Credit unions also differ from the traditional consumer cooperatives. At the organization of the credit union it is important that people know each other and know the extent to which each of them is trustworthy. 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). 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. Worldwide credit union movement is represented by regional confederations and national organizations within the World Council of Credit Unions.