Provident Credit Union (CA) is headquartered in Redwood City and is the 20th largest credit union in the state of California. It is also the 127th largest credit union in the nation. It was established in 1950 and as of December of 2023, it had grown to 318 employees and 135,664 members at 22 locations. Provident Credit Union (CA)'s money market rates are 11X the national average, and it has a B+ health rating.
Field of Membership Restrictions
Membership in Provident Credit Union is open to the following: (1) those who live or work in San Mateo, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Alameda, Monterey, Sacramento, Pacer, Humboldt, or El Dorado Counties in California and the City of Los Angeles, (2) employees of Belmont Chamber of Commerce, Danish-American Chamber of Commerce of Northern California, Burlingame Chamber of Commerce, and select local chambers of commerce in California, (3) members of the AFL-CIO Local 501, Carpenters Local 217 and select local unions, (4) members or employees of the American Heart Association-San Francisco Chapter, Association for Workplace Justice and other local associations, and (5) employees of City Building Inc., Circraft Inc., Inspired Company or other select local companies. Family and household members of current credit union members are also eligible to join.
See current membership details
Related Posts
1/8 - Provident Credit Union CA Drops Rate To 1.36% APY
10/24/12 - Providentcu RCA Drops Fr 2.26 To 2.01%
4/30/12 - Updated Review of Provident CU's Super Reward Checking Account
5/17/09 - Reward Checking Account at a California CU (Provident)
1/10/09 - 3.75% 15-Month CD at Provident Credit Union in California - Easy Membership
3/15/08 - 4.00% 60-Month CD at a California CU - IRA/Easy Membership (Provident).
11/7/07 - 5.30% 16-Month CD at a California CU - easy membership (Provident)
Great Institution; High Rewards Checking Rate
I've been a member for 2 years and am a happy customer. I always look for credit unions first when choosing a bank-type institution; when I moved to the Bay Area I began my search. I looked at BBB.org ratings and complaint history. There were a few credit unions that topped the quality list and I finally choose Provident because of its Rewards Checking account rate.
Two years and greater acquaitance later, I have never regretted this decision. I easily recommend Provident to coworkers, friends, and people new to the area. That amazing rewards checking rate is still at 2.26% when everywhere rates keep dropping even on "high-yield" accounts from AMEX and Smarty Pig. (Rewards checking in general is fantastic these days if you can find it. Meeting the requirements is easy with my routine.)
Online banking is fine. I use auto bill-pay to cover my rent and direct deposit from my employer. Mint.com works great. The account is linked to mutual fund and brokerage accounts. ATMs are free within the entire credit union network; out of network ATM fees are reimbursed up to $2.50.
The only feature missing for me is virtual sub-accounts (like ING has). I'd like to auto-transfer money from the rewards checking into sub-accounts for savings goals, even if those virtual accounts are part of a seperate savings account with different (realisticaly lower) rates.
Incompetent IT Department
I cannot login their website from my windows 11 laptop:
Access Declined
We are unable to begin your session. Please call Provident at (650) 508-0300 or (800) 632-4600 for assistance.
Called several times and was told by their technician that the reason is my computer is "attacking" their website.
I have over 2 dozen banks. Theirs is the only one my computer attacked :)
NOT Super Reward Checking
This is account promises 1% interest but the hoops you are expected to jump through are unreasonable. Spending $300 credit seems easy enough, but you are expected to know when a merchant post. Several times, I made purchases within the month time frame with time to spare only to discover PCU won't count them because they didn't post to the account in time which they blame on the merchant. How can that be when you actually see charge in your account days before month end, but PCU decides to post at the beginning of the month. They only pay the 1% on the 1st $25K so frankly it isn't worth the hassle. Every time I've brought this to the attention of PCU they essentially say read the fine print. Good customer service would look at the facts and say, "Let me fix that, especially given you are long term customer!".
Unacceptable
I have a bad experience with this bank. I called and a representative at Folsom branch said after opening CD account, it is going to be a penalty of 90 days in case of early withdrawal of the CD. I came, opened the account with the manager, he did not go over terms when opening the account. I asked if it is the same, 90 days penalty of the early withdrawal, he said no, 180 days. I said it is misinformation. I said I don't want to have CD on these terms. He said we have to close your account. I said don't close account, close CD only because opening and closing will effect my credit score a lot. He said no, it was a soft check of your credit. I said no, he did cancel my account and I was notified by credit wise that my score was reduced by 45 poins. Misleading employees and manager.
Data as of Q4 2023
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| NCUA # | 66343 |
| Year Chartered | 1950 |
| Employees | 318 |
| Primary Regulator | |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 0.21% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 2.17% |
| Annual Interest Income | $109.9MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q4 2023vs Q4 2022 | $3.5B$3.51B |
| Loans | Q4 2023vs Q4 2022 | $2.49B$2.15B |
| Deposits | Q4 2023vs Q4 2022 | $3.12B$3.12B |
| Equity Capital | Q4 2023vs Q4 2022 | $337.6MM$301MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q4 2023vs Q4 2022 | $11.6MM$11MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q4 2023vs Q4 2022 | $2.4MM$985K |
| Real Estate Owned | Q4 2023vs Q4 2022 | $0$0 |
