More than 2,000 credit union professionals from nearly 60 countries gathered for the World Credit Union Conference (WCUC), where looked at the organisation’s new global strategy and the realities of a post-USAID world.
Michael Lawrence (pictured), chair of the World Council of Credit Unions (Woccu) welcomed delegates and addressed the loss of international development funding with the dismantling of USAID by the Trump administration.
“Woccu immediately pivoted to do what we do best,” he said, “and strengthened the organisation to serve our members and advocate for the fair treatment of credit unions in front of international standard setting bodies.”
Fresh strategy
The remarks came just days after the Woccu board approved a new three-year strategy that prioritises:
- a more proactive approach to international advocacy
- improved services for Woccu members
- strengthening the organisation’s role as a global leader in co-operative finance.
Putting that strategy to work, Woccu’s international advocacy team hosted three breakout sessions on regulatory issues, including a look at new developments in anti-money laundering (AML), financial crime prevention and sanctions.
Related: Woccu asks G20 to recognise co-ops in final declaration
The panel agreed that money laundering and financial crimes have largely become borderless and are evolving rapidly thanks to technology, which means the types of financial crimes and risks associated with them are moving much faster than the regulations.
Carrie Hunt, chief advocacy officer for America’s Credit Unions, said the US AML Act of 2020 – still to awaiting implementation – is a perfect example of that. Five years later, it has yet to be implemented.
“Ultimately,” she added, “we’re in this little bit of a stalled blackout period where we don’t have anything finalised because they’re still trying to dovetail what the functional regulators think needs to happen and what, ultimately, US Treasury – which is the overarching regulator – thinks need to happen relative to these measures.”
New members
The conference included Woccu’s AGM, which included the announcement of two new members – India’s National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) and Panama’s Instituto Panameño Autónomo Cooperativo (Ipacoop).
The AGM also saw presentations of this year’s Digital Growth and Distinguished Service awards.
USF Credit Union (Florida, USA) wonDigital Growth Award for its Buy Now, Pay Later product, launched in June 2024, to help expand financial inclusion to underserved communities.
Two distinguished service awards were made, the first to Steven Stapp, CEO of Unitus Community Credit Union (Oregon, USA), who served on the Woccu board for seven years, the last two as chair. He was nominated by his board colleagues for furthering the growth of global financial co-ops in South Korea, Brazil, Kenya, the Caribbean and elsewhere.
Related: Credit unions as key international development actors
The second award went to Ghanaian Emmanuel Darko, goodwill ambassador for the African Confederation of Cooperative Savings and Credit Associations (Accosca). With a career spanning five decades, Darko has supported the growth and development of saccos across Africa, working with partners like Woccy, the Irish League of Credit Unions’ Foundation, and the Cooperative Development Foundation of Canada.
Visa partnership
The conference saw the announcement of Woccu’s strategic collaboration with Visa, which it says will tackle one of the most “persistent” barriers to financial inclusion: the high cost, access and complexity of cross-border payments and remittances.
The initiative will bring together credit union leaders from across the Americas, Woccu added, to identify and explore scalable solutions that ensure reliable cross-border money movement with the security, ease of use and clear guidance that credit union members seek.
“Cross-border payments remain costly, complex and often out of reach for many communities served by credit unions,” said Thomas Belekevich, director of member services. “This collaboration with Visa represents a critical step forward in our mission to create inclusive and efficient financial ecosystems globally. Together, we’re building solutions rooted in cooperation, innovation and impact.”
The initiative will convene a global working group of credit union leaders and innovators to co-create practical solutions through Woccu’s Global Cooperative Committees platform to foster peer learning and public-private collaboration to address systemic challenges in co-operative finance.
As a strategic advisor and key knowledge partner, Visa will contribute global expertise to help inform and shape impactful solutions, said Woccu.
“At Visa, we believe that inclusive economies are built on accessible, reliable and secure financial infrastructure,” said Celeste Schwitters, senior vice president, community accounts and digital sales at Visa. “By working alongside Woccu, we’re not only supporting innovation in cross-border payments -we’re helping credit unions extend their reach, deepen trust with their members and deliver financial services that are truly global in scope.”
Woccu says the partnership is part of a pilot initiative that reflects its broader strategy to drive sustainable development through public-private collaboration. The work will culminate in a global insights brief and a presentation of key findings at the next year’s World Credit Union Conference.
