The World Council of Credit Unions (Woccu) is accepting nominations for its 2025 Digital Growth Award, which celebrates credit unions and credit union associations around the world working on digital transformation.
Recipients of this year’s award will receive a free registration to Woccu’s World Credit Union Conference (WCUC) in Stockholm, Sweden, where they will be honoured as part of Woccu’s Annual General Meeting.
The Digital Growth Award forms part of Woccu’s Challenge 2025 goal, which set the aim of digitalising the global credit union system by 2025 through the development of digital channels, shared platforms, risk management and data analytics.
“We have finally made it to 2025, and we continue to see our members and their credit unions implementing digital solutions that are driving financial inclusion and building more resilient communities around the globe,” said Woccu President and CEO Elissa McCarter LaBorde.
“As we celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Digital Growth Award, we want to see a record number of nominations submitted to show the breadth of credit unions and financial co-operatives that are providing innovative financial solutions to more underserved populations.”
Woccu states that award nominees must show they have implemented a digital solution that is:
- Inclusive: It expanded financial inclusion by reaching members of underserved communities.
- Innovative: It was groundbreaking for your organization by reducing costs, streamlining operations or improving member experience.
- Scalable: It can be scaled up for use or replication by other credit union associations or credit unions in your country or region.
Last year’s awards winners were Puskopcuina, Indonesia’s credit union federation, and Sicoob, a Brazilian credit union system. Puskopcuina won for the development of Escete, an application which brings together cloud-based banking, personalised mobile banking and an e-commerce platform. Sicoob won for developing and implementing Sipag 2.0, a digital system that allows micro and small businesses in rural areas to accept electronic payments at an affordable cost.
This year’s nominees will be judged by an independent panel including digital financial experts in the credit union sector.
Nominations must be submitted by a Woccu member association, or a credit union affiliated with one of those associations, by 5pm US Central Standard Time on 7 March 2025. Nominations can be made here.
