CFS customers share £6.5m dividend payout

The Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) revealed that its customers who are members of The Co-operative Group have shared a record £6.5m in dividend payments.

Following the recent announcement from parent company - The Co-operative Group - that this year's membership dividend has doubled to £38.1m, CFS has confirmed its customer/members have earned £6.5m through the unique scheme. While CFS customers that have traded with other Group businesses will see their payout increase even further.

Members receive a cash payment based on points they earn when they trade at any of the Group's businesses, which include: The Co-operative Bank, The Co-operative Insurance, as well as The Co-operative Food; Travel; Pharmacy and Funeralcare.

The value of each point varies year-on-year as the dividend payment is linked to the profits of The Co-operative Group. This year each point is worth 2.63p, up from 1.43p in 2006. The payment is made in the form of vouchers, which can be spent or cashed in the stores, or can be transferred into a bank account.

Dick Parkhouse, Managing Director, Retail, at The Co-operative Financial Services said: "By becoming a member of the Co-operative Group our customers not only earn a share of profits but have a unique opportunity to ultimately own and help control the business.

"At a time when communities are becoming increasingly dominated by a handful of large and impersonal businesses, we are showing our customers that being a member of The Co-operative Group is a totally different experience to that of being a customer of any other financial institution in the UK."