First Minister Carwyn Jones is urging people to avoid high cost loans this Christmas.
The cost of a personal unsecured loan from a high cost lender of £500 paying back £17.50 for 52 weeks means that you people will actually pay back £910.
The same loan from a credit union would cost about £10.83 each week, paying back a total of £563.16, a saving of more than £340.
The First Minister said: “Too many people do not realise that Welsh credit unions provide savings accounts, personal loans and other basic financial products that can save them money. Credit Unions offer a real alternative the activities of high cost lenders and illegal loan sharks, by offering safe and affordable alternatives.
“Tackling poverty and financial exclusion where it persists in our communities is one of my key priorities over the next five years. Credit unions are ideally placed to help achieve this.”
The First Minister’s calls have previously been echoed by Labour’s Islwyn MP Chris Evans.
A long standing advocate for credit unions, Mr Evans said: “As treasurer of the all party parliamentary group on credit unions I have been campaigning to clamp down on high cost lenders to reduce spiralling household debt.
“As Christmas approaches families throughout Islwyn are going to find it harder to make ends meet as the cost of living increases, wages freeze and unemployment hits’
“The Government should introduce caps on the cost of credit to prevent families spiralling further and further into debt.”
For more information about Islwyn Credit Union, based in Blackwood, visit www.islwyncu.co.uk
For further information on Smart Money Credit Union, based in Caerphilly, please visit www.smartmoneycreditunion.co.uk