Rural credit cooperatives refer to rural cooperative financial institutions which are approved by the People's Bank of China, are composed of members, implement democratic management, and mainly provide financial services for members.

Its main task is to raise idle and idle funds in rural areas, provide corresponding financial services for the economic development of agriculture, rural areas and farmers, organize and standardize rural funds in accordance with national laws and financial policies, thus supporting agricultural production and comprehensive rural development, supporting various forms of cooperative economy and member family economy, and limiting and cracking down on usury.

The characteristics of rural credit cooperatives are that deposits are the main liabilities, loans are the main assets, and transfer settlement is the main intermediary business, which directly participates in the creation of deposit currency. At the same time, rural credit cooperatives are also credit cooperative organizations.