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. To get a loan in the credit union a shareholder must be not only a formally adopted there, but necessary pay in cash contributions, the amount and order of payment of which approved by the General Assembly and fixed by the charter. The first credit union in the United States was founded in 1909. by the group of Franco-American Catholics in Manchester, New Hampshire, and was called "Cooperative Credit Association of St. Mary. " Today in the UK there are about 700 credit unions with assets exceeding 200 million pounds. Principles of cooperative democracy and interaction were adequate to the purposes for which people joined credit unions. Credit unions, like today's credit unions, emerged in the 19th century in Germany as a result of crop failure and famine. Credit Union - a non-profit financial institution specialized in mutual financial assistance by providing savings and credit services to their members. 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.