Piqua State Bank, a part of the local banking community since 1910, is no more.
The bank, which had branches in Piqua, Gas and Yates Center, has been acquired by Bank of Commerce, effective Sept. 1. The transition should be seamless, with most customers noting little, if any change, noted Heather Curry, who will remain as manager of both the Gas and Yates Center branches. (The Piqua branch closed its doors prior to the merger.)
Piqua State Bank customers were sent letters on Friday detailing the changeover, Curry said.
“Nothing’s really changed yet,” she said. “Eventually we’ll have new signs. They didn’t want to come in and immediately erase everything that said ‘Piqua State Bank.’”
The timeline is to incorporate Pique State Bank’s systems into Bank of Commerce by April, Curry said.
“Prior to that, customers will receive communications about what to expect,” she said. “Debit cards will change, for example.”
Paper checks will still be used until it’s time for customers to order new ones, Curry said.
By April, Piqua State Bank customers will have a few more services at their convenience, such as access to Bank of Commerce automated teller machines sprinkled across southeast Kansas.
“There will be other benefits,” Curry continued. “They have mobile banking — where you can deposit a check by taking a picture of it — which is something we didn’t have.”
Until then, Piqua State Bank customers can still do their online banking at piquastatebank.com.
Likewise, Bank of Commerce customers will eventually be able to do business in Gas and Yates Center.
Loan payments, direct deposits and other transactions will continue as they have.
“The terms of your loans won’t change, unless you refinance or take out new ones,” Curry said.
A bank account may change in the rare instance of a Piqua State Bank customer having an identical account number as one from Bank of Commerce, Curry said.
BANK OF Commerce, like Piqua State Bank, has been locally owned for more than a generation.
