Provident Credit Union (CA) is headquartered in Redwood City and is the 21st largest credit union in the state of California. It is also the 130th largest credit union in the nation. It was established in 1950 and as of March of 2025, it had grown to 317 employees and 135,609 members at 22 locations. Provident Credit Union (CA)'s money market rates are 10X the national average, and it has an A 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
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!".
Worst Bank Experience I’Ve Had
Payment systems make it hugely difficult to set up payments and transfers compared to other bank institutions. Just to maintain them on your own and have control of your banking and transfers/payments is terrible! I keep having to make the time to call in, catch someone up, get a run around from people that don’t even understand their own systems. In this day and age, we have the ability to make the user experience much less painful than this bank offers. I’ve hurt my credit unknowingly due to this institutions lack of competence and ability to stand up for what’s a broken system on their end. Would never recommend or use again.
The only area I’ve had no issues with is my auto loan. That has been seamless. Cc and checking/savings have been a nightmare.
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.
Worst Bank Ever
I don't trust banks to store my money so I use them as an intermediary for digital transaction as I keep most money elsewhere . I was just charged 7 overdraft fees in a row coming to almost $200. Ever since I have been a member of this bank I have made it clear that I want my card to be declined instead of overdraft charges to be made. I have stated this several times and I was just told for the FIRST TIME there is no overdraft protection for anyone at all. Nobody has ever made this clear. Not once.
Along with this, there was one time I spent literally 4 hours speaking to 13 different people on card services because my card was frozen for some reason in the past. Each time I was told my card was fixed, it was not.
This bank is a nightmare and this overdraft thing has finally convinced to take my money elsewhere and I strongly urge anyone else to do the same.
t(-_-t)
Data as of Q1 2025
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| NCUA # | 66343 |
| Year Chartered | 1950 |
| Employees | 317 |
| Primary Regulator | |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 0.3% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 2.94% |
| Annual Interest Income | $36MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $3.6B$3.52B |
| Loans | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $2.65B$2.52B |
| Deposits | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $3.18B$3.14B |
| Equity Capital | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $363.2MM$341.8MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $11.6MM$11.6MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $4.2MM$3MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q1 2025vs Q1 2024 | $0$0 |
