Credit Unions And Fintech Opportunities Abound

• Published date: 19 August 2022
• Subject Matter: Technology, Fin Tech
• Law Firm: Invest Barbados
• Author: Invest Barbados

As countries in Africa and the Caribbean prepare for the inaugural AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum 2022 (ACTIF2022), attention is being paid to potential opportunities for flows between the two regions to help plug knowledge and technology gaps that exist. Two areas in which such gaps exist are the credit union movement and fintech development.

Worldwide, the credit union movement has been making significant strides. According to the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), of which credit unions in Africa and the Caribbean are members, globally, there are 86,451 credit unions in 118 countries, which serve 375 million people.

The WOCCU in its 2020 Statistical Report estimates that the penetration rate of credit unions is 12.8%. Further, the global body states that the 40,570 credit unions in Africa have a membership of 40,413,389 across 27 countries. Their assets total approximately US$16.1 billion and the penetration rate was calculated at 14.34%.

Meanwhile, in the Caribbean, the WOCCU indicates that 18 countries have 375 credit unions with membership totaling 3,763,325. Of note is that the assets total US$10.5 billion. The penetration rate of credit unions in the Caribbean is 65.97%, the highest among seven regions identified by the WOCCU.

The success of the Caribbean credit unions is to be applauded. The savings of the average Caribbean credit union member is nine times that of African credit union members. It is believed that these financial entities have best practices they can share with their African counterparts to further develop the credit union movement on...