You may never heard of a 'credit union' before, but we are global, sometimes called a financial cooperative, a co-op, or a SKOK in Poland, or a SACCO in Kenya. Some are community based (like Advance Credit Union), others are employee or sector based (such as Commsave for the communications industry or Planesaver for the aircraft sector). The World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) estimates that there are at least 86,000 credit unions around the world, with nearly 400 million members. All credit unions exist to serve our Members, enabling financial inclusion, growing financial education, providing affordable, reliable and sustainable financial service. 

In USA, Canada, Caribbean, Ireland, Australia and many other developed nations credit unions are very much part of mainstream finance. As we exist to support our Members, credit unions are essential in some countries with limited banking infrastructure, allowing villagers in India, Philippines and many other countries to save easily and borrow affordably without being ripped off, keeping money within the local community. This also means that credit unions can respond very quickly when disasters occur around the world, getting money quickly to people when they need it most.