Patelco Newsroom

We’re here to help if you’re a government employee whose paycheck is affected by the shutdown.
 
Here are the special financial relief program benefits available to qualifying members:

• A $500 loan at 0.00% Annual Percentage Rate (APR)¹ for 12 months
• Personal loan at 8.95% APR¹ for up to $10,000 (60-month term)²
• Temporary waiver of early withdrawal fees (during the government shutdown) on any share certificates you may have with us
• Reversal of NSF or late fees during the government shutdown
• Payment deferrals through January 31, 2026, on select existing loans in good standing³

We’re standing by to help

To see if you qualify for our special relief program in the event of a government shutdown, please schedule an appointment online to meet via our Virtual Branch^™, or send a secure message via Patelco Online^™. During regular business hours, you can also visit your local branch or call us directly at 800.358.8228 extension 1212.

Qualifying criteria

Must be an existing member as of 10/1/2025 and a federal government employee as of 9/30/2025.
 
For $500 loan, you must be a federal government employee who has been furloughed, terminated, or laid off due to the October 1, 2025 federal government shutdown.
 
For loans over $500, you must be a federal government employee who has been furloughed but not terminated or laid off due to the October 1, 2025 federal government shutdown.
 
All loans are subject to approval based on income and credit qualifications in addition to the above.
 
For payment deferrals, you must be a federal government employee who has been furloughed, terminated, or laid off due to the October 1, 2025 federal government shutdown.

Additional resources

We’d also like to remind you that we’re here to help you find free, local resources to help with everyday expenses like food, utilities, housing, and healthcare. Visit our resources page and look for the Search Now button.
 
Thank you for being a Patelco Credit Union member. This program was designed to help members like you remain financially stable, especially during uncertain times. We’re here to support you — today and every step of the way.

We’ve recently made some changes to our Member Handbook, and we encourage you to read it online. Here’s a summary of the changes we’ve made which are effective July 1, 2025.
 

What we’ve added

• Requesting additional information – information about our right to request additional information, signatures, or documentation to protect members’ accounts and our systems from fraud or other problems
• Call recording and biometrics – an explanation of how we may use voice biometrics to more quickly authenticate you when you call and protect your account from identity theft

What we’ve removed

• Non-transferability of accounts – this information was outdated
• Available point-of-sale services – an older way of getting cash from your checking account
• Daily limits on debit card transactions – while there are still limits on card transactions, this information was no longer accurate
• Debit card paid NSF coverage form – we’ve removed this form – see our updates below regarding available services related to NSF transactions
• Early withdrawal penalties – deleted since this is covered in the sections for individual products

Sections we’ve updated

• Commitment Household – revised to refer members to patelco.org for the discounts and advantages of the Commitment Household program instead of specifying the discounts and advantages in the Handbook
• Trusted Contact – clarified that multiple Trusted Contacts means two – one primary and one contingent
• Following instructions – Revised to broaden our right to refuse to follow instructions or complete a transaction for any reason at our discretion, including, but not limited to, if we reasonably believe the instructions to be inauthentic, unauthorized, or made under duress, or we reasonably believe that the transaction or service is illegal; this supplements our right to deny services pursuant to the Grounds for Expulsion or Denial of Services section
• Consent to receive communications – broadened the consent such that we are permitted to contact members by telephone, text messaging, email or mail in order to service their accounts or collect amounts owed – this consent allows us to make live telephone calls, send text messages, leave prerecorded or artificial voice messages, and use automatic telephone dialing technology for informational and account service purposes, and opt-out methods are identified
• Arbitration – Added the ability for Patelco and members to mutually agree upon an arbitration administrator other than the AAA
• Funds Availability – Increased the amount that will be immediately available for check deposits and cash or check ATM deposits and adjusted the amount for larger checks that may require a longer delay in availability
• Business accounts – removed prohibition on political parties, fundraising groups, and campaign organizations; added prohibition on firearms and ammunition manufacturing businesses and businesses that advocate violence or hate against any group or individual
• Continuing authorization to open accounts – revised so that new share accounts will have the Joint Owner(s) and/or POD Beneficiary(ies) that the member designates instead of the same Joint Owner(s) and/or POD Beneficiary(ies).
• Dividend calculation – clarified the calculation, and moved this to Truth-in-Savings Disclosures; dividends are covered in the sections for individual products
• NSF Transactions, Discretionary Overdraft Services & Debit Card NSF Protection – revised to account for our current practices after retirement of courtesy pay for accounts opened after April 5, 2023; for those accounts, we’ve replaced this service with the Patelco Instant BackUp™ Line of Credit and other services
• Holiday Club Accounts – moved to a new Addendum based on retirement of this account as of May 2, 2025
• Available Debit Card Merchant Transactions – revised to reflect our current practice of the daily purchase limit being set at the time the card was created

 
Though we’ve made some changes and added some new things, we haven’t changed our commitment to your financial wellness. We encourage you to read the new Member Handbook and to reach out if you have any questions.

Financial Wellness Partner Shaida Samimi was recently highlighted in the World Council of Credit Union’s summer 2024 conference for her work involving financial inclusion for migrants and refugees.
 
“Patelco Credit Union prioritized community engagement as a first step in its journey to support refugees and migrants,” the report shared. “Shaida’s ‘say yes and help’ philosophy brought her into contact with families who left Afghanistan following the August 2021 US withdrawal… She saw this as a potential opportunity for Patelco to improve its partnerships, grow its members, and expand into local refugee and migrant communities. From Shaida’s initial efforts, Patelco’s outreach and support for refugees and migrants evolved into two full-fledged membership development programs. Since 2021, Patelco has developed partnerships with 12 different humanitarian NGOs, including the International Rescue Committee (IRC), World Relief, and Opening Doors.”
 
Read about the report and conference here to learn how Patelco has made a name for itself by proactively expanding services to underserved populations.

On June 29, 2024, there was a security incident that required Patelco to proactively shut down our day-to-day banking systems. On July 15, 2024, Patelco successfully restored core banking services and transactions. We created a webpage for the latest updates on our operations and service availability. Visit our Security Incident Information Center for details.