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. Specialization of credit unions to provide financial services to its shareholders requires a particularly strict regulation of membership and acceptable activities. National Credit Union Insurance Fund was created by Congress in 1970 to insure deposits of credit union members in the amount of 100 thousand dollars. International cooperation has been particularly felt since the days when Alphonse Desjardins began the activity on development of credit union movement in North America. Standards by which credit unions build their work do not coincide with the standards and regulations of consumer cooperation of the usual type. 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. Credit union as a consumer cooperative operates on the principles of equality of all its members.