Meet Gary: A Member Case Study

Date: 02 March 2022

GMB Credit Union was established in 1999, to provide simpler, fairer savings and loans for GMB members and their families. This mission remains the same today and is achieved through market-leading rates and the abundance of tips and tools available to our community.

These range from tips on how to be more financially savvy to our secure messaging app GMBCU, and more!

Download the GMBCU app now from the Apple store or Google Play. 

GMBCU has had 23 years of successful trading however we like to regularly review that our mission statement to be a simpler and fairer way for GMB members to save and borrow money is being delivered. So, we organised a Feedback Day to specifically explore how we have helped our valued members.

We recently had the opportunity to speak with Gary, one of the longest-standing members of GMBCU. He spoke to us about his experience with the Credit Union. Read on to share his experience.

 

We are owned and shaped by our members

We continue to steer our ambition to be a trusted and valued core GMB member service and we are motivated by positive member feedback like Gary’s, who is a long-standing member.

“I heard about [the Credit Union] through the Branch because when it was first set up it was linked up with the Lancashire region… So, as you can probably understand, I’m one of the founding members of it essentially.”

With Gary being with us for such a long time, we were intrigued to hear how GMBCU’s services have evolved over the years.

“In the early days it didn’t have a website, so everything was done by post…whereas with the website now it’s a lot easier…it just cuts out the time from applying to getting. It’s just so much more efficient.”

Reducing friction in our service has always been important to us. Therefore, when embracing the digital age, we wanted to ensure that we built member interfaces that were fast, flexible and secure.  It was music to our ears when Gary praised our current online system for its easy accessibility; it’s one of many steps we’ve taken to improve our member experience.

 

We are focused on improving our community’s financial resilience

Improving member financial wellbeing is what we do.

We want to help members feel financially secure and able to manage their finances in a stress-free way. Increasing our shared knowledge on how to become more financially resilient

“With the Credit Union I have been able to learn how to manage my money, be more money savvy and be able to save…it’s really helped me to manage my money a lot better these days.”

“Basically, when you take a loan out with the Credit Union, they also encourage you to save. So, when I take out a loan, I’ve always added a little money into my savings, even if it’s just £5 or £10, I am still saving as well as paying the loan.”

We have tailored our systems to make financial management as simple as possible, so to know that Gary feels more secure with his money as a result really makes us smile.

He continued: “I’m able to see what I’m saving and if I’ve got a loan how much I owe on the loan. [The GMBCU website] gives me an idea of what I can budget for and the tools surrounding this have helped me to become more money savvy.”

Members such as Gary can view and manage their finances online via the member’s login on our website. Members can also communicate via our GMBCU app from quick and secure communications.

We make no apology for our commitment to digital but understand that our members may just wish to telephone us on occasions.

Our office telephone number is 0161 486 1777 and is accessible between 10.00 and 14.00 Monday to Friday.

Members have a choice on how to contact their Credit Union and the GMBCU team will do whatever we can to assist our members.

 

Become part of a community that cares

“Efficient, reliable and helpful.”

The past couple of years has clearly shown that members are needing support more than ever.

Not just in terms of money but someone to rely on as well.

GMBCU will always have your best interests at heart and we will be honest in our assessments even advising members that it is not in their best interests to borrow if we feel members are becoming overburdened financially.