Move Your Money Month begins today!
It was initiated by campaign group Move Your Money UK.
On-going bonus culture, failing to meet lending targets to small business and increasing customer complaints has been the narrative for the exasperated public this February.
If you’ve been thinking about moving your money, now’s the time to get it off the ‘to do’ list and into the diary.
Pledge to Move Your Money Now!
They’re calling for people to move their money from the 5 big banking groups into local, mutual and ethical alternatives. There is a large network of Credit Unions, Building Societies, Ethical Banks and Community Development Finance Institutions in this country that are investing responsibly. Find out more here.
Change and progress are preceded by action, individual and collective, and local banking systems thrive when we support them. Since the financial crisis the alternative sector has grown considerably. Several ethical banks have seen their balance sheets double, and savings in credit unions increased by 300% over the last decade. In the US, 10 million people have moved to local financial institutions since 2010.
In the US it is estimated that 650,000 Americans moved their money in the 4 weeks leading up to ‘Bank Transfer Day’ on Nov 5th 2011. It’s now time for consumers in the UK to act together to create a better banking system!
Move Your Money isn’t about ‘bringing down’ the big banks. This is about strengthening the alternatives and creating a more diverse system that works in the interest of wider society.
To build support for the campaign and better banking, during Move Your Money month the organizers will be launching their own ‘ISA page’, starting projects working in schools and Students Unions, supporting events at Credit Unions and working in Parliament.
What you can do
Pledging to move your money is the first step towards building a better, fairer and safer banking sector. The more of us that move our money, the greater the positive impact we can have.
Tell your friends (you can pick a day to do it together), spread the word, get involved… – check out the template emails, flyers and posters.
If you’d like to get involved further, or organise your own event – a demo, a talk, a film screening, a MYM party, get in touch with MYM and let them know! They’d love to help out.