International Credit Union Day Celebrates “Members Make It Happen”

For 55 years, credit unions have set aside the third Thursday in October to celebrate International Credit Union Day. Each year, it gives us an opportunity to remember our proud history as we promote understanding and support for the credit union difference.

In 1848, Freidrich Raiffeisen, mayor of Flammersfeld, Germany conceived of the idea for a credit union to help ease the distress of farmers suffering from the famine that had struck his district. Today, more than 123 million people belong to 40,421 credit unions around the world.

Member service is the foundation of the credit union movement. Whether a credit union is providing a loan to help a member cover unexpected medical bills, giving financial counseling to a member whose company closed its doors, or simply offering a better deal on a used car loan, the credit union is making a difference for its members and the community as a whole.

In the 2003 American Banker/Gallup Consumer Survey, credit unions led the financial institution’s ratings for staff friendliness and courtesy, speed of loan decisions, deposit rates, and improvements from year-to-year in service quality.

Source: Cuna.org