Empower FCU of Syracuse, N.Y. now offers student loan solutions from Credit Union Student Choice, a student lending CUSO serving more than 200 CUs.

The $1 billion, 100,000-member Empower said its new private loan solution helps fill the funding gaps that remain after students exhaust scholarships, grants and federal Stafford loans. The program offers members low rates, zero origination fees and flexible repayment terms, the CU said.

Empower FCU also provides financial products and educational resources that meet the needs of young adults, including free checking, thousands of surcharge-free ATMs, first car loans, online banking, mobile access and bill pay, it said.

“As a not-for-profit credit union, we have the unique ability to design products that are truly in the best interest of the student and their family,” said Kevin Peterson, Empower FCU's vice president of student lending.

The Credit Union Student Choice program allows participating CUs to make school-certified private loans that they hold on their own books.

The Washington, D.C.-based CUSO, founded in 2008, uses the idocVAULT technology from Middlebury, Vt. and Midway, Utah-based eDOC Innovations to electronically distribute loan processing documents.

Credit Union Student Choice reached the 200-CU mark in July 2011 and has funded more than $400 million in student loans. Its CU partners recently pledged $1 billion in higher education funding.

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Natasha Chilingerian

Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.

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