Credit unions, on the other hand, provide most of the services that banks do, but the services are usually cheaper. Hence, credit unions are better poised than banks to attract those excluded from financial services.

1. teamsteverhyner.com http://www.teamsteverhyner.com/credit-unions-bitcoin-the-winning-formula/
Steven L.
Rhyner
Credit Unions & Bitcoin: The Winning Formula
Banks are expensive and inaccessible for many, especially for the poor. “Not only is banking not for
everyone, accounts are inaccessible to about half of the world. People are too poor, live too far from a bank,
or don’t have the required documentation,” according to CNN. As a result, billions of people in the world are
unbanked or underbanked. As a result, these individuals suffer financial exclusion and limited economic
growth.
Also read: From Skeptic to Evangelist: Economist Jeffrey Tucker on the Bits of Freedom
Credit unions, on the other hand, provide most of the services
that banks do, but the services are usually cheaper. Hence, credit
unions are better poised than banks to attract those excluded
from financial services. In effect, credit unions could exploit the
virtues of Bitcoin and its underlying blockchain technology to
develop faster, safer, and more affordable financial products,
such as remittances.
Credit Unions vs. Banks
Banks are for profit; credit unions are not-for-profit. The purpose
of banks is to increase shareholders’ profits. Banks are
cumbersome, expensive, and complicated. As a result, almost
one-third of U.S. households is underbanked or unbanked, according to a 2013 FDIC survey.
On the other hand, credit unions are cooperatives that offer most of the same financial products offered by banks, but
they focus on satisfying the financial needs of a predetermined group of people. To join a credit union, you must be

2. associated with the group that the credit union is serving, such as a company, organization, or location. Members of a
credit union elect the board of directors. This guarantees that the credit union acts to the benefit of its members.
Credit unions are more advantageous
to people of limited financial
resources, because fees and loan
rates are typically lower, according to
the MyCreditUnion website; and,
deposit dividends and interest rates are usually higher than those offered by banks and other for-profit financial
institutions. Regarding credit cards, credit unions also offer lower rates.
The World Council of Credit Unions (WCCU) explains:
“[CREDIT UNIONS’] SERVICE TO THE POOR IS BLENDED WITH SERVICE TO A BROADER
SPECTRUM OF THE POPULATION, WHICH ALLOWS CREDIT UNIONS TO OFFER COMPETITIVE
RATES AND FEES.”
To reach emerging markets, one of credit unions’ primary services is remittances.
In this regard, the WCCU’s objective is to help credit unions by furnishing them
with safe and inexpensive money transfer products. Thus, credit unions can allow
their members to avoid the exorbitant fees charged by banks for money transfer
services.
Unfortunately, credit unions are decreasing in number. As of March 2015, the
number of remaining credit unions was estimated at 6,424, according to the
Credit Union Trend Report, issued in May 2015. It also stated:
“YEAR-TO-DATE THE NUMBER OF CREDIT UNIONS DECLINED BY
89, GREATER THAN THE 60 LOST IN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF
2014.”
Credit unions’ membership is also declining. One of the main causes for the
decline in membership, particularly of small credit unions, is attributed to the lack
of suitable technology, as reported by CUToday.
So, if credit unions are to flourish again, they must reinvent themselves. To succeed in this reengineering effort, credit
unions could take advantage of Bitcoin and its blockchain technologyto create new, better, and cheaper services.
One area of growth and innovation is remittances. In this regard, credit unions are uniquely situated to make a
difference and attract many consumers now excluded from financial systems. For example, credit unions can use
bitcoins for remittances, instead of fiat currency wire transfers. The reduction in costs would be substantial, benefiting
many, especially poor immigrants and foreign workers.
In fact, there are already several startup companies providing remittance services in bitcoin, such as Rebittance,
Rebit and Bitspark. However, as illustrated below, it seems that regulators are hesitant or reluctant about allowing
credit unions to do business with Bitcoin startups.

3. Credit Unions & Bitcoin
Why do more people of modest means not abandon banks and
join credit unions? Why are there now fewer credit unions?
Perhaps the explanation is in a recent New York Times article
titled, “Dream of New Kind of Credit Union Is Extinguished by
Bureaucracy.” In it, Nathaniel Popper reports on Mr. Brewster
Kahle’s tribulations in attempting to create a credit union for
Internet Archive.
Based in San Francisco, Internet Archive is an online library.
According to its website, Internet Archive aims to provide
permanent online access “for researchers, historians, scholars, people with disabilities, and the general public to
historical collections that exist in digital format.”
According to the article, the application process to open the Internet Archive credit union took 18 months. And, since
its inception, “the credit union has faced a barrage of regulatory audits and limitations on its operations, first when it
tried to work with low-income immigrants in New Jersey and especially after it looked at providing banking services to
Bitcoin companies that were being rejected by other banks.”
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) had granted authorization to the Internet Archive credit union to
provide services to Bitcoin startups. Then, according to Internet Archive, the NCUA revoked this authorization,
causing great economic distress, forcing into bankruptcy one of the three Bitcoin startups that the credit union was
servicing. As a consequence, Mr. Kahle is now abandoning the project.
It is a pity that a credit union and Bitcoin partnership had to be dropped because of regulatory bureaucracy.
Hopefully, regulators’ attitudes in this regard will soon change, because by exploiting the inherent virtues of Bitcoin
and its blockchain technology, credit unions could develop effective, fast, and low-cost financial products for the
benefit of many, particularly, for those who are unbanked or underbanked.
Re-posted from www.newsbitcoin.com December 8, 2015 by Julio Gil-Pulgar
As Bitcoin makes its way from acceptance to use by consumers it’s important to know there are
opportunities present to you. For example, if you believe, as many do, that the world’s currencies are facing
a serious problem then one should consider protecting their purchasing power and assets in the form of
gold. If you’re interested in how you can purchase gold and hard assets using proceeds from mining Bitcoin
with no risk click here. Or send me an email: steve@prplus.us.
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