We are excited about the merger and partnership between Farmers-Merchants Bank of Illinois (Paxton, Melvin and Piper City) and Bank of Pontiac that will occur at the end of business on January 26, 2024. The merger will allow us the opportunity to offer more product options, maintain our commitment to assist customers with their financial needs, and build long-lasting relationships. At the time of the merger, the Paxton, Melvin and Piper City branches will officially be renamed as Bank of Pontiac. However, please know that you will continue to be greeted and served by many familiar faces from Paxton, Melvin and Piper City branches.
Thank you for placing your trust and confidence in us. We look forward to meeting you and invite you to call with any questions you may have. At Bank of Pontiac, we believe that “Together, We’re Better.”
Over the weekend of January 26, 2024, your accounts will be converted from Farmers-Merchants Bank of Illinois (Paxton, Melvin and Piper City) system and be integrated into Bank of Pontiac’s operating system. A final Farmers-Merchants Bank of Illinois (Paxton, Melvin and Piper City) statement on all deposit accounts will be generated at the end of the business day on Friday, January 26, 2024.
Account numbers will remain the same for the majority of customers. In the event of a duplicate account number, the customer will be notified with the details about their new account number. Additional digits will be added to any duplicated accounts. Customers that frequently use checks will receive new Bank of Pontiac checks in the mail prior to the conversion weekend.
You may begin using your Bank of Pontiac checks on Monday, January 29, 2024. Please stop writing checks on your old account with Farmers-Merchants Bank of Illinois by Friday, January 26, 2024.
You will be issued a new Debit Card number. The new Debit Card is a Mastercard® Debit Card, enabling you to make purchases wherever you see the Mastercard symbol. With your new Bank of Pontiac Debit Card, you have the option of changing your PIN. If you want to change your PIN, that change can be made by phone, at any Bank of Pontiac location or a Bank of Pontiac location drive-up ATM.
The Farmers-Merchants Bank of Illinois Debit Card will continue to work and process transactions through 2:00 PM CST on Friday, January 26, 2024. The new Bank of Pontiac Mastercard Debit Card will begin working on Friday, January 26, 2024 around 8:00 AM CST for credit/signature based transactions only. Due to the conversion, there may be a short period of time in the morning hours that neither Debit Card will work. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience.
The Farmers-Merchants Bank of Illinois ATMs located in Paxton and Piper City will be converted on Monday, January 29, 2024. Those ATMs will be unavailable beginning at 2:30 PM CST on Friday, January 26, 2024. Please be sure to make your cash withdrawals for the weekend before this time.
For all customers using Online Banking and Bill Pay, please obtain all bill payee information and history for your records to ensure that you will have this information if needed. Please print and retain copies of this information prior to January 26, 2024.
Current Online Banking users can find further log in details here.
Bank of Pontiac encourages customers to keep and/or obtain copies of recent statements from Farmers-Merchants Bank of Illinois as statements will not be transferred to Bank of Pontiac.
If you have direct deposit of Social Security, payroll, pension or government payments, the originators of these will be notified by Bank of Pontiac of the routing number change. In addition, Bank of Pontiac will notify originators of direct payments such as insurance premiums, utilities and loan payments of the routing number change. You may be asked to contact these companies for follow-up in some instances. As you sign up for additional or new ACH transactions, Direct Deposit and Electronic Funds Transfers, please provide them with Bank of Pontiac’s routing number of 071122263.
Certificates of Deposit previously issued by Farmers-Merchants Bank of Illinois (Paxton, Melvin and Piper City) will remain in place until their maturity date. At that time, the CD may be transitioned to a Bank of Pontiac CD with the same or a similar term. If the CD is redeemed prior to its maturity date, the early redemption penalty utilized by Bank of Pontiac (if lower than what is disclosed on the Farmers-Merchants Bank of Illinois [Paxton, Melvin and Piper City] issued CD) will be applied.
Your loan account numbers will be changing but you can continue to make loan payments the same way that you currently make payments. If you have a HELOC account, please contact Bank of Pontiac at 855-844-6151 to reorder checks after Monday, January 29, 2024.
If you had funds on deposit at both Farmers-Merchants Bank of Illinois (Paxton, Melvin and Piper City Branches) and Bank of Pontiac on the date of the merger on January 26, 2024, your funds will continue to be insured separately by the FDIC for six months after the date of the merger (July 25, 2024). If the combined balance is less than $250,000, your funds will continue to be fully insured after the end of the six-month transition period. Beginning July 26, 2024, your funds in excess of $250,000 (except for special rules concerning Certificates of Deposit) will no longer be insured. For assistance to determine if you are adequately insured, please feel free to contact a Customer Service Representative.
At Bank of Pontiac, you’ll find that we are committed to understanding what’s important to you, so we can provide the best solutions for all your financial needs. In the meantime, we’re working to make the transition easy for you. We encourage you to follow and like our Facebook page as we frequently share important announcements, general info, and exciting news happening our communities! You can also view the rest of our website where we provide detailed information about our financial services and other updates within the bank.
