website or calling 0800 015 3060⁸.

Who can join: West and South West London and Surrey

The membership test is a simple one: live or work inside the area and you can ask to join¹. The area covers six local authority areas in total, five London Boroughs and one Surrey borough¹.

Credit unions generally only serve people from a particular community, which is why the boundary matters¹⁰. Where a credit union is open to members of a particular trade or employer, the same principle applies in a different form. Some credit unions, for example, are open to members who live and work in named London boroughs⁹.

Once you are a member, membership carries access to the credit union's other products. Opening a Junior Saver Account, for instance, makes the child automatically eligible for all the benefits of Thamesbank Credit Union membership, including access to affordable loans and other financial products, available on reaching adulthood¹¹.

A member-owned co-operative, not a bank

The difference between a credit union and a bank is not just a label. A credit union is not a bank and cannot offer overdrafts, mortgages, electronic banking services and payment methods or business loans in the same way as a bank¹⁰. That shapes what you can and cannot do with an account here, and it is worth knowing before you join.

What a credit union does offer is a narrower, member-focused range: loans, savings, bank accounts and other services to its members². Members' savings are pooled to provide the resources for lending to other members, which is how the mutual model works⁹. The credit union is not-for-profit and exists for the benefit of a group of people rather than to generate a return for outside owners¹.

Credit unions in Great Britain are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority¹¹. The same two regulators cover credit unions in Northern Ireland¹¹. In the Republic of Ireland, registration and regulation of credit unions is undertaken by the Central Bank, which is a different arrangement again¹¹.

Thamesbank Credit Union Limited is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority with permission to accept deposits⁵. It also appears on the Bank of England's list of credit unions incorporated in the UK, dated 1 September 2026¹².

Saving with Thamesbank and the cap on member savings

Saving is the core of what a credit union does, and it works differently from a bank account in one important respect: your savings are also what funds lending to other members⁹. Credit unions may set their own limits on how much you can save¹³. Thamesbank publishes its savings terms on its own site, and the figures change, so the current limits are best checked there rather than assumed.

The protection limit is a separate matter from any savings cap the credit union sets. That limit applies to savings held with a credit union in the same way as to a bank³.

Thamesbank's own compensation information document states that eligible deposits in Thamesbank Credit Union are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme¹⁴. That document also sets out the currency of reimbursement as Pound Sterling, or for branches of UK banks operating in other EEA Member States, the currency of that State¹⁴.

For the wider picture on how credit union accounts compare with bank and building society savings, see savings accounts and the credit unions guide.

How to make a complaint to Thamesbank

Complaints go to the credit union's Complaints Officer, named in its complaints procedure as Edward de Waal⁷. The procedure is set out in full on the credit union's own site, and it is the document to follow if something has gone wrong.

The general route for a complaint about a bank or credit union is to complain to customer services first, then make a formal complaint, which gives the firm eight weeks to investigate and give a final response, and then take it to the free Financial Ombudsman Service if you are still unhappy⁷. Credit unions have eight weeks to investigate and give you their final response².

Thamesbank's own procedure sets out how quickly it aims to deal with things. The credit union aims to resolve a complaint by the close of business on the next business day after the day on which the complaint was received⁷. An acknowledgement will be sent to the complainant within 7 days of receipt⁷. Where a complaint takes longer, the credit union aims to provide a satisfactory response within 8 weeks of receipt of the complaint⁷.

The credit union keeps all records of complaints taking more than the following business day to complete for a period of three years⁷. It also makes an annual report to the Financial Conduct Authority on the number and type of complaints handled by the credit union⁷.

Other credit unions publish their own procedures, and the detail varies. One credit union acknowledges receipt of a complaint within three working days⁹. Another aims to resolve complaints within three business days, sending a letter confirming resolution and the right to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service⁹. A third sets a time limit of six years from the event complained about, or three years from when the member realised there was reason to complain⁹.

How long a complaint takes and what compensation is possible

The timetable above is the credit union's own target, and the eight-week mark is the point at which a complaint becomes eligible for the ombudsman. The Financial Ombudsman Service can look at complaints about individual savings accounts and similar products¹⁵. It is free to use, and it is the route to take if the credit union's final response does not resolve matters¹⁶.

On what the credit union itself can pay, its procedure gives the Complaints Officer authority to settle up to an amount no greater than £50, with greater amounts referred to the Board⁷. That is an internal limit on who signs off a settlement, not a cap on what a complaint can be worth.

Complaints data published by the ombudsman shows how the volumes look across the market. In the first quarter of 2026/27, 2,103 complaints were opened about personal loans¹⁷. That figure is a market-wide number, not a figure for this credit union.

If money problems are behind the complaint, free and impartial help is available. StepChange and similar debt advice charities offer support, and the ombudsman service is free¹⁶. For the wider picture on rights and remedies, see consumer protection and debt help.

How your savings are protected by the FSCS

Savings with a credit union are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme¹⁸. The scheme pays compensation if your financial services provider fails and cannot pay back your money itself¹⁹.

The scheme's own guidance for credit unions is explicit: it can pay back any money you hold with a failed credit union, up to its compensation limit of £120,000 per person³. If your bank, building society or credit union has failed, you do not need to make a claim, because the scheme returns your money automatically up to its compensation limit²⁰.

On timing, the scheme will pay compensation within seven working days of a bank, building society or credit union failing⁴. In most cases it will return your money within seven working days from the date your credit union failed³. You will get your money within seven working days of a bank, building society or a credit union failing²¹. Independent guidance notes that deposit failures are paid within seven days of making a claim, and that most commonly the scheme says these claims are paid in two or three days²². More complex cases, including temporary high balance claims, take longer⁴.

Thamesbank's own compensation information document states that the reimbursement period in case of the credit union's failure is 20 working days¹⁴. That document dates from 2020, and the scheme's current published timescale is seven working days in most cases⁴. Where the two differ, the scheme's own current guidance is the figure to rely on.

The scheme's protection is not limited to deposits. It also covers insurance, with 100% protection for annuities where the firm failed on or after 3 July 2015²⁴. For the wider picture on how protection works across products, see consumer protection.

Joint accounts and combined balances: how the protection limit applies

A joint account does not halve the protection. In other words, a joint account with two holders would be protected up to £240,000²⁵. Two account holders could deposit £240,000 safely⁷.

The scheme protects each of you, whatever the number of account holders, up to £120,000 in total across all accounts you hold with the credit union³. The protection tool assumes a joint account with two account holders, each with an equal share²¹.

The limit is per person, per firm, not per account. Accounts with banks in the same banking group that share a banking licence are treated as one bank, with the £120,000 limit applying across all accounts⁴.

For the wider picture on how joint accounts work day to day, see joint accounts and savings.