The physical locations may be constructed of brick and mortar, and the digital products may be made of cables and hardware, but ultimately, they are all built on trust. Consumers' trust in banks has been part of the Central Illinois landscape since 1873, and we take pride in protecting our clients’ hard-earned deposits and having their best interests at heart.
That culture is in place every day at Prospect Bank, as much a part of the fiber of the region as farmland and high school basketball. There is no one-size-fits-all approach—Prospect Bank offers customized deposit solutions to each of its customers and continues to take steps to both streamline the process and protect transactions from fraud. After all, they're not just customers; they're neighbors, fellow business operators, or just involved citizens in the place they call home.
"Customer relationships are our primary focus," says Brittany Cluver, Chief Deposit Officer at Prospect Bank, which has 10 locations throughout Central Illinois and Western Indiana. "We're building relationships, ensuring we provide the customer's needs. We always tip our hat to the fact that we're a small community bank, but we offer services that the big banks offer. They can do wires online and ACH online. We keep up with that technology so that our customers have all the tools they need, and we can maintain our relationships in the community."
Sweeps, wires and fraud protection
Deposits are crucial for commercial entities, which comprise about 80 percent of Prospect Bank's business. That's why Cluver and her staff work to customize everything for business clients and check in for reviews that occur quarterly or annually, depending on the customer. "We touch base with them as frequently as we can," she says, "just to make sure they're using all the products they might need."
Those products begin with Prospect Bank's Progress Business Checking account, which offers credits that can offset the monthly costs associated with the account. Other options range from Success Business Checking, designed for businesses just starting out, and Progress Business Checking for businesses with a high volume of transactions. For nonprofits, there's the Community Interest Checking option, which features no monthly service charges.
Businesses that need wire transfers and electronic fund transfers made through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network will also find those options readily available at Prospect Bank. Prospect Bank can also set up sweeps that divert a specified amount of money from operating accounts toward investments or paying down a loan. Prospect Bank works to protect deposits through tools like the Positive Pay service, which guards against bad checks, and dual control processes, where both the business and the bank approve certain transactions.
Banking electronically "is more secure," Cluver said. But unfortunately, fraudsters are coming up with ways to work around that. The human factor is still important, and the cautiousness of the humans doing the processes is critical."
It's about being flexible—even if a commercial client still prefers to work with paper checks and deposit slips. Prospect Bank is always prepared to handle those old schoolers, too. "There is quite a range," Cluver said. "You have to be able to service those who want their (physical) checks. They are very set in their ways and don't even want you to suggest something like electronic statements. So, you have to know who you're talking to and know what they're comfortable with."
Deep roots in Central Illinois
It all goes back to that relationship and always being there for the customer's needs. Toward that end, Prospect Bank will soon introduce a product from IntraFi, which helps protect clients with deposit amounts above the $250,000 FDIC insurance limit. For example, a customer depositing $1 million with an IntraFi-affiliated institution like Prospect Bank could have that total divided into small amounts under the FDIC insurance maximum and placed in money market accounts or CDs.
"They could go to every other bank and do that on their own, but it saves them that process," Cluver says. "They just work with us. They're familiar with us. We take their deposits, disperse them out, and then they get a statement showing where their money is sitting. We anticipate being able to offer that extra protection for our customers in 2024."
The customers come first—the reason Prospect Bank has been around for 150 years. "That's why we encourage our employees to be a part of chambers and park districts and different organizations in our communities," Cluver said. "We have our footprint of 10 branches in east Central Illinois and Indiana, and that's what we're familiar with. We're a community bank built on relationships, so we're not going into Chicago and trying to open a branch there. We want to stick to our roots." After all, Central Illinois isn't just a territory to Prospect Bank; it's home.
Are you interested in more information about customized deposit solutions from Prospect Bank? Contact Prospect Bank by phone at (877) 465-4154, visit its website at BankProspect.com, or stop by any of its 10 Central Illinois and Indiana locations, including the headquarters at 177 West Wood St. in Paris.
