DENVER — No matter what nation they're from or what language they speak, credit unions around the globe have more in common than they do in contrast.
That was the message emphasized by Brian Branch, CEO of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), speaking before the general session at the joint America's Credit Union Conference/WOCCU conference here earlier this week.
Calling the meeting "our gathering of the tribes our meeting of the clans," Branch said that CUs worldwide face essentially the same challenges: managing regulation and innovation.
"Convenience is king today," Branch said multiple times. "When we look at how consumers do their business, they do it online and they do it via mobile, and if we want them to use our financial services, we have to provide them access."
While those are challenges, he added, mobile banking services can also be an engine for growth, and Branch pointed to credit unions in Latin America, Asia and elsewhere that have brought their services to people working in remote rural areas via smartphone and tablet so they too can have access to financial services.
"This digital revolution is not just a challenge, it's a great opportunity," he said. "It's a great motor for tremendous outreach."
WOCCU representatives were recently in Cuba, and Branch emphasized the role that cooperative financial institutions can play in developing nations and emerging democracies.
"We find that the credit union model fits most any country, most any culture," he said. "It works for any ethnic group of any religion and under most governments."
The movement can give also members their first taste of democratic elections and holding elected officials accountable, Branch noted, giving people the opportunity to learn the principles of good government.
He offered the example of Poland in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a case of a nation where credit unions offered an example of a working democratic process as the nation developed its own democratic system following the fall of Communism.
"Credit unions help build democracy — that's a part of our difference."
