March 14, 2007
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NEWS: AL RBC Centura Switch Creates Card DramaThe switchover from AmSouth Bank to new owner RBC Centura created a headache for several people in Alabama this past weekend – and it wasn't bank employees working overtime to staff the renamed branches. An unknown number of customers trying to use their AmSouth debit or credit cards this weekend were denied due to an unknown glitch in the system. Most of those experiencing problems were using old cards, not the new RBC Centura cards that had already been issued to customers, but that should not have caused the problem, say bank representatives.
Scott Custer, RBC Centura's CEO, reported that dozens of calls from irate customers were made to the bank's customer service phone number complaining of having had transactions denied because their cards did not work. Custer described the problems as a small price to pay considering that the bank gave itself one weekend exactly for the changeover, saying that he felt things went "extremely well," and promising customers that things were going to get "better and better."
RBC Centura endured a hellish weekend, not only undergoing cosmetic changes on all 39 old AmSouth locations slated to be switched over, but also switching over all account information. The switch in Alabama alone was expected to affect some $2 billion in deposits for 150,000 customers. According to reports, lines to get into Mobile-area bank branches Monday snaked out the door and swamped parking lots as customers queued up to ask questions and check the status of their accounts.