Patelco Credit Union: security incident halts customer services in California

Over the weekend, nearly half a million credit union customers in California's Bay Area were unable to access their funds, make purchases or check balances online due to a "serious security incident." Patelco Credit Union, based in Dublin's Alameda County and several branches in the Capital Region, had to shut down "some of our routine banking systems" to contain the incident, according to an email sent to customers by the company's president. company on Sunday. The specific nature of the incident was not revealed, but the organization said it was in contact with cybersecurity experts to resolve the problem and restore online services, without being able to predict when everything will return to normal.

Statements from CEO Erin Mendez

In an email signed by Patelco CEO and President Erin Mendez, the company said it experienced the incident on June 29. “This forced us to shut down some of our day-to-day banking systems to remedy the issue and contain the impact, including online banking, our mobile app and our call center,” Mendez wrote. Currently, electronic transactions such as transfers (including Zelle), direct deposits, balance checks, and payments are not available. Mendez clarified that debit and credit card transactions operate with limited capacity. Some customers have reported on social media that they are unable to make withdrawals and debit transactions at certain ATMs and merchants. The company responded on platforms like X that some ATMs in the Co-Op network should be available.

Questions and criticisms from customers

On social media, Patelco admitted: "Unfortunately, we are unable to provide an estimate as to when these systems will return to function as intended." The credit union did not respond to a request for comment Sunday. Patelco, which began as a financial institution for Pacific Bell workers, has branches in Arden Arcade, Elk Grove, Folsom, Citrus Heights and Roseville. The company said its 33 branches in the Bay Area and Capital Region would be open Monday, ready to serve customers during regular business hours. Some online customers have been dissatisfied with the responses they have received, expressing frustration at the lack of clear and timely communication regarding the security of their assets.

Patelco Credit Union commitments

A customer on Reddit reported that the outage began around 7 a.m. and that only some customers could use "branch partner" ATMs. Another customer on Platform The credit union continued to respond to customers via its web platforms: "Please be assured that our teams are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. We understand this is an inconvenience and offer our sincerest apologies." Founded in 1936, Patelco is a nonprofit credit union with more than 456,000 members primarily in Northern California and approximately $9 billion in assets.