BANGOR and HOULTON, Maine — Bangor Savings Bank announced June 26 that it is the first Maine-based bank to provide debit cards that feature Tap and Pay (or NFC) technology, enabling safer, contactless transactions at retailers.
Bank President and CEO Bob Montgomery-Rice made the announcement at the company’s annual meeting in Bangor, where he also announced a record net income of nearly $25 million for the 2017 fiscal year that ended March 31. That figure is an increase of 8.42 percent over last year, and marks the 16th consecutive year of earnings growth for the bank.
The advanced ‘dual-interface’ Bangor Savings Bank debit MasterCard has both an EMV chip and a near-field communication (NFC) antenna, allowing customers to tap and pay in addition to inserting or swiping their card at enabled merchant terminals.
EMV and NFC technology provides greater cardholder security at merchant terminals than traditional magnetic “swipe” cards, he said. In addition to greater security, NFC technology allows the cardholder to keep their card in their hands. Users simply tap their card near or on the NFC enabled terminal and their secure, encrypted data is transmitted by an antenna embedded in the plastic.
“The new card technology gives our customers a secure, quick, and easy payment option,” said Montgomery-Rice. “We’ll continue to leverage leading technology and remain committed to making customer-centric improvements to the services we offer to personal and business banking customers.”
Bangor Savings customers have begun receiving the new EMV/NFC debit MasterCard cards. The rollout will continue through the summer and includes information about the security, capabilities, and added benefits of a dual-interface card, along with general best practices of debit card use for online, phone and in-store payments.
Montgomery-Rice attributed the bank’s continued success and stability in the last fiscal year to its investment in its employees, commitment to excellent customer experience, local responsiveness, and an ability to evolve in response to new technologies, regulations, and customer preferences. The company remains well positioned for continued investments in customer experience that will drive sustained profitability and growth, according to Montgomery-Rice.
The bank’s local branch is at 38 Court St. in Houlton. Collectively, BSB has more than 192,000 customers and opened more than 31,000 new core deposit accounts in the last fiscal year, including more than 3,500 business accounts.
“We’ve now grown to a family of 800 employees and it is those individuals who remain our most valuable asset,” said Montgomery-Rice. “Their ability to provide a consistent, exceptional customer experience enables us to be competitive in every aspect of our business. Our employees are the foundation of our success; and in recognition of our efforts to establish and foster an outstanding workplace environment, they once again helped Bangor Savings Bank be ranked a top-five Best Places to Work in Maine for large companies in 2016.”
Montgomery-Rice also reported that Bangor Savings commercial and small business loans grew by $79.4 million in the past year. The bank was named the top lender to Maine small businesses by the Small Business Administration for the sixth consecutive year.
In community support, the bank and its Bangor Savings Bank Foundation collectively gave nearly $1.7 million to nonprofits in sponsorships and grants in the past fiscal year. The total includes the Community Matters More program, which involves community members voting to determine the top causes to receive grant support from the bank’s foundation. The bank also collected over 12,000 jars of peanut butter and jelly in their annual drive for local soup kitchens and food cupboards.
