Credit union hosts Moldovan visitors

THE HERITAGE Credit Union in Walkinstown hosted a delegation from the Moldovan credit union movement recently.

The delegation comprised representatives from the two national representative bodies for credit unions in Moldova – Central Union Savings & Credit Association (CUSCA) and Central Association of Savings & Credit Association (CASCA).

The visit to Ireland was organised by the Irish League of Credit Unions International Development Foundation (ILCU Foundation), the charitable arm of the Irish credit union movement.

The week-long study tour visit incorporated a mix of training sessions and field visits to credit unions in Dublin.

During the visit to Heritage Credit Union, Al McCauley, CEO, Alan Roche, Operations Manager, Carmel Timmons, Credit Control & Compliance Officer and Marie Kelly, Vice Chair from Heritage Credit Union presented on the history of the credit union from its early days to its current operations serving 37,000 members.

“It was a very engaging visit with plenty of questions and discussions around credit union operations and process of credit unions transferring into another credit union,” the Southsiders said. “The discussions allowed the delegation to learn more about the credit union, the services they provide to their members and the competition the sector faces especially from moneylenders which is also an issue for the sector in Moldova.”

The Irish credit union movement is one of the most popular in the world, and other countries, especially those in Eastern Europe, look to Ireland as they develop and strengthen their own respective movements. 

 Eduard Balan, CUSCA Board member, said the delegation was very grateful to Heritage Credit Union.

“We were captivated by the presentation, and it is clear there is a focus on people not numbers which is important.

“We have learned a lot here and we hope to apply this to our movement back home in Moldova.”