Unity Credit Union has opened a branch in Princes St, a stone’s throw from the Octagon, to provide a convenient location for its customers to complete their transactions.
Chief executive Kevin Hughes, of Hawke's Bay, was in Dunedin yesterday to meet its members and see the new branch.
He said many banks were pulling back and closing their branches because people preferred doing things online but the credit union found there were still a reasonable number of people that preferred talking to someone face to face about mortgages and personal loans.
"We think there’s actually an opportunity to fill that gap for more vulnerable people who are a bit wary of the new ways of working."
Unity has about 2500 customers in Dunedin, many of whom were in an older demographic.
Mr Hughes said people who did business with Unity also appreciated the credit union kept their money in New Zealand and helped the local community.
Unity did not have branches in large centres like Auckland but was located in regional areas like Dunedin and Rotorua.
It was a not-for-profit business and did not have any plans for mass expansion.
"We’ll always be a niche financial services company. We won’t have the capital to be able to grow."
Unity was originally established in 1971 as Whakatu Freezing Works Employees’ Credit Union.
It expanded after several credit unions around the country, including Credit Union South which was based in Dunedin, merged in 2019.
It now has eight branches in New Zealand.
