Police Credit Unions,
Loans and Member Services

Officers and staff come across the same handful of names again and again: on payslips, at training school, in Federation emails and on the intranet. They are different kinds of organisation. Some are regulated financial firms, one is an introducer that passes you to another firm, one is a staff association, and one is a commercial discount scheme. This table sets out what each one says it is, using its own website.

None of these is endorsed by PolicePay, and we have no commercial relationship with any of them. Being linked to policing does not make a product the right one for you, or the cheapest. Compare any loan or savings account with the wider market before you sign up, and check the provider's own current terms: the details below are as we read them on 18 October 2026.

A credit union is a financial co-operative owned by its members. To join you must share its common bond, the link that defines who it serves: living in an area, working for an employer, or, for the police credit unions, being part of the police family. Members save with it and can borrow from it.

• Savings are shares, not deposits that earn fixed interest. No1 CopperPot's savings page says members are shareholders and earn an annual dividend when the credit union makes a profit. A dividend is not guaranteed and can change from year to year.
• Savings are still protected. The FSCS protects money held with UK credit unions in the same way as banks and building societies: up to £120,000 per person per firm since December 2025.
• Loan interest is capped by law. A credit union cannot charge more than 3% a month on a loan (Credit Unions (Maximum Interest Rate on Loans) Order 2013, in force 1 April 2014). That is roughly 42.6% a year compounded. Banks and other lenders have no equivalent general cap on personal loans.
• You usually have to be a member to borrow. No1 CopperPot says you must be a member to take out a loan, and you can apply for membership as part of the loan application.

For a closer look at how membership, dividends and lending work in a police credit union, read police credit union explained.

The Bank of England's list of PRA-regulated credit unions for October 2026 includes three whose names or common bond are police-based. Other police credit unions have existed in the past; where we could not find one on the current list, we have left it out.

The main practical differences are who can join and whether your force runs payroll deduction for that credit union. Rates differ by loan type and amount, so the only fair comparison is the total cost of the specific loan you are offered, set against a bank or building society loan for the same amount and term.

No1 CopperPot is the trading name of Number One Police Credit Union Limited. Its website says it is authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and the PRA, firm reference number 213301, and describes itself as owned by and for the police family.

Who can join

Its savings page lists these groups as eligible for membership:

• serving or retired police officers
• police staff
• PCSOs and specials
• employees of law enforcement agencies
• direct adult family members living at the same address as a Member Account holder
• direct children or grandchildren living at the same address as a Member Account holder

Members who leave the police can keep their membership, the same page says.

Saving

You can save from £5 to £1,000 a month into the main accounts, with a combined maximum balance of £40,000 across all accounts. Accounts include a Member Account, Family Member Account, Junior Account (under 18), Reserve, Festive Fund and a Notice Plus account that needs 90 days' notice to withdraw. Savings can be paid straight from your pay in the forces it lists, or by Direct Debit. Eligible savings are protected by the FSCS up to £120,000.

Savings earn a dividend, declared annually from any profit, rather than a fixed interest rate. The credit union publishes its past dividend rates on its rates page; past dividends do not tell you what the next one will be.

Loans

Its loans page lists a Member Loan (up to £35,000), a Consolidation Loan, a Commutation Loan (up to £100,000 or 50% of your commutation entitlement, whichever is lower), a Student Officer Loan for officers in their first two years (up to £10,000 over up to 60 months), a Holiday Loan, a 70+ Loan, Revolving Credit, a Loyalty Loan borrowed against your savings, a Green Loan, a Budget Account and a Credit Builder Loan. The rates page caps unsecured lending at £35,000.

• Eligibility: 18 or over, living in the UK or Isle of Man, in paid employment or with a regular income, in the eligible groups above, and a member (or applying to be one).
• Decision: applications are assessed on affordability and ability to repay; the page says it looks at overall affordability, not just your credit score, and aims to decide within three working days.
• Rates: the credit union says it does not offer a representative APR; each loan is individually assessed. When we checked, its rates page listed APRs from 5.5% (Loyalty Loan, borrowed against savings) to 24.9% (Credit Builder Loan), with lower rates for larger Member and Consolidation loans. The page said those rates apply from 29 September 2023, so check the live page before you rely on them.
• Repaying: by payroll deduction where your force offers it, or Direct Debit. You can overpay or repay early at any time without charge. Missed repayments could harm your credit file.

Forces with payroll deduction

No1 CopperPot's list shows payroll deduction in 31 forces and agencies in England and Wales: Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, City of London, Cleveland, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Dyfed-Powys, Durham, Essex, Greater Manchester, Gwent, Hampshire, Humberside, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, the Metropolitan Police, the National Crime Agency, Norfolk, North Wales, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, South Wales, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex, Thames Valley and West Yorkshire. Members elsewhere can save and repay by Direct Debit. The list changes, so check it for your force.

Serve and Protect Credit Union Limited is based in Birmingham. Its website says it is authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and the PRA, registration number 213306, and that eligible deposits are protected by the FSCS up to £120,000. Its rulebook link still refers to Police Credit Union Limited, and its police page says it was founded from the merger of regional police credit unions in the 1980s and 1990s.

On the police side, its police page says you can join if you serve as an officer or staff member, work for a wider law enforcement agency or the National Crime Agency, receive a police pension, or are a family member of an existing member. You can join before leaving the police and keep your membership for life. It also serves prison and probation, the armed forces community, fire and rescue, and NHS and private healthcare workers.

• Saving: Regular Saver, Cash ISA, Fixed Saver, Prize Saver, Junior Saver and Flexi Saver accounts are listed.
• Loans: Personal Loan, Inclusion Loan and Top Up Loan, borrowing up to £25,000, with interest calculated on the reducing balance and no early repayment penalties.
• Paying: savings and loan repayments can come from your salary where your employer has signed up, or by Direct Debit.

Scottish Police Credit Union Limited says it serves "all of the Police Family in Scotland". Its site states that it is authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and the PRA, firm reference number 213597, and carries the FSCS protected badge. Members set a monthly savings amount, which they can change and withdraw from through its app. Its home page did not set out its full common bond or payroll arrangements, so check those with it directly.

Officers in Northern Ireland: we did not find a credit union with a PSNI common bond on the PRA's October 2026 list of credit unions. Search the list or the FCA register for any you are offered.

Police Mutual presents itself as a financial services provider for the police family. On its own pages it is several things at once, depending on the product:

• Insurance: car, home, renters, caravan, gadget and park home insurance and breakdown cover, with named underwriters or providers for some products (for example, it says its home insurance is provided by Bspoke Underwriting).
• Loans and savings: provided by No1 CopperPot Credit Union. Its loans page says it acts as an introducer for Number One Police Credit Union Limited, that PMGI receives an introduction fee of 2% of the gross loan amount, paid when the loan reaches your bank account, and that the introduction is not regulated by the FCA.
• Mortgages and advice: introductions to a separate firm for mortgage advice and to independent financial advice.
• Support services: its about page describes a CareLine service provided by Health Assured, free financial education courses and referrals to PayPlan for debt advice.

Its eligibility page covers serving officers, police staff including PCSOs, retired officers and staff, special constables (subject to checks) and family members, including spouses and civil partners, children and grandchildren, parents and parents-in-law, siblings and siblings-in-law, nieces and nephews, and widows or widowers. It says eligibility may vary by product.

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) is the staff association for constables, sergeants, inspectors (including chief inspectors) and special constables. Membership is opt-in. Its membership page says the subscription is deducted from your pay by your force, which passes it to the Federation: £24.31 a month at the full rate when we checked, with 50% off in a probationary constable's first year. It says subscriptions may qualify for tax relief.

What PFEW lists for subscribing members:

• support and advice from workplace representatives, and representation in performance and misconduct proceedings
• access to criminal, misconduct and civil legal assistance, subject to the funding criteria
• eligibility for your branch's group insurance scheme
• discounts from affiliated providers, local benefits, and discounted stays at Federation House

Non-subscribing officers get limited representative support but cannot access legal assistance or funding, the page says.

Branch group insurance

Group insurance is arranged branch by branch, through a broker, and paid by deduction from pay. Cover, price and the age it stops vary by branch and year. As one example, the Norfolk branch's 2025 application form authorises a deduction of £34.20 a month, including a £1.18 Federation administration fee and Insurance Premium Tax; it says premiums are reviewed periodically and may go up or down, and that cover ceases at age 70. Ask your own branch for its current scheme booklet before you join or leave one.

MyPFEW Discounts

PFEW's discount platform, MyPFEW Discounts, is run by World Privilege Plus. PFEW says the offers range from 5% to 85% and were negotiated directly with the companies. You register with your name, branch or force and official work email address. PFEW also says it partnered with Police Mutual to produce its "Let's Talk Money" financial wellbeing guides.

For whether the subscription is worth it, read Police Federation subscriptions: are they worth it? Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own bodies (the Scottish Police Federation and the Police Federation for Northern Ireland) with their own services; we have not covered their schemes here.

Blue Light Card is a commercial discount scheme. Its site lists police (including retired) and MoD Police among eligible groups, and its January 2024 eligibility post says all serving police officers, staff and volunteers are eligible, with special constables proving status by a headed letter signed by a police sergeant. Retired workers generally need at least four years' service. The card costs £4.99 for two years' access, and verification usually takes 1 to 3 working days.

The Defence Discount Service, which looks similar, is for the armed forces community and MoD civil servants. It does not list police officers. For the detail, including how verification works and how the Federation's own discounts compare, see police discounts: Blue Light Card and who is eligible.

Payroll deduction means your force takes a set amount from your pay each month and sends it to the credit union, the Federation or the insurer before the rest reaches your bank. Many officers have several: pension contributions (compulsory if you are in the scheme), Federation subscription, group insurance, credit union saving and loan repayments, and sometimes a charity or sports club.

The strongest argument for payroll saving is that money you never see is easier to keep. The main risks are forgetting what you are paying for, and what happens when your pay drops. Police sick pay reduces after long absence; the police sick pay calculator shows when. If your net pay cannot cover every deduction, ask the provider and your payroll team what happens, and whether you need to pay by another route to keep a loan up to date or insurance in force.

When officers need to borrow, the main routes are a credit union loan, a personal loan from a bank or other lender, or, where an employer offers one, a salary advance app. They are regulated in different ways, which affects cost and protection.

A representative APR in an advert is the rate the lender reasonably expects at least 51% of borrowers from that advert to get (FCA Handbook glossary). Others may be offered more. No1 CopperPot says it does not use a representative APR. Whatever the route, compare the total amount repayable for the same amount and term.

The full comparison, including overdrafts, credit cards and borrowing against a commutation lump sum, is in police loans explained. If borrowing is to cover a shortfall that keeps coming back, read police debt and money pressure first: it covers free debt advice and why declaring problems early matters for vetting.

These are factual questions to put to any provider, police-linked or not. They are not a recommendation.

1. Is the firm on the FCA register under the same name and website it is using?
2. For savings: is the money FSCS protected, and is the return a fixed rate or a dividend that can change?
3. For a loan: what is the APR offered to me, the monthly payment, the term and the total amount repayable?
4. Are there fees for early repayment or overpayment?
5. Can I pay by payroll deduction in my force, and what happens if my pay drops or I move force?
6. If I came through an introducer, is a fee paid, and could I apply direct?
7. For insurance through a branch scheme: what does it cover, what does it cost now, and when does cover stop?
8. For a discount scheme: what does it cost, how long does membership last, and what proof does it need?

If you are worried about money now, your force welfare team, your Federation representative or a free debt advice service can help. The FCA's own advice on salary advances is to seek free debt advice from the Money Advice and Pensions Service or a debt charity if you are struggling.