Brief History
In January 2003, the Cambodian Community Savings Federation (CCSF) evolved from the Small Economic Activity Development Project of CARE Cambodia, which had been implemented since 1998 in Battambang region. CCSF is now a community-based microfinance organisation officially registered under the Ministry of Interior in December 2002, and under the National Bank of Cambodia as a microfinance operator since March 2003. The organisation, promoting the credit union model, is an umbrella organisation for a number of community savings banks, operating in 85 villages. The credit unions are called "savings banks" as the words for "cooperatives" and "credit union" are still associated with the terror and forced collectivisation of the Khmer Rouge regime.

CCSF is the only organisation in Cambodia developing a credit union model, based on savings mobilization. CCSF has started to replicate the successful model used in Battambang to the Banteay Meanchey province and plans to expand its activities in all districts of the two provinces.
CCSF is a national organisation of savings banks and the first pioneer credit union model in Cambodia. It is evolved from a savings mobilization program involving 26 community-based savings banks (SBs) in 6 districts in the north-west provinces of Cambodia, following the nine (9) credit union operating principles. This number increased to 38 as of 35 December 2005. Its active members steadily increased from 942 in 1998 to 19,285 in July 2005.
CCSF is an organisation professionalized in promotion and implementation of credit union model in the country. The major focus of CCSF is promotion of saving mobilization towards self-reliance and empowerment of local people to own and build sound and safe community based micro-finance organisations.  In this emerging new situation, CCSF is seen as a fresh initiative that takes an entirely different path, in relation to other, more conventional, Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) . Reputed to be the tenth largest micro-finance operator in Cambodia, CCSF is perceived as an MFI that “destroyed the myth that poor Cambodian cannot save”. From another perspective, CCSF is the only institutional micro-finance player that enables the poor to own and operate their own financial system. 

Poverty Focus

- Educate and motivate people about the importance of savings and credit and help them to be self-reliant in development.
- Promote, establish, and strengthen self-managed saving banks.
- Support, organize, and conduct various types of training, education campaigns, seminars, workshops, etc. With a view to developing human resources and local leadership as needed.
- Provide necessary support and technical guidance to its member societies and potential new groups and enhancing their resources and development capabilities.
- Undertake and facilitate other necessary promotional functions for the benefit and development of the savings and credit groups/societies.
- Facilitate and support the groups to conduct various self-organized income generating activities.
- Provide linkages between the saving banks and credit union movement in the developing countries and other line agencies; and coordinate the activities with them as appropriate.

Area of Operations
Through its 39 affiliated community savings banks, CCSF operates in 85 villages located in 42 communes within 9 districts of Battambang and Banteay Meanchey provinces. The largest savings bank has 1,400 members.

Profiling
Typical for a credit and savings union CCSF scores high on the performance indicators accountability and professional capacity. The score on participation is significantly lower but improving (from 203 to 2006). This is most probably an effect of the transition from a more NGO based to a real membership-led structure. Strategic potential is low, especially for a service provider as CCSF. This is a serious attention point, most probably indicating to high overhead costs compared to number of clients and outstanding portfolios.