- Borrow up to £500 (minimum £250)
- No credit check – but paying back the loan may boost your credit rating
- An affordable way to borrow and save
- Easy way to repay: weekly or 4 weekly payments, when you receive your child benefit
- An easy way to build your savings
- Opportunity for future Top-Up loans if needed
Apply online today.
You will need your:
- National Insurance Number
- Information on your incoming and outgoings
- Bank Account Number and Sort Code
If your application is successful you will be asked to contact the Child Benefit Office to transfer your payment to the Credit Union. We’ll give you a ring to provide you with the information you need to do this.
The loan funds will be credited to your Bank Account after we receive your first payment of Child Benefit.
How much will it cost?
Family loans are charged at a fixed and transparent rate of 42.6% APR- most lenders charge much higher interest rates for loans less than £1000. PLEASE READ the Terms and Conditions here.
Example of weekly loan costs:
- £14 per week off your loan and at least £1 per week into your savings for 10 months OR
- £56 every 4 weeks off your loan and at least £4 every 4 weeks, into your savings for 11 months
If you need to borrow a bit more then loans can be ‘Topped up’ back to £500 once a third of the loan has been paid without issue- with no increase in payments.
Can I apply?
You can apply today for a Family Loan if you:
- Live or work in Salford (or nearby parts of Greater Manchester- see map on our Membership page) OR be a member of Unison or Unite the Union (North West region)
- Are 18 years or over
- Are in receipt of Child Benefit
- Agree to have Child Benefit paid directly into Salford Credit Union
- Agree to save with the Credit Union while paying back your loan
- Are able to afford the regular loan repayments
- Do not have an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement), DRO (Debt Relief Order) or be bankrupt
- Agree to become a member of Salford Credit Union: keep your money in Salford!
APPLY NOW
Need more information?
If you need more information on our credit union family loan, please contact our friendly staff on 0161 686 5880 (phones currently answered 10-12), check out our FAQs below, send a message via our contact page,or read our Important Information.
Want to Top Up your loan?
Just in case you need more funds we will email you when your top up loan is available- but absolutely no obligation!
You will need to have repaid at least one third of your loan without issue and able to still afford the repayments. Top ups are typically available every 16 weeks.
Message from Salford City Mayor
We’re really pleased that Paul Dennett, Salford City Mayor, has provided a video to support the work we do and to let people in the City know about our new Family Loan
What is a Family Loan?
If you receive Child Benefit you could have a loan of up to £500 from us. This is conditional upon child benefit being paid directly into your account with us, passing our affordability and other checks and agreeing to save regularly. Read the Terms and Conditions here
How does it work?
You apply for a Family Loan online which also includes an application to join Salford Credit Union.
From the information on your form we check you are eligible for the loan
We email you within 24 hours to ask you to upload a copy of your Bank Statement: The statement will need to show at least 30 days of transactions. If you have online banking we can access this if you complete the link
We make our checks and if all OK we email you:
- With information to make sure you understand how the Family Loan works
- Confirm how much has been agreed to lend you and the terms and conditions of the loan.
- Confirm you can afford the regular loan and savings repayments
- Ask you to contact the Child Benefit office to request your child benefit to the Credit Union. We will provide you with the information to do this.
- Send you a loan agreement via email for you to approve.
When we have everything back and we have received your first payment from Child Benefit we will transfer the loan funds to your Bank Account. We will also put your first savings deposit into your new Credit Union account and send back the remainder of your Child Benefit to your bank account, the same day.
After that your Child Benefit will continue to be paid into Salford Credit Union. We aim to send you the money left after your loan payment and savings have been taken out by noon on the day the money comes to us.
After the loan is repaid we encourage you to keep saving if you can afford to.
If you need a further loan you can apply to ‘Top Up’ the Loan once the balance is less than one third of what you borrowed. Top ups are typically available every 16 weeks.
If you can’t upload documents electronically don’t worry, we can still help but we will have to get documents sent through the post so that will take longer.
What happens to my Child Benefit?
The whole of your Child Benefit will be paid to Salford Credit Union. Part of it will be used to make your loan repayment, the remainder will be paid into your Savings account (called a ‘Share Account’). As part of your loan agreement you decide how much you want to save (minimum savings amounts required). You can save the remainder in your Credit Union Share Account or open a Salford Christmas Club or you can get it transferred to your bank or Account. If you choose to have some transferred regularly, we aim to make the transfer before noon on the day the Child Benefit comes in to us.
My Family Loan has been approved, how long before the funds are in my account?
If you loan is approved, you will need to sign a loan agreement. We will send you an email so you can sign this electronically. You will also be asked to contact the Child Benefit Office to arrange the transfer of your Child Benefit to the Credit Union. Once you have sent back your signed agreement and we have received the first payment of your Child Benefit we will transfer the funds to your bank account by 3pm.
Can I ‘top up’ my Family Loan?
If you need to borrow more, you can Top Up your Family Loan when you have repaid 1/3 of your original loan without any problems. If you had a £500 loan this means you will be able to top up when your balance is below £335. You can track the balance of your loan on our Members Area, by registering on our website.
What happens to my savings?
Every member of the credit union is expected to save regularly in their account. We ask you to save to help you become financially independent and because the Credit Union needs savings to keep being able to offer loans to local people.
You will agree to save at least £1 week when you apply for your Family Loan. While you have any loan with us the funds in your savings are kept as security for your loan and you are unable to withdraw them until your loan is repaid. By saving with us, you build a history with us enabling you to access lower interest rate loans from us, over time.
If you can afford to keep more of your Child Benefit in your Credit Union savings account you can and this may help you apply for a larger loan in the future.
Your savings are also protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Can I pay my loan back early? Are there any fees for this?
You can clear the balance of a loan at any time and we do not charge any fee for this.
How does a Salford Family Loan compare with other loans ?
We aim to make sure our loans are affordable for our members. Our loan interest rate is capped by government and we don’t have external shareholders taking profits. This means our loans can often be cheaper than other loans you might look at. Check out how much we could save you:
REPRESENTATIVE EXAMPLE
SALFORD FAMILY LOAN
- £300 loan repaid over 35 weeks. Rate of interest 3% per month. 42.6% Representative APR
- Repay £9.69 every week.
- Total interest £38.87
YOU PAY A TOTAL OF £338.87
MORSES CLUB LOAN
- £300 loan repaid over 35 weeks. Rate of interest 111.4% p.a. fixed. 498.34% APR
- Repay £15 every week
- Total interest £225
YOU PAY A TOTAL OF £525
(Figures from Morses Club Website 17/08/2021)
