Historically, credit unions were preceded by widespread development of credit cooperation in many countries of Europe and America. Borrowing rate for the credit union is a source of income to cover the administrative costs. All excess funds are returned to members in the form of dividends on savings. Today in the UK there are about 700 credit unions with assets exceeding 200 million pounds. 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. Among the U.S. credit unions, there are three groups that differ in terms of assets, shareholders, and business services. 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. Credit unions, like today's credit unions, emerged in the 19th century in Germany as a result of crop failure and famine. A credit union on its own initiative order is created by citizens (individuals) to solve their financial problems that they could not solve in other financial institutions. 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.