Merger of Kinsale's credit union with city's First South

By Kieran O’Mahony

MEMBERS of Kinsale & District Credit Union will be able to carry out their banking online, following the recent merger of their credit union with First South Credit Union.

The Board of Management of Kinsale & District Credit Union held their last ever board meeting last week in advance of the Transfer of Engagement, which was concluded earlier this week.

According to the CEO of First South Credit Union, which has offices in Ballypehane and the South Mall, George Cantwell, the merged credit union will have over 20,000 members with combined assets of €134m.

‘The merged credit union will focus on providing the best possible service offerings to meet its members’ financial needs. The Credit Union has experienced strong loan growth over the last number of months, reflecting their very competitive lending rates which range from 4.9% to 9.9% apr,’ said Mr Cantwell.

‘Members will have full Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) services available to them once the computer systems have been changed and the office in Kinsale will be closed on Saturday September 10th and Monday September 11th to facilitate the upgrading of their IT systems. Following the upgrade, members will able to transfer funds in and out of their account via the credit union’s on-line banking system or via their mobile app CU Anywhere.’

The merger between the two credit unions does not involve any job losses for staff in the Kinsale branch and it will allow the combined merged entity to take full advantage of a larger geographic common bond extending from the Old Head of Kinsale, right into the city centre.

First South Credit Union was established in 1960 and was the first credit union to open in Munster, where its first office opened in Ballyphehane. The credit union will continue to trade under the name ‘First South Credit Union Limited’ and members will have the opportunity to conduct business from any of the credit union’s offices located at Kinsale, Ballyphehane and the South Mall.

See www.fscu.ie to register for this service.