The ideas and values which are central to how credit unions work were developed in the 19th century; in Britain by pioneer co-operators such as Robert Owen; in Germany by innovators such as Herman Schulze-Delitzsch; and in North America, where Alphonse Desjardin was mapping his vision of co-operative credit. The credit union movement grew quickly throughout America and Canada and quickly became an influence for the rest of the world.

Credit unions in Jamaica began during the 1940s. Father John P Sullivan a Jesuit priest, believed that credit unions could assist working people to better cope with wartime conditions. In Ireland the first credit union was founded in 1958, thanks to schoolteacher Nora Herlihy and colleagues in the Dublin Central Co-operative Society, which she helped to found. Through contact with the Credit Union National Association(CUNA) in America, and visits between the two countries, the first of many credit unions in Ireland was founded.

Credit unions took some time to take off in England, Scotland and Wales. People who had seen the idea work in Ireland and the Caribbean were amongst the first British credit union pioneers, as were people who heard about the idea from relatives in Canada and elsewhere.

Before 1979, there was no legal structure for credit unions, so some of the early credit unions chose to register under the Companies Act and some under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act. Many of these credit union pioneers were very active in getting a legal structure for credit unions on the statute book. Eventually, in April 1979, the Credit Unions Act became the last Act to be passed by the outgoing Labour Government.

As ABCUL celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Credit Unions Act, we will be publishing more information on the early days of the credit union movement in Britain, and the people whose hard work made it happen.