Arizona Credit Union System Host CU Staff Trip to Mexico

Phoenix, Ariz. - The Arizona Credit Union System, in conjunction with the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), recently took a group of Arizona credit union representatives to Queretaro, Mexico, to visit ACUS's partner credit union, Caja Libertad, for a week-long, fact- finding tour of the credit union's marketing efforts.

During the weeklong trip, the group visited Caja Libertad's headquarter offices and held meetings with the credit union's marketing department to find out how the credit union promotes services to their Latino membership.

The group had an opportunity to meet two of Caja Libertad's members who shared their stories of how the credit union provided them with loans to start their businesses. They also visited two local branch offices to see first-hand how the credit union's marketing efforts have helped to attract new members. "Visiting Caja Libertad was a wonderful experience. This credit union shares the same philosophy as Pima Federal Credit Union when it comes to caring about its members and the communities they serve," said Bea Vidal, Business Development Director with Pima FCU, noting that the information they shared would be helpful in their marketing efforts. Vidal was impressed with Caja Libertad's operations and expressed her thanks to the League and her credit union for their support in organizing and supporting the trip.

Arizona credit union delegates were impressed with Caja Libertad's focus on member services and on the amount of research into they had done on their members' preferences and concerns.

"I learned so much - from community sponsorship ideas, to what colors Latinos prefer to see in commercials," stated Laura Lowe Edgar, Director of Community Services for Arizona Federal Credit Union. "It exceeded my expectations and then some."

Caja Libertad participates in WOCCU's International Partnership Program and is partnered with the Arizona Credit Union System.

El Consejo Mundial de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Crédito es la asociación gremial y agencia de desarrollo para el sistema internacional de cooperativas de ahorro y crédito. El Consejo Mundial promueve el crecimiento sustentable de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito y otras cooperativas financieras en todo el mundo a fin de facultar a las personas para que mejoren su calidad de vida a través del acceso a servicios financieros asequibles y de alta calidad. El Consejo Mundial realiza esfuerzos de defensa activa en representación del sistema global de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito ante organizaciones internacionales y trabaja con gobiernos nacionales para mejorar la legislación y la regulación. Sus programas de asistencia técnica introducen nuevas herramientas y tecnologías para fortalecer el desempeño financiero de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito y profundizar su alcance comunitario.

El Consejo Mundial ha implementado 290 programas de asistencia técnica en 71 países. A nivel mundial, 51,000 cooperativas de ahorro y crédito en 100 países atienden a 196 millones de personas. Obtenga más información sobre el impacto global del Consejo Mundial en www.woccu.org.