ASHEBORO N.C. (ACME NEWS) — North Carolina State Employees’ Credit Union’s rollout of its new app has been mired in chaos after initial device requirements would have locked out more than one in three Android users, with members facing canceled bill payments, shifting compatibility and phone wait times approaching an hour.
The transition to a new Member Access had been coming for months. In a notice dated May 1, SECU told its approximately 2.7 million members that a new Online Services Agreement would take effect June 6, bringing with it an overhauled Member Access platform combining the credit union’s web and mobile banking into a single system. The agreement separately acknowledges that SECU “cannot assure that all mobile devices will be compatible” with the app.
Pre-launch emails directed members to update their devices and install the latest version of the SECU app ahead of the June 8 launch date, but specified no minimum Android version requirement.
When the new Member Access platform launched, the Mobile App suddenly required Android 14 or later. According to U.S. Android market share data from web analytics firm StatCounter, that threshold would have excluded approximately 37 percent of Android device users as of May 2026 — more than one in three.
The credit union had also been providing updates on its Facebook page, but that page has only about 45,000 followers, a fraction of SECU’s 2.7 million members.
Many members complained that despite being on widely used devices, they had no real warning the app might stop working for them. “My phone is only a year old, the same model is still on display in the store, so I find it confusing and irritating that my banking app just suddenly stopped working,” said Noah Williams, a SECU member.
Williams said he had seen emails from SECU about changes to the Online Services Agreement and the new Member Access platform, but had ignored them. “I get what feels like a hundred ‘we’re updating our terms’ emails a week,” he said. Williams added that nothing in the app itself warned him the update would affect his device. “It just told me I needed to update the app. It wasn’t until I was in the Play Store that it told me the app couldn’t be updated because Android was out of date,” he said. “That’s information I would have liked to have known before.”
Members seeking help by phone reached a support line under strain. As of Thursday afternoon, wait times for Member Services Support stood at 57 minutes. SECU’s own website banner attributed the delays to “high call volumes.”
SECU revised its posted Android requirement on its website from version 14 to version 11 — a threshold that would leave roughly 13 percent of Android users without app access, according to the same StatCounter data.
But despite posting the change to its website and Facebook page on June 10, it hadn’t gone into effect for some users as of Thursday afternoon. Users were still reporting that no updated version of the app had been pushed to Google Play, leaving members on devices that should now meet the revised requirements still unable to use the app.
The new platform is also facing questions about security. New multi-factor authentication requirements force members to verify their identity via text message or voice call to complete login. Security experts warn those options rank among the least secure MFA methods available, given the prevalence of SIM-swapping attacks — a form of fraud in which criminals hijack a victim’s phone number to intercept authentication codes and gain access to financial accounts.
It’s not just the Android app, either. Pre-launch communications flagged a significant disruption for members using the credit union’s bill payment service: paper check payments would not transfer to the new system and would need to be set up again from scratch. Electronic payments would also begin processing earlier than members had previously experienced — one business day before a scheduled delivery date for electronic payments, and five business days prior for paper checks.
The credit union’s FAQ page describes Member Access as offering “more features and tools to manage your SECU accounts from any device,” but does not address which devices are actually supported or explain why the posted requirements changed after launch. Members have no option to revert to the previous system. “Now that the new platform has launched, the old version of Member Access is no longer available,” the FAQ states.
SECU’s FAQ also promises that “personal service through our statewide branches, ATMs, and our Member Services Support help line will always be available.” On Thursday, reaching that help line required nearly an hour on hold.
SECU did not respond to questions or a request for comment. A two-day deadline to respond to specific questions passed without reply. In a comment to a post on their facebook page, SECU stated:
We understand how important mobile access is to our members. We’ve completed work to expand Android compatibility for the SECU Mobile App and an updated version is on the way. Availability may vary as Play Store updates roll out across devices. If you don’t yet see an update for your device, please check back periodically. We appreciate your patience and feedback as we work to expand access for more members.
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