Ohio Wakes Up to New Way of Banking with Kasasa™

Jan. 19, 2010 - PRLog -- Archbold, OH — The Farmers and Merchants State Bank asks consumers, “Do you Kasasa?” as it becomes the first financial institution in the Toledo area to launch the country’s most innovative bank accounts. Kasasa™ is a new brand of free checking and savings accounts that pays consumers to use their account with what interests them most—high interest, automatic savings, money donated to charity or free iTunes® downloads. These accounts, combined with the personal service that only community financial institutions can deliver, are giving residents a better banking option than the mega bank experience.

“It’s time consumers got off the mega bank roller coaster of frustration of high fees and poor service and choose a Kasasa account from one of America’s finest community banks like ours,” said Marty Filogamo, Vice President of Farmers and Merchants State Bank. “Consumers can now get Kasasa, which delivers what research shows consumers really want but believe they can’t have—great banking products with the personal service of a community financial institution.”  

The Farmers and Merchants State Bank is offering all of the new Kasasa banking products, including Kasasa Cash™, Kasasa Saver™, Kasasa Tunes™ and Kasasa Giving™. All Kasasa products are free accounts, with no minimum balance, no monthly fees, free online banking and nationwide ATM fee refunds.

•   Kasasa Cash - A free checking account that pays high interest in cash every month.  
•   Kasasa Saver - A high interest saver account linked to a Kasasa Cash checking account. The high interest and ATM fee refunds earned in the Kasasa Cash account are automatically deposited into the Kasasa Saver account each month. The balance in the Kasasa Saver account also earns a high rate of interest.
•   Kasasa Tunes - A checking account that gives accountholders free iTunes downloads every month.
•   Kasasa Giving - A checking account that directs the high interest earned each month to the charity chosen by the accountholder. Plus, every time the accountholder makes a debit card purchase over a certain amount, an additional contribution will be made to their chosen charity by the bank. Consumers can choose to direct their contributions to a national charity, including American Humane Association, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Stand Up to Cancer or a local charity.

To receive the Kasasa account benefits, accountholders need to meet easy monthly qualifications, including receiving an eStatement, accessing online banking, using a debit card and making an electronic transaction. If an accountholder does not meet the qualifications in a given month, the bank will alert the individual, who will be eligible the following month for the benefits.  

“Extensive research has shown us that consumers would prefer to bank with community financial institutions rather than the mega banks, but feel they would sacrifice access to products,” continued Filogamo. “Kasasa is opening peoples’ eyes to a new banking model where no sacrifices are necessary. It’s a win-win because consumers get innovative products and personalized service.”

In 2009, Kasasa was piloted in six other markets across the U.S.  In just the first two months of offering Kasasa, participating community financial institutions reported growth rates upwards of 150% on new account openings and 372% in deposits at those institutions that were focused on deposit growth.

Kasasa is being introduced with an aggressive, highly engaging marketing campaign in the Toledo/Ft. Wayne area.  It comes to life through a fresh mix of eye-popping advertising, the likes of which exceed the typical megabank’s high-budget programs.  The ads feature America’s top slam poets https://www.kasasa.com/news-and-media/advertising riffing lyrical threads around the theme of “Do you Kasasa?”

“We know that consumers are reluctant to switch banks, but Kasasa is their wake up call,” concludes Filogamo. “Banking can be a great experience again.”

Kasasa is distributed to The Farmers Merchants State Bank from BancVue, the leading provider of innovative products, dynamic marketing, and data-driven consulting solutions to community financial institutions nationwide to help them win the war against the megabanks.

For more information on Kasasa accounts, consumers can visit Farmers Merchants State Bank or visit https://www.kasasa.com/kasasa-providers.

Do you Kasasa?
Kasasa™ is the first national brand of the most innovative checking accounts available today. The accounts, offered exclusively by the finest community financial institutions, are designed to be the first and only accounts that actually take an interest in their accountholders by paying them to use their account with what interests them most - high interest, automatic savings, money donated to charity or free iTunes® downloads. Kasasa, developed and distributed by BancVue, marries innovative banking products with the personal touch of community financial institutions. For more information, visit https://www.kasasa.com.    

Contact:
Erin Hoffman
303.433.7020
ehoffman@csg-pr.com
CSG|PR