Welcome to this October newsletter from the Customer Union for Ethical Banking, the independent union for customers of The Co-operative Bank and Coventry Building Society.
In this month's newsletter we report back on our most recent quarterly meeting with the bank and their responses to some of your concerns.
Register now for our AGM and Gathering!
As we announced in our last newsletter, we're planning our annual online Gathering on Saturday 21st November.
Please register here to join.
This year’s Gathering will be shorter than normal, just an hour. We’ll start at midday, and we’re delighted that once again Maria Cearns, Chief Operating Officer at the bank, will join us to update us and answer our questions. We’re aiming to focus the discussion on the bank’s plans to extend the Ethical Policy across the merged group, plans for Co-op customers to become members of the Building Society, and how the bank will continue to support the co-operative sector as a whole.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Prior to the Gathering, we’ll hold our formal AGM at 11am, for members of the Customer Union only. You can register at the same link.
Our most recent call with the bank
In mid-September we spoke to members of the bank’s ethics team, as we aim to do four times a year under our recognition agreement with the bank.
In particular we pushed the bank for clear communication on whether and when the bank’s Ethical Policy will formally apply across the merged organisation. We were told (at Co-op Congress this summer) that this will happen soon. However, we were disappointed not to see mention of it when the bank announced the formal transfer of its business to the Coventry Building Society, which is expected by 1st January 2027. Applying the Ethical Policy to Coventry customers as well as Bank and smile customers would be a huge expansion of ethical banking in the UK, and a great news story for the bank, so why the reticence?
We also raised the case for a dedicated bank account for co-operatives and better communication with co-ops, while the bank discussed its B-Corp certification, which is planned to extend across the bank, and also hinted at a new customer survey on ethics in 2027.
The bank’s responses to your concerns
The bank has also replied to some issues we raised earlier in the year based on concerns we heard from members and supporters. To summarise their responses:
- We had told the bank its “know your customer” review process is causing real headaches for co-ops with large boards, with multiple people being required to provide personal details to prove their identity. The bank said it understands the concerns, is offering additional time where appropriate and aims to work collaboratively to meet requirements while minimising disruption.
We reported that some members are anxious about the bank’s decision to stop taking on new Smile customers. The bank said there were no plans to migrate existing customers away from Smile and that it “remains an important part of our family of brands.”- We are concerned the bank’s move to using its app for two-factor authentication will exclude users with landlines only or non-smartphones. We asked what provision will be made for those who can't use the app. The bank says it has “an exception process for customers who are unable to use SMS authentication, including some vulnerable customers, people without a UK mobile number and those living in areas with limited mobile coverage.” However it isn’t clear what it will offer people who can't use the app at all. We’ve seen other banks use simple solutions for two-factor authentication using phone calls, and we think the bank needs to do more to avoid excluding customers that don’t use a smartphone, whatever the reason may be.
Member workshops with supporters
Finally – we really enjoyed holding two workshops last month with small groups of members and supporters. These were arranged as a follow-up with those people that responded to our survey back in January to say they would be happy to join a focus group. With these groups of 8 to 12 people we were able to get into detail on questions around how people see ethical banking and the Customer Union, and what they want to see more of from us. We hope to use what we have learned here in our internal planning. Warm thanks to those who got involved, and we look forward to continuing the conversation.
That’s all for this month’s newsletter; thank you as ever for reading and supporting the Union.
With best wishes,
The Customer Union team
That’s all for this month’s newsletter; thank you as ever for reading and for supporting the Union.
With best wishes
The Customer Union team
Have you joined the Customer Union yet? It costs £15 a year to be a member of the first ever customer union co-operative, and help us ensure the Co-op Bank sticks to its principles. We also welcome Coventry Building Society members. It only takes a few moments to sign up here.
This version of the newsletter was modified following clarification from the bank on the integration process and timing.
