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. First central bank of credit unions appeared in 1876. Credit unions began to appear rapidly in many European countries. Credit union services are available only to its shareholders. The main advantage of credit unions consists in transparency, controllability, governance for shareholders. In the UK, credit unions are a source of financing of people groups. This tool is not widely used. U.S. credit unions have another significant difference from the credit cooperatives of farmers: the first have major proportion of short-term loans, the second - long and mostly in real estate. To increase the number of credit unions in 1979 was adopted the corresponding law that serves as the legal basis of their activity.