3. “You Become Part of Something Bigger” Credit unions are cooperatives. That’s a big deal because cooperatives are designed to benefit their users, not outsiders looking to make money off of them. Cooperatives have a deep-rooted belief system that resembles, in many ways, the principles that the United States was founded on. All of these principles are designed to do one thing: ensure the co-op’s members have the ability to democratically control the co-op and are the primary beneficiaries of the co-op. That ensures the co-op is always operating in the best interests of the members. While there are approximately 6,700 credit unions nationwide, there are approximately 30,000 co-ops. You’ve just become part of something much bigger by joining a credit union. 4 15 Reasons You Should Only Bank at a Credit Union