Lindsay VanSomeren is a personal finance writer based out of Kirkland, Washington. Her work has appeared on Business Insider, Credit Karma, LendingTree, and more.
Lindsay VanSomeren ContributorLindsay VanSomeren is a personal finance writer based out of Kirkland, Washington. Her work has appeared on Business Insider, Credit Karma, LendingTree, and more.
Written By Lindsay VanSomeren ContributorLindsay VanSomeren is a personal finance writer based out of Kirkland, Washington. Her work has appeared on Business Insider, Credit Karma, LendingTree, and more.
Lindsay VanSomeren ContributorLindsay VanSomeren is a personal finance writer based out of Kirkland, Washington. Her work has appeared on Business Insider, Credit Karma, LendingTree, and more.
Contributor Jordan Tarver Lead Editor, Mortgages & LoansJordan Tarver has spent seven years covering mortgage, personal loan and business loan content for leading financial publications such as Forbes Advisor. He blends knowledge from his bachelor's degree in business finance, his experience as a top perf.
Jordan Tarver Lead Editor, Mortgages & LoansJordan Tarver has spent seven years covering mortgage, personal loan and business loan content for leading financial publications such as Forbes Advisor. He blends knowledge from his bachelor's degree in business finance, his experience as a top perf.
Written By Jordan Tarver Lead Editor, Mortgages & LoansJordan Tarver has spent seven years covering mortgage, personal loan and business loan content for leading financial publications such as Forbes Advisor. He blends knowledge from his bachelor's degree in business finance, his experience as a top perf.
Jordan Tarver Lead Editor, Mortgages & LoansJordan Tarver has spent seven years covering mortgage, personal loan and business loan content for leading financial publications such as Forbes Advisor. He blends knowledge from his bachelor's degree in business finance, his experience as a top perf.
Lead Editor, Mortgages & LoansUpdated: Jan 4, 2024, 2:17am
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Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) offers personal loans between $250 to $50,000 to its members. Because it’s a credit union, you must be an active member to be eligible for one of its loans or other financial products. Membership is limited to people who have an eligible connection with the military.
Our ratings take into account loan cost, loan details, eligibility and accessibility, customer experience and application process. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Loan amounts $250 to $50,000 Minimum credit score No requirementNFCU is best for people who are active or veteran military members, a military family member, employed by a Department of Defense contractor or related to a current NFCU member.
Membership requirements aside, NFCU’s personal loans are great if you’re looking for flexible options. You can choose from unsecured loans for a wide range of purposes, over a wide range of loan amounts and term lengths. Or, you can use your existing NFCU savings or CD accounts as collateral for a secured loan at lower rates than you’ll find anywhere else.
In addition to interest rate discounts for active duty or retired military members, borrowers can view their latest FICO score updates for free online.
Personal loan applications are approved or declined based on a number of factors. All lenders have their own unique underwriting requirements, but these typically include information from an applicant’s credit profile and other factors that demonstrate the ability to repay the loan, such as income. Meeting the requirements below won’t guarantee approval, but they can help you decide if a personal loan is the right fit for you.
You must be a member of NFCU to apply. To become a member, you or one of your family or household members must have ties to the armed forces, Department of Defense or National Guard. Members can apply online.
NFCU does not have a minimum credit score requirement; however, borrowers with higher credit scores have a better chance of qualifying and receiving favorable terms. We recommend a minimum score of 670.
Similarly, NFCU doesn’t disclose its minimum income requirements, but it does take this into consideration. NFCU will also look at your past banking history with it as well, so this could be one benefit of establishing a relationship with NFCU before borrowing money.
NFCU allows you to have a co-borrower but not a co-signer. A co-borrower is someone who is jointly responsible for repayment of the loan, whereas co-signers become responsible only if the primary borrower fails to repay.
Applying for a personal loan typically involves prequalifying for a rate, submitting a formal application and awaiting loan approval. Follow these steps to apply for an NFCU personal loan:
One of the benefits of getting a loan from your bank is that once approved, you can get your money quickly because it’s staying within the same institution. That’s certainly true of NFCU as well. Once you’re approved, it will deposit the money into your account as quick as the same day.
Reviews for NFCU tend to be positive across most platforms, but that’s not always the case. The credit union has received awards for its credit card program from J.D. Power and for its customer support from Forrester, as well as a Trustpilot rating of 4.5 out of 5. However, reviews with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) paint a much different picture, with a rating of just 1.22 out of 5 across 127 different reviews.
NFCU isn’t your only option when it comes to getting a personal loan. Here are a few similar personal loan lenders and how they compare:
USAA is another credit union that caters to veterans and military members. However, its loan amounts don’t stack up well compared to NFCU. For example, USAA only offers personal loan amounts between $2,500 and $20,000, whereas NFCU offers loans between $250 and $50,000.
If your focus is loan terms, however, the right credit union for you depends on your loan purpose. If you plan on using the funds for home improvement projects, NFCU offers terms up to 180 months—or 15 years. But if you’re using your funds for personal expenses or debt consolidation, USAA offers terms up to seven years compared to NFCUs five years.
Although PenFed got its start serving only veterans and military members, anyone can join today. It offers terms between 12 and 60 months, which is right in line with NFCU unless you play on using your loan for home improvement purposes. In that case, NFCU offers terms up to 180 months, or 15 years.
What’s more, loan amounts for personal expenses and debt consolidation are similar between the two: NFCU offers loans between $250 and $50,000 while PenFed offers loans between $600 and $50,000.
SoFi serves the general public and has the lowest rates and highest loan amounts of these three alternatives. For example, its personal loans range from $5,000 to $100,000.
SoFi also offers unique perks that are hard to find elsewhere. For example, it provides an unemployment protection program where, if you’re approved, it’ll place your loan in forbearance and help you find a new job.
We reviewed NFCU based on 16 data points in the categories of loan details, loan costs, eligibility and accessibility, customer experience and the application process. We rated NFCU based on the weighting assigned to each category:
Within each category, we also considered several characteristics, including available loan amounts, repayment terms, APR ranges and applicable fees. We also looked at credit score requirements, whether the lender accepts co-signers or joint applications and the geographic availability of the lender. Finally, we evaluated NFUC’s support tools, borrower perks and features that simplify the borrowing process—like prequalification options and mobile apps.
To learn more about how Forbes Advisor rates lenders, and our editorial process, check out our Loans Rating & Review Methodology.
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