Ecuador Shared Branching Launch Assisted By WOCCU

A portion of the WOCCU board poses outside of a credit union during a delegation visit.

Madison-A group of twelve credit unions in Ecuador launched a real-time web-based network on Friday, April 8th, enabling members of participating credit unions to access any one of 77 shared branching locations throughout the country. The service, called Redcoop, means cooperative network in Spanish. The first transaction occurred during a kickoff ceremony in Quito where World Council of Credit Union, Inc.'s (WOCCU) board of directors was present.

The network is part of a project that WOCCU has been working on since 2002 with the support of the United States Agency of International Development (USAID). Redcoop provides participating credit unions with a national presence and more points of service than any bank in Ecuador. Although the service is will begin by offering only domestic transfers, it will eventually allow connections to United States shared branching systems and receive remittances from other countries.

"By providing more numerous points of service that are closer and easier for individuals to use, credit unions in Ecuador are helping their membership to grow and increase profitability," stated L.R. Bobby McVeigh, chairman of WOCCU, during his remarks at the press conference in Quito. McVeigh continued, "By working together to share resources, credit unions greatly improve their service to members. Redcoop is an excellent example of the benefits of cooperation."

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.