HIGHSTOWN, N.J. – At least 17 credit unions have pledged a total of $50 million to fund low-cost student loans through a new Internet portal.
The portal, found at custudentloans.org, will match students with credit unions they are eligible to join and set them up with college loans with special terms, like deferred payments, low fees and easy approval, according to Paul Gentile, president of the New Jersey CU Association, which developed the CU Ed Access Loans. "Right now we’re focused on just New Jersey, but I’d like to see it go nationwide," Gentile The Credit Union Journal yesterday.
The program, being managed by Fynanz, organized by a group of former Sallie Mae and DealerTrack managers, will have uniform underwriting and pricing for participants. "For small credit unions who want to get into that Gen Y demographic this gets them into the game," said Gentile.
The credit unions are currently marketing the program to colleges to get them listed as approved lenders on the schools’ websites, he said.
Among the participating credit unions are: Aspire FCU, Liberty Savings FCU, Credit Union of New Jersey, Tri-Co FCU, First Financial FCU and XCEL FCU.
