Patelco Credit Union

Official name

Patelco Credit Union

Charter / type

NCUA-insured credit union (confirm via NCUA locator).

Field of membership (summary)

Live, work, attend school, or worship in counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Marin, Merced, Napa, Placer, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Yolo. Also published cities: Bakersfield, Eureka, McKinleyville, Santa Cruz. Also: UC Berkeley / SF State / CSU East Bay enrolled or alumnus; family/roommate of members; sponsored companies; or Financial Fitness Association (Patelco pays first-year FFA fee per site — renewal thereafter is member’s responsibility and not required to keep Patelco membership).

Join steps (as published)

Check eligibility → gather SSN, government ID, address, funding source → open account (Free Checking commonly promoted as a start). Membership described as free; Patelco deposits the $1 share.

Fees (only if published)

Membership described as free. Patelco deposits $1 into Share Savings as the membership share (published FAQ on Regular Savings). Regular Savings: no monthly fee, no minimum balance required (beyond the share). Other fees: see Patelco fee disclosures — not fully transcribed.

ATM / network notes

30,000+ fee-free ATMs (published on Regular Savings / membership pages).

Branches serving Bay Area

Patelco states 36 branches including Virtual Branch™ — NorCal footprint. Use patelco.org locations; do not invent addresses.

Caveats

County path covers most Bay Area counties on the published list. FFA path is an alternate for people outside the county/city lists — first year paid by Patelco per published note; do not invent ongoing FFA dollar amounts.

Join difficulty rationale

Easy — published multi-county Bay Area / NorCal live/work/school/worship path with free membership and $1 share deposited by the CU.

Last verified: 2026-10-25 (America/Los_Angeles). Confirm eligibility and fees on the credit union’s site before applying. Membership always subject to CU approval and identity verification.