In an effort to do our part to stem the spread of coronavirus, we are closing all branch lobbies as of 5:00 p.m. Monday, November 23, 2020 for an indefinite period of time.

We will continue to serve our customers through our drive-ups, ATM’s, night drops as well as through our online, mobile and telephone banking services. Appointments can be made for account openings and loan applications by calling any of our branch offices.

If you have a CD that is coming up for renewal, changes or renewals can be made over the telephone by calling any of our offices.

If you are a business customer and have a need for currency or coin that can’t be accommodated through the drive-up, please call any of our offices to arrange pick-up.

We will be continuing to process all deposit drops that come through all our office locations. The depository at Village Center ATM will stay on the same schedule as it is currently. 

New Tripoli Bank is monitoring the COVID-19 situation on a daily basis. Our priorities are to continue to deliver the banking services you need and to keep your health and well-being as our top priority.  

Important Telephone Numbers to Reach New Tripoli Bank:

Toll-Free: 1 (888) 298-8821

Claussville Office: (610) 395-8834

New Tripoli Office: (610) 298-8811

Buckeye Office: (610) 421-4001

New Tripoli Bank has donated $60,000 toward the construction of a permanent memorial in Ontelaunee Park, New Tripoli, to honor our local Veterans. The construction of the memorial is being overseen by the Northwestern Lehigh Veterans Memorial Committee which is made up of residents from Heidelberg, Lynn, Lowhill, and Weisenberg Townships.

The committee is looking to raise $300,000 in total toward the Veterans memorial. If people are interested in contributing to the memorial, donations can be made at the committee’s website at https://nwlehighvetsmemorial.org/product/donation/

The mission of this memorial is to list the names of all local residents who have served in the United States military from the Revolutionary War up to the present day, with provisions in place to add future Veterans’ names to the memorial. These names will be engraved on granite panels and accompanied by an electronic database of Veterans’ service experience accessible on the committee’s website for use by family members and historians.

New Tripoli Bank and the memorial committee hope the memorial will serve as a solemn place for all residents to visit and remember the Veterans who have gone before us, as well as recognize those actively serving to protect our country today. They look forward to giving local school districts the opportunity to visit the memorial and get a local perspective on the history and contributions of local Veterans.

From left to right: Donald Christ, NWLVetMC Committee President; Dave Hunsicker, New Tripoli Bank President, Chairman & CEO; Willard Snyder, New Tripoli Bank Chairman Emeritus; David Keller, NWLVetMC Committee Member; John Hayes, New Tripoli Bank EVP and Chief Lending Officer; Willard Dellicker, NWLVetMC Secretary

New Tripoli Bank has donated $25,000 to the East Penn School District (EPSD) Education Foundation as part of their ongoing effort to support public education in our community.

This donation will help with the EPSD Education Foundation’s mission to enrich, extend and deepen the educational experience of East Penn School District Students with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. The foundation is committed to supporting projects related to the educational programs and the development of the students of the school district, which is also important to our community.

New Tripoli Bank is a proud supporter of education, said John Hayes, New Tripoli Bank’s EVP and Chief Lending Officer: “This donation ensures our local school district can continue to provide their students with modern technology and equipment that will enhance their learning experience and prepare them for future success.”

From left to right: Dustin Grim, EPSD Education Foundation Vice President; John Hemak, EPSD Education Foundation Treasurer, New Tripoli Bank AVP Commercial Lending; Kristen Campbell, EPSD Superintendent; Sundra Bachman, New Tripoli Bank VP Senior Branch Manager, Buckeye Office; John Zayaitz, EPSD Education Foundation President; John Hayes, New Tripoli Bank EVP Chief Lending Officer

The IRS, state tax agencies, and the tax industry yesterday warned of a new text scam created by thieves that trick people into disclosing bank account information under the guise of receiving the $1,200 Economic Impact Payment. "Criminals are relentlessly using COVID-19 and Economic Impact Payments as cover to try to trick taxpayers out of their money or identities," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. "This scam is a new twist on those we've been seeing much of this year. We urge people to remain alert to these types of scams."

The scam text message states: "You have received a direct deposit of $1,200 from COVID-19 TREAS FUND. Further action is required to accept this payment into your account. Continue here to accept this payment ..." The text includes a link to a fake phishing web address. People who receive this text scam should take a screen shot of the text message that they received and then include the screenshot in an email to phishing@irs.gov with the following information:

• Date/Time/Timezone that they received the text message
• The number that appeared on their Caller ID
• The number that received the text message

People who believe they are eligible for the Economic Impact ("Stimulus") Payment should go directly to IRS.gov. People who do not have a filing requirement but who are eligible for EIP can use a non-filers tool on IRS.gov until November 21 to claim their payment.

New Tripoli Bank has donated $100,000 to the Northwestern Lehigh Education Foundation as part of an ongoing effort to support public education in our community. This is the bank's 8th annual contribution to the Foundation and with it the bank will have donated over $1 million to the Foundation over that time.

This year has been difficult for all of us, especially for our schools needing to adapt to hybrid learning. This donation will go to upgrading the Smart Boards in Northwestern Lehigh schools to new boards that allow for simultaneous in-classroom and remote learning.

New Tripoli Bank continues to be a proud supporter of education in our community. This donation ensures Northwestern Lehigh School District can provide their students with educational technology adapted for 2020’s unusual circumstances so they may continue with their learning and prepare them for success in the future.

Pictured from left to right: John Hayes, New Tripoli Bank Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer; D.J. Walbert, Northwestern Lehigh Education Foundation President; Amy Kinnan, Northwestern Lehigh Education Foundation Development Director; David Hunsicker, New Tripoli Bank President, Chairman, and CEO.

We have received a few calls recently from our customers reporting encounters with individuals impersonating IRS officials over the telephone. This is a very common tactic for scammers to try and steal your personal information and we want to take this opportunity to advise our customers how they can avoid getting scammed the next time they pick up the phone.

Threatening IRS Impersonator Phone Calls

IRS impersonation scams come in many forms. A common one remains bogus threatening phone calls from a criminal claiming to be with the IRS. The scammer attempts to instill fear and urgency in the potential victim. In reality, the IRS would never threaten a taxpayer or surprise them with a demand for immediate payment.

Phone scams or "vishing" (voice phishing) pose a major threat. Scam phone calls, including those threatening arrest, deportation or license revocation if the victim doesn't pay a bogus tax bill, are reported year-round. These calls often take the form of a "robocall" (a text-to-speech recorded message with instructions for returning the call).

The IRS will never demand immediate payment, threaten, ask for financial information over the phone, or call about an unexpected refund or Economic Impact Payment. Taxpayers should contact the real IRS if they worry about having a tax problem.

IRS Phone Scams

The IRS does not leave pre-recorded, urgent or threatening messages. In many variations of the phone scam, victims are told if they do not call back, a warrant will be issued for their arrest. Other verbal threats include law-enforcement agency intervention, deportation or revocation of licenses.

Criminals can fake or “spoof” caller ID numbers to appear to be anywhere in the country, including from an IRS office. This prevents taxpayers from being able to verify the true call number. Fraudsters also have spoofed local sheriff’s offices, state departments of motor vehicles, federal agencies and others to convince taxpayers the call is legitimate.

When in doubt, remember that the IRS does not:

• Call to demand immediate payment using a specific payment method such as a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer. Generally, the IRS will first mail a bill to any taxpayer who owes taxes.
• Demand that you pay taxes without the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe. You should also be advised of your rights as a taxpayer.
• Threaten to bring in local police, immigration officers or other law-enforcement to have you arrested for not paying. The IRS also cannot revoke your driver’s license, business licenses, or immigration status. Threats like these are common tactics scam artists use to trick victims into buying into their schemes.

How You Can Help

If you believe you have been contacted by a scammer pretending to be from the IRS, you should contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to report a phone scam. You can call the Inspector General at 800-366-4484 or visit their "IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting" web page. You should also report phone scams to the Federal Trade Commission using the "FTC Complaint Assistant" on FTC.gov. If you contact the FTC, make sure to add "IRS Telephone Scam" in the notes so they are aware of the type of scam you are reporting.

If you want to learn more about general IRS scams, you can visit the IRS page for Tax Scam information.

Creating and sticking to a budget can be stressful even in the best of circumstances and right now most of us aren’t living in the best circumstances. The effect of COVID-19 on the economy has forced many Americans to take a close look at their budget in order to reassess their spending and make some tough decisions about their monthly spending.

If you have previous experience creating a household budget, this is nothing new to you. But for those of us who are new homeowners, renters, or college students creating their budget for the first time, the added uncertainty of 2020 can seem like a monumental hurdle toward financial security.

The Zero-Based Budget

There are many effective strategies for planning a budget, each of which has its own strength and weakness. However, in times like these, when money can be tight, one of the best methods to ensure that every dollar and cent is accounted for is something called zero-based budgeting.

The goal of a zero-based budget is to make it so the difference between your monthly income and your expenditures each month equals zero. Once you’ve accounted for every dollar, you can choose to maintain the same levels of expense in each category of your budget or change it up from month-to-month as your needs change. Because you have every dollar accounted for, you will know how much you are able to spend each month and won’t overspend a dime.

It’s one thing to explain a zero-based budget, but let’s take a look at an example budget for someone making $3,000 a month.

Starting Your Own Zero-Based Budget

Before you implement a zero-based budgeting plan, you should prepare a few things to ensure you stay realistic with your expectations.

• Know your monthly income. This includes your paycheck, any government benefits you may be receiving, and any other regular sources of income that remain the same from month to month.
• Track and categorize your expenses. Look at your spending from the previous month and come up with a list of categories for each. If you have savings goals, these should be categorized separately.
• Calculate your average expenses. Go back through two or three months of expenses and figure out what your average spending is in each category. Take note if there are any areas where you can cut back on spending.

There are plenty of budgeting apps that can help you categorize and track your monthly spending, including New Tripoli Bank’s mobile app which has a money management tool that automatically categorizes spending from your ATM/debit card into categories and allows you to set monthly targets.

Once you have all of this information prepared, you may be wondering how much to allocate to each category in order to create a “balanced” budget. While every person’s budget is going to be different, a very common rule of thumb to effective budgeting is the 50/30/20 rule.

With this approach, you should take the categories you have previously established and group them into “needs,” “wants,” and “debt/saving.” For example, we all need food to live and we need to pay our rent, so groceries and clothing would go into “needs,” but we also want to keep ourselves entertained and we want to eat out some time, so entertainment and eating out would go into “wants.”

You won’t always be able to follow the 50/30/20 rule, but if you’re unsure where to start with your budget, it’s a good baseline and you can adjust each category up or down depending on your personal needs.

Why Zero-Based Budgeting?

At the top of this article we mentioned the impact of COVID-19 causing many of us to have to re-examine how we spend our money each month. One of the benefits of zero-based budgeting is knowing exactly how much money is flowing in and out of your account each month, which can prevent you from spending money you don’t have.

If sudden unemployment or a reduction in work hours has you feeling like you’ve lost control of your finances, sitting down and organizing a zero-based budget spreadsheet can go a long way toward helping you regain that feeling of control by knowing where your money is going and where you can afford to cut costs.

The downside of zero-based budgeting is the amount of time it can take to maintain. Effective budgeting in this way requires you to hold yourself accountable and consistently monitor your spending so you know when you’re approaching your monthly limits.

Zero-based budgeting can also be hard for those of us with irregular income or variable expenses. If your job requires you to travel during certain times of the year more than others, then certain categories in your budget are going to vary wildly from month to month. If you’re a freelancer or contractor with a fluctuating schedule, you won’t always know how much money you have coming in from month to month which can make it harder to plan in this way.

However, if you have a steady income and can plan a few months in advance for big expenses such as holidays or weddings, then zero-based budgeting is a very useful budgeting tool whether you’re new to managing your money or looking for a strategy to regain control of your finances.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, New Tripoli Bank has taken steps to ensure the health and safety of our customers by providing community banking. We are VERY excited that starting this Friday, June 26th, New Tripoli Bank is fully re-opening our branch lobbies to the general public. We have been working over the past several weeks to make sure that CDC procedures are in place to ensure your good health when you do visit our branch offices.

You'll notice a few changes in our lobbies upon reopening:

• Protective plexiglass shields have been installed at teller stations. Employees will be wearing facemasks and we require all customers to wear them as well. For security, if you are wearing a mask, you may be asked to temporarily remove it if we cannot immediately identify you.
• Please use the touchless hand sanitizing station when you enter our lobby.
• All work areas, door handles, desks, teller stations, drive-up canisters are cleaned at regular intervals during the day.
• Please continue the 6-foot social distancing rule. There are decal stickers on the floor to assist you. If lobbies become crowded and social distancing cannot be met, a staff member may ask you to wait outside until others complete their transactions.
• Please, for the safety of our employees and customer, do not visit the bank if you do not feel well.

We encourage customers to continue to use online, mobile, telephone, ATM and drive-up banking options whenever possible while we continue to all do our part to reduce the spread of the virus.

We are looking forward to seeing familiar faces again and we are grateful to be able to resume our normal schedule to serve you. We missed you and look forward to your return. Stay safe and welcome back!

On April 23rd, 2020, the Federal Reserve announced an INTERIM final rule that banks do not have to monitor the number of transfers and withdrawals that can be made from savings deposits. Therefore, New Tripoli Bank has decided that we will no longer monitor transfers from our customers' statement savings or money market accounts (both for business and personal customers) involving preauthorized withdrawals, online banking or telephone banking transfers.

Should the Federal Reserve change this rulemaking and go back to the six transaction per month limitation, we will notify our customers immediately.