Wrenhaven Credit Union opens counters inside branch libraries

Wrenhaven Credit Union has opened staffed counters in four branch libraries, bringing basic financial services back to neighbourhoods that have lost their last high-street bank in recent years. The counters, in Netherby, Northfield, Millbrook and Bramley Cross, open on three days a week and share space with the libraries' existing help desks.

The credit union is a not-for-profit cooperative owned by its 18,500 members, who must live or work in the city. It offers savings accounts, small loans and a prepaid card for people who struggle to open a conventional current account. Until now its only premises were a ground-floor office near the central bus station, which some members said meant a two-bus journey.

Chief executive Gwen Tallis said a survey of members last winter found that almost a third had stopped saving regularly after their local bank closed. "People told us very clearly that they wanted a person to talk to, not just an app," she said. "Libraries are trusted, warm, and already open in the places we need to be."

A lot of what we do is simply sitting down with someone and working out what they can afford to put by each week.

The arrangement costs the city council nothing; the credit union pays a modest rent and has funded the secure cash boxes and training for its staff. Library managers say the counters have already drawn new visitors. At Netherby, the first week brought 140 enquiries, many from older residents who wanted to pay in cash.

Councillor Rhiannon Beale, who leads on libraries, said the partnership fitted the idea of libraries as everyday community hubs. "If someone comes in to sort out a loan and leaves with a library card, that is a good day," she said. A fifth counter, in Tarnmere village hall, is being discussed for next year.

Free budgeting sessions, run by volunteers trained by the credit union, will be held on the first Saturday of each month in all four libraries. No appointment is needed, and people do not have to be members to attend.