CorporatePay

Unity Trust Bank is delighted to announce that it plans to launch the Unity Trust Bank prepaid MasterCard® for Credit Union members this summer.

Unity Trust Bank is the UK’s leading provider of banking services to the social economy sector; including charities, trade unions, social enterprises, voluntary organisations and credit unions in its customer base; and the first bank in the UK to remove all penalty charges and penalty interest on unauthorised overdrafts.

Kevin Turmore, Managing Director of Unity, said: “Our customers have told us that they need a card that can give their members access to basic banking services; and the trial exercise we conducted during 2008 clearly confirmed this.

As a bank that is committed to enabling social development, financial inclusion is high on our agenda, and we are very pleased to be taking this step for our customers.

We wanted to work with a partner who could show scale, commitment and a similar approach to our own; and we are very pleased to be working with CorporatePay.”

Myles Stephenson, CEO of CorporatePay, said: “Some Credit Union members don’t have bank accounts and are paid wages or advanced funds by cheque. Often their only resort is to take these cheques to be cashed, and to pay the associated charges. With this new programme they will be able to have funds advanced directly to the card, which they can then use to make purchases in stores or on-line, or to withdraw the cash from an ATM. Unity Trust Bank provides banking services for over 300 Credit Unions; which is testimony to their focus on social responsibility and their commitment to customer service. Their strength in this market and their friendly and constructive approach cause us to be genuinely excited about this partnership.”

Colin Greaves, Operations Director, Newcastle Building Society, said: “Unity’s customers will have access, many for the first time, to a payment card that the majority of us take for granted. Credit Unions will be able to reduce the costs of administration, cash handling and insurance; and the risk associated with processing cash.”

Press release (PDF 52kb)