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. Credit unions attract people in the first place by the opportunity to get cash loan (credit) - quickly and relatively inexpensively. The uniqueness of credit unions is that they put together the principles and benefits of financial cooperatives, consumer cooperatives and mutual aid funds, born once by trade unions. When organizing the credit union it is important that people know each other and know the extent to which each of them is trustworthy. Credit unions perform the function of social protection in a vital for people sphere of financial services. They care about improving the financial literacy of the population, are working on the formation of their members and their employees. In the UK, credit unions are a source of financing of people groups. This tool is not widely used. Credit cooperatives and credit unions exist in many different forms. The main differences relate to the nature of the membership and the opening of a credit institution. To increase the number of credit unions in 1979 was adopted the corresponding law that serves as the legal basis of their activity. The specifics of credit unions and, in some sense, their uniqueness lies in the fact that they work not for profit and do not appropriate profit.