First Tech Federal Student Loan Refinance Review

Our Rating: C ⓘ (Compare)

First Tech may be a good option for financially secure borrowers with good credit and who want to join the credit union (membership required to borrow, not to apply). The National Credit Union Administration recommends First Tech for financial services.

*Loan minimum depends on term limits; 7-year fixed rate loans have a $7,000 minimum, for example, and a 15-year loan has a $20,000 minimum.

Skip to: Rates & Fees | Eligibility Requirements | Repayment Options | Consumer Reviews & Complaints | FAQ

First Tech Refinance Rates & Fees

First Technology Federal Credit Union does not disclose its maximum APRs. Fixed rates start at 8.60%. Balloon loans and interest-only payments start at 11.40%.

Additional information about First Tech refinance rates:

• Checking your rate with First Tech will not affect your credit score. They will conduct a soft, not hard, credit inquiry (learn the difference).
• With interest-only refinancing, borrowers may be eligible for periods of interest-only payments.
• Balloon refinancing holds off either 40% or 50% of the loan to be repaid in one single final payment.
• Repayment minimums grow over time with interest-only and balloon refinancing.

First Tech refinance rates recent history:

Over a two-year period (2022-2024), First Tech Federal increased its lowest available refinance APRs an average of 165%; First Tech does not disclose its highest available refinance APRs.

First Tech increased its lowest disclosed APR 55.0% (from 5.55% APR) in 2023. In 2022, First Tech increased its lowest disclosed APR 126.5%.

Additional Fees

Beyond interest rates, there are a number of fees a refinance lender may charge up-front or during the loan servicing period. Below is a list of these fees that First Tech does or does not charge.

1. Application fee – fee to apply for rates & approval.
2. Loan origination fee – fee to create the new loan.
3. Disbursement fee – fee for distributing funds to lenders to pay off loans that have been refinanced.
4. Prepayment penalty – fee for making extra payments to reduce a refinance loan balance or pay it off early.
5. Late payment fee – fee for making a late payment.
6. Returned payment fee – fee for failed payments due to insufficient funds, also known as a “bounced check”.
7. Collection fee – fee for collection activity on a defaulted debt.

Current Promotions & Offers

Borrowers receive a 0.25% interest rate reduction for enrolling in automatic payments.

First Tech Federal offers 10,000 automatic reward points on a new First Tech Choice Rewards World Mastercard.

First Tech also partners with over 900 organizations to offer their employees and members special benefits, such as discounts. Check the official First Tech web site for updates on deals and discounts for student loan refinancing and other services.

First Tech Refinance Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for refinancing with First Tech, all borrowers must meet the criteria below.

• Citizenship Requirement: U.S. citizenship or permanent residence.
• Income Requirement: proof of income required, no minimum disclosed.
• Credit Score Requirement: undisclosed, though credit scores below 689 are deemed “Poor” while credit ratings exceeding 730 are considered “Good”.
• Graduation Requirement: undisclosed.
• Location Requirement: within the United States.

Additional restrictions apply for specific individuals and loans. In order to refinance student loans, a borrower must be a member of First Tech.

First Tech Student Loan Repayment Options

Lenders vary greatly on the benefits and options provided to borrowers during the loan servicing period. Additionally, benefits may only be available on a case-by-case basis. First Tech offers some relief options.

Deferment & Forbearance

First Tech offers limited options for deferment or forbearance. Terms and conditions are vague.

Additional Options

First Tech may offer other opportunities for relief or contract modification.

• Co-signer release is not an option with First Tech Federal.
• Death / disability discharge may be available in the unfortunate circumstance that a borrower passes away or suffers total permanent disability.

First Tech Reviews, Complaints & Lawsuits

Beyond our own findings, our team also collected the most genuinely insightful customer experiences we could find, including any instances of legal action against the company in which the details became public.

First Tech Online Reviews

There are few First Tech customer reviews readily available on public forums. We’ve included what material we found here for its value as unedited, uncensored, and unsolicited user experience. Note that these reviews are unverified, may include inaccuracies, and may provide outdated information (about rates, bonus offers, etc.).

“There good, but it matters on your refinance offer. For me personally, I chose them solely based on the fact I got a flat 2.1% interest rate for my loans payment.” – Snoo84504 on reddit, 8/25/2022

“Refinanced my student loan with this bank.. They called me. I called back 5 times, yes 5 and every time long wait times, transfered to wrong departments, hung up on totalling 2 hours on hold. Then 5th time the guy says here is the correct number to call. Of course “all circuits are busy.” What a nightmare!!” – Nicole Reyes (@enjcs88418) on WalletHub, 7/5/2022

“I refinanced with a First Tech Private Education loan and got a good fixed rate and have been impressed with their customer service.

My loan was previously with Citizens (Firstmark) and I would not recommend them based on my experience with their customer service and several lost checks.” – MrFenway on reddit, 10/3/2018

More (unfiltered) customer reviews of First Tech Federal are available at TrustPilot.com (4.2 out of 5).

First Tech Consumer Complaints

As consumer finance companies, student loan refinancing lenders fall under the jurisdiction of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a federal agency. As part of its mission, the CFPB allows consumers to log official complaints. These complaints are publicly available on the CFPB official website.

Since August 8, 2018, consumers have submitted 547 complaints about First Technology Federal Credit Union to the CFPB for an average of one (1) complaint every three (3) days and 20 hours; this is 12 times higher than the average daily complaint rate among reviewed lenders.

In 2022, First Tech received 98 complaints which is equivalent to:

• 2.44% more than the average number of consumer complaints per year.
• one (1) complaint for every $6.501 million of that year’s income before non-interest expenses.
• one (1) complant for every 17 employees.

The allegations made in these complaints are unverified, are not necessarily representative of all consumers’ experiences with First Tech, and may contain outdated information (about rates, bonus offers, etc.). Note that a lender with a large customer base is likely also to have a higher number of complaints when compared with smaller lenders.

Below we’ve included three (3) of the most recent complaints (as of this writing) in which the consumer consented to share their details about an issue related to loans, debt, or credit reporting.

Complaint 8317933
2/9/2024
Tennessee

“In accordance with the fair credit Reporting act XXXX Account # XXXX, has violated my rights. 15 USC 1681 Section 602 States I have the right to privacy. 15 USC 1681 Section 604 A Section 2 : It also states a consumer reporting agency can not furnish a account without my written instructions. 15 USC 1666B : A creditor may not treat a payment on a credit card account under an open end consumer credit plan as late for and purpose.”

Complaint 7697866
10/14/2023
Georgia

“On XX/XX/XXXX I sent a letter regarding inaccurate and unknown things on my credit report to this day over 60 days later I have not received a response yet. I feel like Im being taken advantage of and being ignored of my disputes. Section 611 ( a ), it is plainly stated that a failure to investigate these items within 30 to 45 days gives a reason to immediately remove those items from my credit report. It has been 60 days so they should be deleted promptly. I demand these accounts be deleted immediately or I will file for litigation due to the stress you caused me. My information was also impacted by the XXXX data breach and may have got into the hands of the wrong person.”

Complaint 7425830
8/20/2023
Washington

“I have taken auto-loan from firsttech credit union in XX/XX/XXXX. I had auto-pay set to my Auto-loan account since XX/XX/XXXX. While auto-pay worked for a year, it failed for the month of XXXX XXXX. The reason being my first tech savings account ran out of money. I was not notified by the firsttech for any auto transfer failure or payment missed in my loan account for 3 months. After 3 months i learned about this when my credit score dropped by XXXX pts and then mail came from firsttech at the same time that i have been missing payment from 3 months. I emailed to Firsttech on XX/XX/XXXX that i had not received any communication about missed payment or late fee until 3 months. At the same time I pre-payed my auto-loan to reduce the balance loan as well as paid the account balance to make it current. On XX/XX/XXXX the auto-pay also started going to the loan account for remaining balance. The auto loan account status was current by XXXX XXXX. In response to my complaint Firsttech sent email on XX/XX/XXXX that they filed a dispute and i should get report in 30 days. I later got a letter that they can not revert the late payment from my account. On XXXX despite the loan account being current my credit score dropped again by XXXX in XXXX report stating Auto-loan account is 30 day late and Auto-loan balance increased despite of me pre-paying the principal. I contacted Firsttech by phone to report the same to which they told i should contact the credit union. I filed dispute to XXXX via XXXX XXXX account as well. I don’t know which institution XXXX or Firsttech are wrong but despite my compliant to firsttech and dispute via XXXX XXXX wrong reporting is done. Both XXXX and Firsttech should be in sync about the current state of my auto-loan account.”

For a full list of complaints made against First Tech in the CFPB’s Consumer Complaint Database, click here.

First Tech Lawsuits

First Tech has been the defendant in a few recent cases though none of these appear to involve debt or lending. Recently active cases, such as District of Oregon case 3:23-cv-00958, Siewell v. First Technology Federal Credit Union^[1], are based on complaints from former employees.

Note that while this information is updated regularly, ongoing legal action is subject to change.

Frequently Asked Questions

These are the most common questions consumers have about student loan refinancing with First Tech.

• Is First Tech good for refinancing student loans?
  First Tech may be a good option for financially secure borrowers with good credit and for First Tech Federal Credit Union members.

• Does First Tech have a minimum credit score requirement?
  First Tech does not disclose a minimum credit score.

• Are First Tech loans federal?
  First Tech loans are not federal. First Tech has no affiliation with the federal government or the U.S. Department of Education.

• Does First Tech charge a prepayment penalty?
  There are no penalties for early payments or repaying a loan in full before its term is over.

• Does checking your rates with First Tech hurt your credit score?
  For their prequalification process, First Tech performs a soft credit check, which will not hurt your credit score. If you proceed with an application, however, First Tech will perform a hard credit check that may affect your credit score.

• Is First Tech a bank?
  First Tech is not a bank but a member-owned credit union that provides financial products and services to its members.

• Can I refinance a First Tech loan?
  You can refinance a First Tech student loan or a student loan from another private lender. There is no limit to the number of times a borrower may refinance with First Tech. Note, however, that every new line of credit requires a hard credit check that may affect your FICO score.

• Can I refinance just some of my loans with First Tech?
  Yes, you can refinance some, all, or just one of your qualifying student loans with First Tech. You may choose to refinance your private loans only or refinance private and federal loans together.

• Can I refinance loans that have already been refinanced?
  Yes, you can refinance loans as many times as you want with First Tech. Note that each time you refinance, you will have to submit a new application; every application requires a hard credit check that may affect your credit score.

• Can my spouse and I refinance our loans together with First Tech?
  First Tech will only refinance loans for principal borrowers.

• How long does it take to refinance with First Tech?
  First Tech does not disclose a timeline but does offer a 90-day period with no payments after loan disbursement.

• Does First Tech offer a grace period?
  No, First Tech does not offer a grace period, but this lender does offer no payments for 90 days after loan disbursement.

• Can I get any special rates or discounts with First Tech?
  First Tech does advertise some special offers. Check the official First Tech web site for updates on deals and discounts for student loan refinancing and other services.

• What happens if I file for bankruptcy?
  First Tech does not specify a course of action in response to bankruptcy; it is common practice among lenders to declare the entire loan amount due immediately upon a borrower’s declaration of bankruptcy.

• Does First Tech partner with any major student refinance lender marketplaces?
  First Tech does not appear to partner with any major multilender marketplaces.

Compare Student Loan Refinance Reviews

Sources

1. PacerMonitor, Siewell v. First Technology Federal Credit Union
2. First Tech Federal, Rates: Student Loan Refinance
3. First Tech, Student Loan Refinance
4. First Tech, Fee Schedule/Sheet
5. First Tech, FAQ