Saver Loan

Check your eligibility

Are you eligible to apply?

You must be a saver with our credit union to be eligible for a Beacon Saver Loan. Members are able to apply for up to three times their savings, subject to a credit worthiness assessment.

Saver Loans are available up to £15,000, there are a variety ways to repay your credit union loans. From cash in one of branches, Standing Orders, Child Benefit and via a Salary Savings Scheme, if your company is one of our partners.

Before applying for your credit union Saver Loan with Beacon Savings & Loans, please read the following to avoid any potential negative impact on your credit file. You must be a member who is currently actively saving with Beacon Savings & Loans.
The interest charged on these loans is from 10.5%APR-21.5%APR (Please see our terms and conditions for a full break down).

You are likely to be accepted for a Saver Loan if you…

are over 18
have enough income to cover your loan and a minimum of £2.50 per week (£10 per month) savings.
are NOT currently in an IVA.
are not currently bankrupt or in a Debt Relief Order.

Key Features

Flexible ways to repay your loan.
Affordable payments over a term of up to 5 years.
Save as you repay your loan – you’ll be amazed how quickly your shares can grow!!
No hidden charges, set up fees or penalty fees for repaying your loan early.

Before you apply…

We will need to perform some checks before we can allocate your loan.

As an ethical lender, we take responsibility for ensuring that you can afford the repayments. It’s equally important that by providing your credit union Saver Loan, we do not contribute to over-indebtedness.

To achieve this, we’ll review your credit file and use open banking (you will need to grant us access as part of the application process). Don’t worry, we’re not looking for perfect credit files – we understand that life happens to everyone. If you have any concerns, feel free to contact us.

Please be aware that if you supply bank statements instead of open banking it will increase the time taken to assess your loan application, as we must analyse every transaction to see which category it belongs to.

Ready to start? Click the ‘Check My Eligibility’ button on the section below to begin.

Can I apply for a top-up?

Members are able to top up these loans. When you take a top up, your previous loan is repaid and a new loan is created. The amount you receive will be less than the total loan allocated.

There are time limits on applying for a top-up loan. These are:

For loans less than £2,500, there must be a gap of 13 weeks between applications and all expected payments must be have been made made.
For loans of £2,500 and above there must be a gap of 26 weeks between applications and all expected repayments must have been made.

Saver Loan Terms and Conditions

Members are required to make regular payments to their credit union account. When a member has a loan outstanding they are expected to may a share payment of at least £2.50 per week or £10 per month. Members are able to borrow up to three times their savings.

Available loans are offered in stages:

First Loan is up to a maximum of £1,500. Members must have saved on a regular basis and have at least £500 in their shares.
Second Loan is up to a maximum of £3,000. Members must have made regular loan repayments (if a loan is outstanding), regular share deposits and have at least £1,000 in their shares.
Third Loan is up to a maximum of £9,000. Members must have made regular loan repayments (if a loan is outstanding), regular share deposits and have at least £3,000 in their shares.
Fourth and subsequent loans are to a maximum of £15,000. Members must have made regular loan repayments (if a loan is outstanding), regular share deposits and have at least £5,000 in their shares.

Interest Rate

The interest rate charged on this product will vary based upon the amount borrowed. Interest is calculated on a daily basis using the reducing balance method and charged each time a member makes a payment. The rates will be:

For loans up to £2,500, the interest rate will be 21.5%APR (19.6% Annualised, 1.63% monthly)
For loans from £2,501 to £5,000, the interest rate will be 16.1%APR (15% Annualised 1.25% Monthly)
For loans from £5,001 to £10,000, the interest rate will be 12.7%APR (12% Annualised 1% Monthly)
For loans from £10,001 to £15,000, the interest rate will be 10.5%APR (10% Annualised 0.83% Monthly)

Loan Term

The maximum term for any loan will be five years, however some loans will have a shorter maximum term, these are:

For loans before £1,000 the maximum term is 12 months (one year).
For loans £1,000 to £2,500 the maximum term is 24 months (two years).
For loans £2,501 to £5,000 the maximum term is 36 months (three years).
For loans £5,001 to £15,000 the maximum term is 60 months (five years).

Methods of repayments

Loans can be repaid by:

Cash in one of our branches (see our contact us page for branch details).
Standing Order (This is a payment that you set up with your bank).
Child Benefit Direct.
Salary Savings Scheme (If your company is one of our partners).

Repayment Frequencies

Loans can be repaid Weekly, Fortnightly, Four-Weekly or Monthly. Whilst members usually have the option to choose, this must match your chosen payment method.

Can I withdraw my savings?

You must leave one-third of your loan balance in your savings (share account) at all times. You are able to withdraw anything over this amount.

As a credit union we believe in encouraging you to save and building up a financial resilience. Building up a financial safety net can help in times of crisis and emergency and prevent you from needing to apply for credit.

Unsure how much you can withdraw?
Divide your loan balance by three and deduct your share balance. The negative balance showing will be the maximum withdrawal you can take.

e.g. you have a loan of £2,000 and £1,200 in your savings.
£2,000 divided by three is £667 (we round up to the nearest pound). Less your savings balance of £1,200 leaves a maximum withdrawal of £533.