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The platform supports four loan types, each with specific form sections, collateral requirements, and rate calculation rules. The loan type chosen at the start of the application determines which sections the Credit Officer must complete, how the platform calculates the risk assessment, and which review steps the loan goes through after approval. The risk engine scores seven categorical factors, each on a categorical scale up to 5: employment type, employment status, length of employment, TDSR, LTV, loan type, and credit history. Most factors range 1 to 3; credit history ranges 1 to 5; and LTV scores 0 for unsecured loans, which carry no collateral. It sums them into a single integer and maps that sum to a risk band: a sum of 9 or below is R1, 12 or below is R2, 15 or below is R3, 18 or below is R4, and anything higher is R5. R1 is the lowest risk and R5 is the highest. Loan type is one of those seven factors: Cash-Secured scores 1, Auto and Mortgage score 2, and Unsecured scores 3. Guarantors are optional for every loan type.
Your credit union can also define its own named loan types in the admin loan-type catalog (under Administration > Loan types at /admin/loan-types). Viewing the catalog is gated by loans.types.read; creating and managing types is gated by loans.types.manage. Each named type maps to one of the four archetypes below and carries its own product configuration. The four archetypes here describe the underlying behaviour.

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Unsecured

An Unsecured loan is a personal or consumer loan with no collateral backing. Eligibility is assessed on the applicant’s income, employment stability, credit history, and the strength of any guarantors. Form sections required:
  • Applicant Information
  • Employment
  • Statement of Affairs
  • Loan Purpose
  • Guarantors (optional)
Risk assessment factors:
  • Employment type and employment status
  • Length of employment
  • TDSR (Total Debt Service Ratio)
  • Loan type (Unsecured scores 3, the highest of the loan-type factor)
  • Credit history
No additional collateral section is required. Post-approval review: an approved Unsecured loan skips the Securities stage entirely and routes straight to Disbursement, because there is no collateral to perfect. Use cases: personal expenses, home improvements, education costs, medical expenses, debt consolidation.

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Cash-Secured (shown in the app as Cash secured)

A Cash-Secured loan (the app displays this archetype as Cash secured, no hyphen) is backed by cash the applicant holds at the credit union. The collateral is liquid and already under your credit union’s control, so this loan type contributes the lowest loan-type factor score. Form sections required:
  • Applicant Information
  • Employment
  • Statement of Affairs
  • Loan Purpose
  • Cash Collateral (up to five pledged accounts, each one Cash / Shares, Fixed / Time Deposit, or Savings Hypothecation, with its account number and amount held)
  • Guarantors (optional)
You can pledge more than one account against a single loan, for example shares plus a fixed deposit. Add each account on its own row, pick its type, and enter the amount held. The card sums every account and shows the most you can borrow against the combined total. Collateral rules:
  • The maximum loan is 95% of the combined pledged cash across every account the member pledges. The 95% rule applies to the total, not to any single account.
  • The limit is enforced, not just advised. If the requested amount runs over 95% of the combined cash, the application shows a red warning before submit, and the platform blocks the submit with “Cash-secured loans can’t exceed 95% of the pledged cash.” Lower the amount or pledge more cash.
  • By policy, the pledged funds are held (not accessible to the member) for the life of the loan. Each pledged account is captured with its own account number, amount, an optional source of funds, and an optional hypothecation note.
  • LTV is calculated as loan amount divided by collateral value, and feeds the LTV risk factor.
Risk assessment factors:
  • Employment type and employment status
  • Length of employment
  • TDSR
  • LTV against the pledged cash security
  • Loan type (Cash-Secured scores 1, the lowest of the loan-type factor)
  • Credit history
A Cash-Secured loan contributes the lowest possible loan-type factor score of 1, but the final risk band is the sum of all seven factors. A cash-secured loan with weak employment or credit history can still land in R3 or worse. The loan type lowers one factor; it does not guarantee a band. Post-approval review: like Auto and Mortgage loans, an approved Cash-Secured loan routes through the Securities stage so the pledged accounts are perfected before disbursement. Use cases: members who want a lower interest rate by pledging cash they are not currently using.

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Auto (shown in the app as Motor vehicle)

An Auto loan (the app displays this archetype as Motor vehicle; AUTO is the internal enum value) uses the financed vehicle as collateral, captured in the Vehicle Details section alongside the standard employment and income criteria. Form sections required:
  • Applicant Information
  • Employment
  • Statement of Affairs
  • Loan Purpose
  • Vehicle Details (make, model, year, VIN, engine number, estimated valuation, and optional mileage)
  • Guarantors (optional)
Collateral rules:
  • LTV is calculated against the vehicle valuation: loan amount divided by vehicle valuation.
  • Vehicle age is a rate determinant, not a risk factor. The rate engine picks the rate tier where the vehicle’s age (current year minus the vehicle year) falls within the tier’s maximum age, so older vehicles can attract a different rate.
  • The Securities team requests confirmation of vehicle title and insurance during the Securities review. These are not captured on the application form, and the requested-document list is set per request rather than fixed by the system.
Risk assessment factors:
  • Employment type and employment status
  • Length of employment
  • TDSR
  • LTV against vehicle valuation
  • Loan type (Auto scores 2)
  • Credit history
Use cases: vehicle purchase loans, including new and used vehicles.

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Mortgage (shown in the app as Real estate)

A Mortgage loan (the app displays this archetype as Real estate; MORTGAGE is the internal enum value) is secured against real property. It carries the most extensive documentation and review requirements, including property valuation, security type, and registered mortgagees. Form sections required:
  • Applicant Information
  • Employment
  • Statement of Affairs
  • Loan Purpose
  • Property Details (property type, address, estimated valuation, valuation date, security type, and registered mortgagees)
  • Guarantors (optional)
The property type is one of Residential House, Residential Townhouse, Residential Apartment, Commercial Building, Land, or Other. The security type is one of First Mortgage, Second Mortgage, Strata Title, or Other. Collateral rules:
  • LTV is calculated against the property valuation: loan amount divided by property valuation.
  • The Securities team reviews valuation reports, title, and mortgage registration paperwork before disbursement. As with Auto loans, the requested-document list is set per request rather than fixed by the system.
Amount and term limits come from the product, not the loan type. A mortgage can run up to 480 months. The mortgage product shipped with a fresh workspace caps at 360 months (30 years), but a product you create yourself takes whatever maximum term you enter, and leaving the maximum blank means no product-level cap beyond the platform’s 480-month ceiling. There is no built-in J$500,000 amount cap or 30-month term cap. Both bounds are set per product on the Loan products page by an Administrator or Credit Manager, and the platform enforces the product’s minimum and maximum amount and term when the officer enters the loan parameters.
Risk assessment factors:
  • Employment type and employment status
  • Length of employment
  • TDSR
  • LTV against property valuation
  • Loan type (Mortgage scores 2)
  • Credit history
Use cases: home purchase, home equity release, land purchase, construction loans.

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Member equity and payment add-ons

Three figures the rate engine computes feed into what a member pays and qualifies for, regardless of loan type:
  • Mandatory shares is the required member-equity share purchase, the greater of JMD $2,000 or 15% of the loan amount.
  • Compulsory savings is added to the monthly payment, the greater of JMD $2,000 or 5% of the monthly loan amortization payment.
  • Creditor life premium is an insurance premium. By default it is drawn from a per-thousand-per-year actuarial table keyed by the applicant’s age and charged on the loan principal. The Credit Officer can configure it per loan in the application’s Insurance section: whether cover applies, the sum insured, whether the premium is level or reduces as the loan is repaid, and an optional manual total premium for the term. See Creating an application.
The total monthly payment combines the loan repayment, compulsory savings, and creditor life premium, and feeds the affordability (TDSR) check.

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Choosing the right loan type

The loan type cannot be changed after the draft is created, so confirm it with the member before opening the application.
The loan type is locked once the application is submitted. If the wrong type was selected, the application must be abandoned and a new one created with the correct loan type.