Police Cooperative Credit Union – a success story
The PCCU is a true success story, as the organization marked its 14th anniversary on January 16, 2017, with a move into its own building on Bay Street.
With the move, the organization can boast of moving from a small office of about 400 square feet in the Central Police Station in Kingstown with two staff members, to owning its own building and having a staff of seven.
But not only is the PCCU a success story, the seven staff members who now serve the general public also have their own success stories.
One such story is that of the PCCUâs manager Seymonde Mulcaire.
In October 2003, Mulcaire joined the PCCU as a cashier, as part of the Governmentâs YES Programme. At that time, Mulcaire was one of two staff members. Apart from being the cashier, Mulcaire doubled up as office attendant.
“There were two of us and we were doing everything manually at the time,â said Mulcaire, during an interview with SEARCHLIGHT last week Friday.
The manager rolled with the punches and, over the years, sought to improve her educational standing through evening classes that saw her gaining O Level and A Level subjects. In 2010, Mulcaire enrolled as a student at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus (SVG) and graduated in 2015 with a Bachelorâs degree in Banking and Finance.
Mulcaire said that the PCCU has moved from a manual operation where everything was done by hand to a fully computerized set-up that caters to its customers with extreme professionalism.
As at December 31, 2016, the PCCU had 2,163 members. It moved from EC$515,000 in assets in 2013 to over EC$11 million in 2017.
“The Police Credit Union is young; we have a young staff and we are different from the other credit unions, because we are friendlier and we are hands-on in terms of dealing with customers on a daily basis,â said Mulcaire.
The manager said that when it comes to accessing loans, the PCCU has an open door policy, as members can just walk into the office and get to meet with a loans officer without an appointment.
“While the other institutions will tell you that you have to make an appointment, we donât do that. You walk in and see a loans officer right away, we are more hands on in dealing with the custoÂmers,â explained Mulcaire.
Persons interested in joining the PCCU can go to the organizationâs office on Bay Street (upstairs what was formerly VoyaÂger on Bay Street) with a salary slip or a job letter (proof of income), two forms of identification and a utility bill (proof of address).
EC$55 is needed to join the PCCU; EC$5 is taken as the registration fee; EC$25 goes towards the death benefit initiative, while EC$25 represents the first monthâs shares. Members are expected to deposit EC$25 monthly, while the death benefit payment is EC$25 a year. Upon death, a memberâs beneficiary receives EC$5,000.
Mulcaire said that the PCCU does everything that the other credit unions do, while they go even further in helping customers. Their services include loans, savings accounts, death benefit, Christmas club, junior savers accounts, quick cash and fixed deposits.
“We are trying to market the fixed deposit at this time, because we have very competitive interest rates,â said Mulcaire.
The junior savers account (from birth to 14 years old) also has a junior savers challenge, where youngsters can join the PCCU in the first week of January, after which they are asked to make weekly payments with each payment being a dollar more than the last one. At the end of the year, the juniors who have successfully stuck to this payment plan get an electronic tablet.
“â¦You pay a dollar more each week and at the end we give you a tablet just for saving. With the challenge, you canât pay in advance and you canât pay late. You have to pay the amount of money for that week in that week, or you would drop out and not get the tablet we offer,â explained Mulcaire.
“Come and join the PCCU today and let us help you make your financial future brighter,â she urged.
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