Helping support community banking while expanding our services nationally
As an independent community bank, Somerset Trust is under the leadership of the fifth generation of the family that founded our bank more than 100 years ago. It's important for us to maintain the traditional qualities of community banking, as well as enhance those qualities through technology. NEBA's support enables us to offer our own branded card services to our local customers, as well as offer quality services nationally. I recognize the fact that at Somerset Trust Company we represent a small region in western Pennsylvania which allows for limited organic growth. Working with NEBA for operational support, we are able to move into a national market, as well as develop niche products. We are now offering a Commercial Card Program to various institutions throughout the United States.
Keeping us competitive
NEBA allows us to move forward by assisting us with getting new programs up and running. Their team helps us build the project plan and complete the programming and testing with FDR in order to expedite the product to market. In this way, they enable Somerset Trust to stay competitive with regional and national banks. NEBA also helps us stay up-to-date with the latest developments on the FDR system; their guidance and support helps us navigate the biggest credit card processor in the world.
NEBA continually expands the vendor options related to Merchant support allowing us to remain competitive in an industry that is consistently updating technology. For example, Somerset is able to offer MasterCard's contactless PayPass technology to both cardholders and merchants.
Maximizing capabilities and speaking the language of the community bank
Essentially we are a mid-size community bank, with approximately $470 million in assets, 13 offices and over 200 employees. In the card services division, we only have four full-time employees representing multiple products, but NEBA helps us keep up with industry demand and offer services 24/7/365 for fraud management, etc.
NEBA helps us identify product lines to increase our profitability on the retail and commercial sides of our business. I believe there's a longer learning curve for bank employees to understand payment programs (vs. other parts of banking), but NEBA really helps community banks understand the payment industry because of their expertise in the banking industry and the regulatory environment. They also understand the restraints that community banks have to overcome in order to be competitive and streamlined.