A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization. Building societies offer banking and related financial services, especially savings and mortgage lending. Building societies exist in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, and used to exist in Ireland and several Commonwealth countries. They are similar to credit unions in organisation, though few enforce a common bond. However, rather than promoting thrift and offering unsecured and business loans, the purpose of a building society is to provide home mortgages to members. Borrowers and depositors are society members, setting policy and appointing directors on a one-member, one-vote basis. Building societies often provide other retail banking services, such as current accounts, credit cards and personal loans. The term "building society" first arose in the 19th century in Great Britain from cooperative savings groups.
Electronic funds transfer at point of sale is an electronic payment system involving electronic funds transfers based on the use of payment cards, such as debit or credit cards, at payment terminals located at points of sale. EFTPOS technology originated in the United States in 1981 and was adopted by other countries. In Australia and New Zealand, it is also the brand name of a specific system used for such payments; these systems are mainly country-specific and do not interconnect.
Nationwide Building Society is a British mutual financial institution, the seventh largest cooperative financial institution and the largest building society in the world with over 15 million members. Its headquarters are in Swindon, England.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is an Australian financial institution, operating primarily in retail banking. The company was formed by the merger of Bendigo Bank and Adelaide Bank in November 2007.
St.George Bank is an Australian bank with its headquarters in Sydney. Since a 2008 merger, the bank has been part of Westpac, having previously been an independent legal entity. In 2010, St.George was deregistered as a company and ceased to be a standalone authorised deposit-taking institution.
Banking in Australia is dominated by four major banks: Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking Corporation, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, and National Australia Bank. There are several smaller banks with a presence throughout the country, and a large number of other financial institutions, such as credit unions, building societies and mutual banks, which provide limited banking-type services and are described as authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs). Many large foreign banks have a presence, but few have a retail banking presence. The central bank is the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). The Australian government’s Financial Claims Scheme (FCS) guarantees deposits up to $250,000 per account-holder per ADI in the event of the ADI failing.
Alterna Savings and Credit Union Limited, commonly called Alterna Savings, is a credit union based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. In addition to its credit union branches in Ontario, it also operates across Canada through its direct banking subsidiary Alterna Bank.
The Britannia Building Society was founded as the Leek & Moorlands Building Society in Leek in 1856. It expanded steadily as a regional society until the late 1950s when it began a major expansion drive, partly through branch openings but also some 55 acquisitions. The most substantial of these were the NALGO Building Society in 1960; the Westbourne Park in 1965 ; and the Eastern Counties Building Society in 1974. The Society’s name was changed to the Britannia Building Society the following year.
Great Southern Bank is a customer-owned bank based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. As of 2013, it is the largest customer-owned financial institution in Australia. It offers banking, health and insurance services to around 500,000 Australians.
Cooperative banking is retail and commercial banking organized on a cooperative basis. Cooperative banking institutions take deposits and lend money in most parts of the world.
Co-operative Banking Group Limited was a UK-based banking and insurance company and a wholly owned subsidiary of The Co-operative Group. Established in 2002, its head office was located at the CIS Tower, Miller Street, Manchester.
Co-op Insurance is the trading name of CIS General Insurance, a general insurance company, which is part of the Co-operative Group, based in Manchester, United Kingdom. Co-op Insurance Services, an insurance intermediary incorporated in 2017, is a wholly owned subsidiary of CIS General Insurance.
Bank Australia is an Australian customer-owned bank based in Kew, Victoria. Bank Australia's purpose is "to create mutual prosperity in the form of positive economic, social, environmental and cultural impact". The organisation was formed in 1957 as the CSIRO Co-operative Credit Society which over time merged with 72 other credit unions and co-operative banks, eventually becoming Bankmecu in 2001, then Bank Australia in 2015.
Beyond Bank is an Australian customer-owned bank operating in South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, Western Australia and New South Wales. It provides financial services to its members including savings and business accounts, term deposits, loans, insurance and financial planning, and has total assets under management of more than $5 billion. It is a certified B Corp.
The rediATM network is an Australian ATM network, that was originally operated and owned by Cuscal Limited. On 14 August 2019, Cuscal sold the network to the Armaguard Group.
Credit unions in the United Kingdom were first established in the 1960s. Credit unions are member-owned financial cooperatives operated for the purpose of promoting thrift, providing credit and other financial services to their members.
Cuscal Limited is an Australian company that predominantly provides transactional banking, liquidity and capital management services and products to institutional customers including credit unions, mutual banks and superannuation funds. Cuscal is regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) as an Australian authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI), and by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). It is a member of EFTPOS Payments Australia and the Australian Payments Clearing Association. Cuscal has an A+ credit rating.
P&N Bank is a division of Police & Nurses Limited and an Australian owned bank managed in Western Australia. Operating under a mutual model, P&N Bank provides retail banking services such as savings and lending products, insurance and financial planning services. With a branch network of 15 branches in Western Australia, P&N Bank also has a Perth based Contact centre, online banking facilities and is partnered with Cuscal, and is a provider of access to the New Payments Platform (NPP). As a mutual bank there are no third party shareholders, as distinct from a listed company, members who bank with P&N Bank and hold a share in Police & Nurses Limited are the owners of the Bank. P&N Bank is a member of COBA, the industry body that represents the credit unions, building societies and mutual banks in Australia and BCCM. P&N Bank is one of the majors sponsors of the Perth Wildcats.
London Capital Credit Union Limited is a not-for-profit member-owned financial co-operative, based in Archway and operating in the City of London and north London boroughs of Barnet, Camden, Hackney, Haringey and Islington.
Australian Unity is an Australian mutual company having its origins in the friendly societies movement. It was formed as the Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows (MUIOOF) in Melbourne, Victoria on 7 December 1840 by eight men including Thomas Strode, publisher of the Port Phillip Gazette and Augustus Greeves, inspired by Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity. In 1993, Manchester Unity merged with the Australian Natives' Association to form Australian Unity. Later mergers occurred with Grand United Friendly Society in 2005, Lifeplan Australia Friendly Society in 2009, and Big Sky Credit Union in 2012. Australian Unity has about 8,500 employees across healthcare, insurance and banking divisions.
