Tens of thousands of service members, military families and other federal workers have rushed to apply for emergency financial assistance amid fears of missing a paycheck next week. That fear appeared almost certain to become reality after Congress adjourned Friday until Oct. 14, though President Donald Trump announced Saturday that funds might materialize to pay troops on Oct. 15, their usual payday.

But as uncertainty continues, several military-focused banks and relief societies say they have already extended millions of dollars in emergency relief cash and loans that many began heavily promoting last week. By far, the largest of those programs is run by USAA, the massive Texas-based financial institution which, for decades, has required its members to have ties to the military in order to join.

On Friday, USAA announced it approved tens of thousands of emergency loans totaling $144 million in just 48 hours. But online complaints have piled up that the company’s loan program requires a ‘hard’ credit check — which can negatively impact credit scores. Many active-duty troops who applied said they were surprised to be rejected, leaving them with one less option for relief and a dinged credit score. 

Multiple service members told Task & Purpose their USAA applications were denied despite having apparently healthy credit histories. The rejections were particularly surprising, some said, because they had been USAA members for several years and had requested less than the full $6,000 loan the bank was offering.

A USAA official acknowledged that the program requires a hard credit check and that some individuals were either not eligible for the loan or did not qualify under the company’s lending rules.

“We’re going out of our way to really take care of as many people as possible,” said Daniel Diaz, a USAA spokesperson.

Diaz said late Friday the bank’s tally of approved loans had grown to 50,000, totaling $189 million.

Facing weeks without pay

Troops interviewed for this story were granted anonymity to speak candidly about their financial situations. Several said they were worried about missing their next pay while trying to figure out options for rent, utilities, food, day-to-day expenses, supporting their families, or avoid dipping into savings.

“For at least the next month, I know for sure I’m going to have a roof over my head. I know for sure the lights are going to stay on, and I know for sure I’m going to have a way to and from work,” said an Army specialist, who said he was twice denied a USAA loan this week and is living on the last paycheck from Oct. 1, the day of the shutdown. But with a water bill looming, he is now waiting for assistance from an Army relief foundation he applied to after being denied by USAA. Should the shutdown drag on, he said, “it’s going to get scary for myself” and other troops.

Amid the scramble for financial relief, multiple troops did not let the federal government off the hook for its failure to fund something as essential as military paychecks after days of congressional bickering over the shutdown.

“We do the service that’s asked of us and to not get paid feels like a slap in the face,” the specialist said. “It’s a slap in the face that Congress can get paid, continue to get paid, through all of this process, but the people that are charged with protecting them and their ideas — we don’t get paid.”

While Diaz said USAA had approved more than 50,000 loans, he would not disclose how many total applications the bank has received, making it unclear how many have been rejected in total. He said “most of the applications” have been approved.

Credit worries with a ‘hard’ check

Many complaints centered around USAA’s requirement in their loan application for a “hard” credit check, a formal request for a credit review that a bank or lender makes when a person applies for a loan. Hard checks can impact a person’s credit score, while a soft check — commonly used for general background checks, like when applying for a job — do not impact credit scores.

Diaz confirmed the hard check requirement in the USAA program. Service members who spoke to Task & Purpose and were denied a loan lamented that the hard check would now likely impact their credit scores without having received financial assistance. 

A spokesperson for Navy Federal Credit Union, another military-centric bank that is offering emergency loans amid the shutdown, told Task & Purpose it is not obtaining or reporting such credit information for its shutdown loan program. The spokesperson did not disclose how many emergency loan requests it received or approved during this shutdown, but said that “we’re seeing a significant uptick in participation in our paycheck assistance program, which we believe reflects the uncertainty many are feeling about a timely resolution to the ongoing shutdown.”

Diaz said the USAA program has different requirements because it is a traditional loan.

Diaz emphasized that the USAA program is not a payday advance but a loan with a 60 to 90-day window for repayment. Payday or “paycheck assistance” loans are immediately “clawed back” by the bank when a paycheck eventually arrives, and therefore might not require a hard credit check. The Navy Federal Government Shutdown Loan Program is set up under those terms.

But the USAA loan, Diaz said, is not tied to a service member’s paycheck and instead allows for an extended repayment schedule.

“The reason we offer that is because that allows us to offer greater flexibility when it comes to repayment terms,” Diaz said.

Both the USAA and Navy Federal emergency loans are offered with no interest.

Strange ‘chat’ advice

The Army specialist — who is a new father and has been a USAA customer for years — said that after his second denial from USAA, he sought an explanation via the bank’s online chat feature. He received messages from a chatbot offering to waive or refund overdraft fees if a check failed to clear.

“Not ideal although hel