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Armed Forces Credit Union Support

The Ministry of Defence has launched payroll deduction to help you save and borrow with three of the United Kingdom's largest Credit Unions.

Helping you prepare for your financial future.

Credit Unions provide a not-for-profit option to help you save money and borrow responsibly throughout your service career and beyond.

  • Easy Access Savings
  • Personal Loans
  • Deductions from your Salary
  • Safe and Secure

Just choose the Credit Union that's right for you - whether you want to save with just one, two or even all three.

At a Glance

25,212

Total Members

£7 million

In Savings

£51.5m

Total Loans

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First Defence Finance

We are part of Plane Saver CU and currently serve over 26,000 members.
With Veterans leading our Credit Union, we have a unique insight into the financial needs of the military community.

Start your journey to financial freedom and get access to exclusive discounts, savings accounts, low-cost loans, a members Lottery and much more!

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Forces Finance - Provided by London Mutual Credit Union

Looking for a loan at fair rates, a safe home for your savings or a new current account? Look no further - Forces Finance takes payments directly from your salary to make saving or repaying your loan easy and stress-free.

Rated 4.7/5 'Excellent' on TrustPilot

Join easily and securely online at forcesfinance.org.uk

Forces Finance is part of London Mutual Credit Union

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Serve and Protect Credit Union

Ready to kickstart your savings? Receive £10 from Serve and Protect when you use the code PROMO10JF.

Whether you're saving for the future or borrowing for today, we make it easy with deductions straight from your pay.

So, don't delay, it's time to join the largest military credit union in the UK!

We can't wait to welcome you!

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About Joining Forces

In 2015 the Ministry of Defence launched payroll deduction with three credit unions - helping Service Personnel to save and borrow with deductions from their salary.

The initiative, known as Joining Forces, aims to help improve the financial resilience of Service Personnel and their families - providing an ethical, not-for-profit, alternative to other financial providers.

Supported by the Ministry of Defence the Joining Forces Credit Unions provide financial education and awareness throughout the Armed Forces - helping Service Personnel save money to help prepare for their transition to civilian life and provide an option to borrow responsibly throughout their service career and beyond.

To learn more or request a workplace visit from one of our team contact: info@joiningforcescu.co.uk

What is a Credit Union?

A credit union is like a bank or building society - but the key difference is that they are not-for-profit and owned by their members.

They help people save and are also there if people need to borrow money - with any remaining profit, paid back to the members as a return on a member's savings or reinvested to help improve the range of products and services available.

Find out more about Credit Unions

The ethical alternative to other financial providers

Owned and run by their members, credit unions are not-for-profit financial cooperatives, providing a range of savings and loan products to their members.

Simple savings, sensible loans
Credit unions offer a range of easy-to-understand savings accounts and a variety of loans for their members.

All members of a credit union are required to save, with this money then lent to other members who may need to borrow through a choice of loan products designed to meet different needs-whether paying off expensive existing loans, paying for a holiday or buying a car.

Usually, credit unions charge much less interest on loans than many other lenders like banks or 'payday loan' providers and often have additional benefits such as no early repayment penalties, no hidden fees, no set up costs, life cover and much more.

Financial return on savings
As credit unions are not-for-profit, members get the benefit of sharing any of the financial surplus generated-meaning the money made from the interest charged on loans to members goes towards a dividend paid on members'savings.

Owned and run by their members
Credit unions are owned and run by their members, meaning there are no third party shareholders to pay from funds or money raised. So, money made can be used to reward their members or improve service to members.

Who can join?
Not everyone can join a credit union. It depends on who you work for or where you live.

Most credit unions welcome family members who must be living at the same address as the main member.

There are over 500 Credit Unions in the UK with over a million members, with this number increasing every day.

You're in safe hands
Not only are credit unions committed to giving you a really good return on savings, your money is also safe. The government-backed Financial Services Compensation Scheme guarantees to repay deposits up to a maximum of £85,000 in the unlikely event of your Credit Union 'going bust'.

Credit unions are also fully regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority, both of which make sure credit unions are well run and can keep going for their members.