Some former customers of the defunct Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast were left unable to complete transactions last weekend as TIB Bank, which took over Riverside in February when it failed, moved Riverside accounts into its banking system.
Customers who wanted to use online banking services or activate their new TIB debit cards, which were mailed out in advance of the transition, were unable to do so over the weekend.
TIB took over about $317 million in Riverside deposits after its failure in February.
Problems persisted into the week when the toll-free number customers were to use to activate their cards was shut down.
“The glitch happened on Monday morning with our debit cards and our Internet banking,” said Ed Crann, an executive vice president with TIB.
TIB used a third-party bank, which Crann declined to name, for its card activations but initial attempts to resolve the problem were not immediately successful.
Although the line was up and running by the end of Monday, it was only partially functional.
Crann said that when the other bank tried to fix the glitch, it did it piecemeal, implementing the activation system but not the part allowing customers to input their PINs. The result for some customers was an activated card with no PIN.
“We have the new card in the mail. We weren’t able to use it over the weekend,” said Mario Lopez, a Cape Coral resident.
Crann said TIB employees were working to fix the problem, and will send out letters this week addressing the situation. Customers should receive them by Monday.
“We’re being very proactive,” he said.
TIB is also inviting former Riverside customers to a cookout July 17 at former Riverside branches.
The awkward transition has left confusion in customers, and TIB is embarrassed by the situation.
“It’s caused a lot of commotion in our branches. We’re embarrassed with what happened. We didn’t want this to happen to our customers,” Crann said.