A Year of Change 2012-2013
Whilst as a credit union we will always focus on enhancing service to our members, in the past year we have turned our attention to prepare for the expansion we see as being required in our city.
This has seen extraordinary investment in many respects, more so than in any previous year. We have used revenues previously set aside from DWP funding which had been earmarked for future infrastructure investment and we have added grant funding provided by Barclays Community Fund, as well as an element of our surpluses.
This investment includes:
A digital phone system: The acquisition of a new phone system has allowed us to enhance many aspects of our work, enabling more flexible working, tripartite calls to route benefits in over the phone (i.e. we no longer need members to call in to do so) and it also facilitates a service centre hub being created for better on-boarding of new members and serving all our existing members. This system can be tailored and enhanced further as we develop as an organisation.
Website: We have redeveloped our website, upgrading it to a higher level of security and adding significantly to its functionality and interactive services. This is now a key part of our organisation, as many of our members are using the website to access our services on a day to day basis. We have developed it so that it is now suited to multimedia, i.e. different versions mutate to suit the media that you are using, from a smart phone to an ipad / tablet.
Trusted Partnership Process and App: We now delegate permission and account opening access to many partner organisations. This allows social landlords and other third sector and commercial organisations to open accounts on our system for clients or tenants. This process is fully automated and all we do is make a phone call to fully on-board the new member.
This has progressed through test phases and is in the live environment ahead of universal credit being rolled out in our area. It overcomes barriers identified such as language, literacy, trust and financial competence, allowing genuine financial inclusion across all areas of our city.
Kiosk Programme: Citysave has operated an outreach programme for the past few years in an effort to reach all sectors of the community. However, this programme has limited resources and our staff can only spend a few hours on a site on a monthly basis.
The new 21 touch-screen kiosks, acquired jointly with BHSF, allow us to have a presence at any time on high footfall sites to support the work of our outreach team. Most kiosks will be located on key partner sites on a rotational basis and in 2014 we should see our services reach many more people.
The kiosks allow easy access to our services, including managing accounts and topping up / applying for loans. In addition we offer high levels of help and support through links, which is discreet and facilitates immediate access to partner support for income maximisation, debt remedy, grant search and many other services.
Financial Wellbeing of the Birmingham Community: In early 2013 we identified that there was a clear need for a cohesive and informative wellbeing programme, bringing together key partners to work together and address specific social needs in our city.
So far we have held two events, focussing on the poverty premium and financial stress. We have also worked closely with the Centre for Responsible Credit in the fight to tackle the exponential growth of high cost lending, presenting at three of their national conferences. In January 2014, CfRC will bring their annual conference to Birmingham.
Citysave will also be working with partners at Birmingham Council, University of Birmingham and StepChange to develop and present solutions for a more effective delivery of Community banking.
Premises: Earlier this year we held an open evening to show members and partners our enlarged premises. We have moved our loans team, management team, finance team and admin support to the first floor, where we alos have a large meeting room and a separate interview room. This move has had a number of immediate benefits:
Our finance team were working in a basement without natural light
We were paying for hiring meeting rooms regularly
Our offices were cramped and created issues in team working
It allowed us to bring in Moneyline
We now have an interview room to conduct discreet meetings with members
Going forward there is the potential to work closely with other like-minded organisations to enable us to serve more sectors in the community.
Card Provider: In a digital world we have found there is a need to offer a high quality payment card. Switching to CredEcard has allowed us to offer the cash planner account from 16 years +, and extending our services to our members. This visa prepaid card comes at a lower cost and with an account that directly competes with - and indeed beats a wide range of fee paying accounts offered by the high street banks - and partners us with the leading prepaid card provider in the UK.
There remain other areas where we will need to invest going forward, for example our I.T. infrastructure and applications. However, as things stand today, Citysave are ready for all the changes to welfare reform that are coming our way. We are also ready and prepared for increasing our reach and to expand what we do in Birmingham, professionally, sustainably and for the wider benefit of our members and our community.