The World Council of Credit Unions has teamed up with Palo Alto,Calif.-based Boom Financial, a company providing mobile banking andmoney transfer services to immigrant and unbanked families, in order to bring more business to creditunions in developing countries, Boom Financial announced.

The World Council, the global trade association and developmentagency for 51,000 credit unions that serve 196 million peoplearound the world, will act as a broker and technical consultantsolution for Boom, enabling the company to expand its reach intonew countries, Boom said.

Boom customers use the company's technology to set up bankaccounts and transfer money to individuals abroad, and through thepartnership, money transfer recipients will be directed to localcredit union branches to retrieve their money, the companyexplained.

The partnership also allows credit unions in developingcountries to market other products to unbanked individuals oncethey visit a branch to retrieve their funds via Boom, according tothe company.

“Boom Financial shares World Council's vision of expandingfinancial inclusion through mobile technology and has the resourcesand people necessary to make it happen,” said Brian Branch,president/CEO for the World Council in Madison, Wis. “We lookforward to growing our partnership with Boom Financial to reach aneven wider global community.”

Added Bill Barhydt, CEO for Boom, “Boom Financial and theWorld Council share common values and a deep passion to providefinancial access to all. By partnering with a trusted leader with aglobal reach, Boom further entrenches itself as the leader in thisnew category of cross-border mobile banking. Combining Boom'smobile banking infrastructure with the council's decades ofexperience in providing high-quality international financialservices will become a key component of Boom's scalingstrategy.”