Best for emergency expenses: Alliant Credit Union
Why Alliant sticks out: If you get a loan because of surprise expense, just like a broken warm water heater or a major vet bill for the dog, you probably don't want to have to wait very long to obtain the funds out of your lender. With Alliant's personal loans, you are able to typically get your money deposited into your account within 24 hours you're approved. But based on your bank, there might be a wait before you access your cash.
- Loan amounts – Loan amounts vary from $1,000 to $50,000.
- Fees – There aren't any origination fees or prepayment penalties.
- Loan terms – You can choose a term between 12 and 60 months.
- Debt protection plan available – Alliant allows you to add a debt protection intend to your loan. Ranging on price from 75 cents to $1.99 per $1,000 of your outstanding loan balance, the program will cancel your payments or perhaps your remaining balance if you become unemployed or disabled, or if you die.
- Membership – You may become an Alliant member a high level current or retired employee of the qualifying company, if you're a member of a qualifying organization, or if you donate to Foster Choose to Success during enrollment.
Read our full overview of Alliant personal loans to learn more.
Best for applicants without a credit history: Golden1 Credit Union
Why Golden1 sticks out: If you have no credit history or credit ratings yet, qualifying for a financial loan can be difficult. But Golden1 offers a credit starter loan that's specifically designed for borrowers who want to establish new credit.
- Loan amounts – You can borrow as much as $1,500 by yourself, or as much as $2,500 if you have a co-signer.
- Collateral – The credit starter loan is an unsecured loan, which means you don't have to use your car or any other property as collateral.
- Skip-a-payment feature – If you get a credit starter loan from Golden1, you are able to skip one payment each year so long as your account is current, you earn a minumum of one payment around the loan, and you request to skip the payment a minimum of Ten days ahead of time.
- Interest rates – Golden1's credit starter loan features personal bank loan APRs within the double digits. The Golden1 Personal bank loan option offers APRs in the single digits.
- Membership – To be eligible for a a Golden1 loan, you've got to be part of the loan union. You're eligible for membership if you live or work in California, possess a family member or domestic partner that is a current Golden1 member, or work for one of the credit union's partner employee groups.
Read our full overview of Golden1 Credit Union's personal loans to find out more.
Best for military families: Navy Federal Credit Union
Why Navy Federal Credit Union sticks out: Navy Federal Credit Union's products aren't open to everyone. Membership is limited to U.S. military service members, Dod officer candidates and reservists, Department of Defense civilian employees, veterans and immediate family of members.
If you are in one of the eligible groups, andyou need a personal bank loan or a do it yourself loan, Navy Federal's guidelines allow repayment periods as high as 180 months, with respect to the type of loan and other factors. This can be an advantage because a longer loan term can give you less expensive monthly obligations.
- Loan amounts – The minimum amount borrowed is just $250, and also the maximum amount is $50,000, depending on the type of mortgage.
- Collateral – Navy Federal Credit Union's do it yourself loans are unsecured, but you will find secured personal loan options too. You are able to secure a loan with your checking account, for example, to potentially get a lower rate.
- Loan terms – As mentioned above, loan terms can be as long as 180 months (some loans is often as short as 36 months or less). For home improvement loans, there's a $25,000 loan minimum for relation to 61 to 84 months, and a $30,000 loan minimum for relation to 85 to 180 months.
- Disbursement time – Loans may be disbursed in as little as 24 hours.
Read our full overview of Navy Federal Credit Union's unsecured loans to find out more.
Best for big purchases: Consumers Credit Union
Why Consumers Bank sticks out: Bank personal loans may have lower loan limits than you will find using their company lenders, often $50,000 or less. But Consumers Credit Union allows eligible borrowers to get around $100,000 with its signature loan.
- Collateral – Consumers Credit Union's personal loans are unsecured.
- Penalties – There isn't any prepayment penalty if you opt to repay your loan early.
- Discounts – If you subscribe to automatic payments, you can be eligible for a an interest rate discount as high as 0.50%.
- Membership – To join Consumers Bank, make a $5 donation to the Consumer Cooperative Association and maintain an account balance with a minimum of $5 inside your membership share savings account.
Best for secured loans: Connexus Credit Union
Why Connexus stands out: Opting for a secured loan can improve your chances of qualifying for a loan and getting a low interest rate. Connexus bank offers secured loans as well as unsecured personal loans with terms as much as 84 months.
- Loan amounts – Having a Connexus secured loan, you can borrow between $2,500 and $50,000.
- APRs – Some borrowers may be eligible for a an APR within the single digits, but maximum rates can go well into double digits.
- Membership – To be eligible for a Connexus Bank membership, you must work with a participating employer or have finished a participating school, live in among the designated bank communities, have a spouse or family member that is a member, or join the Connexus Association with a $5 donation.
What you must know about bank personal loans
Credit unions offer lending options and services that are just like or much like those of banks. With both lending institutions and banks, you can access such things as direct deposit, mobile banking, ATM access and overdraft protection.
But banks are for-profit institutions, meaning they're in the industry of utilizing money to earn money. Credit unions are nonprofit organizations, and they're member-owned.
Typically, credit unions use their nonprofit status to pass savings along to their members, often providing them with higher interest on savings accounts and charging lower rates of interest and fees on loans.
Here are some things to understand before you apply for a credit union loan.
1. You'll need to be a member
Each credit union has its own criteria for who can join. Membership eligibility is usually according to some sort of commonality, like location, relationship to an existing member, or membership inside a church, school, labor union or homeowners association.
You will find credit unions in your town through the National Bank Locator. Once you find a bank you want to join, evaluate the membership requirements. If you're eligible, you can contact the credit union straight to join.
2. You may get a lower rate of interest and much less fees
Credit unions generally are centered on promoting financial well-being because of its members instead of turning an income. As a bank member, you might be able to get better loans – just like a lower interest rate minimizing fees – than you can find from the bank or any other type of lender.
Federal lending institutions can't ask you for an annual percentage rate, or APR, higher than 18% for many kinds of loans they offer. However the average APR for an unsecured three-year loan from a credit union may be even lower, based on data collected through the National Credit Union Administration. In 2022, the nation's average APR for an unsecured credit union loan was under 9%. Some online lenders charge APRs of up to 36% or even more.
With a lesser APR, you can save money overall – and you'll also have a lower payment per month.
Not only are the interest rates typically better than you'll find elsewhere, but the associated fees may also be lower.
3. You may have better odds of approval
If you have strong credit, you may have access to favorable loan terms like low APRs. But credit unions can also be prepared to work with you if you've struggled with credit previously.
Some credit unions can provide loans to borrowers who don't put on much credit, or you have no credit rating at all. If you're already part of a federal credit union and also you need money right away, a payday alternative loan might be a choice for tiding you over until the next paycheck.
While the eye rates for any payday alternative loan may not be as low as those of some other unsecured unsecured loans, federal lending institutions cap payday alternative loan APRs at 28%. Compare that to traditional pay day loans, which generally include costs that equate to an APR of around 400%.
If you want to build your credit, another type of bank loan to consider is a credit-builder loan. Improving your credit might help your chances of getting favorable loan rates and terms in the future.
Just remember that a bank might not be prepared to provide you with a loan – even if you're a member – if it doesn't consider a member up to date.
4. You might have limited access
Credit unions typically serve a smaller customer base than traditional banks. You might find that your bank has a limited number of physical branches.
How we picked these loans
To select the right credit union loans, we researched 10 credit union personal loans. Each credit union and personal loan was evaluated according to membership requirements, loan amounts, repayment terms, fees and APRs.
