PeoplesBank to Open Ludlow Banking Center on Oct. 15

HOLYOKE — According to President and CEO Tom Senecal, PeoplesBank wanted to bring something 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,” Senecal said in describing the drive-thru VideoBanker ITM that will be a feature of the new Ludlow banking center located at 450 Center St. “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 they will 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 Oct. 15.

“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,” Senecal added.

PeoplesBank wanted to develop a team of associates for the new banking center who had strong community connections, said 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. 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,” Ganhao noted. “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.” 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. and 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.