CUNA Launches New Consumer-oriented .coop Site

WASHINGTON -CUNA has launched a consumer-focused credit union Web site under the .coop Internet domain. CUNA said it developed the new site to provide consumers with targeted, relevant and timely information about credit unions and financial literacy tools in an easy-to-navigate format. Much of the information already appears on the www.cuna.org site, CUNA COO Pete Crear said, but that site is not designed for consumers and the information isn’t as easy to find. “At CUNA’s new consumer Web site, users will know, by the address that appears in the browser, www.creditunion.coop, that credit unions are different and better financial institutions because they are cooperatives,” said Crear. “Just like credit unions, this site is for service, and that’s what .coop conveys.” In addition to credit union background information and educational materials from CUNA’s Home and Family Finance Resource Center, some of which are offered in Spanish, the site allows consumers to search for credit unions by zip code and distance radius, by town or city, or by a specific credit union name. Crear urged credit unions to use the .coop domain for their Web addresses so they can clearly identify their businesses as consumer-owned and governed financial cooperatives, allowing them to differentiate themselves from investor-owned banks. The domain name www.creditunion.coop had been reserved under the dotCoop Community Names Program, which withholds generic sector Web addresses, like creditunion.coop, for use by the cooperative community, rather than one specific business. [email protected]