COVID19

If you have qualified for an Economic Impact Payment (EIP) the government might mail you your money on a prepaid VISA debit card beginning this week.  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released an informational video for consumers on how they can access their funds. Once the card is activated, consumers may use it to get cash, request a check or make purchases anywhere that VISA debit cards are accepted. Watch the video here.  

The American Bankers Association (ABA) has released a new video highlighting the ways America’s banks have stepped up to support their customers, and their communities facing unprecedented challenges during the COVID19 pandemic. The video recognizes the efforts of banking employees across the country who are serving as ‘economic first responders’ in their communities, and also shares testimony from customers thanking banking employees for their efforts. “We’ve got folks working from their kitchen tables, their laundry rooms, wherever they can find a place to work. I couldn’t be more proud of what our folks have been able to accomplish,” said ABA […]

Governor Sununu has authorized the allocation of $400 million in emergency funding from the CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund to provide emergency financial relief to New Hampshire small for-profit businesses due to the economic disruption caused by COVID-19. In order to be eligible, a business must have its principal place of business in New Hampshire and must have generated less than $20 million in revenue during the 2019 tax year. In addition, healthcare, childcare, and agriculture businesses will not be eligible for the program, as those businesses are or will be addressed through other programs. This program is administered by […]

There have been reports of a rise in money flipping schemes, targeting consumers who’ve run into financial trouble due to pandemic-related unemployment. Money flipping is an attempt by scammers to lure consumers with promises of a payout. The target of the scam is required to pay a small amount up front in order to earn a larger return on their money. Money flippers are taking advantage of today’s uncertain climate by posting about fictitious charities on social media. In their posts, they describe how they will donate money to you if you give them your banking information. The banking information […]

The Small Business Administration (SBA) and U.S. Treasury have developed new rulings about rehiring of employees that may help small businesses who have been approved for loans through the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), but are struggling to rehire furloughed or laid off employees. Launched last month, the PPP provides small businesses with funds to pay up to 8 weeks of payroll costs including benefits. Funds can also be used to pay interest on mortgages, rent and utilities, and have the potential to be fully forgiven when at least 75% of the amount is used for payroll and employee headcounts […]

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reporting a sharp increase in fraud relating to health and safety items like face masks and paper products. Since the beginning of March, many purchasers have described paying online stores for face masks and toilet paper but never receiving the products that they ordered. Scammers took their money as well as their credit card and personal information, and then ignored them by cutting off all contact and refusing to answer questions. In many cases they have even taken steps to close or deactivate their online store websites. Before ordering from an unfamiliar online store, […]

Our Portsmouth office will resume regular drive=up hours beginning on Wednesday, April 29th.   This means that you can use the drive-up for any of your banking needs on Monday through Friday from 8:00AM through 5:30pm, and on Saturday from 8:30AM through 12:30pm. Thank you for your patience while we resolved our staffing issues.

Great news! At a time when events around the coronavirus pandemic have made access to funds more urgent, we are excited to be able to make things a little easier for our customers. You can now make an unlimited number of convenient transfers and withdrawals from your savings account(s), without fear of incurring fees for going above six transactions in a single month. This change comes as the Federal Reserve Board issued an amendment to the regulation. Thank you FRB! We will be sure to update our website if any changes are made to this rule. Please feel free to […]

We are thrilled to let you know that the funding for the Paycheck Protection Program has been renewed.  We encourage all of our eligible business customers who have not yet applied to do so. We reached out to all customers who applied during the first round of funding via phone and/or email with a status of your application.  For those who did not meet the cut-off when funding ran out, we will be prioritizing your application as noted in our communication to you on April 15th. The Paycheck Protection Program provides small businesses with funds to pay up to 8 […]

The Small Business Administration has announced that it will resume taking Paycheck Protection Program loans on Monday, April 27th at 10:30am. We plan to begin accepting applications again at that time.  Please watch this website and your email for additional information on Monday morning. Thank you for your business.  We are all in this together.