In most cases, the answer is yes. Thanks to the competition from larger banks, most credit unions have invested heavily in technological advances that provide online banking, mobile applications, and other perks to members. This typically includes access to an online portal where you can apply for a loan. However, these loans are only available to members of the credit union. You can fill out your application on its website, which the system forwards to a loan officer at the credit union. While the turnaround on these loans isn’t as fast as an online lender that provides a decision in minutes, you should still hear something back within a day or so, excluding weekends and holidays. The slower response time happens because many credit unions manually underwrite every loan application. That means someone has to look over your application and run a credit check before making a decision and notifying you, whereas most online lenders have technology that does this in a matter of seconds. If your credit union experiences a high volume of loan applications, you could get stuck in line and have to wait to hear back. High demand could also lower your approval odds if you don’t have good credit.