A credit union is a cooperative financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members . Credit unions differ from banks and other financial institutions in that the members who have accounts in the credit union are the owners of the credit union - there are no external shareholders . Major Canadian credit unions include Vancity ( Vancouver ) , Coast Capital Savings ( Surrey ) , Servus Credit Union ( Edmonton ) , First Calgary Savings , Conexus Credit Union ( Saskatchewan ) , Meridian Credit Union ( Ontario ) , Libro Financial Group ( London , Ontario ) and Credit Union Atlantic ( Halifax ) .