The Canandaigua National Bank and Trust Company

A Small Bank That Makes A Difference
- Mazinde - Thursday, June 2, 2011 - 10:54 AM

Canandaigua National Bank is active in upstate New York, especially in the Rochester and Finger Lakes area. They have been in business since 1887, and have developed a reputation for individualized service and a broad range of offerings for individuals and businesses. They have 23 locations, and are active in a number of charitable organizations in the area within which they work. I have been banking with CN Bank for more than ten years now. They handle my checking and savings accounts, I have had loans with them as well as CDs. I would imagine that they offer just about any banking service that is required, but what makes them really stand out, for me, is the people. When I go to a branch for any reason, the tellers and other bank personnel are always courteous and polite. I was once a bank teller myself (not for them) and it can be a stressful job, but it's clear that the folks at CN Bank love what they do. They also get points for making banking easy to understand. Their monthly statements are easy to read and understand, and online banking is so simple with them that I almost enjoy paying bills. Almost. Although I can't vouch for the technical end of this, they seem to do everything in their power to make the online banking experience a secure and safe one, and I trust them. I've done my banking at large, impersonal corporate banks before and I much prefer the experience of working with a small bank in my hometown. If you reside in this area, I urge you to give them a try--you won't be sorry.

New Online Banking
- eval - Tuesday, January 17, 2012 - 11:28 AM

CNB Launched a new online-banking system in November of 2011. Given the array of systems out there, I can't imagine where or who designed this cumbersome, slow and graceless system. My biggest complaint is the speed - because of my husband's work, we have Roadrunner Extreme - but with this site I have plenty of time to tap my fingers as I wait for a page to load - assuming it will. Like all "changeovers" there seem to have been some bumps, but most distressing is the missing data - like statements, check images, etc. 

So, it's slow and missing data, but if that isn't enough, there's the look of it: this site has all the grace and beauty of "early PC." It brings to mind a home-made data base for managing video store VHS tapes. It doesn't dovetail with the commericial end of the bank's website at all. In short, it's a clunker to look at. Then when you pull up past statments, the images are so small they're hard to read and there's no mechanism to increase the size - or to print or download them! 

I understand the bank was under the wire to secure their old site after a cyber-hacking bilked the town pf Pittsford out of more than $100,000 but surely there were other experts they could have approached - call Bank of America, M&T, Citibank, HSBC, any other bank! Find out who built their sites and hire them! 

It looks as unprofessional as it feels. Perhaps it's as strong as Fort Knox, but the speed and other issues will send me to a compeitor and I doubt I'm the only one who feels this way.