by John Dempsey
LOGANSPORT —
Beginning Friday, Logansport customers of National City Bank will finally see the effects of its acquisition by PNC Bank.
In October 2008, the Pittsburgh-based company bought out National City in a $5.2 billion deal. The merger created the nation’s fifth largest bank with more than 2,600 branches and 6,400 ATMs in 15 states and the District of Columbia.
Except for those in Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri, all of National City’s former branches have been converted to the PNC nameplate.
The final wave of changes will occur next weekend.
The morning of June 14, the Logansport branches will open for the first time with PNC signs, but the changeover begins officially at 7 a.m. Friday morning.
The idea is to make the transition as easy as possible for customers, according to Michael Joyce, PNC’s retail market manager for Indiana.
“We started communicating to them three months ago and are confident based on eight integrations during the past five years that we are ready for a successful conversion,” he said in a news release.
“We’ve done a lot of conversions and learned ways to make things easier for our customers,” Joyce told the Pharos-Tribune. “That’s why something simple like allowing National City cards to work another 30 days should mitigate the issues.”
As part of the conversion, PNC’s call center will be staffed with additional employees to answer questions next weekend.
Customers may call 877-762-9122 or visit welcometopnc.com. Customer service will be available from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; and after 7 a.m. Monday.
PNC began distributing new check cards last week in advance of the conversion and the distribution will continue into this week. If a customer doesn’t receive their card before Friday, their National City card will be good for another 30 days.
“If next week comes and goes, they should come in and see us at a branch,” Joyce said.
PNC is advising customers they may begin activating the new cards at 8 a.m. Friday. That may be done at an ATM with their current PIN number.
Online banking through National City and PNC will be unavailable after 3 p.m. Friday. PNC’s Online Banking site will be available starting at 8 a.m. Monday. Customers are advised to follow the instructions in their account transfer confirmation.
“Customers want to know if they need to change anything,” Joyce said. “With the online banking, everything the customer has set up will transfer. It will have all of their history, all of their payees — everything they have worked hard to set up.
“Knowing those types of things are important for customers. We’ve spent a lot of time making sure this is as easy as can be for them.”
Starting at 3 p.m. Friday, National City’s mobile and telephone banking will be unavailable. Text message banking with PNC will be available at 8 a.m. Monday and telephone banking will resume at 6 that morning.
The Logansport branches will close at 4 p.m. Friday, reopening as PNC Monday.
Deposits made by the close of business Friday will be available Saturday. Anyone needing to check their balance should inquire at branches, the call center or online banking before 3 p.m. Friday.
While systems are converted, balance information will be unavailable until noon Saturday when customers may check at ATMs.
Customers using National City checks may continue to do so until they need to reorder. Interest rates on certificates of deposit and loans will not change and National City points will automatically transfer to PNC points, with a one-year extension of the expiration date.
Automatic transfers and direct deposits will continue uninterrupted according to the bank.
