Happy International Credit Union Day!

So today is International Credit Union Day…but what does that mean? Today is a celebration for all credit union workers and members and it is a day to raise awareness about all the great things credit unions do! This day gives members the chance to get more involved in their credit union and the whole credit union movement itself. So how did this get started? Who came up with such a great idea? We’re here to tell you all about it…

It all started in Germany in the 19th Century when Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch and Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen created the first real credit unions. Schulze-Delitzsch founded the first "people's bank" in 1852 to provide credit to entrepreneurs in the city and Raiffeisen had established a credit society in Flammersfeld, Germany in 1849 that depended on the charity of wealthy men for its support. Raiffeisen then organized a new credit union in 1864 for farmers, that was based on a community-first mentality and strong volunteer management structure that is still fundamental today.

Over the years, credit unions spread to other countries around the world. In the early 1900s Alphonse and Dorimene Desjardins started a credit union in Lévis, Quebec. Shortly after that, Alphonse and Americans Edward A. Filene and Roy F. Bergengren started the first credit union in the United States.

As time passed, a need to establish a specific annual occasion to call attention to credit unions gradually emerged.  Credit unions had helped the lives of millions of individuals for over 150 years and they wanted to have a special day set aside to honor credit unions and their founders. So on January 17, 1927 the Credit Union League of Massachusetts celebrated the first official credit union day. At that time, however, there was so much activity in the development of credit unions in North America that either people were too busy to celebrate or too new to the movement to recognize the significance of the celebration. After a short while, Credit Union Day disappeared.

In 1948 the U.S. Credit Union National Association (CUNA) decided to make a new national Credit Union Day. The third Thursday of October was set aside to be the new day of observance. By then there was many more credit union leaders who believed that there was a need for the special occasion.

Today members around the world celebrate International Credit Union Day. Credit unions tend to go all out. Today Shell Federal Credit Union gave out cookies and jar openers in the lobbies of all of the branches. Credit Unions have come a long way since the 19th Century and are only growing more. Today there are 177 million members in 96 different countries.