Co-Op Bank Membership - does a bank a/c qualify?

tracyk

Morning all,

I have a bank a/c & a personal loan with Co-op bank but, until I discovered that Britannia was going merge with the Co-op, I never realised that they have a membership scheme that pays a dividend twice a year.

Does anyone know whether I am entitled to membership &, therefore, dividend payments please?

Thanks in anticipation.

sons_2

If you become a member then yes.
From their website:

• 1 point for every £5 held or borrowed on average in The Co‑operative Bank or smile current or credit card accounts
• 1 point for every £5 outstanding on a loan from The Co‑operative Bank or smile
• 1 point for every £10 held on average in a savings account with The Co‑operative Bank or smile
• 1 point for every £20 outstanding on a mortgage with The Co‑operative Bank
• 1 point for every £5 borrowed on average in The Co-operative Bank flexible loan accounts
• 500 points for holding a home or motor insurance policy with The Co‑operative Insurance held for 12 months (250 points for six months).

Chutzpah

Not that I know of. I bank with smile which is essentially the same thing but just having a bank account doesn't bring these benefits.

brizzledfw

To add to this even though I hardly ever use the Co-op for food (well when they formally take over Somerfield I will all the time!) we got about £200 last year just from having a smile bank account, car loan, household insurance etc with them so very welcome

the other great thing about this dividend unlike most others is that you don't have to use it on their goods you could exchange it for cash in store

My membership cost me £1

Cheers

LittleVoice

Just to confirm - having any kind of financial product (current account, insurance, etc) with the Co-op/Smile does not make you a member of the Co-op BUT if you join the Co-op and tell them about your relationship with the banks they will link them and so you get the dividend as mentioned above. (The first £1 of your dividend is deducted as a membership fee - so you don't pay your membership to start with - and it's a one off payment, not an annual one.

tracyk

Thanks all :beer:

So, I have to 'join' to become a member and then the bank a/c & personal loan will count towards earning points?

Coincidentally, a Co-op store has just opened up in town (mega expensive though).

I've banked with the Co-Op for over 15 years & am now wondering why they've never informed me that I'm missing out

Do you think I'll be able to backdate any dividend payments?

sons_2

tracyk wrote: »

Thanks all :beer:

So, I have to 'join' to become a member and then the bank a/c & personal loan will count towards earning points?

Coincidentally, a Co-op store has just opened up in town (mega expensive though).

I've banked with the Co-Op for over 15 years & am now wondering why they've never informed me that I'm missing out

Do you think I'll be able to backdate any dividend payments?

Can't see them back dating it, get yourself onto their website and sign up for one so you don't miss out in future.

hansi

LittleVoice wrote: »

Just to confirm - having any kind of financial product (current account, insurance, etc) with the Co-op/Smile does not make you a member of the Co-op BUT if you join the Co-op and tell them about your relationship with the banks they will link them and so you get the dividend as mentioned above. (The first £1 of your dividend is deducted as a membership fee - so you don't pay your membership to start with - and it's a one off payment, not an annual one.

Not so. I have been a Smile customer for years and have recently become a Co-op member. I do not get any payout as a result of having a Smile account.

maemaesmummy

hansi wrote: »

Not so. I have been a Smile customer for years and have recently become a Co-op member. I do not get any payout as a result of having a Smile account.

We have a smile account & a current coop account and get a payment based on the amount of funds in said accounts.

Voyager2002

hansi wrote: »

Not so. I have been a Smile customer for years and have recently become a Co-op member. I do not get any payout as a result of having a Smile account.

I think you have to give Smile your Co-op membership number. I did, and last year I got a cheque for about four pounds (which I lost!).

maemaesmummy

Think they will do direct transfer into your account now or you get vouchers to use in a coop shop...