Typically you need to be a member of the credit union before they will loan you money. If you're eligible to join the credit union because of where you live or where you work, joining is easy--typically all you need to do is to deposit a small amount of money, such as $5.
In general, credit unions are better to deal with than banks. The official purpose of a bank is to make money for their stockholders. The official purpose of a credit union is to serve their members. This difference typically shows in the way that they treat folks, with credit unions generally being friendlier and easier to deal with. Since they aren't trying to make a profit, credit unions usually offer better terms for their loans, too.
You'll notice that I used a lot of "generally" and "typically", because you can run into a credit union that's not very well run, and a bank that's very nice to work with. But on the whole, what I said above is true.
Of course, you can't expect to walk into a credit union, deposit $5, and immediately walk away with a large unsecured loan, particularly if you have a low credit score. Like a bank, they will want to be reasonably certain that you will be able to repay your loan.
Comments
Typically you need to be a member of the credit union before they will loan you money. If you're eligible to join the credit union because of where you live or where you work, joining is easy--typically all you need to do is to deposit a small amount of money, such as $5.
In general, credit unions are better to deal with than banks. The official purpose of a bank is to make money for their stockholders. The official purpose of a credit union is to serve their members. This difference typically shows in the way that they treat folks, with credit unions generally being friendlier and easier to deal with. Since they aren't trying to make a profit, credit unions usually offer better terms for their loans, too.
You'll notice that I used a lot of "generally" and "typically", because you can run into a credit union that's not very well run, and a bank that's very nice to work with. But on the whole, what I said above is true.
Of course, you can't expect to walk into a credit union, deposit $5, and immediately walk away with a large unsecured loan, particularly if you have a low credit score. Like a bank, they will want to be reasonably certain that you will be able to repay your loan.
Yes, but in most cases it only cost $5 or $10 to start an account and be a member.
I think you have to be a credit union member.
Yes.