Credit Building Loans
Looking for a way to build or rebuild your credit? We can help with that!
With Credit Builder loans, your interest rate is tied to the dividends on your Savings Accounts. The interest rate is not dependent on your score because it is secured by the cash in your accounts.
Depending on your circumstance, a Member Service Representative can guide you to the best option for you.
Share Secured Loan
This is an option to help build your credit if you have some savings! We use your funds as collateral by putting a hold on the money in your account, and give you a check for that amount. You pay back the funds in monthly installments, and we report it to the Credit Bureau so that you show positive payment history. You can use any Savings Account or Term Deposit for your collateral. Over time, this will help improve your credit score!
Credit Builder Loan
This option is a way to build your savings and your credit! Loan funds (up to $1,000) are deposited into your savings account and put on hold. You pay monthly installments to “repay” the loan amount, which gets reported to the Credit Bureau to help you build credit! Better yet, once the amount is completely paid, we remove the hold and you have a funded savings account!
Lower Your Rate Even More With Co-op Points
That's right. With 2,500 Co-op Points, you can reduce your Credit Builder or Share Secured Loan rate by 0.25%.
Disclosures
The current prime rate is: 6.75%. Rates effective as of August 3, 2026. Rates subject to change at any time.
Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is 3.00% above dividend earned.
Details
Share Secured
Share Secured Loans are guaranteed by the balance in your UMassFive Share Savings Account or Term Share Certificate. Your Share Savings balance must always be equal to or greater than the balance of the loan. Because this type of loan does not require verification of income, disbursal of funds can be immediate upon signing the loan documents. The maximum loan amount is equal to the available balance in your regular Share Account or Term Share Certificate, with a period of repayment up to 10 years or at least $25.00 monthly. Loans secured by a Term Share Certificate must be repaid before the certificate matures and may be paid with a one-time payment instead of monthly payments. The interest rate for all Share Secured Loans is calculated at 3% above the annual percentage yield (APY).
Credit Builder
The loan proceeds are immediately deposited in a primary or secondary share account and placed on hold for the duration of the loan. Once the loan has been repaid the hold is removed and the loan proceeds are made available to the member. In essence, the member has “earned’ their loan proceeds through completing the loan repayment while building credit history. The maximum loan amount is $1,000; the minimum monthly payment is $25.00 with a maximum term of 36 months.
Payment example: 3.030% APR for 12 months equals $84.81 per $1,000 borrowed.