14 ABCUL credit unions, will see a top prize of £5,000 awarded to the winning saver each month, as the Association and incuto team up to continue the Government’s credit union PrizeSaver scheme. With a further 20 smaller prizes of £20 also awarded, ABCUL and incuto has partnered on behalf of the sector, in order to build on the success of the initial pilot.
Launched in 2019, the scheme has raised membership for credit unions and over £120,000 has been distributed to winners from across the 14 participating credit unions. Currently there are 14,153 accounts with over £1m saved across all 14 credit unions.
“It gives account holders the chance to win prizes every month in order to incentivise them getting into a savings habit,” says ABCUL CEO, Robert Kelly.
incuto was appointed by the Treasury in 2019, to administer the pilot and run the prize draw each month. The move was part of the Government’s drive to use innovative UK Fintech companies to boost financial inclusion through partnering with credit unions.
CEO of incuto, Andrew Rabbitt said: “I am delighted to continue this important initiative and partner with ABCUL to provide this opportunity to Credit Unions and their members. Following the success of the initial pilot, commissioned by HM Treasury, which saw positive engagement, a boost in awareness of credit unions and over £120,000 of prizes paid out, we see this as a key product in our aim to deliver additional channels for Credit Unions to grow membership and reach a wider audience.”
Robert Kelly added: “Credit unions have a proven track record of helping people to save and to improve their financial resilience. Our sector has helped members to build up savings of over £1.7bn and encouraging saving is central to what we are all about. That’s why this saving scheme fits so neatly into the credit union mission.”
The PrizeSaver scheme is partly inspired by the 'Save to Win' scheme in the US, which has helped credit union members save $200million and has awarded $3.1million in prizes nationwide.
The 14 credit unions participating in the scheme are:
1st Alliance (Ayrshire) Credit Union
Central Liverpool Credit Union