Tag Archives: Ross County Banking Center

Prequalify Online To Be Entered In Our Drawing!

Posted on by
Reply

red bow

We are excited about a contest we have going right now and hope you will be too. From now through May 30, if you prequalify for a home loan online you will be entered to win a $50 MasterCard Gift Card from VCNB.

The prequalification application is easy to complete online and is the first step toward VCNB helping you finance the home of your dreams.

To get started on your application or to read rules, visit www.vintoncountybank.com. Complete rules are also listed below. No purchase necessary to win.

04-14 Official Contest Rules for Pre-Qualify Giveaway

Teach Kids That Saving Is Fun

Posted on by
Reply

All April long we are celebrating Teach Children To Save Month by visiting local schools and talking with kids about saving money. We have written about tips for helping your small kids save money and teaching your older kids life skills they will need through adulthood.

Today we want to talk about ways to make saving fun.

Savings Thermometer – Draw a giant thermometer on paper, cardboard or poster board and write a savings goal at the top. Hang it somewhere visible and color the thermometer each week to reflect how much they have saved. Goals can be big or small. Just remember to reward your child with a small treat when they reach their goal.

piggy bank - brightBank on the Fun – Move over little pig. Banks come in a variety of fun themes. If your little one loves Batman, give him a Batman bank and encourage him to help Batman save the day by saving money! There also is a wide array of electronic banks that sort and count bank contents that might appeal to older kids.

Round Up – When your child spends money, encourage him or her to round up to the nearest dollar and save the change. So if their bill comes to $4.47, have them save the extra .53 cents.

Collect the States – Help your child learn about geography and save money by saving the state quarters. There is a quarter for every state so encourage your child to tuck at least one of each into their bank. Post a map of the country next to their bank so they can mark the states they have and plan for the states they need.

Set Family Goals – Set savings goals for your children and agree to a family treat when everyone hits their goals. A movie night or ice cream for everyone could be enough motivation for everyone to work toward their goals.

Remember there is no need to count and roll all that change! Several of our locations have a machine that will count their change for free. We also have minor accounts that require no minimum balance. See a New Accounts Officer in any of our thirteen locations to open one today!

Protect Yourself From Scammers

Posted on by
Reply

Most people will be approached by a scammer at some time in their life. We warn children about “stranger danger” and to not take candy from or go with someone they don’t know. Yet many adults are quick to trust a stranger who contacts them with claims that a debit card has been compromised or that a small investment will earn them great returns.

At VCNB we will never contact you by phone, email or text and ask for personal financial information. If someone claiming to be from VCNB asks for your PIN, social security number or other personal information, do not give it to them.

And remember –

–  If it sounds too good to be true it usually is.

–  Get rich schemes only make the scammers rich. You will pay dearly. Never send money to someone you don’t know. If you are contacted electronically by a person you do know and they ask for money, verify that it is really your friend before reaching out to them electronically.

–  Check your bank and credit card statements for transactions you don’t recognize and notify the bank if there is something out of place.

–  Most of all, protect your personal information like it is your child. Never provide your account information, PIN, social security number or other personal data to an unknown source. Keep your cards in a safe place and don’t keep a written copy of your PIN or your account passwords with the card.

There are people out there who work hard at taking advantage of others. Be careful not to fall victim to their schemes. For more information click here for tips from USA.gov.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heartbleed Bug Does Not Impact VCNB Online Banking

Posted on by
3

In the news as of late, the Heartbleed Bug has caused concern to many of our customers. While it is important to learn about the many facets of this particular vulnerability, we want you to rest assured that The Vinton County National Bank is aware and monitoring the Heartbleed Bug as it pertains to customer information.

heartbleedPlease rest assured that our Online Banking Applications are not vulnerable to the Heartbleed Bug. However, it is recommended that you change your online banking password. Reason being, consumers have a tendency to use the same password among many websites, some of those susceptible to an attack.

To change your password, please log-in to your online banking and click the options tab. As a reminder, please do not ever change your password via a link in an email or give out your online banking credentials over the phone or via text message. It is the policy of VCNB to never solicit your online banking password, social security number or account numbers via telephone, text or email.

As a service to our customers, we strongly recommend you stay abreast of the situation with the Heartbleed Bug. Please change your passwords on those sites they feel have been effected. It is always a good rule of thumb to change your passwords frequently and to avoid using a password more than once.

Talk To Your Teens About Money

Posted on by
1

Last week we talked about teaching young children about saving and managing money. It tends to be easy when they’re little because you can just tell a young child that saving money is important and that they must do it. But what about your teenagers? They are still kids but are nearing adulthood and all the financial decisions that come with it.

Here are five topics to start with!

Talk About Credit – Teach your kids the difference between good credit and bad credit. Talk to them about the difference between borrowing responsibly to buy a house and spending wildly with a credit card. They will soon be bombarded with offers for shiny new credit cards with enticing offers. Talk to them about how to use credit cards wisely – spend only what they can really afford, pay off the balance every month and pay on time.

Teach teens to use technology for banking, monitoring their credit score and even budgeting!

Teach teens to use technology for banking, monitoring their credit score and even budgeting!

Budgeting – Does your teen have an after school job or an allowance? Talk to them about how to budget those funds and plan for the future. Are they saving for college or for a new car? Are they blowing all their money on new music and fast food? Help them set up a budget for their money by identifying their expenses and savings needs. Then list their income and help them prioritize how to spend and save that income.

Daily Tasks – Involve your teens in household tasks that involve financial decision making. Teach them how to write a check and how to balance a checkbook. Show them around your online bank account, let them schedule your bills through Online Bill Pay and talk about the expensive damage caused by late payments. Take them grocery shopping and explain why you buy the cereal that’s on sale and why you typically buy ground beef instead of steak. Teach them the basic daily skills they will need to survive adulthood.

Pay Yourself First – Talk to them about saving money and why it’s important. Teach them to make it a priority to save a little bit from their allowance or their paycheck every single week. “Pay yourself first” is a powerful mantra that will make saving automatic. Just ten percent can add up quickly and can build a nice nest egg for emergencies, a down payment for a car or living expenses for their college years.

Credit Scores – Talk to your teens about the correlation between a credit score and spending habits. Talk to them about how their credit score will impact their borrowing ability in the future. Carrying an excessive credit card balance and paying bills late now and then may not seem like a big deal to a teenager. But these behaviors will affect their borrowing ability, determine future loan rates, affect their ability to rent an apartment or insure a car and ultimately affect the affordability of these things they need and want as adults. Reinforce the idea that paying bills on time, paying off credit cards every month and making good financial decisions will increase their credit score.

 

VCNB Releases Website Redesign

Posted on by
Reply

Have you visited our website recently? VCNB recently unveiled some changes to www.vintoncountybank.com that we hope you will find useful.

“While our website was packed with good information, we wanted to update the website to have a more modern appearance and to make it easier to navigate,” said VCNB Marketing Specialist Justine Fyffe. “There are less pages on our new site. This will help users find the information they are looking for without having to navigate between multiple pages,” she said.

For example, the Personal Accounts page provides information on VCNB products including checking and savings accounts, personal loans, credit cards, gift cards and IRAs. Drop down boxes provide easy to read product comparisons. Many of these accounts can be opened online.

A chat button on the homepage allows any customer or potential customer to chat with bank representatives in our Customer Service, New Accounts and Loans Departments.

Other new features include a Learning Center which features training demos and links to helpful financial articles. “We also started a Kid’s Page that features our new mascot, Saver Squirrel. This page provides safe links to educational puzzles and activities for kids,” Fyffe explained.

A Google map link to all VCNB branch and ATM locations makes it easy to find our 13 banking centers. Links to the VCNB blog, Linkedin and Facebook accounts make it easy for customers to find and follow VCNB through their favorite social media.

“We are very excited about our website’s new look. We hope that customers will like the changes and that they find the website easy to navigate,” Fyffe said.

Check out the new look at www.vintoncountybank.com and be sure to comment here and tell us what you think!

 

 

 

Teaching Kids To Save

Posted on by
2

Each year VCNB offices participate in Teach Children To Save, a nationwide effort to, well, to teach children to save money. Staff members go into classrooms in local communities to talk with youngsters about why it is important to save money and the difference between needs and wants. We think it is important to give kids practical tips that will help them become money smart adults.

Would you like to teach your kids good spending and saving habits? Here are a few tips!

Piggy bank - whiteFeed the Piggy – Little kids like to get money and they think it’s fun to drop change into a piggy bank. Periodically help them count the contents of the bank so they can see how much their savings have grown.

Needs Versus Wants – Teaching kids the difference between needs and wants will help them make wise decisions today and in the future.

Set Savings Goals – If your child wants a new video game, offer to pay half if they can save the rest of the money. Having a goal in mind, especially if it is something they really want, will help them stay on track.

Make Saving Easy – If your child receives an allowance, break it down so saving is easy. If they receive $5 and the rule is they must save a dollar a week, give it to them in dollar denominations so there is no excuse for not dropping the dollar in the bank. It may even be fun to help them count their savings every week and talk about how good it feels to save.

Open an Account – Regardless of their age, open a savings account for your child. When they have birthday money or when their piggy bank gets full, you can bring them to the bank to deposit funds, have their passbook stamped and watch their account grow. At VCNB, we have savings accounts for minors that require no minimum balance to open. We also have coin counters at several locations to help adding up all that change easy.

Teach in Every Day Life – Embrace opportunities to talk with your kids about money and spending and how things work. If you pay for a restaurant meal with a credit card, explain how credit cards work and why you are using one. When you swipe your VCNB debit card at the grocery, talk with them about how your debit card is tied directly to your checking account and that a swipe is the same as handing over cash. Teach them to comparison shop at the store and how to understand the unit price listed on the store shelf. These are skills they will use for the rest of their lives.

Lead by Example – Talk with your kids about your savings goals for retirement or even how you are saving a few dollars each paycheck for the family vacation this year. Your kids will follow your lead so find ways to be a good role model

 

 

 

Shareholders Convene For Annual Meeting

Posted on by
Reply

Shareholders attending the annual meeting of Community Bancshares, Inc. on Tuesday, April 1 learned that their investment yielded a total return of 8.58 % in 2013. Approximately 135 shareholders attended the dinner meeting held at the Eagles Events Center.

Chairman Thomas D. Will welcomed shareholders and their guests, informing them that 2013 was a strong year and discussing the need to keep up with the needs and demands of customers to insure continued growth. “We will continue to add new products our customers demand and, if we’re going to attract the younger generation, we need a strong internet channel,” he said. “If there’s a better way to deliver services to our customers we want to know about it,” Will explained.

He then turned the gavel over to CBI Secretary/Treasurer Ben Crow. Mr. Crow informed shareholders that total assets grew 1.9 % in 2013 to $750.8 million. Net income rose 3.1 % to $6,790,458, and the book value of CBI stocks is $68.33 per share, an increase of 6.4%.

Vinton County National Bank President, Ronald Collins presented the state of the bank and outlined goals for the coming year.He credited Head of Lending Mark Erslan and his staff for making 2013 a successful year and discussed the release of a new logo meant to unify the bank’s 13 locations. “We spent a lot of time branding our individual hometown branches. Now we need to tie them together,” he explained. Collins went on to inform shareholders that 2014 objectives include actively pursuing acquisitions, improving market share in our current branch network and expanding online banking.

Erslan went on to present achievement awards to several Loan Officers and New Account Representatives for their outstanding job performance in 2013. He recognized them individually, informing shareholders of their length of service with the bank and why they are each an asset to the organization. Retail Accounts Vice President Monica Delong gave a brief presentation on Online Banking and the various products and services the bank currently offers.

Perhaps the most memorable moment came when former VCNB President Steve Hunter presented a gift to longtime board member Esther Crownover. Mrs. Crownover recently retired after 30 years of service, helping the bank grow exponentially over her tenure.

Many people know Crownover for her involvement in the local timber industry and for her love of race horses but she has also been a valued member of the board throughout the bank’s growth.

Crownover joined the VCNB board in January 1984 and the CBI Board in March of that year.  “The growth of the bank was just amazing over the years. Incredible, really,” she said.

Among other things, she has been involved in the board’s Audit Committee since 1984. She noted how much the audit report has changed and how complicated it has become compared to when she started.

About board service, Crownover noted “It’s been a good relationship.Everyone has been good to work with and to see the amazing progress the bank has made has been interesting.”