PAWTUCKET – A familiar figure in the Rhode Island finance industry is rebranding with a new name to reflect its growing regional presence.
Pawtucket Credit Union will soon be known as Coastal1 Credit Union, the credit union announced in a letter sent to members this week which was shared with PBN. The name and logo change, which take effect May 18, are intended to reflect the institution’s expansion across Rhode Island and soon, into Massachusetts.
“We’ll always be committed to our roots here in Pawtucket,” CEO and President Brian Azar said in an interview on Friday. “The long-term evolving strategy is to have the name reflect the greater geography we serve.”
That geography includes 17 branches across the state and $3 billion in assets, including the first-ever Providence branch which opened on the East Side in December. Later this year, the credit union will be adding its first branch in Massachusetts, on land purchased along Route 1 in North Attleboro, Azar said.
The new name pays homage to the region’s waterfront, while the numeral “1” is a reference to the company’s mission to “be no.1 in the minds of our customers,” Azar said.
Plans for the name change date back to at least October 2021, when the credit union filed to update its business listing with the R.I. Secretary of State’s office, according to online filings.
As part of the rebranding, the company will be sending out new cards and checks to customers. Checks written out to Pawtucket Credit Union will still be honored through the end of the year, and most existing credit and debit cards will stay active until Aug. 1.
All routing and account numbers will stay the same. A new website, coastal1.org, and mobile app will also be unveiled in time for the official May 18 changeover.
All branch locations and staff will stay the same.
The credit union plans to market its new name to members and the broader community through direct mailings and TV and radio advertisements over the coming months, Azar said.
Azar declined to share how much money the credit union had spent on marketing and materials related to the name change, characterizing it as “not a small expense but not a huge expense either.”
As of Dec. 31, Pawtucket Credit Union had the second-largest share of in-market deposits in Rhode Island, according to the National Credit Union Administration.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.
