Century National Bank Review 2020: Is It the Right Bank for You?

Century National Bank is a regional commercial bank that operates primarily in Ohio but has branches in Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina. Headquartered out of Newark, Ohio — which is just outside of Columbus — it does business under a variety of brands, including Century National Bank, Park National Bank, Fairfield National Bank and several others. With over 130 years in business, the bank has a long tradition of helping customers in the region, but does that mean it’s the right bank for you? Here’s a closer look at what Century National Bank has to offer, and why it might be — or might not be — right for you.

Jump to a section:

• Who Is Century National Bank Best For?
• Types of Accounts Available
  • Checking Account
  • Savings Account
  • Money Market Account
  • CDs
  • Individual Retirement Account
  • Youth Savings Account
  • Loans
• How To Bank With Century National Bank
• Fees
• Availability of Funds
• Local Customers Might Find Century National Bank Their Best Option

Who Is Century National Bank Best For?

Century National Bank offers a full slate of banking products at its 109 branches, in addition to having 135 ATMs and 113 total financial services offices.

Who Might Want To Choose Century National Bank?

• Local customers who want a bank that’s familiar with the region
• Growing families with changing needs from their bank
• People who are unsure what sort of banking products they might need in the future

On the whole, the bank’s footprint is relatively small compared to any national chain, with it serving a fairly specific region. However, that could be a plus for certain consumers. A smaller bank with a more limited market is likely going to offer more in the way of region-specific expertise and service. If you’re part of a growing family or have an idea for your own business, the variety of products offered by Century National Bank should allow you to tailor your financial needs as you see fit — providing you access to new services you might need with a bank that you’re already familiar with.

Who Might Want To Skip Century National Bank?

• People who prefer having a number of convenient branches and/or ATMs to their location
• People living outside of Ohio or the areas in Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina where the bank is active
• Customers primarily interested in a good return on their savings

That said, there is a lot that other kinds of banks can offer that you won’t necessarily get with Century National. Most online banks offer a significantly better interest rate on savings accounts than Century National — a feeble 0.01% on amounts of less than $25,000 — and they’re likely to have a lot more branches and ATMs you can access. Certainly, if where you live has plenty of convenient locations, that might not be a major consideration. However, trips out of town could mean paying ATM fees to access cash. Depending on your account, though, you might be able to refund some or all of those ATM fees each month.

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Types of Accounts Available

Century National Bank has a wide variety of banking products available, offering any customer a chance to start with the basics and then expand as other options become necessary.

Checking Account

Century National Bank has four different options for checking:

• Advantage Account
  • Service charge of up to $15 a month
  • Overdraft protection
  • Up to $20 a month in non-network ATM fee refunds
  • Interest earning on balances over $2,500
  • Free small safe deposit box (pending availability)
  • Free, unlimited checks and money orders
• Access Account
  • Service charge of up to $10 a month
  • Overdraft protection
  • Up to $10 a month in non-network ATM fee refunds
  • Free checks
• Simplicity Account
  • Service charge of up to $2 a month
  • Overdraft protection
  • Free introductory checks
• Connect Account
  • No service fee
  • Paperless statements are the only option
  • Option for overdraft account link

Century National has some perks that come with all four of these accounts:

• Debit card with chip technology for your security
• Online and mobile banking with photo deposit
• Account alerts
• Options for overdraft protection
• Fraud monitoring
• Live customer support available 24 hours a day, seven days a week

Savings Account

While not offering much in the way of interest returns, the basic savings option from Century National offers a number of other perks:

• $50 minimum opening deposit
• $3 monthly maintenance fee for average available balance under $250
• Free online, mobile and telebanking
• Option for either paperless or mailed statements

Here’s a look at the tiered APY offered on these accounts:

Money Market Account

Functioning much like a savings account you can write checks from, Century National’s MMA offers a chance to earn much better interest rates with a large enough deposit.

What comes with this account:

• Direct deposit
• Write up to six checks a month
• Free online, mobile and telebanking

Fees and requirements:

• $10 per month account maintenance fees for balances under $1,000
• Minimum balance to open an account is $50
• No interest payments for amounts under $1,000

While the minimum opening balance is $50, accounts with under $1,000 will not earn interest and cost you $10 a month in fees, so you might as well treat the minimum to open an account as $1,000.

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Also See: Best Money Market Accounts of 2020

CDs

For a little bit better interest (but way less liquidity) you can lock up your savings with a CD.

• Terms of seven days to five years
• No penalty CDs with five to 10-month terms
• 10-day grace period at maturity, followed by automatic renewal

Individual Retirement Accounts

Century National offers both term and no-term IRAs to customers, complete with a referral process to brokerage services through Raymond James Financial Services. The bank also offers access to an Investment Management Resource Center, and you can sign up for a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, roll over an existing IRA or manage your inherited IRA.

Youth Savings Account

To help instill the habit of saving in your children, you can help them open their own youth savings account. Some of the main features of the account include:

• No minimum balance
• No maintenance fees until the account owner turns 20
• Interest compounded monthly
• Free online, mobile and telebanking

Loans

Your borrowing needs can largely be met with Century National, as it offers a variety of financing options for various things a growing family — or business  — might need. These include:

• Vehicle loans
• Personal loans
• Home loans
• Home equity line of credit
• Refinance

How To Bank With Century National Bank

Century National is clearly a bank that’s more committed to serving its immediate community in person rather than building a large, widespread clientele via online customers. The bank offers fairly limited information regarding fees and interest rates online, seemingly preferring to have potential customers visit branches for a complete explanation of the costs and benefits with each account.

However, almost every account option comes with free access to its online banking platform, mobile app and even the option for telebanking.

Fees

Century National Bank doesn’t offer a complete fee structure online, so be sure to request one if you’re signing up in person. Any prospective customer should have a clear sense of all potential fees prior to signing up for an account at a bank. There are monthly maintenance fees on almost every account, though typically with options for waiving them based on the size of your balance or the way you use your account.

There is an option for a fee-free checking account (the most basic option, the Connect Account), and the monthly fee for the savings account is waived for a balance of just $250 and only comes to $3 a month otherwise.

Availability of Funds

If you make an e-deposit using your phone’s camera and the mobile banking app, funds will typically be available by the next business day provided you make the deposit prior to 7 p.m. EST on a weekday. However, it can take as long as three business days to show up in your account.

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Local Customers Might Find Century National Bank Their Best Option

While Century National Bank doesn’t have thousands of branches and ATMs spread out across the country, it brings an understanding of local banking needs that national chains might not be able to match. While the bank doesn’t offer great returns on its savings accounts, it does have a variety of different banking products that can allow you to keep growing into new areas of your financial life without needing to sign on with a new bank.

If you live in an area serviced by Century National and want a local bank, this is one option you should seriously consider.

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Rates are updated periodically and subject to change. All other information on accounts is accurate as of March 2, 2020.