New: Make Principal-Only Loan Payments in Online and Mobile Banking

In response to member requests, Sunward has expanded the ability to make principal-only payments to many Sunward auto, home, and personal loans through online and mobile banking. The ability to make a principal-only payment means that, in addition to making the required payments toward your total loan balance (including applicable interest), you can also apply extra funds toward the principal amount only – i.e., the amount you borrowed, not including interest. As always, Sunward loans can be paid off early without penalty.

With these additional payments, you can pay down the principal loan amount more quickly, which means you could potentially save hundreds of dollars in interest, shorten the length of your loan term, and, for certain home loans, build equity faster.

Principal-only payments can be made in online or mobile banking on most home loans funded prior to January 1, 2016 and on all Home Equity CreditLines. Principal-only payments can be accomplished for home loans funded after that date (including those that are accessible in online and mobile banking via eStatus Connect^®) with a quick call to Sunward’s Contact Center or in person at a branch.

For Sunward student loans serviced by LendKey^SM, principal-only payments can be made in the LendKey system by paying more than your current monthly amount due. The excess amount will be applied to the loan’s principal balance. Members with more than one LendKey-serviced loan should check with them to learn how extra payments are applied.

To make a principal-only loan payment in online or mobile banking, navigate to the Transfers tab and choose the “Classic” view. You can designate a principal-only payment in the Amount section. Principal-only payments cannot be made in online and mobile banking for past-due or zero-balance accounts or for Sunward credit cards.

If you don’t already have online banking, it’s easy to enroll. Learn more at slfcu.org/OnlineBanking. At Sunward, we are always working to expand and enhance our system capabilities to help you manage your finances.