FAQs

Definitely. Every year millions of U.S. consumers use unsecured loans for debt consolidation of high-interest credit. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by multiple debt payments, or you want to lower your monthly payments, you can combine unsecured debts into one lower, fixed-rate loan.

You can apply for up to $50,000 across all personal loan applications with PenFed.

APRs range from 7.74% to 11.24%. Your actual APR will be determined at the time of disbursement and will be based on your application and credit information. Not all applicants will qualify for the lowest rate.

Yes. There are no penalties for paying off your loan early.

No. Personal loans are unsecured, meaning you don’t need to put up collateral like a house or a car to secure your loan.

Funds are available as early as the next day, depending on the method selected.

Direct Deposit & ACH: 1-2 Business Days 
Check: 5-7 Business Days

The actual timing may be longer or shorter depending on the time of day that your loan is processed and depending on your financial institution. Both options may not be available to every applicant.

No. PenFed personal loans have no origination fee.

No, you don’t need to become a member to apply. However, should you choose to move forward with your loan, you’ll need to become a member. It only takes a few minutes – anyone can apply! No military affiliation is required.

In order to get a loan with us, you will need to become a PenFed member. But don’t worry! We will walk you through the easy membership process after you receive your loan decision.

Checking your rate will not affect your credit score. If you decide to move forward with your loan after checking your rates, we will require a full credit report inquiry which will result in a hard pull and affect your credit.

We may request your recent paystubs, retirement statements, bank statements, or tax returns depending on your income situation.

To verify your identity, we may request a copy of your government- issued photo ID such as an unexpired passport or driver’s license, a copy of your latest utility bill, and/or a copy of your social security card.

You can find your personalized link in the email from us requesting your documentation.

Yes. Applying with a co-borrower may help you qualify for a lower interest rate.

You can choose to receive your loan funds electronically into an account of your choosing or request to have a check mailed to a physical address.

If you selected to receive your funds by electronic transfer, you should see the funds in the account of your choosing within 48 hours. If you selected by check, your check will be printed within 48 hours after the loan is finalized. Please allow 5-7 days for the check to reach you.

Checks:

If you’re paying with a coupon book, please remember to include your account number and send it to this address: 

PO Box 1445

Alexandria, VA 22313-1445 

If you’re paying without Payment Coupon:

PO Box 1400

Alexandria, VA 22313-1400

Please do not send cash to make a payment to any of the above addresses.

If you selected your PenFed account as your repayment account, you can log into PenFed online and customize your payment. Payments can be customized as monthly or biweekly.

If your payment is more than 5 days late, you will be charged a late fee of $29.

• Select “Set up your online account or get help signing in” from the login page. 

• Follow the on-screen instructions to receive an email with your username and/or to reset your password online.

Sign up for or change e-message options to help cut down on mailbox or post office box clutter. 

• Log into your PenFed Online account.

• Select the "Go Paperless" tab at the top (highlighted in green). 

• Select to either opt in for all e-messages, or select any of the following: 

• Consolidated Account Statements

• Credit Card Bills/Statements

• All Other PenFed Communications

• IRS Tax Statements 

• All of the Above

To Send Funds From Your PenFed Account to Another Financial Institution

• Contact a PenFed Member Service Representative at 1-800-247-5626.  

• Provide your account number at the other financial institution as well as its ABA routing number.  

Fees: PenFed charges $25 for a domestic wire transfer and $30 for an international wire transfer. Other fees may apply at the receiving financial institution. 

To Send Funds From Another Financial Institution to Your PenFed Account

• Initiate the transaction with your other financial institution. 

• Provide your PenFed account number as well as our ABA routing number, 2560-7844-6. 

Fees: PenFed does not charge a fee to receive a wire transfer.

Cut-Off Times 
PenFed may establish cut-off times for the receipt and processing of funds transfer requests, amendments, or cancellations. Payment orders, cancellations, or amendments received after the cut-off time may be considered received on the next funds transfer business day.

• Incoming Cut-Off: 3:30 central time

• Outgoing Domestic Cut-Off: 3:00 central time

• Outgoing International Cut-Off: 2:30 central time  

To Transfer Funds to PenFed from Another Financial Institution Electronically 

• You may be able to do this, free of charge, via PenFed Online. 

• Please visit the Transfer via ACH page for complete instructions. 

• For more information, download the “International Wire Transfer Error Resolution and Cancellation Disclosures”. 

Mobile Deposit:

Make remote deposits from your mobile device with the PenFed Mobile App.

Deposit by Mail:

If you are already a member and would like to make a deposit or loan payment, mail it to:

See also: Deposit/Payment Voucher (PDF)

Please contact a Member Service Representative for help closing your account.  check our Contact Us page for hours.

Detailed steps on integrating programs such as Quicken, Microsoft Money, or Mint.com with your PenFed account can be found here.

• Visit the Access Bill Pay page for more information.

• Click here for Access Bill Pay Terms and Conditions.

Your deposits at PenFed are federally insured by the NCUA (National Credit Union Administration). NCUA insurance is the equivalent of FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) insurance. The difference is that the NCUA works with credit unions, while the FDIC works with banks.

You can learn more about Share Insurance at the NCUA. You can also estimate the insurance coverage on your account using the NCUA’s Share Insurance Tool Kit.

As a PenFed member, you can establish accounts for minor children by register them as members in their own right, which will allow them to have a Regular Share Account and Checking Account.

Not a member yet? Become a member by filling up this form https://www.penfed.org/13-SIG/

Opening a Checking Account in the Name of a Minor

• Complete the Checking Account Application https://www.penfed.org/151-SIG/.

• If your minor child is under the age of 16, an adult joint owner must be added to the Regular Share Account, and the adult must add their information in the joint section of the Membership Application (Form 13).

• The minor child must be 16 years of age or older with an eligible adult joint owner to have a checking account or debit card.

• You may add up to 2-3 joint owners on each account in case both parents or multiple guardians would like access to the minor’s account.

The documents may be submitted by email, fax or mail to the address below:

Pentagon Federal Credit Union 
PO Box 70046 
Springfield, OR 97475-0103 

Fax: 1-800-278-2212 or 1-541-345-0512

Online:

To view mortgage rates, payments, and costs online, or to learn more about home loans, please visit: 

• Compare mortgage rates and options

• Mortgage Glossary of Key Terms and Definitions

• First time homebuyer information and calculators

By Phone:

To contact us first by phone about mortgage rates or applications call our Mortgage Department:

FIRST MORTGAGE INFORMATION & APPLICATIONS

Toll-Free U.S.: 1-855-409-5876

Monday-Saturday: 8:30 AM - 10:00 PM EST

Sundays: 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM EST

PenFed's ABA routing number is 2560-7844-6.

Please choose a calculator from the following. 

Home Loan Calculators:

• Estimate monthly mortgage payment 

• Affordability Calculator 

• Home Equity Loan Calculator

Loan Calculators:

• How much car can you afford? 

• Auto Loan Calculator

Savings and Certificate Calculators:

• Money Market Certificate Calculator 

• Money Market Savings Calculator

Click here for PenFed’s current list of service fees.

You can check out our forms page on PenFed.org, or check out the individual product you are interested in and see the forms that are linked from there.

PenFed’s Car Buying Service offers you a quick alternative to find your auto, car, truck, or SUV and apply for the loan to fit your budget.

Please refer to our Contact Us page or our ATM and Branch Locator.

Find the information you need at our Website Security Page here.

We’ll never ask you to send us personal information such as an account number, card PIN, Social Security Number, or Tax ID over text or email.

• Immediately forward suspicious or abusive text messages, email messages, or social media messages that appear to be from Pentagon Federal Credit Union to us at abuse2@penfed.org.

• Please include a screen shot or copy of the message and the number of the sender.

System Requirements 

PenFed Online Banking Browser Compatibility: 

• Internet Explorer 9+ 

• Firefox 9+ 

• Safari 5+ 

• Chrome 54+ 

• Opera 18+ 

Bill Pay Supported Browsers and Operating Systems: 

Technical Specifications: 

PDF Files: 

• The free Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.0 or higher is required to open PDF files.  

• Most new computers are shipped with Adobe Acrobat Reader already installed. If your computer does not have Acrobat Reader or has an older version installed, download the latest version for free from the Adobe website at http://get.adobe.com/reader/. Installation takes only a few minutes (depending on your connection speed) and generally does not require any advanced knowledge of computer operating systems.

Number of Transactions Listed: 

• Credit cards will display no more than 100 transactions in the Account Transaction Activity section.  

• Loan accounts (except mortgages) will display up to six months of information, up to 300 transactions. 

PenFed Online Availability: 

• PenFed performs weekly maintenance to ensure trouble-free service from the PenFed Online system. PenFed Online may be unavailable to members while this maintenance is performed on Sundays from 4:00 AM to 6:00 AM EST. 

• A daily system outage is necessary from Tuesday-Saturday for a fifteen or twenty-minute period. This outage occurs during the least active times between 4:30 AM and 6:00 AM EST.

Screen Resolution: 

Set your screen resolution to a minimum of 1024 x 768 pixels to see all of your data without scrolling from side to side. 

Windows: Click the Start button in the bottom left of the monitor. 

1. Select “Control Panel”. A new window will open. 
2. Select “Display.” 
3. Select the Settings tab. 
4. On the right side in the middle is a section called “Desktop Area”. Place your mouse pointer on the slider and move it to the right until it reads "1024 by 768 pixels". This is the minimum size required. PenFed Online will function properly at larger sizes, but the type will appear smaller on screen. 
5. Click “OK.” 

            Mac OS X: Select “System Preferences” in the Apple menu at the top left of  the monitor. 

1. Click “Displays”. 
2. Choose “1024 x 768” or any higher resolution that will properly fit the proportions of your monitor.

If you receive regular or unusual errors while using PenFed Online, contact us. Be sure to include the following:

• Your name 

• Your member number 

• Your browser and platform version  

• A detailed description of the problem 

• Approximate date(s) and time(s) the error occurred

Issue: I'm getting a secured certificate error message when I attempt to access PenFed.org on via Chrome my Mac.

Solution: Please perform the following steps. 

1. Open Chrome. 
2. Navigate to “www.penfed.org.”  
3. On the page with the error, click the lock in the URL bar to view the Certificate Information. 
4. Drag the certificate to the desktop (note that the file name is “www.penfed.org”).  
5. Using Chrome’s wrench menu (to the right of the URL bar), select ‘Settings.”  
6. Within the Settings menu, choose to “Show advanced settings…”  
7. Under the “HTTPS/SSL” heading, choose to “Manage certificates…”  
8. In the left column of Keychain Access, select “log in” and “Certificates.”  
9. If “www.penfed.org” does not already exist in this window, drag the certificate from step 4 into the window.  
10. Double-click the certificate within Keychain Access.  
11. Expand “Trust.”  
12. Change the value of “Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)” to “Always Trust.”  
13. Close the window (you may be required to provide credentials at this point).  
14. Quit Keychain Access.  
15. Quit Chrome (this is critical, as Chrome will not recognize the new trust rule until it is restarted).  
16. Open Chrome.  
17. Navigate to “www.penfed.org” – the site should render at this point.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.x for Windows 

1. Choose Tools and then Internet Options.
2. In the Temporary Internet Files section, click Delete files.
3. Click OK.
4. Click Close.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.x for Windows

1. Choose Tools and then Internet Options.

2. In the Temporary Internet Files section, check Delete all offline content.

3. Click OK twice.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.x for Windows

1. Choose Tools and then Internet Options.

2. In the Temporary Internet Files section, click Delete Files.

3. Click OK twice.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x or higher for Macintosh

1. Choose File and then Preferences.

2. Select Web Browser and then Advanced.

3. In the Cache section, click Empty Now.

4. Click OK.

Firefox 3.x or higher for Windows

1. Choose Tools and then Clear Private Data.

2. Check Cache. Note that any other checked items will also be cleared, so un-check any that you do not want to clear.

3. Click Clear Private Data Now.

Firefox 3.x or higher for Macintosh

1. From the Firefox menu, select Preferences.

2. Select the Privacy icon.

3. Click Clear Now.

4. Check Cache. Note that any other checked items will also be cleared, so un-check any that you do not want to clear.

5. Click Clear Private Data Now.

Safari 3.x or higher for Windows

1. Choose Edit and then Empty Cache

2. Select Empty when the "Are you sure you want to empty the cache?" confirmation is displayed.

Safari 3.x or higher for Macintosh

1. From the Safari menu, select Empty Cache.

2. Select Empty when the "Are you sure you want to empty the cache?" confirmation is displayed. 

Opera 9.x or higher for Windows

1. Choose Tools and then Preferences.

2. Select the Advanced tab.

3. On the left-hand side, select History.

4. Click Empty Now.

5. Click OK.

Opera 9.x or higher for Macintosh

1. From the Opera menu, select Preferences.

2. Select the Advanced tab.

3. On the left-hand side, select History.

4. Click Empty Now.

5. Click OK.