Affinity (West Cumbria Credit Union)

Cleator Moor Credit Union grew from a joint Church initiative in 1994. In 2000 the Maryport and North Allerdale Credit Union was launched. A couple of years later in 2002, the Workington & District Credit Union was registered. Maryport & Workington merged with Allerdale Credit Union in 2010.

These credit unions were built and run by local people who were passionate about getting a better deal for their communities. Their aim was to provide an alternative financial service locally that would help break the cycle and high level of dependency of families and individuals on doorstep and other unscrupulous lenders operating in the community.

It was important to safeguard the future of these organisations and, recognising their common goals, they merged to form the West Cumbria Credit Union on 1 October 2015. With a desire to serve the whole of Cumbria, West Cumbria merged with Eden & South Lakeland in 2020 and created Affinity Credit Union.

In September 2021 Affinity proposed a merger with Pennine Community Credit Union (PCCU) with the aim to offer savings and loan facilities to a greater number of people in the community. PCCU’s excellent digital delivery capability, through the online accounts area and secure mobile app, would allow people in Cumbria to interact with their accounts in the fastest and most convenient way. The merger has been success with increased membership and access to ethical financial services in the Cumbrian communities.

We are tremendously proud of our beginnings and the volunteers who worked to build these organisations. As we move forward under our new PCCU brand we remain true to the same values we had in the beginning; to provide fair and affordable loans and secure, ethical savings to our members.