Hampshire First offers remote deposit product
The newly opened Hampshire First Bank is hoping to make a splash with two new products aimed at its business and individual customers.
A state-chartered commercial bank, Hampshire First opened its Nashua branch last December and is set to open its Manchester office later this month in the former Bee Bee Shoe building in the Millyard, has introduced Remote Deposit Automation, or RDA, for commercial customers and market-driven certificates of deposit.
“The majority of corporate remittances and payments are still made by check, involving manual deposit processes that are labor-intensive and often the source of time-consuming errors. RDA is a cash management innovation which allows corporate customers to automate deposit receipt, processing and endpoint routing,” said John F. Dinkel Jr., director of community banking and lending.
According to Dinkel, with RDA, “checks and related documents are scanned and indexed by the customer to create image files for secure, encrypted transmission directly to the bank for payment. Efficiency is increased, cash flow is accelerated, and deposits are processed without a trip to the bank.”
He said Hampshire First provides everything necessary for a successful remote deposit implementation, including administrative tools and on-site training.
“The required scanning/indexing equipment and software can be purchased or leased, is easy to install and use, and can be configured for any business environment regardless of size or location,” he said.
The bank also is introducing market-driven CDs, or MD CDs, whose interest rates are linked to a broad-based market index, such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and enable depositors to share in a rising stock market while at the same time limiting the risk associated with any potential market downturn.
Instead of paying a fixed rate of interest, MD CDs at maturity pay interest based on the percentage gain from initial to final index value over the term of the MD CD, factored by a participation rate that specifies the extent to which the deposit participates in the appreciation of the index.
The participation rate varies from issue to issue, depending on prevailing market conditions, Dinkel said.
“MD CDs couple the power of market performance with the safety of a community bank,” said Dinkel. “That is, an exceptional combination of earnings potential and peace of mind. One of the primary benefits of the MD CD is that it is FDIC-insured, so that you won’t lose a dime on your original deposit when held to maturity. A modest $1,000 minimum investment, or any larger multiple of that amount, can serve a variety of savings needs, and there are no sales fees or charges.”
The bank, which serves clients throughout southern New Hampshire, maintains offices at 221 Main St. in Nashua. Its Manchester office is at 80 Canal St.
In November, the bank completed its initial public stock offering for 2.8 million shares of common stock at $10 a share.
James Dunphy, the bank’s president and CEO, said at the time that oversubscription of the offering “confirmed our knowledge that investors large and small recognized the high value of a community bank here in southern New Hampshire.”
Meridian Interstate Bancorp Inc., the holding company for East Boston Savings Bank, a Massachusetts-based mutual savings bank, owns a 40 percent interest in the bank.
For more information, 578-2652 or visit hampshirefirst.com.
