What is the Credit Union Difference to the Consumer?

Dr. Brian Branch, Pres/CEO, WOCCU

I serve on the advisory committee for the United Nations’ International Year of Cooperatives.  When we launched the year at the UN in New York last fall, we reached out to the media and provided them with information about our values, the cooperative ownership democracy, the member empowerment and the accessibility of cooperatives. They did not respond.  Yet two days later we had a call from MSNBC.  They heard about what credit unions were doing with mobile technology to take services to low-income populations in remote communities in Mexico.  They had thought all cooperatives were quaint, old-fashioned sleepy institutions, and yet here were credit unions in developing countries applying innovative technology to serve disadvantaged communities.  “This was different,” the reporter explained.

Different.  That word again.  It launched us on a campaign for the International Year of Cooperatives. What is the credit union difference? What makes credit unions unique?  What makes credit unions compelling today and tomorrow?

Is it that credit unions are cooperatives?  Is it their democratic nature? To us, the answer is yes, because the internal passion and drive for member service comes from the cooperative structure and values that treat every member as important as another.  But for the consumer, what is valued most is the quality of the service, the convenience and the cost.  People do not care how we provide competitive pricing and service; they just expect it.

Is it that credit unions are not for profit?  To us, yes, because credit unions operate not to generate profits for private shareholders, but to provide service to their members.  Stock companies are driven by the objective to maximize shareholder return.  The result is often higher fees.  Credit unions provide lower-cost services because they are not out to extract surplus from their members.  But for the consumer the structural form is irrelevant.  The quality and breadth of service is important.  Consumers want more and they want to pay less for it.

Is it that credit unions are member-owned?  To us, yes, because we are driven by a passion to serve our members and to empower them.  But for the consumer the concept may put up barriers: that membership is limited to a restricted group or that membership requires time, inconvenience and money to qualify for entry.

Credit unions all over the world helped consumers during the financial crisis.  After the notoriety that commercial shareholder institutions gained for consumer abuse, high fees, restrictive credit and government bailouts, credit unions maintained a positive perception.  This will last for a short period of time.  We take advantage of this window to communicate our difference in terms that appeal to the consumer: the best price, the best service, more for less, fair treatment. We do it now while consumers are looking for those values.

Dr. Brian Branch, president and CEO of World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), was appointed in 2011. Dr. Branch has worked at WOCCU since 1990 and has been engaged in development fieldwork, research and implementation for more than 30 years. www.woccu.org

Brian Branch

Brian Branch

Dr. Brian Branch, president and CEO of World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), was appointed in 2011. Dr. Branch has worked at WOCCU since 1990 and has been engaged in ... Web: www.woccu.org Details