MSE News: Co-op to safeguard Christmas savings cash

Former_MSE_Helen

"The group is to protect savers' cash for the festive season in a trust, but only from next year..."

Read the full story:

Co-op to safeguard Christmas savings cash

Consumerist

Beats me why the cash in these schemes is not already required to be protected. Government indifference is probably the answer.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend these schemes to anyone but the Co-op seems to be making a voluntary step in the right direction - albeit belatedly after 6 years since Farepak.

Take_it_like_a_man,_sonny

Great news, but I am afraid our local co op is desperately more expensive than other emporiums, so hey will get the same use for his as they get or normal business.

As for saving scheme, unless it pus interest, no point in giving them money before they need it.

Stuart_W

Well I can already save each week at my local Co-op shop into a FSA-protected account covered under the financial services compensation scheme by using my credit union paypoint card (which is facilitated through The Co-op Bank, who are owned by The Co-operaitve Group, the instigators of this scheme).

Surely these schemes all need to come under FSCS protection - but that would probably take a bit of work, they are currently often un-named and unidentifyable savings stamps or savings card schemes, and amongst families that use them often shared or given as presents as Christmas time.

One of the elements of the profitability of these schemes is not just tying spending up to a particular brand, but the value of lost stamps/expired cards which runs into quite a bit. Named schemes will I imagine be likely to have significantly less "lost money" I'd have throught (could be wrong, I know it does happen with savings accounts too, but signing up for a named account rather than just buying loose savings stamps or topping up a gift card is probably going to be done by folk that keep a tighter track of their cash and savings).

Stuart_W

The Co-op have announced this morning that this ring-fenced protected scheme is now up and running.

It will work in exactly the same way - using savings stamps - but the money is specifically ring fenced.

All the major regional co-operative societies are also part of the scheme.

The Farepak Victims Committee seem very pleased that someone at least has protected their savings scheme.

kidmugsy

Take_it_like_a_man,_sonny wrote: »

Great news, but I am afraid our local co op is desperately more expensive than other emporiums

They are enormously better than they were a decade ago, and convenient enough to get some of our custom.