Loan eligibility FAQs

To qualify for any UNFCU loan you must be 18 years or older and have all of your accounts in good standing. A member is not in good standing if any of the following are true: 

• The member does not have a fully funded Membership Share. 
• The member has exceeded the limits of their credit card or line of credit. 
• In the last 12 months, the member has made: 
  • More than one late payment for a single loan or credit card, or; 
  • More than two late payments across all of their loans and credit cards. 
• In the last 12 months, due to insufficient funds, the member has had: 
  • More than one returned payment for a single deposit account, or; 
  • More than two returned payments across all of their deposit accounts. 

Loans secured with deposits are available to UNFCU members who have more than $500 across their UNFCU deposit accounts. UNFCU deposit accounts that can be used to secure this loan are savings and share certificate accounts. Members can borrow at least 100% of the available balance in these accounts.  

For unsecured loans, eligibility is dependent on a number of factors. These can include the member's: 

• UN contract type 
• Length of employment 
• Income 
• Existing loans 
• Other expenses 
• Loan payment history 
• Length of UNFCU membership 
• Country of employment 
• Currency of income 

There are additional requirements for members who joined via UNA-USA or KI USA to qualify for an unsecured loan or line of credit: 

• Members who joined via UNA-USA or KI USA must be a member for 12 months and have never borrowed from UNFCU. 
• UNA-USA or KI USA members with a UNFCU mortgage may qualify for a reduced time requirement on unsecured loans or lines of credit. 

Members who joined UNFCU via UNA-USA or KI USA can apply for US mortgages right away. They can apply for other loans after 12 months of UNFCU membership.

All UNFCU loans are in US dollars. If the currency you earn drops in value against the US dollar, this could create hardships for you. You would then need to use more of your income to pay off your UNFCU loan. This could make it more difficult to cover your other expenses. 

Imagine this scenario as an example: 

Your loan payment amount each month is $1,000. At the time you received the loan, you needed 10,000 units in your local currency to make the $1,000 payment. Local economic conditions cause a drop in the value of your currency. Suddenly, you need 50,000 units to make the same $1,000 payment. How will you afford your other monthly expenses? 

As a credit union, it is our responsibility to help you avoid financial hardships.

The country in which you work can affect your source of income. For example, how easily could you find other employment if the UN leaves the country in which you work? Will another job pay the same salary as the UN? 

These factors can affect your ability to repay a loan. Since our loans are funded by members' deposits, we need to ensure our borrowing members can repay their loans. It is our responsibility to keep the savings of our membership secure.

Most members who earn income in a currency that does not fluctuate widely against the US dollar are eligible for UNFCU loans. These include: 

• Retirees of the UN with a prior professional or field service contract, and their families 
• UN staff with a current professional or field service contract, and their families 

UN General Service staff, National Professional Officers, UN Consultants, and their families may also be eligible. These professionals are typically paid in the currency local to the country in which they live and work. The UN may make an exception and pay US dollars if the local currency is very volatile. In such cases, the country in which the member lives will also be taken into account. 

View the list of income currencies and countries eligible for UNFCU loans.