Membership in the credit union is voluntary and is open to all citizens bound by with joint work or residence, who wished to create a credit union to use its services and are willing to take on relevant commitments and responsibilities. Credit unions also differ from the traditional consumer cooperatives. Credit union is created by a group of members who pursue a common interest. Agreeing to make regular contributions, they create a fund from which can borrow money for investments and replenishment of working capital at favorable interest rates. Income received by the credit union shall be distributed among the shareholders or spent for the depreciation of services, that is, are the most effective means of meeting the needs of shareholders. A potential new member of a credit union must submit a recommendation of shareholders in which the referee becomes a warrant of a future member of the credit union. Income derived from the provision of services to its members, does not become the profit of credit union and is distributed among its members in proportion to their savings. Historically, credit unions have grown from the experience of credit cooperatives, but they took the experience of organizations of mutual aid of citizens by moving methods of social self-protection from labor and toward consumption. 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. On the consumer credit market in the U.S. credit unions are on the third place after the commercial banks and finance companies and are ahead of savings institutions, not taking into account the loans on real estate. Today, the World Council of Credit Unions is represented as members four regional confederations and twelve national associations.