“We Take Banking Personally.”
That is the Ridgewood Savings Bank motto, and one of the ways they try to put it to good use is through their Mobile Banking Center (MBC).
Started in 2005, the Mobile Banking Center is an innovative idea from Ridgewood Savings Bank to better serve its customers who can’t make the usual trip to the bank now and then.
Recently, it paid a visit to Brandywine Assisted Living at The Savoy in Little Neck. Even though the most recent trip was not as crowded as some previous ones, predominantly because of inclement weather, Cathy Scibelli, assistant manager of the Mobile Banking Center, said that poor weather conditions haven’t stopped her from reaching her clients before.
Calling it one-on-one banking, Scibelli cited the several times where she’s gone to a client at Brandywine to personally deal with a banking transaction they want to perform.
“I treat them as if they were my own parents,” Scibelli said about dealing with the Brandywine residents.
Scibelli, who started out at Ridgewood Banking as a supervisor before being promoted to assistant manager of the MBC, explained her job as developing a close relationship with the customers.
“It’s definitely a trust factor,” Scibelli said about working with her clients.
For the most part, they rely on their children to take care of their banking, but in reality “they want their independence” to handle their finances, Scibelli pointed out.
Frances Schmidt, a resident of Brandywine, said, “They treated me good, excellent customer service,” referring to the MBC.
“This is certainly not [just] a Savoy benefit,” said Rose Ann Chalmers, customer of the Ridgewood Savings Bank and Resident Relations Director at Brandywine.
Even though the MBC serves Brandywine, Chalmers said that the community should feel free to come to the Brandywine when the MBC pulls up.
As well as providing secure banking, the MBC also sells MetroCards and postage stamps, which is a great convenience to the Brandywine employees, Chalmers said.
To date, the Ridgewood Mobile Banking Center serves 14 sites throughout Long Island and Queens and operates at Brandywine every other Wednesday.
