130 Peckham Residents Join Credit Union

On Monday 27th October, over 130 people in Peckham joined their local credit union together. A group of Peckham residents delivered the applications to the credit union to highlight the services offered by the local credit union as an alternative to payday lenders. The effort was a joint venture by South London Citizens, Copleston, a church and community centre in Peckham, and the Church Credit Champions Network.

The action was part of a new micro-organising effort in the area called Peckham Citizens, a local alliance that will be built over the coming months.

The campaign was also part of Citizens UK’s commitment to finding 10,000 new members for credit unions, which it pledged to do in support of its 2015 manifesto request to all political parties to give Local Authorities the power to cap the number of payday lenders and betting shops and establish a community finance fund paid for by fines levied on banks and payday lenders by the FCA. Local members of Citizens UK, including those in Peckham, will be asking prospective parliamentary candidates and MPs to agree to support these asks in the lead up to May 2015 and the general election.