CONTACT: Mark W. Jaindl, President and Chief Executive Officer
Allentown, PA, February 22, 2005
American Bank (NasdaqSC: AMBK) today announced that it has joined SUMSM, a selective surcharging program managed by the NYCE Network. As a SUM Program member, American Bank joins forces with other financial institutions who agree to pool designated automated teller machines (ATMs) and allow all other program members’ cardholders to use them surcharge-free. In addition, American Bank has also joined the PRESTO! ATM Network. This surcharge-free network, comprised of ATMs at all Publix Supermarkets, covers a significant portion of the south, with approximately 900 ATMs available 24 hours a day.
President and CEO Mark Jaindl stated, “We are pleased to become a member of both the SUMSMProgram and PRESTO! ATM Network. As an Internet bank, it is our goal to offer our customers the services they need, wherever they may be while eliminating the fees that can accompany these services. By becoming a member of these programs, we are able to serve our customers throughout the country with the convenience of an ATM when they need it, to make a withdrawal or deposit or to perform a balance inquiry without incurring a surcharge.”
American Bank also announced that several improvements will be made to its online banking platform, pcbanker.com, in the second and third quarter of 2005. The biggest of these improvements will be an upgrade of the online bill payment service currently available through a partnership with CheckFree Corporation. The upgrade will contain features aimed at enhancing overall user experience, including same day or next day processing of approximately 50% of payments. Other highlights include a bill reminder feature, a quick add feature whereby a customer can simply type in the phone number for a biller and the biller address appears and a central landing page which will allow a customer to set up a payment, view an ebill demo and see pending payments and incoming ebills.
Another enhancement expected in the second quarter of 2005 is the implementation of an email alert function. This service will notify customers of various activities related to their accounts via email. Email alerts will allow customers to set-up and create their own personal and financial activity based alerts. Examples of the types of alerts available include first time sign-on notification, password change, when a specific check number clears, and when a customer’s balance is above or below a specified threshold.
Jaindl continued, “We look forward to maintaining our commitment to excellence throughout 2005 by offering our customers improved online services as evidenced through our online bill payment upgrade and the implementation of email alerts. These services will benefit our online customers by helping them manage their accounts more conveniently and efficiently.”
About American Bank
American Bank is a locally-owned community bank based in Allentown, PA. American Bank is recognized as a 5-Star Superior rated financial institution (the highest rating possible) by Bauer Financial Inc., designating it as one of the strongest banks in the nation as well as being named one of the safest banks in the nation by MSN Money. American Bank was ranked #1 by the Morning Call’s Top Workplaces in the Lehigh Valley and has been named one of the Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania.
American Bank offers a complete selection of banking products and services to suit the needs of consumers and businesses and includes checking, money market, savings, certificates of deposit, consumer and commercial loans and Visa credit cards. Dedicated to providing customers superior, personalized customer service, American Bank also offers some of the best loan and deposit rates available and as a result, for the past 12 years, has received the Bankrate.com® Top Tier award for consistently offering annual percentage yields (APYs) that were among the highest reported. Their online banking service, AmericanBank Online, which is accessible from the Bank’s website at AMBK.com, allows customers to bank conveniently and delivers a full range of real-time online banking services free of charge including online bill payment and presentment, ACH Direct, transfers between accounts, transaction history, check images and e-Statements. In addition, both consumer and business customers can bank on the go using mobile banking which includes mobile deposit. American Bank is FDIC insured and is an Equal Housing Lender.
AmericanBank Online is a registered trade mark for the Internet financial services provided by American Bank, a state-chartered, FDIC-insured, full-service financial institution serving customers throughout the United States. American Bank is a member of the Federal Reserve System.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
Statements in this press release regarding American Bank's business which are not historical facts, including expectations regarding future financial results, are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements.