Korea Credit Union Hosts ACCU General Assembly with 21 Asian Countries

ACCU Collaborates with Bill Gates Foundation to Build Digital Finance and Infrastructure

On the 24th, at the Daejeon Credit Union Central Association Building, Kim Yoon-sik, President of the Credit Union Central Association and Chairman of the Asia Credit Union Confederation, is conducting the 39th Regular General Meeting of the Asia Credit Union Confederation via video conference.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] The National Credit Union Federation of Korea (NACUFOK) announced on the 25th that it held the 2020 Asia Credit Union Confederation (ACCU) Annual General Meeting and Board of Directors meeting via video conference at the NACUFOK headquarters located in Dunsan-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon.

ACCU usually holds the Asia Credit Union Forum once a year with participants from credit unions across Asia and worldwide. However, due to the global spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and to comply with quarantine rules such as travel restrictions by country, the event was conducted as a small-scale video conference.

This ACCU video conference was held over three days: ▲ the CEO Workshop on the 22nd ▲ the 103rd ACCU Board of Directors meeting on the 23rd ▲ and the 39th ACCU Annual General Meeting on the 24th. More than 51 leaders of Asian credit unions from 21 countries participated via video conference.

Kim Yoon-sik, President of NACUFOK and Chairperson of ACCU representing 35 million Asian credit union members from 23 countries, stated in his opening remarks, “As COVID-19 prolongs, the suffering of ordinary citizens and small business owners continues, and the responsibility of credit unions, based on the cooperative spirit that differentiates them from other financial institutions, becomes even more important.” He added, “Through solidarity and cooperation among Asian credit unions, let us fulfill our social responsibilities and further strengthen contactless financial services that respond to recent financial consumers’ demands, advancing as credit unions representing financial cooperatives.”

In the 39th ACCU Annual General Meeting’s annual report, President Kim emphasized the importance of Korea’s credit unions’ support and development projects (BDS) for small business owners in the Asian region and discussed operational support for Asian credit unions facing management difficulties due to the COVID-19 spread. Elinata San Roque, ACCU Secretary General, reported on the risks and impacts of COVID-19 on Asian credit union operations and stated that evaluations would continue through periodic updates.

A key agenda item of this meeting was the discussion on ‘ACCU Digital Finance and Infrastructure Development.’ As an implementation plan, the ‘ACCU Digital Finance and Infrastructure Development Committee’ was established, composed of five members including IT experts from Korea’s credit unions and representatives from Indonesia, Nepal, and the Philippines.

Going forward, the committee plans to integrate the WOCCU payment platform, established through collaboration between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), into the ACCU platform to enable ACCU members to fully participate in the digital economy amid the changing financial environment.