Representative organization, leading the coordination work in the field of development of both global and national credit union movement is the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) established in 1971 (headquartered in Madison, USA). The economic basis of credit unions - finances of a household. The main objective of the credit union - to ensure financial stability of a household, to ensure the priority of their shareholders' financial interests. Some credit unions are closed, serving only their members. However, the more and more popularitywin cooperatives of open type. Principles of cooperative democracy and interaction were adequate to the purposes for which people joined credit unions. Is necessary that all shareholders of the credit union were members of a single community, would know each other well enough to enjoy mutual trust. First central bank of credit unions appeared in 1876. Credit unions began to appear rapidly in many European countries. 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. Until the 70's there was a proliferation of the U.S. credit unions due to the increase of their number and the number of shareholders, although it must be acknowledged that there was also and a qualitative growth. In the UK, credit unions are a source of financing of people groups. This tool is not widely used. Credit unions, like today's credit unions, emerged in the 19th century in Germany as a result of crop failure and famine.