The Town of Hamlet will soon be switching banks. “I don’t know how I’d do it, but I would like to switch to 1st Source,” Clerk-Treasurer Kristina Pitts told the town council last week. “A lot of switching around to do, but it would benefit the town.” A 1st Source Bank representative met with council members to discuss the change.
One noticeable difference for residents will be the ability to have bill payments taken automatically from their bank accounts for no extra charge. “I could see a lot of our customers signing up for that, then, instead of using the credit cards because they do get charged for that,” Pitts said.
1st Source also promised the town a fraud protection tool called “positive pay.” Town officials would send the bank a list of the checks they send out. If someone tries to cash a check that isn’t on that list, the town will get an alert.
Under the agreement, the Town of Hamlet would have to buy its own check scanning machine. While that would come at a cost to the town, it would cut down on money handling.
Pitts also said the town would pay a bit more for the additional features. “The monthly charge will be $68 through 1st Source,” she explained. “Right now, First Farmers charges us anywhere from $40 to $50 a month. ACHs is included in that and then service fees. We’ll get more interest, I do believe, if I understood it correctly, through 1st Source.”
Council members didn’t take an official vote on switching banks, but they agreed to let Pitts move ahead with the process.
