• After you apply for a loan

  Assessing a loan is a complex business. Your Credit Union needs to follow a strict approach as required down by our regulators, the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. Loan assessments can take some time. Therefore, always allow 5 working days (i.e. one week) for a loan decision, especially during busy periods. During October to December, loans take 10 working days (i.e. two wePopular

• Topping up your loan

  Topping up your loan with CLCUSome readers

• About open banking

  When you apply online for a loan, to reduce paperwork and speed up your application, we use Open Banking. Open Banking is a secure way to securely grant a regulated financial services organisation time-limited access to your bank account transactions. If you choose to provide this access, you no longer need to send in your bank statements to the Credit Union. Loan applications can be made entirely online. Decisions are quicker. color 400040 ( YouSome readers

• What loan is best for me?

  Our OPPORTUNITY loan is charged at 42.6% APR. For 1st-time borrowers Borrow up to net monthly income including benefits (£3,000 max) Over 1 to 36 months Apply now Existing members topping up their loan OPPORTUNITY loan. 42.6% APR. Borrow up to £3,000 (including existing balance) Apply now OPPORTUNITY PLUS loan. 34.5% APR Borrow £3,001 TO £5,Some readers

• How to apply for a loan

  When applying on loan you should have to hand your: National Insurance Number Bank account number and sortcode (if you have one) Online bank account access passwords etc. (if you wish to submit an application using Open Banking) If you are a new member you can apply to join the Credit Union at the same time you apply to borrow. Existing members can apply at anytime, provided they’ve paid down at least six months’ of any existing loan. (/en/article/toppSome readers

• Speeding up your loan application with open banking

  Central Liverpool Credit Union uses Open banking to speed up your loan application. Nearly 4 million people use open banking in the UK. What is open banking? Open banking is a new service. Open Banking provides financial service providers, like the Credit Union, access to your financial data from banks and building societies. Your data is safe Open banking has been designed with security in mind: Bank-level security. Open Banking uses rigorously tested software and security systemFew readers

• Will my credit score affect the interest rate I'm charged?

  Most lenders set the interest rate based on your credit score. Consequently, the lower your score, the more you pay. We don’t do this at CLCU. That’s because your credit score might be low, through no fault of your own. For example, if you forget to sign up for the electoral roll. Or you got a default because of a dispute with a mobile phone company. Perhaps you pay back loans weekly. Believe it or not, that’s not as good for your credit score (https://centralcu.co.uk/an-introduction-to-creFew readers

• What happens if I can pay more towards my loan?

  One of the benefits of a loan from CLCU is that if you can repay early, you end up paying less interest. This is because the amount we charge is based on the declining balance of your loan. The smaller the loan balance the less interest you pay. For example, if you borrowed £500 over one year, you’d pay back the £500 plus £103 interest. The monthly repayment would be £50. If you increased this payment to £80, you’d clear the loan in 7 months and pay back just £62 interest. BecauseFew readers

• What happens if I can't repay my loan?

  If you are unable to pay your loan, contact us straight away. Then we can find a suitable payment plan to keep you on track. If the situation is temporary, then a short payment holiday might be offered. Longer-term problems might require a rescheduling of the loan. If you choose one of these, it will adversely affect your ability to get a top up loan. If you do miss a payment this may be reported to a CFew readers