“At a time in our history when we seem increasingly divided, we hope our credit unions use the ICU Day 2024 theme to show how our movement brings people closer together through democratic, member-owned financial institutions that put people over profit…”

Thomas Belekevich, WOCCU Director of Member Services.

Today is International Credit Union Day, a yearly celebration of the credit union movement across the globe. Since 1948, International Credit Union Day has been a time to recognise the positive impact that credit unions have on people’s lives, celebrated every third Thursday of October! This year, the theme is: “One World Through Cooperative Finance.”

At a time where the world seems more and more divided, this ICU Day, we all want to focus on the power of cooperation, and how credit unions across the world can unite our members through ethical finance and support.

Empowering Communities

Credit unions aren’t just financial institutions, we are also community pillars, even more so now as many traditional banks disconnect themselves from local people as they close their branches. This means that many people feel disconnected from traditional banking as a whole, but at Smart Money Cymru, our aim is to change that. Our focus is on people over profit, ensuring that our decisions are made with our members and their communities’ best interests in mind.

By uniting our communities, we can empower them to not only make smarter money decisions but help and advise each other too!

A Movement for Change

This year’s ICU Day is a call to action, a call for change. The World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions (WFCU) emphasises the need for change globally and the power that we have, as credit unions, to unite in doing that. Whether it’s battling climate change, to financial exclusion, we can empower individuals to take control of their financial futures and make a real difference in their communities.

Currently our focus is to give employers more financial security through their payroll with our Smart Payroll Savers scheme – this allows employers to give their employees the opportunity to save in an easy and secure way, lowering financial uncertainty, and making saving easier than ever. This is just one of the ways we aim to help people within our communities, alongside funding community initiatives and giving our members in Wales access to ethical finance!

Become a Member

So why not join the movement and become a member of Smart Money Cymru today! If you’re a resident in Wales, or if your employer is based here, you too can take advantage and join the largest community bank in Wales! Join the cooperative movement today!