Credit Coach loan helps member get money ahead
WATERLOO, Iowa—A credit score is a powerful number. The ability to obtain financing, rent an apartment or even get a job can all depend on that number.
But here’s the catch 22: It’s really hard to get credit if you don’t have a credit score.
Joel Mungongo, of Waterloo, knows the predicament well.
Mungongo, who has lived in the United States for the past three years, turned to his bank for a loan. He hoped to buy a vehicle to get him between home, work and college. But Mungongo’s bank turned him away, because he didn’t have credit.
The 26-year-old man later turned to Dupaco to open a savings account to sharpen his savings skills.
What happened next, he said, was amazing.
A member’s story
Amy Smith, a member service representative at Dupaco Community Credit Union, looked at Mungongo’s total financial picture. She explained how Dupaco’s Credit Coach Loan could not only help him drive up his credit score but eventually help him buy that vehicle.
Dupaco created the Credit Coach Loan to help members establish or rebuild damaged credit.
With the low-interest loan, the money you borrow (up to $1,500) is secured in your savings account for the term of the loan (up to 12 months). You earn interest dividends on the money held in savings while your payments to the loan help build your credit. You also receive one-on-one financial education on the lending process.
“In the United States, everything works around your credit score,” Mungongo said. “The way Dupaco takes the time to explain things to inform its members is amazing. There are a lot of things I can do now that I was not able to do before the Credit Coach Loan.”
And Mungongo can now check purchasing a car off that list.
He was approved for that auto loan. And as soon as he paid off his Credit Coach Loan, he turned around and opened another one, determined to continue building his credit.
“Now I have received letters from the bank I used before, telling me that I am eligible for a loan,” Mungongo said. “What is the point of having a bank that cannot help you when you need it? Dupaco helped me. And if I want to borrow money, I’ll go to Dupaco.”
Interested in a Credit Coach Loan?
To learn more about the Credit Coach Loan, contact Dupaco’s Consumer Lending Team at 800-373-7600, ext. 305, or by email at loans@dupaco.com.
