New Ludlow Banking Center – Where Contactless Technology Meets Strong Community Connections

HOLYOKE, MASS [August 28, 2020]  – According to President and CEO Tom Senecal, PeoplesBank wanted to bring something really new to the Ludlow market. Then COVID-19 hit and suddenly PeoplesBank’s investments in technology had a whole new meaning and value.

“It’s about as close to curbside banking as you can get, except with way better hours,” noted Mr. Senecal in describing the drive thru VideoBanker ITM that will be a feature of the new Ludlow Banking Center located at 450 Center Street. “Customers can do pretty much anything they can with a teller – except they do not have to enter the banking center. This new technology also allows us to extend the banking day and theywill be available seven days a week including Sundays. Customers are finding a whole new level of convenience by banking when they need to as opposed to when they have to.”

Currently, the PeoplesBank VideoBanker ITMs are the only such service in Ludlow. The new Banking Center is slated to open on October 15, 2020.

In fact, the whole Ludlow Banking Center was designed according to Mr. Senecal’s vision of the branch of the future. “While we apply the design template differently every time we build a new branch, the basic elements are the same: new technology, an open interior, and an empowered Universal Banker team of associates all housed in an extremely efficient footprint,” he noted.

PeoplesBank wanted to develop a team of associates for the new Banking Center who had strong community connections, according to Aleda De Maria, Senior Vice President of Retail and Operations at PeoplesBank. “Ludlow is a close-knit community where trust is granted based on what you do, not what you say. And we hit it out of the park when Scott Ganhao joined us as our Banking Center Manager in Ludlow,” she said. “Not only does he speak fluent Portuguese, he has incredibly strong community connections from serving in roles of responsibility in a variety of charitable organizations including Festa.”

“Ludlow is a hardworking, close-knit community comprised of many cultures,” noted Mr. Ganhao. “PeoplesBank is a great community partner. We are going to bring technology that people have not seen and I think Ludlow is going to embrace that.” [VIDEO]

Mr. Ganhao is the president of the Our Lady of Fatima Preservation Society, a 501(c)(3) organization, and is a member of the board of directors of the Wilbraham Rotary Memorial Foundation, Inc., as well as the Lusitania Institute. He is a member of the Wilbraham-Hampden Rotary Club, and served as chairman of the Our Lady of Fatima Finance Committee, president of the Our Lady of Fatima Parish Council Committee, and director of the Our Lady of Fatima Festa Committee.