Our History
Beginnings
Commsave was formed in 1991, originally as Northamptonshire Postal Workers Credit Union, inspired by a group of workers and management at the Royal Mail site on Barrack Road in Northampton. An application was made to the Registry of Friendly Societies, who were then responsible for the regulation of credit unions in the UK, and permission was granted in August 1991.
Growth and Expansion
The Credit Union proved popular, and word soon began to spread to neighbouring areas about how postal workers in Northamptonshire had access to savings and loans facilities, direct from pay. In November 1996, we expanded our ‘common bond’ – which defines who can join – to cover anyone working for Royal Mail in the CV, DE, LE, and NG postcode areas – changing our name to East Midlands Postal Workers Credit Union. As we continued to grow, the board discussed expanding our services to workers in other parts of the communications industry, and adopted the name Commsave in 2002.
A National Credit Union
After further expansions, we opened to all postal workers in the United Kingdom by 2011. To reduce any potential risks of serving only one employer, and to enable us to help even more people, we went a step further by expanding our reach, to include various companies within the communications industry, and then other sectors too.
In 2016, the Department for Work & Pensions were looking for partners to deliver the benefits of saving and borrowing direct from pay for their staff. Following a rigorous selection process, we successfully became one of three chosen to providers for this service. With DWP staff taking up the offer in large numbers, we were asked to expand our common bond once again, to enable anyone working for the home civil service to access our services.
Recent Expansions
As we continued to grow significantly in recent years. In 2020, members at the Annual General Meeting gave permission for the common bond to include a geographic element for the first time – opening our doors to anyone either living or working in Northamptonshire – our long-term home county.
More recently, in 2021, we now support people working within the fishing industry – offering services to those working ‘from catch to plate’ – including fishers, those working in fish processing, and fishmongers.
With membership now over 34,000, and total assets of more than £120 million, we are established as one of the largest and most successful Credit Unions in the UK.
You can download a copy of our 30th Anniversary Booklet here.
