On November 25^th, Black Friday, Central National Bank customers with current checking accounts began receiving $0.10 back for every purchase they made with their CNB debit card. The promotion continues through the month of December. Then, to help with holiday bills that always seem to pour in, on January 13^th, the total amount earned will be deposited to the customer’s checking account.          

“Consumers spreading holiday cheer should keep in mind that January bills are only a couple of months away,” said Bonnie Henderson, EVP. “Ten cents may not seem like a lot, but it can really add up, especially this time of year when people are making all of those additional purchases. With our Dime a Time program, customers get a little extra help, hopefully making the budgeting process a little less painful.”

            Henderson recommends that all consumers manage their finances this holiday season with the following spending tips:

• Create a budget and stick to it. Set a dollar amount based on what you can afford this holiday season considering your current savings, income and other expenses. Be sure to include a $20 to $100 cushion for unexpected expenses.
• Make a list. Write down the names of the people you plan to buy gifts for and how much you can afford to spend on each person. Don’t forget to save some of your budget for expenses other than gifts including wrapping paper, cards and postage.
• Bake some cookies. That’s right, if you can’t afford to buy gifts for everyone on your list, bake some holiday goodies and wrap them in cellophane with a holiday bow. Handmade gifts are a special way to say ‘Happy Holidays’ without overspending. Be sure to include these costs in your budget.
•  Use credit wisely. Your credit card balance shouldn’t be a complete surprise when you open your statement in January. Take only the credit cards you need when holiday shopping and try to use the card with the lowest interest rate.
• Save your receipts. Keep track of your expenses and add them up weekly to be sure you’re sticking to your budget. If you’re getting close to your spending limit, reevaluate your list and bake more cookies!
•  Shop around. Start your holiday shopping early to give yourself time to comparison shop. Take time to do some research before you hit the stores by going online or looking at your local newspaper circulars.

“Holding true to one’s budget during the busy holiday season is an excellent jumpstart to healthy year-long budgeting habits,” said Henderson.

            Anyone who falls deep in debt and is late on their payments should inform creditors so they can work on a resolution plan with you. Banks and other lenders are often willing to help extend payment periods, consolidate debts or assist in refinancing.

            A pattern of late payments in a credit report could make attaining future loans or credit difficult. Consumers in need of help with debt problems should contact the National Foundation for Credit Counseling at www.nfcc.org or 1-800-388-2227.

About Central National Bank

Chartered in 1913, CNB is a full-service FDIC-insured financial institution with over $539 million in assets. Along with traditional banking products such as checking and savings accounts, Certificates of Deposits and loan products, CNB also issues and processes prepaid cards for universities, employers and program managers. Central National Bank has branches in Enid, Blackwell, Bartlesville, Mooreland, Woodward and Tulsa. For more information please visit the bank’s website at  www.cnb-ok.com.

Effective October 18, 2011, when you log in to Internet Banking, you will be required to replace your numeric PIN with a PASSWORD that must be between 8 and 25 characters long. This new PASSWORD must consist of letters and numbers. 

When designing your new PASSWORD, remember it will be case-sensitive. We suggest you select a PASSWORD that is easy to remember, and store it in a secure place, as the Bank will not have any record of it, and we cannot look it up for you. We can only reset it. 

If you experience any problems changing your PIN to a PASSWORD or any other Internet Banking access or login issues, please contact us at 580-233-3535 or call your local branch office. 

As always, please guard your login information. It is your protection against unauthorized persons accessing your banking information.

Questions & Answers

How do I participate in “Dime A Time?”
You are automatically enrolled.

Where can I use my debit card?
Wherever you see the network logo that is on the front of your card—Visa, Mastercard or Discover Network logo.

Are we limited to the number of transactions on which we can earn money?
There is no limit.

Who is eligible?
Anyone with an active checking account and a Central National Bank debit card.

ANY MONEY YOU EARN WILL BE DEPOSITED TO YOUR ACCOUNT ON OR BEFORE JANUARY 13, 2012.

Although paper bonds are being discontinued, electronic Series EE and Series I Savings Bonds will remain available for purchase via TreasuryDirect. This secure, web-based system, operated by the Bureau of the Public Debt, has been used by investors since 2002 to purchase savings bonds online.

This year was no different in its spirit of giving, as individuals and teams from across the bank came up with clever money making ideas to raise money for the organization.

From cherry limeades to biscuits and gravy and cookie-grams, the participation and giving was bank wide.

In fact all of that giving resulted in CNB winning Top Dollar Chili at the annual United Way Chili Cookoff. Just to put things in perspective, this year’s annual United Way of Enid and Northwest Oklahoma Chili Cook-Off raised $20,487, the second-highest amount to date. CNB gave $6,600

The theme was “Wonders of the World” and featured 38 booths from area businesses and organization. CNB chose to decorate their booth in the style of the ancient Hanging Gardens of Babylon. While CNB was not the only company to choose the theme, they were certainly the best. CNB’s newest employee, Clemente Castillo hand drew the mural and then painted it along with Derrick Crow, part-time graphic designer.

In total CNB raised $48,000 for the United Way this year, which includes a $15,500 donation from the bank itself.

At a meeting sponsored by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka, Congressman Frank Lucas from Oklahoma’s 3rd Congressional District met with community bankers on Thursday at Central National Bank to discuss the impact of financial services regulations that were passed under the Dodd-Frank Act.

Representative Lucas serves on the House Financial Services Committee as well as Chairman of the Agriculture Committee.

Rep. Lucas also gave an update on events in Washington D.C. and discussed the current emphasis on the budget.

Lucas said he is working to slow things down in Washington so that legislation like the Dodd-Frank Act and subsequent amendments can be thoroughly examined by Congress and the public.

“We need time to figure out what is in there,” he said.

The group quickly moved to the Durbin Amendment of the Dodd-Frank Act.

According to Brud Baker, president of CNB, language in the Durbin Amendment could cause catastrophic harm to community banks who stand to lose as much as 15 percent of their net income if the regulations are implemented as passed.

The Amendment would severely reduce interchange income on debit card transactions that banks earn for the services they perform on behalf of merchants and consumers, such as card issuance, fraud prevention, limits on losses and improved availability of funds. In addition, the Amendment has no provision requiring merchants to pass along their savings to consumers.

“It’s a big deal. It’s a very big deal,” Baker said.

Additionally, many banks that are providing free accounts to consumers will no longer be able to do so, because their income stream will be so severely restrained.

“The unintended consequence,” Baker said, “will be reduced availability of financial services to low and moderate income persons.”

The event at CNB was organized by Scott Shryock, SVP, and Eric Harr with FHLB. Harr contacted CNB to see if they were interested in hosting the round table event which included Farmer’s Exchange Bank in Cherokee, Oklahoma State Bank in Guthrie, State Exchange Bank in Lamont, and the Oklahoma Banker’s Association.

Central National Bank is a member of the FHLB of Topeka system, and, like many community financial institutions, relies on FHLB as a secured source of lending in meeting liquidity needs.

There are many sophisticated credit and debit card scams out there that are stealing from the American public, one small dollar transaction at a time.  Please review your bank statement monthly to ensure there are not unauthorized card or ACH transactions on your account.  Timely reporting of unauthorized transactions is critical.  If you have unauthorized charges, please notify a CNB representative immediately.

It’s also important to review your account statement as soon as you receive it to identify and dispute unauthorized transactions. Better yet, check your account activity online using CNB’s Internet Banking periodically instead of waiting for the statement to arrive in the mail or via email of you participate in E-statements.  If you don’t already receive E-statements and would like to, contact us today and we can get you set up. 

Paying attention to account activity is also crucial if there are unauthorized transactions. In particular, if your debit or ATM card is lost or stolen, your liability for unauthorized charges is limited under federal law based on how quickly you report a problem. To get the most protection, you must notify us within two business days of learning that the card is missing.

In addition to reviewing account statements, read any other mail or e-mail from Central National Bank.  These communications may contain notices of important account changes, including increases in fees or penalties.

REMEMBER: We will not call you, send you emails or text message you asking for account number, PIN or password.