Implementing payroll deduction for Scottish credit unions
This report underscores the strategic opportunity present for both employer and credit unions through facilitating access through payroll to financial services.
The research process
The credit union sector in Scotland is well-established, but, by international standards, is still relatively small, and potentially fragile. Dr Robbie Mochrie and Dr Kathryn Waite received funding from the Scottish Universities Insight Initiation to organise a series of workshops and conduct research to explore payroll deduction for Scottish Credit Unions. The workshops brought together a group of academics from a range of backgrounds, to share knowledge and clearly identify the current state and future prospects for credit unions in Scotland (and elsewhere), paving way for future collaboration, research, and better policy advice.
Impact
The project was acknowledged by the Scottish Lead of the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals as providing insight into the challenges that exist in aligning elements of the payroll deduction system. This report underscores the strategic opportunity present for both employer and credit unions through facilitating access via payroll to financial services. The recommendations provide an insightful agenda upon which to develop and the Policy Officer, Scottish Government acknowledged the work as having “developed thinking around the barriers faced by community credit unions and the likely impact of existing proposals."