From 1997 until late last year Pulse Credit Union supplied mutual financial services to members largely drawn from those employed in Victoria’s health services. In 2011 their ranks were swollen by the inclusion of members of the state’s tertiary education sector when they merged with La Trobe University Credit Union Co-operative and Melbourne University Credit Union.
But the roots of the credit union were well and truly in the health sector. What became Pulse Credit Union began as the Royal Women's Hospital Staff Credit Co-operative in 1976. Over the next 20 years the credit union grew by consolidating its position by accepting the engagements of similar local credit unions such as Austin Hospital Staff Credit Co-operative, HBA Credit Co-operative and St. Vincent's Hospital Employees Co-operative Credit Society.
By 1981 it was known as Health Services Credit Co-operative and in 1986 the Victorian Credit Co-operative Association’s (VCCA) Common Bond journal produced a profile on them, a copy of which is in our holdings.
At the time of the profile the credit union had 6,200 members from more than 55 nursing homes and hospitals. An interesting fact quoted in the piece is that:
“Health Services’ bond covers all employees of any Victorian hospital, nursing home or community health centre but excludes institutions with their own credit co-operative facilities. They are well represented in both private and public hospitals in Victoria.
“Richard Cameron [General Manager], says the cooperative honours their bond both in spirit and practice. They don’t approach hospitals with existing credit co-operatives or those that have arrangements with a community credit union …
“Potentially Health Services has a large bond area with almost a thousand nursing and special accommodation homes, although in practice many are too small to service since they have only a handful of staff.”
Richard Cameron expanded on this saying, “we don’t have the resources at this stage to go knocking on doors with two or three staff”. He went on to compare the situation with an oil industry credit union trying to service all of its petrol stations before adding, “If a hospital wanted us we’d go in”.
Another insight provided in the article was that the members remained loyal to the credit union despite banks having branches in the major hospitals. “At the Austin [hospital] we have so many members using our services that sometimes at lunchtime they’re packed into the office like sardines”, said Richard.
In November 2021 Pulse Credit Union transferred its business to Teachers Mutual Bank.
