Membership in the credit union is voluntary and is open to all citizens bound by with joint work or residence, who wished to create a credit union to use its services and are willing to take on relevant commitments and responsibilities. Most modern credit unions represent specialized consumer cooperatives of citizens associated by the principle of social community: place of work, place of residence, profession, or any other shared interest. Typically new members of the credit union become citizens having suretyship or recommendations from their friends - members of the credit union. Cooperation between credit unions, how they would not have been named, took place always, from the moment when the movement moved outside one credit union. All the members of the credit union, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religious and political beliefs, as well as the size of the monetary share have equal rights. Since the early 80's started the process of consolidation of credit unions, leading to a decrease in their number with a simultaneous increase in the total number of members. Credit unions of the open type are still controlled by their members, but at the same time provide services to people who are not its members (external customers).