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10 Reasons to Choose a Local Community Bank

Community banks offer all the benefits of large national financial institutions while creating a friendly and welcoming environment. Community banks take pride in serving their communities and always go the extra mile for their customers.

FNBT team surrounding a poster of the First National Bank and Trust Sky Carp debit card for a group photo

If you’ve just moved to the area and need to find a new bank, or you’re looking to switch from your current bank, there are plenty of options. However, not every bank is the same. There are tangible benefits to choosing a local community bank. In this article, we’ll share 10 reasons to choose a local bank.

Personal, Local Service

Community banks excel at creating a welcoming, homey environment in their branch locations. At First National Bank and Trust (FNBT), our motto is “We’ll treat you like family.” We are a family business that treats you like part of the family. We are dedicated to offering whatever you need from your local bank, whether you’re buying a house, starting a business, or expanding a farm. We want to help all our families succeed by providing local insights and expertise.
 
When you choose FNBT as your local community bank, we are here to help when and how you need us. We’ll make it as simple as possible–whether you want face time with a banker, a live person to answer your phone call, easy-to-use digital banking tools, or an expert to help you set up your accounts and use digital banking technology, we’ve got what you need–right here in our local community.

Customer Loyalty

As one of the few remaining truly local banks, we want to reward our customers for their loyalty. You can get rewarded in a variety of ways: using your debit card, referring friends, getting good grades, and more.
 

Keep Your Money in the Community

The money that flows into local banks through deposits and loans goes right back into the community in the form of employee paychecks, charitable donations, and new loans to business owners and families.

Your Bank Serves the Community

Local banks take the word “community” seriously. It doesn’t just describe our size, but also our dedication to serving the people, places, and businesses where we operate. This can take the form of free public events such as Paper Shredding Days, Holiday Open Houses, Coin Appraisals, and more. We are also proud to be the exclusive bank of the Beloit Sky Carp! Community banks also give back by making charitable donations and volunteering employees’ time to local organizations.
 
Another way to serve the community is through free and accessible financial education resources. FNBT offers free online courses and other resources for consumers and small businesses through our partner, EVERFI, Inc. Check out our financial advice articles by topic under the “Sound Advice” tab on our website and read our Wallet Wise blog.

More Flexible Lending

Because community banks want to see their customers succeed, they often have more flexible lending options. This is true for both personal and business lending. It’s no wonder that community banks are the preferred lenders of small businesses everywhere. Instead of just treating you as a number, we look holistically at your situation and customize a lending solution to meet your needs.

Better Rates

Community banks always look for ways to help their customers save money, by offering better rates. Privilege Plus Checking account holders enjoy discounts on loans and mortgage closing costs.*

More Unique Products

Local community banks are built around the communities they serve, so they tailor their product offerings to meet the needs of their community. For example, FNBT serves Southern Wisconsin, Northern Illinois, and the Stateline area with:
  • Second Chance Checking: Our Renew Checking account helps you rebuild your finances and get back on your feet.
  • Health Savings Account: HSAs aren’t offered by many bigger banks. However, we proudly offer this tax-advantaged savings account to help our customers save for healthcare and medical expenses.

Same Conveniences as a Big Bank

If you think banking with a local community bank means less service, rest assured that we offer the same conveniences as bigger banks. You can visit one of our 16 full-service locations throughout Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois, and take advantage of 70,000 surcharge-free Allpoint and MoneyPass ATMs worldwide. We may be a local bank, but you can access your funds globally. Online and mobile banking features also allow you to check balances, transfer funds, deposit checks, and more–wherever you are. When it’s time to open a new bank account or apply for a mortgage, you can do that online, too.

Digital Banking Perks

Personal and business customers can access on-the-go banking convenience with our Digital Banking tools. Our robust digital and mobile banking features include:
 
  • Account alerts for low balances, unusual account activity, and other security alerts.
  • Easily send money to a friend, family member, the babysitter, dog walker, etc.
  • Online bill pay
  • Mobile check deposit
  • Instantly disable a lost or stolen debit card
  • Travel notifications for when you’re leaving the state or country
  • Set spending limits
  • Mobile Wallet and Contactless Cards
Learn more about our personal online banking services, mobile banking apps, online business banking, and business mobile banking apps.

See how community banks stack up to online banks in Local vs. Online: How To Get The Best Banking Experience.

All-in-One Financial Services

Simplify your finances by keeping all your accounts with one financial institution. Luckily, you can find this in a local community bank! From wealth management, estate planning, trusts, retirement savings, college savings, business and personal banking, and more–FNBT is your one-stop-shop in the Stateline area.

Reasons to Choose A Local Community Bank

Choose FNBT today!

Treating you like family begins with making the switch to FNBT as easy as possible for you. We will go out of our way to help you set up your new account, bill pays, recurring payments, direct deposits, etc. To make the switch, you can visit a local FNBT branch in Beloit, Clinton, Darien, Delavan, Elkhorn, Janesville, Walworth, Williams Bay, Monroe or Argyle, WI; and Rockton, Roscoe, or Winnebago, IL. You can also open a checking account or savings account online or contact us.