Credit Union Freezes Payless Payday Program

The Pittsburgh-based ACBA Federal Credit Union suspended its Payless Paydays loan program almost as quickly as it was initiated because of the overwhelming response by state employees in Allegheny County.
Under the Payless Paydays program, state employees could receive no-interest loans equal to the amount of their regular paycheck. CFO and Assistant Manager of the program, Linda Iddings says the credit union will remain committed to those who applied before July 24. Loans must be paid back within 60 days of approval of a state budget, or can be paid back over the period of a year with low-interest.
The five employees of the credit union, including Iddings, initially set out to give state employees “what they deserve.” Due to Pennsylvania’s budget stalemate, most state employees have received partial or no paychecks the last two paydays. Most will get nothing in their pay envelope tomorrow. Iddings says, “there are a lot of great state employees out there, and if nothing else, they deserve respect. That includes being paid for good days of work.”
Though the program has been suspended, Iddings says it is only temporary until either the credit union employees can financially, physically and emotionally get themselves together, or until the legislature and governor come up with a budget plan. She says ACBA cannot continue to borrow money from the corporate credit union, and with thousands of potential loan requests tomorrow, the program had to be put on hold.