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Stay informed with out regularly updated resources. Each post convers a unique aspect of banking or finance to enhance your understanding and enable better financial decisions.
100th Anniversary Stories
More Than a Sponsor
For Dan Glenn, Pastor of Stetson Baptist Church in DeLand, Surety Bank has become much more than the place where the church did its banking. Over the years, the initial banking relationship has grown into a partnership centered around a shared commitment to the community.
That partnership took on new meaning in 2018 when Stetson Baptist Church launched Night to Shine, an unforgettable prom experience for people with special needs held in partnership with the Tim Tebow Foundation.
Creating an experience like Night to Shine requires significant support, and Surety Bank was one of the event's earliest sponsors.
“Surety was one that came on very early saying, ‘Hey, we want to support that. We want to be a part of it.’”
For Dan, that moment marked a shift in the relationship. It became much more personal and community focused.
Surety continued supporting Night to Shine year after year, but one experience in particular showed Dan what that partnership truly meant.
After the first Night to Shine, Dan realized the church had never properly thanked Surety for its sponsorship. When it came time to plan the event again, he felt hesitant approaching Surety for another year of support.
The response surprised him.
There was no hesitation. Surety wanted to be involved again.
Years later, that commitment went even further when Surety reached out to the church without being asked and offered to increase its support.
“They have an intention to be generous, even when generosity may or may not be expected or requested.”
For Dan, that willingness to look for opportunities to make a greater impact is part of what distinguishes Surety Bank as a community organization.
Instead of simply waiting for someone to present a sponsorship request, Surety has been willing to ask a different question: How can we do more?
That philosophy extends beyond a single event.
Dan describes Surety not simply as a community bank, but as a “community-centered organization” that genuinely cares about DeLand and the relationships it has built throughout the city.
That personal connection is something Dan has experienced firsthand. His relationship with Surety isn't limited to the organization itself. It's also built through relationships with the people behind it.
As Surety Bank celebrates 100 years, Dan believes that commitment to people and community helps explain why the bank has remained part of DeLand for generations.
Over the past century, both the bank and the city have grown and changed. Yet Surety has continued to serve the community throughout that growth.
For Dan, that's exactly why Surety's 100th anniversary message, “How we've always done it is how we'll always do it,” resonates.
“The way they've always done things has been people centered, relationships centered, community centered.”
Those values create something that goes beyond banking. They create trust. They allow organizations like Stetson Baptist Church to know what to expect from a partner that has consistently shown up before and intends to continue showing up in the future.
After years of partnership, Dan hopes that part of Surety never changes.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
Growing Something of His Own: How DeLand’s Austin Scott Launched Coastal Green Pest Solutions
For Austin Scott, starting a business wasn’t the result of a lifelong plan. It was something that grew over time, much like the lawns he now helps his customers care for.
Born and raised in DeLand, Austin is the owner of Coastal Green Pest Solutions, a new Volusia County business specializing in lawn treatments, pest management, fertilization, and the care of palms and shrubs.
The company may be new, but Austin is far from new to the work.
Before entering the lawn and pest control industry, Austin was selling auto parts at O’Reilly Auto Parts. Then a landscaper friend suggested he take a job with a local pest control company.
He gave it a shot and discovered an industry that fascinated him.
“I like that I could learn something new every day,” Austin says. “You get to see different problems, and you get to see the benefits of your own labor making a lawn beautiful. You get to see it go from nothing to something.”
Austin spent nearly six years in the industry, gradually developing an understanding of not only what products to use, but why lawns develop problems in the first place.
Interestingly, the work even gave him a new appreciation for a subject he once struggled with: chemistry.
In school, chemistry had never come naturally to Austin. But working with fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and nutrients gave those concepts a real-world application.
“You get to learn something and then apply it directly,” he says.
And the more Austin learned, the more he realized there was an opportunity to do things differently.
Solving the Problem Behind the Problem
Austin believes one of the biggest shortcomings in the lawn and pest control industry isn't necessarily the products or treatment programs companies use. It's the communication that happens, or doesn't happen, between the company, technician, and homeowner.
A lawn problem can be the result of insects, fungus, nutrient deficiencies, irrigation issues, environmental stress, or a combination of factors. Simply treating the symptom doesn't always solve the underlying problem.
Austin wants Coastal Green Pest Solutions to be different.
“I take pride in being the solution and the end to the revolving door when it comes to these lawn programs,” he says.
That means spending time with homeowners, explaining what is happening on their property, and helping them understand what needs to change.
Austin compares a lawn or landscape to the human body. One problem can affect the health of the entire system. Killing an insect, for example, may address the immediate issue, but it doesn't necessarily explain why the lawn became susceptible to the pest in the first place.
“If you can be the middleman between the problem, the chemicals, and the customer, and you can explain all that smoothly, that's normally the end,” Austin says. “A lot of people don't take the time to talk to their customers and make sure they understand.”
It's an approach built around education and relationships as much as treatment.
Building Coastal Green Pest Solutions
When the company Austin had worked for was sold, he saw an opportunity to take everything he'd learned and build something of his own.
Coastal Green Pest Solutions was born.
Today, Austin primarily works with residential customers throughout Volusia County who care about the long-term health and appearance of their properties.
His services include:
Lawn treatments and fertilization
Insect and pest treatments for lawns
Herbicide and weed management
Fungicide treatments
Palm tree treatments
Shrub treatments
Nutrient deficiency management
Lawn and landscape health assessments
Irrigation guidance and trusted referrals
Austin's philosophy isn't about simply “spraying and praying,” as he puts it. Every property is different, so understanding what's actually happening comes before recommending a solution.
That philosophy also shapes how he plans to grow the business.
A Local Bank Helps a Local Entrepreneur Get Started
Starting a company requires more than expertise and ambition. There are trucks, equipment, products, operating expenses, and the reality that revenue doesn't necessarily arrive the moment the business opens its doors.
Austin knew he needed some financial breathing room as he got Coastal Green Pest Solutions off the ground.
That's where Surety Bank came in.
Austin first learned about Surety through his father, who had worked in real estate and developed a relationship with Surety Bank CEO Ryan James over the years.
When Austin was preparing to launch Coastal Green Pest Solutions, that local connection opened the door to a conversation.
“I was just looking for a good little loan—something to get me by, that way I had a little bit of breathing room,” Austin says. “I was very questionable on how I was going to make everything work, and honestly, I'm very grateful for Surety stepping in.”
Surety provided a business loan directly to Coastal Green Pest Solutions, giving Austin additional resources and flexibility during the critical early months of building the company.
For Austin, the experience demonstrated one of the advantages of working with a community bank: relationships matter.
Ryan knew Austin's family. He'd seen Austin working around town. And instead of Austin simply being another application, there was an opportunity to understand the person and business behind it.
That trust helped a local entrepreneur take the next step.
Growing the Right Way
Just a couple of months into the business when we spoke with him, Austin already had big ambitions for Coastal Green Pest Solutions.
Eventually, he'd like to have multiple trucks on the road, a dedicated irrigation team, a sales team, and expanded services including home pest and termite control.
But he's in no hurry to grow simply for the sake of getting bigger.
Austin wants to make sure the service and customer experience that distinguish Coastal Green today remain intact as the company expands.
“If I'm not taking the time to personalize your service and making sure that I'm putting down what I'm promising, then there's no point in me opening up the next step,” he says.
He describes his philosophy simply as “natural growth or no growth.”
It's an especially fitting philosophy for someone who spends his days helping things grow.
For now, Austin is focused on building relationships, earning the trust of homeowners and landscapers throughout Volusia County, and developing Coastal Green one customer at a time.
And he's doing it in the community he has always called home.
“I still enjoy the small-town aspect of DeLand,” Austin says. “Raising a family here, having good friends here, it's very nice. DeLand's a good home base.”
As DeLand and Volusia County continue to grow, Austin hopes Coastal Green Pest Solutions will grow right alongside them, without losing the personal relationships that helped get the business started in the first place.
Coastal Green Pest Solutions serves homeowners throughout Volusia County. For homeowners who care about the health and appearance of their lawn and landscaping, Austin and Coastal Green provide personalized lawn treatment, pest management, fertilization, and plant health solutions.
Personal Fraud Is on the Rise: Simple Steps to Help Protect Yourself
Personal fraud continues to evolve, and scammers are finding increasingly sophisticated ways to target consumers. From AI-powered messages that appear surprisingly convincing to attempts to gain access to entire financial accounts. Recognizing the warning signs is becoming more important than ever.
While you can't prevent every fraud attempt, knowing what to watch for and taking a few proactive steps can make it much harder for scammers to succeed.
Three Fraud Trends to Watch
1. AI-Powered Scams Are Becoming More Convincing
Artificial intelligence is making fraudulent calls and text messages feel more personal and legitimate. Scammers can use AI to create convincing communications designed to make you believe you're interacting with a trusted person or organization.
Be cautious when you receive an unexpected call or message asking for personal information, money, or access to an account. Before responding or taking action, reach out to Surety Bank directly to verify they are the ones calling. This step could mean not being scammed out of your money.
2. Scammers Are Targeting Entire Financial Accounts
Fraudsters are increasingly looking beyond individual credit card numbers and attempting to gain access to entire financial profiles, including personal bank and investment accounts.
Protect your accounts by regularly reviewing activity for transactions you don't recognize and using multifactor authentication whenever it's available. Never provide your password, login credentials, or verification codes to someone who contacts you unexpectedly.
If you notice something unusual in your Surety Bank account, contact us promptly.
3. Financial Fraud Targeting Older Adults Is Growing
Older adults continue to be frequent targets of financial scams, particularly those involving tech support and investment-related schemes.
These scams often rely on urgency or fear to convince someone to act before they have an opportunity to question what's happening. Talk with older family members about common scams and encourage them to check with someone they trust before sending money or providing sensitive information in response to an unexpected request.
Taking a few minutes to verify a situation can help prevent a significant financial loss.
A Few Simple Habits Can Make a Difference
Protecting yourself doesn't require becoming a fraud expert. Start by being skeptical of unexpected requests for money or information, especially when someone pressures you to act immediately.
Use strong, unique passwords and enable multifactor authentication when available. Avoid clicking links in unexpected emails or text messages, and regularly review your bank accounts and credit reports for activity you don't recognize.
Most importantly, trust your instincts. If something doesn't feel right, stop and verify before taking action.
Resources to Help Protect Your Information
If you'd like to take additional steps to protect yourself, here are three resources worth exploring:
FTC IdentityTheft.gov Best for someone who thinks their identity has already been compromised. The FTC provides a personalized recovery plan and steps for addressing identity theft. Visit IdentityTheft.gov
FTC Credit Freeze & Fraud Alert Guide Customers can place a free credit freeze, which can prevent identity thieves from opening new credit accounts in their name, or add a fraud alert. Learn About Credit Freezes & Fraud Alerts
Aura For those interested in a paid protection service, Aura offers identity and financial monitoring tools and other fraud-protection features. I’d position this as an optional third-party tool, not something Surety is recommending over other services. Explore Aura
These resources are provided for informational purposes. Surety Bank does not endorse or guarantee any third-party product or service.
Stay Alert and Take Your Time
Fraud tactics will continue to change, but one of your strongest defenses is also one of the simplest: slow down.
Scammers often depend on creating urgency so you act before thinking. If you're unsure about a request involving your Surety Bank account, don't rely on the phone number, link, or contact information provided in the message. Contact Surety Bank directly through a trusted channel.
We're here to help you protect your financial information and recognize potential fraud before it becomes a loss.
For Maria Bonfiglio, working at Surety Bank has always been about more than banking. It's about taking care of people.
Maria has been part of the Surety Bank family for nine years, but her journey began with a simple text message. A former boss she had stayed in touch with reached out years after they had worked together and told her, "I have the perfect job for you." Maria's response was simple: "Where should I sign?"
Nine years later, her enthusiasm hasn't changed.
"I love it. I love my job."
Over the years, Maria's role has evolved, giving her the opportunity to learn new skills and develop deeper relationships with customers. She has gotten to know some of them so well that she can recognize who is calling just by the sound of their voice. For Maria, those relationships are what make Surety feel less like a workplace and more like a family.
That personal connection also shapes the way Maria approaches protecting customers.
When something doesn't seem right, she isn't afraid to ask questions. Whether she's reviewing a check or helping someone resolve an issue with an account, Maria understands that taking a little extra time can make a significant difference.
"We really care about our customers," Maria explains. Even when customers may wonder why the bank is asking additional questions, she wants them to understand the reason behind it. "We don't want them to lose money."
For Maria, that care isn't limited to customers. She has experienced it personally as an employee.
During some of the most difficult moments of her life, including an extended hospital stay and the loss of her son, Maria remembers her Surety family checking on her, visiting her, and making sure she knew she wasn't alone. Those experiences showed her that the relationships Surety talks about aren't simply something customers experience. They're part of the culture inside the bank, too.
It's also why Maria believes Surety Bank has remained part of the community for 100 years. She has worked at other banks, but says Surety's involvement in the community feels different. The bank isn't trying to be the biggest. Instead, it has remained focused on the people and communities it serves.
That same philosophy comes through in Maria's relationships with her customers. Some have developed such a strong connection with her that when they call, they specifically ask for Maria. She takes pride in being someone they know they can turn to when they have a question or need assistance.
After nine years, Maria still says thank you for the opportunity that brought her to Surety Bank. Her story is a reminder that relationship banking begins with people who genuinely care about the people on the other side of the counter or phone.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
For Lewis Long III, banking with Surety Bank is a relationship that has lasted more than five decades.
As one of Surety Bank's longest-standing customers, Lewis has watched the bank grow alongside the community since his connection to Surety began more than 50 years ago. He originally opened a savings account after hearing from neighbors that the bank consistently offered strong value and genuinely cared about its customers.
Over the years, Lewis has seen a lot of change. He remembers making deposits with a passbook while employees manually updated balances using a hand-cranked adding machine. What hasn't changed, however, is the way Surety Bank treats the people who walk through its doors.
For Lewis, that commitment extends beyond his own banking experience. When his sons were born, he opened accounts for each of them at Surety Bank, continuing a family tradition that has now spanned generations. One of his sons even participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony when Surety Bank dedicated its current building in the early 1990s.
Throughout his life of military service, public service, and community involvement, Lewis has always returned to the same bank.
What has kept him loyal all these years?
The answer is simple: people.
"You couldn't ask for better service or better people," Lewis says. "I don't know how they remember everybody's name that walks in the door, but they do. They're just super folks. The people have always been a gift to us and to the community."
Lewis believes that the values Surety Bank was founded on continue to define the bank today. One story from the bank's early history has always stayed with him. During the Great Depression, he recalls hearing that Surety worked with customers rather than rushing to foreclose on them because they cared more about helping people than taking their property. That philosophy, he says, is still reflected in the way the bank serves its customers today.
It's one of the reasons Lewis has become an advocate for the bank wherever he goes.
Whether he's encouraging friends to open a money market account, sharing the bank's history, or even suggesting a new Surety branch for his hometown of Lake Helen, Lewis proudly recommends the bank he's trusted for more than half a century.
"I wouldn't champion the bank if I didn't believe in these folks and believe in this bank," he says. "Everybody is important. They see past whatever's bothering someone that day and still treat people with kindness and respect."
As Surety Bank celebrates 100 years of serving Central Florida, customers like Lewis remind us that while banking has evolved, some things should never change. Genuine relationships, exceptional service, and a commitment to the community remain at the heart of everything we do.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
Strong Communities Are Built Through Strong Partnerships
For 100 years, Surety Bank has believed that community banking means more than serving customers inside the walls of a branch. It means investing in the people, organizations, and partnerships that help our communities thrive.
That commitment is something Carla Quann, Director of Community Relations for the Volusia Sheriff's Office, has experienced firsthand.
"Our goal is to support everyone in our community," Carla explains. "Ryan [James] wanted to be a part of what we're doing because he cares about the community."
The partnership between Surety Bank and the Volusia Sheriff's Office began when Surety Bank President & CEO Ryan James joined the Volusia Sheriff's Foundation Board. Since then, the relationship has grown into a collaborative effort focused on addressing some of the community's greatest needs.
One example came during the holiday season, when thousands of local families faced uncertainty after SNAP benefits were unexpectedly interrupted. Through the combined efforts of businesses, volunteers, and community organizations, more than 3,500 grocery bags were distributed to families throughout Volusia County.
According to Carla, Surety Bank was an important part of making that effort possible.
Beyond community events and charitable initiatives, the partnership has also helped strengthen public safety.
As financial scams targeting older adults became increasingly common, Surety Bank worked alongside the Sheriff's Office to provide education, share industry expertise, and help detectives better recognize the warning signs of fraud.
That collaboration ultimately helped lead to the creation of the Volusia Sheriff's Office Financial Crimes Unit—a dedicated team focused on protecting residents from fraud and financial exploitation.
Working together, those efforts have helped recover more than $2 million for local victims of financial crimes.
For Carla, those results reflect what makes Surety Bank different.
"They're not just another hometown bank," she says. "They care about their community."
She believes that commitment starts with customer service but extends far beyond banking. Whether supporting nonprofit organizations, helping law enforcement address emerging scams, or simply answering the phone when someone needs help, Surety Bank has built relationships rooted in trust.
"People trust them," Carla says. "They've built that trust with their customers, and that's why people stay."
As Surety Bank celebrates a century of serving Central Florida, partnerships like this demonstrate that community banking isn't defined only by financial services—it's measured by the impact a bank has on the people and communities it serves.
For 100 years, Surety Bank has believed that when communities succeed, everyone succeeds. Through partnerships built on trust, service, and shared purpose, that commitment continues today—and will continue for generations to come.
For Dan Glenn, Pastor of Stetson Baptist Church in DeLand, Surety Bank has become much more than the place where the church did its banking. Over the years, the initial banking relationship has grown into a partnership centered around a shared commitment to the community.
That partnership took on new meaning in 2018 when Stetson Baptist Church launched Night to Shine, an unforgettable prom experience for people with special needs held in partnership with the Tim Tebow Foundation.
Creating an experience like Night to Shine requires significant support, and Surety Bank was one of the event's earliest sponsors.
“Surety was one that came on very early saying, ‘Hey, we want to support that. We want to be a part of it.’”
For Dan, that moment marked a shift in the relationship. It became much more personal and community focused.
Surety continued supporting Night to Shine year after year, but one experience in particular showed Dan what that partnership truly meant.
After the first Night to Shine, Dan realized the church had never properly thanked Surety for its sponsorship. When it came time to plan the event again, he felt hesitant approaching Surety for another year of support.
The response surprised him.
There was no hesitation. Surety wanted to be involved again.
Years later, that commitment went even further when Surety reached out to the church without being asked and offered to increase its support.
“They have an intention to be generous, even when generosity may or may not be expected or requested.”
For Dan, that willingness to look for opportunities to make a greater impact is part of what distinguishes Surety Bank as a community organization.
Instead of simply waiting for someone to present a sponsorship request, Surety has been willing to ask a different question: How can we do more?
That philosophy extends beyond a single event.
Dan describes Surety not simply as a community bank, but as a “community-centered organization” that genuinely cares about DeLand and the relationships it has built throughout the city.
That personal connection is something Dan has experienced firsthand. His relationship with Surety isn't limited to the organization itself. It's also built through relationships with the people behind it.
As Surety Bank celebrates 100 years, Dan believes that commitment to people and community helps explain why the bank has remained part of DeLand for generations.
Over the past century, both the bank and the city have grown and changed. Yet Surety has continued to serve the community throughout that growth.
For Dan, that's exactly why Surety's 100th anniversary message, “How we've always done it is how we'll always do it,” resonates.
“The way they've always done things has been people centered, relationships centered, community centered.”
Those values create something that goes beyond banking. They create trust. They allow organizations like Stetson Baptist Church to know what to expect from a partner that has consistently shown up before and intends to continue showing up in the future.
After years of partnership, Dan hopes that part of Surety never changes.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
Growing Something of His Own: How DeLand’s Austin Scott Launched Coastal Green Pest Solutions
For Austin Scott, starting a business wasn’t the result of a lifelong plan. It was something that grew over time, much like the lawns he now helps his customers care for.
Born and raised in DeLand, Austin is the owner of Coastal Green Pest Solutions, a new Volusia County business specializing in lawn treatments, pest management, fertilization, and the care of palms and shrubs.
The company may be new, but Austin is far from new to the work.
Before entering the lawn and pest control industry, Austin was selling auto parts at O’Reilly Auto Parts. Then a landscaper friend suggested he take a job with a local pest control company.
He gave it a shot and discovered an industry that fascinated him.
“I like that I could learn something new every day,” Austin says. “You get to see different problems, and you get to see the benefits of your own labor making a lawn beautiful. You get to see it go from nothing to something.”
Austin spent nearly six years in the industry, gradually developing an understanding of not only what products to use, but why lawns develop problems in the first place.
Interestingly, the work even gave him a new appreciation for a subject he once struggled with: chemistry.
In school, chemistry had never come naturally to Austin. But working with fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and nutrients gave those concepts a real-world application.
“You get to learn something and then apply it directly,” he says.
And the more Austin learned, the more he realized there was an opportunity to do things differently.
Solving the Problem Behind the Problem
Austin believes one of the biggest shortcomings in the lawn and pest control industry isn't necessarily the products or treatment programs companies use. It's the communication that happens, or doesn't happen, between the company, technician, and homeowner.
A lawn problem can be the result of insects, fungus, nutrient deficiencies, irrigation issues, environmental stress, or a combination of factors. Simply treating the symptom doesn't always solve the underlying problem.
Austin wants Coastal Green Pest Solutions to be different.
“I take pride in being the solution and the end to the revolving door when it comes to these lawn programs,” he says.
That means spending time with homeowners, explaining what is happening on their property, and helping them understand what needs to change.
Austin compares a lawn or landscape to the human body. One problem can affect the health of the entire system. Killing an insect, for example, may address the immediate issue, but it doesn't necessarily explain why the lawn became susceptible to the pest in the first place.
“If you can be the middleman between the problem, the chemicals, and the customer, and you can explain all that smoothly, that's normally the end,” Austin says. “A lot of people don't take the time to talk to their customers and make sure they understand.”
It's an approach built around education and relationships as much as treatment.
Building Coastal Green Pest Solutions
When the company Austin had worked for was sold, he saw an opportunity to take everything he'd learned and build something of his own.
Coastal Green Pest Solutions was born.
Today, Austin primarily works with residential customers throughout Volusia County who care about the long-term health and appearance of their properties.
His services include:
Lawn treatments and fertilization
Insect and pest treatments for lawns
Herbicide and weed management
Fungicide treatments
Palm tree treatments
Shrub treatments
Nutrient deficiency management
Lawn and landscape health assessments
Irrigation guidance and trusted referrals
Austin's philosophy isn't about simply “spraying and praying,” as he puts it. Every property is different, so understanding what's actually happening comes before recommending a solution.
That philosophy also shapes how he plans to grow the business.
A Local Bank Helps a Local Entrepreneur Get Started
Starting a company requires more than expertise and ambition. There are trucks, equipment, products, operating expenses, and the reality that revenue doesn't necessarily arrive the moment the business opens its doors.
Austin knew he needed some financial breathing room as he got Coastal Green Pest Solutions off the ground.
That's where Surety Bank came in.
Austin first learned about Surety through his father, who had worked in real estate and developed a relationship with Surety Bank CEO Ryan James over the years.
When Austin was preparing to launch Coastal Green Pest Solutions, that local connection opened the door to a conversation.
“I was just looking for a good little loan—something to get me by, that way I had a little bit of breathing room,” Austin says. “I was very questionable on how I was going to make everything work, and honestly, I'm very grateful for Surety stepping in.”
Surety provided a business loan directly to Coastal Green Pest Solutions, giving Austin additional resources and flexibility during the critical early months of building the company.
For Austin, the experience demonstrated one of the advantages of working with a community bank: relationships matter.
Ryan knew Austin's family. He'd seen Austin working around town. And instead of Austin simply being another application, there was an opportunity to understand the person and business behind it.
That trust helped a local entrepreneur take the next step.
Growing the Right Way
Just a couple of months into the business when we spoke with him, Austin already had big ambitions for Coastal Green Pest Solutions.
Eventually, he'd like to have multiple trucks on the road, a dedicated irrigation team, a sales team, and expanded services including home pest and termite control.
But he's in no hurry to grow simply for the sake of getting bigger.
Austin wants to make sure the service and customer experience that distinguish Coastal Green today remain intact as the company expands.
“If I'm not taking the time to personalize your service and making sure that I'm putting down what I'm promising, then there's no point in me opening up the next step,” he says.
He describes his philosophy simply as “natural growth or no growth.”
It's an especially fitting philosophy for someone who spends his days helping things grow.
For now, Austin is focused on building relationships, earning the trust of homeowners and landscapers throughout Volusia County, and developing Coastal Green one customer at a time.
And he's doing it in the community he has always called home.
“I still enjoy the small-town aspect of DeLand,” Austin says. “Raising a family here, having good friends here, it's very nice. DeLand's a good home base.”
As DeLand and Volusia County continue to grow, Austin hopes Coastal Green Pest Solutions will grow right alongside them, without losing the personal relationships that helped get the business started in the first place.
Coastal Green Pest Solutions serves homeowners throughout Volusia County. For homeowners who care about the health and appearance of their lawn and landscaping, Austin and Coastal Green provide personalized lawn treatment, pest management, fertilization, and plant health solutions.
Personal Fraud Is on the Rise: Simple Steps to Help Protect Yourself
Personal fraud continues to evolve, and scammers are finding increasingly sophisticated ways to target consumers. From AI-powered messages that appear surprisingly convincing to attempts to gain access to entire financial accounts. Recognizing the warning signs is becoming more important than ever.
While you can't prevent every fraud attempt, knowing what to watch for and taking a few proactive steps can make it much harder for scammers to succeed.
Three Fraud Trends to Watch
1. AI-Powered Scams Are Becoming More Convincing
Artificial intelligence is making fraudulent calls and text messages feel more personal and legitimate. Scammers can use AI to create convincing communications designed to make you believe you're interacting with a trusted person or organization.
Be cautious when you receive an unexpected call or message asking for personal information, money, or access to an account. Before responding or taking action, reach out to Surety Bank directly to verify they are the ones calling. This step could mean not being scammed out of your money.
2. Scammers Are Targeting Entire Financial Accounts
Fraudsters are increasingly looking beyond individual credit card numbers and attempting to gain access to entire financial profiles, including personal bank and investment accounts.
Protect your accounts by regularly reviewing activity for transactions you don't recognize and using multifactor authentication whenever it's available. Never provide your password, login credentials, or verification codes to someone who contacts you unexpectedly.
If you notice something unusual in your Surety Bank account, contact us promptly.
3. Financial Fraud Targeting Older Adults Is Growing
Older adults continue to be frequent targets of financial scams, particularly those involving tech support and investment-related schemes.
These scams often rely on urgency or fear to convince someone to act before they have an opportunity to question what's happening. Talk with older family members about common scams and encourage them to check with someone they trust before sending money or providing sensitive information in response to an unexpected request.
Taking a few minutes to verify a situation can help prevent a significant financial loss.
A Few Simple Habits Can Make a Difference
Protecting yourself doesn't require becoming a fraud expert. Start by being skeptical of unexpected requests for money or information, especially when someone pressures you to act immediately.
Use strong, unique passwords and enable multifactor authentication when available. Avoid clicking links in unexpected emails or text messages, and regularly review your bank accounts and credit reports for activity you don't recognize.
Most importantly, trust your instincts. If something doesn't feel right, stop and verify before taking action.
Resources to Help Protect Your Information
If you'd like to take additional steps to protect yourself, here are three resources worth exploring:
FTC IdentityTheft.gov Best for someone who thinks their identity has already been compromised. The FTC provides a personalized recovery plan and steps for addressing identity theft. Visit IdentityTheft.gov
FTC Credit Freeze & Fraud Alert Guide Customers can place a free credit freeze, which can prevent identity thieves from opening new credit accounts in their name, or add a fraud alert. Learn About Credit Freezes & Fraud Alerts
Aura For those interested in a paid protection service, Aura offers identity and financial monitoring tools and other fraud-protection features. I’d position this as an optional third-party tool, not something Surety is recommending over other services. Explore Aura
These resources are provided for informational purposes. Surety Bank does not endorse or guarantee any third-party product or service.
Stay Alert and Take Your Time
Fraud tactics will continue to change, but one of your strongest defenses is also one of the simplest: slow down.
Scammers often depend on creating urgency so you act before thinking. If you're unsure about a request involving your Surety Bank account, don't rely on the phone number, link, or contact information provided in the message. Contact Surety Bank directly through a trusted channel.
We're here to help you protect your financial information and recognize potential fraud before it becomes a loss.
For Maria Bonfiglio, working at Surety Bank has always been about more than banking. It's about taking care of people.
Maria has been part of the Surety Bank family for nine years, but her journey began with a simple text message. A former boss she had stayed in touch with reached out years after they had worked together and told her, "I have the perfect job for you." Maria's response was simple: "Where should I sign?"
Nine years later, her enthusiasm hasn't changed.
"I love it. I love my job."
Over the years, Maria's role has evolved, giving her the opportunity to learn new skills and develop deeper relationships with customers. She has gotten to know some of them so well that she can recognize who is calling just by the sound of their voice. For Maria, those relationships are what make Surety feel less like a workplace and more like a family.
That personal connection also shapes the way Maria approaches protecting customers.
When something doesn't seem right, she isn't afraid to ask questions. Whether she's reviewing a check or helping someone resolve an issue with an account, Maria understands that taking a little extra time can make a significant difference.
"We really care about our customers," Maria explains. Even when customers may wonder why the bank is asking additional questions, she wants them to understand the reason behind it. "We don't want them to lose money."
For Maria, that care isn't limited to customers. She has experienced it personally as an employee.
During some of the most difficult moments of her life, including an extended hospital stay and the loss of her son, Maria remembers her Surety family checking on her, visiting her, and making sure she knew she wasn't alone. Those experiences showed her that the relationships Surety talks about aren't simply something customers experience. They're part of the culture inside the bank, too.
It's also why Maria believes Surety Bank has remained part of the community for 100 years. She has worked at other banks, but says Surety's involvement in the community feels different. The bank isn't trying to be the biggest. Instead, it has remained focused on the people and communities it serves.
That same philosophy comes through in Maria's relationships with her customers. Some have developed such a strong connection with her that when they call, they specifically ask for Maria. She takes pride in being someone they know they can turn to when they have a question or need assistance.
After nine years, Maria still says thank you for the opportunity that brought her to Surety Bank. Her story is a reminder that relationship banking begins with people who genuinely care about the people on the other side of the counter or phone.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
For Lewis Long III, banking with Surety Bank is a relationship that has lasted more than five decades.
As one of Surety Bank's longest-standing customers, Lewis has watched the bank grow alongside the community since his connection to Surety began more than 50 years ago. He originally opened a savings account after hearing from neighbors that the bank consistently offered strong value and genuinely cared about its customers.
Over the years, Lewis has seen a lot of change. He remembers making deposits with a passbook while employees manually updated balances using a hand-cranked adding machine. What hasn't changed, however, is the way Surety Bank treats the people who walk through its doors.
For Lewis, that commitment extends beyond his own banking experience. When his sons were born, he opened accounts for each of them at Surety Bank, continuing a family tradition that has now spanned generations. One of his sons even participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony when Surety Bank dedicated its current building in the early 1990s.
Throughout his life of military service, public service, and community involvement, Lewis has always returned to the same bank.
What has kept him loyal all these years?
The answer is simple: people.
"You couldn't ask for better service or better people," Lewis says. "I don't know how they remember everybody's name that walks in the door, but they do. They're just super folks. The people have always been a gift to us and to the community."
Lewis believes that the values Surety Bank was founded on continue to define the bank today. One story from the bank's early history has always stayed with him. During the Great Depression, he recalls hearing that Surety worked with customers rather than rushing to foreclose on them because they cared more about helping people than taking their property. That philosophy, he says, is still reflected in the way the bank serves its customers today.
It's one of the reasons Lewis has become an advocate for the bank wherever he goes.
Whether he's encouraging friends to open a money market account, sharing the bank's history, or even suggesting a new Surety branch for his hometown of Lake Helen, Lewis proudly recommends the bank he's trusted for more than half a century.
"I wouldn't champion the bank if I didn't believe in these folks and believe in this bank," he says. "Everybody is important. They see past whatever's bothering someone that day and still treat people with kindness and respect."
As Surety Bank celebrates 100 years of serving Central Florida, customers like Lewis remind us that while banking has evolved, some things should never change. Genuine relationships, exceptional service, and a commitment to the community remain at the heart of everything we do.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
Strong Communities Are Built Through Strong Partnerships
For 100 years, Surety Bank has believed that community banking means more than serving customers inside the walls of a branch. It means investing in the people, organizations, and partnerships that help our communities thrive.
That commitment is something Carla Quann, Director of Community Relations for the Volusia Sheriff's Office, has experienced firsthand.
"Our goal is to support everyone in our community," Carla explains. "Ryan [James] wanted to be a part of what we're doing because he cares about the community."
The partnership between Surety Bank and the Volusia Sheriff's Office began when Surety Bank President & CEO Ryan James joined the Volusia Sheriff's Foundation Board. Since then, the relationship has grown into a collaborative effort focused on addressing some of the community's greatest needs.
One example came during the holiday season, when thousands of local families faced uncertainty after SNAP benefits were unexpectedly interrupted. Through the combined efforts of businesses, volunteers, and community organizations, more than 3,500 grocery bags were distributed to families throughout Volusia County.
According to Carla, Surety Bank was an important part of making that effort possible.
Beyond community events and charitable initiatives, the partnership has also helped strengthen public safety.
As financial scams targeting older adults became increasingly common, Surety Bank worked alongside the Sheriff's Office to provide education, share industry expertise, and help detectives better recognize the warning signs of fraud.
That collaboration ultimately helped lead to the creation of the Volusia Sheriff's Office Financial Crimes Unit—a dedicated team focused on protecting residents from fraud and financial exploitation.
Working together, those efforts have helped recover more than $2 million for local victims of financial crimes.
For Carla, those results reflect what makes Surety Bank different.
"They're not just another hometown bank," she says. "They care about their community."
She believes that commitment starts with customer service but extends far beyond banking. Whether supporting nonprofit organizations, helping law enforcement address emerging scams, or simply answering the phone when someone needs help, Surety Bank has built relationships rooted in trust.
"People trust them," Carla says. "They've built that trust with their customers, and that's why people stay."
As Surety Bank celebrates a century of serving Central Florida, partnerships like this demonstrate that community banking isn't defined only by financial services—it's measured by the impact a bank has on the people and communities it serves.
For 100 years, Surety Bank has believed that when communities succeed, everyone succeeds. Through partnerships built on trust, service, and shared purpose, that commitment continues today—and will continue for generations to come.
For Dan Glenn, Pastor of Stetson Baptist Church in DeLand, Surety Bank has become much more than the place where the church did its banking. Over the years, the initial banking relationship has grown into a partnership centered around a shared commitment to the community.
That partnership took on new meaning in 2018 when Stetson Baptist Church launched Night to Shine, an unforgettable prom experience for people with special needs held in partnership with the Tim Tebow Foundation.
Creating an experience like Night to Shine requires significant support, and Surety Bank was one of the event's earliest sponsors.
“Surety was one that came on very early saying, ‘Hey, we want to support that. We want to be a part of it.’”
For Dan, that moment marked a shift in the relationship. It became much more personal and community focused.
Surety continued supporting Night to Shine year after year, but one experience in particular showed Dan what that partnership truly meant.
After the first Night to Shine, Dan realized the church had never properly thanked Surety for its sponsorship. When it came time to plan the event again, he felt hesitant approaching Surety for another year of support.
The response surprised him.
There was no hesitation. Surety wanted to be involved again.
Years later, that commitment went even further when Surety reached out to the church without being asked and offered to increase its support.
“They have an intention to be generous, even when generosity may or may not be expected or requested.”
For Dan, that willingness to look for opportunities to make a greater impact is part of what distinguishes Surety Bank as a community organization.
Instead of simply waiting for someone to present a sponsorship request, Surety has been willing to ask a different question: How can we do more?
That philosophy extends beyond a single event.
Dan describes Surety not simply as a community bank, but as a “community-centered organization” that genuinely cares about DeLand and the relationships it has built throughout the city.
That personal connection is something Dan has experienced firsthand. His relationship with Surety isn't limited to the organization itself. It's also built through relationships with the people behind it.
As Surety Bank celebrates 100 years, Dan believes that commitment to people and community helps explain why the bank has remained part of DeLand for generations.
Over the past century, both the bank and the city have grown and changed. Yet Surety has continued to serve the community throughout that growth.
For Dan, that's exactly why Surety's 100th anniversary message, “How we've always done it is how we'll always do it,” resonates.
“The way they've always done things has been people centered, relationships centered, community centered.”
Those values create something that goes beyond banking. They create trust. They allow organizations like Stetson Baptist Church to know what to expect from a partner that has consistently shown up before and intends to continue showing up in the future.
After years of partnership, Dan hopes that part of Surety never changes.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
Growing Something of His Own: How DeLand’s Austin Scott Launched Coastal Green Pest Solutions
For Austin Scott, starting a business wasn’t the result of a lifelong plan. It was something that grew over time, much like the lawns he now helps his customers care for.
Born and raised in DeLand, Austin is the owner of Coastal Green Pest Solutions, a new Volusia County business specializing in lawn treatments, pest management, fertilization, and the care of palms and shrubs.
The company may be new, but Austin is far from new to the work.
Before entering the lawn and pest control industry, Austin was selling auto parts at O’Reilly Auto Parts. Then a landscaper friend suggested he take a job with a local pest control company.
He gave it a shot and discovered an industry that fascinated him.
“I like that I could learn something new every day,” Austin says. “You get to see different problems, and you get to see the benefits of your own labor making a lawn beautiful. You get to see it go from nothing to something.”
Austin spent nearly six years in the industry, gradually developing an understanding of not only what products to use, but why lawns develop problems in the first place.
Interestingly, the work even gave him a new appreciation for a subject he once struggled with: chemistry.
In school, chemistry had never come naturally to Austin. But working with fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and nutrients gave those concepts a real-world application.
“You get to learn something and then apply it directly,” he says.
And the more Austin learned, the more he realized there was an opportunity to do things differently.
Solving the Problem Behind the Problem
Austin believes one of the biggest shortcomings in the lawn and pest control industry isn't necessarily the products or treatment programs companies use. It's the communication that happens, or doesn't happen, between the company, technician, and homeowner.
A lawn problem can be the result of insects, fungus, nutrient deficiencies, irrigation issues, environmental stress, or a combination of factors. Simply treating the symptom doesn't always solve the underlying problem.
Austin wants Coastal Green Pest Solutions to be different.
“I take pride in being the solution and the end to the revolving door when it comes to these lawn programs,” he says.
That means spending time with homeowners, explaining what is happening on their property, and helping them understand what needs to change.
Austin compares a lawn or landscape to the human body. One problem can affect the health of the entire system. Killing an insect, for example, may address the immediate issue, but it doesn't necessarily explain why the lawn became susceptible to the pest in the first place.
“If you can be the middleman between the problem, the chemicals, and the customer, and you can explain all that smoothly, that's normally the end,” Austin says. “A lot of people don't take the time to talk to their customers and make sure they understand.”
It's an approach built around education and relationships as much as treatment.
Building Coastal Green Pest Solutions
When the company Austin had worked for was sold, he saw an opportunity to take everything he'd learned and build something of his own.
Coastal Green Pest Solutions was born.
Today, Austin primarily works with residential customers throughout Volusia County who care about the long-term health and appearance of their properties.
His services include:
Lawn treatments and fertilization
Insect and pest treatments for lawns
Herbicide and weed management
Fungicide treatments
Palm tree treatments
Shrub treatments
Nutrient deficiency management
Lawn and landscape health assessments
Irrigation guidance and trusted referrals
Austin's philosophy isn't about simply “spraying and praying,” as he puts it. Every property is different, so understanding what's actually happening comes before recommending a solution.
That philosophy also shapes how he plans to grow the business.
A Local Bank Helps a Local Entrepreneur Get Started
Starting a company requires more than expertise and ambition. There are trucks, equipment, products, operating expenses, and the reality that revenue doesn't necessarily arrive the moment the business opens its doors.
Austin knew he needed some financial breathing room as he got Coastal Green Pest Solutions off the ground.
That's where Surety Bank came in.
Austin first learned about Surety through his father, who had worked in real estate and developed a relationship with Surety Bank CEO Ryan James over the years.
When Austin was preparing to launch Coastal Green Pest Solutions, that local connection opened the door to a conversation.
“I was just looking for a good little loan—something to get me by, that way I had a little bit of breathing room,” Austin says. “I was very questionable on how I was going to make everything work, and honestly, I'm very grateful for Surety stepping in.”
Surety provided a business loan directly to Coastal Green Pest Solutions, giving Austin additional resources and flexibility during the critical early months of building the company.
For Austin, the experience demonstrated one of the advantages of working with a community bank: relationships matter.
Ryan knew Austin's family. He'd seen Austin working around town. And instead of Austin simply being another application, there was an opportunity to understand the person and business behind it.
That trust helped a local entrepreneur take the next step.
Growing the Right Way
Just a couple of months into the business when we spoke with him, Austin already had big ambitions for Coastal Green Pest Solutions.
Eventually, he'd like to have multiple trucks on the road, a dedicated irrigation team, a sales team, and expanded services including home pest and termite control.
But he's in no hurry to grow simply for the sake of getting bigger.
Austin wants to make sure the service and customer experience that distinguish Coastal Green today remain intact as the company expands.
“If I'm not taking the time to personalize your service and making sure that I'm putting down what I'm promising, then there's no point in me opening up the next step,” he says.
He describes his philosophy simply as “natural growth or no growth.”
It's an especially fitting philosophy for someone who spends his days helping things grow.
For now, Austin is focused on building relationships, earning the trust of homeowners and landscapers throughout Volusia County, and developing Coastal Green one customer at a time.
And he's doing it in the community he has always called home.
“I still enjoy the small-town aspect of DeLand,” Austin says. “Raising a family here, having good friends here, it's very nice. DeLand's a good home base.”
As DeLand and Volusia County continue to grow, Austin hopes Coastal Green Pest Solutions will grow right alongside them, without losing the personal relationships that helped get the business started in the first place.
Coastal Green Pest Solutions serves homeowners throughout Volusia County. For homeowners who care about the health and appearance of their lawn and landscaping, Austin and Coastal Green provide personalized lawn treatment, pest management, fertilization, and plant health solutions.
Personal Fraud Is on the Rise: Simple Steps to Help Protect Yourself
Personal fraud continues to evolve, and scammers are finding increasingly sophisticated ways to target consumers. From AI-powered messages that appear surprisingly convincing to attempts to gain access to entire financial accounts. Recognizing the warning signs is becoming more important than ever.
While you can't prevent every fraud attempt, knowing what to watch for and taking a few proactive steps can make it much harder for scammers to succeed.
Three Fraud Trends to Watch
1. AI-Powered Scams Are Becoming More Convincing
Artificial intelligence is making fraudulent calls and text messages feel more personal and legitimate. Scammers can use AI to create convincing communications designed to make you believe you're interacting with a trusted person or organization.
Be cautious when you receive an unexpected call or message asking for personal information, money, or access to an account. Before responding or taking action, reach out to Surety Bank directly to verify they are the ones calling. This step could mean not being scammed out of your money.
2. Scammers Are Targeting Entire Financial Accounts
Fraudsters are increasingly looking beyond individual credit card numbers and attempting to gain access to entire financial profiles, including personal bank and investment accounts.
Protect your accounts by regularly reviewing activity for transactions you don't recognize and using multifactor authentication whenever it's available. Never provide your password, login credentials, or verification codes to someone who contacts you unexpectedly.
If you notice something unusual in your Surety Bank account, contact us promptly.
3. Financial Fraud Targeting Older Adults Is Growing
Older adults continue to be frequent targets of financial scams, particularly those involving tech support and investment-related schemes.
These scams often rely on urgency or fear to convince someone to act before they have an opportunity to question what's happening. Talk with older family members about common scams and encourage them to check with someone they trust before sending money or providing sensitive information in response to an unexpected request.
Taking a few minutes to verify a situation can help prevent a significant financial loss.
A Few Simple Habits Can Make a Difference
Protecting yourself doesn't require becoming a fraud expert. Start by being skeptical of unexpected requests for money or information, especially when someone pressures you to act immediately.
Use strong, unique passwords and enable multifactor authentication when available. Avoid clicking links in unexpected emails or text messages, and regularly review your bank accounts and credit reports for activity you don't recognize.
Most importantly, trust your instincts. If something doesn't feel right, stop and verify before taking action.
Resources to Help Protect Your Information
If you'd like to take additional steps to protect yourself, here are three resources worth exploring:
FTC IdentityTheft.gov Best for someone who thinks their identity has already been compromised. The FTC provides a personalized recovery plan and steps for addressing identity theft. Visit IdentityTheft.gov
FTC Credit Freeze & Fraud Alert Guide Customers can place a free credit freeze, which can prevent identity thieves from opening new credit accounts in their name, or add a fraud alert. Learn About Credit Freezes & Fraud Alerts
Aura For those interested in a paid protection service, Aura offers identity and financial monitoring tools and other fraud-protection features. I’d position this as an optional third-party tool, not something Surety is recommending over other services. Explore Aura
These resources are provided for informational purposes. Surety Bank does not endorse or guarantee any third-party product or service.
Stay Alert and Take Your Time
Fraud tactics will continue to change, but one of your strongest defenses is also one of the simplest: slow down.
Scammers often depend on creating urgency so you act before thinking. If you're unsure about a request involving your Surety Bank account, don't rely on the phone number, link, or contact information provided in the message. Contact Surety Bank directly through a trusted channel.
We're here to help you protect your financial information and recognize potential fraud before it becomes a loss.
For Maria Bonfiglio, working at Surety Bank has always been about more than banking. It's about taking care of people.
Maria has been part of the Surety Bank family for nine years, but her journey began with a simple text message. A former boss she had stayed in touch with reached out years after they had worked together and told her, "I have the perfect job for you." Maria's response was simple: "Where should I sign?"
Nine years later, her enthusiasm hasn't changed.
"I love it. I love my job."
Over the years, Maria's role has evolved, giving her the opportunity to learn new skills and develop deeper relationships with customers. She has gotten to know some of them so well that she can recognize who is calling just by the sound of their voice. For Maria, those relationships are what make Surety feel less like a workplace and more like a family.
That personal connection also shapes the way Maria approaches protecting customers.
When something doesn't seem right, she isn't afraid to ask questions. Whether she's reviewing a check or helping someone resolve an issue with an account, Maria understands that taking a little extra time can make a significant difference.
"We really care about our customers," Maria explains. Even when customers may wonder why the bank is asking additional questions, she wants them to understand the reason behind it. "We don't want them to lose money."
For Maria, that care isn't limited to customers. She has experienced it personally as an employee.
During some of the most difficult moments of her life, including an extended hospital stay and the loss of her son, Maria remembers her Surety family checking on her, visiting her, and making sure she knew she wasn't alone. Those experiences showed her that the relationships Surety talks about aren't simply something customers experience. They're part of the culture inside the bank, too.
It's also why Maria believes Surety Bank has remained part of the community for 100 years. She has worked at other banks, but says Surety's involvement in the community feels different. The bank isn't trying to be the biggest. Instead, it has remained focused on the people and communities it serves.
That same philosophy comes through in Maria's relationships with her customers. Some have developed such a strong connection with her that when they call, they specifically ask for Maria. She takes pride in being someone they know they can turn to when they have a question or need assistance.
After nine years, Maria still says thank you for the opportunity that brought her to Surety Bank. Her story is a reminder that relationship banking begins with people who genuinely care about the people on the other side of the counter or phone.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
For Lewis Long III, banking with Surety Bank is a relationship that has lasted more than five decades.
As one of Surety Bank's longest-standing customers, Lewis has watched the bank grow alongside the community since his connection to Surety began more than 50 years ago. He originally opened a savings account after hearing from neighbors that the bank consistently offered strong value and genuinely cared about its customers.
Over the years, Lewis has seen a lot of change. He remembers making deposits with a passbook while employees manually updated balances using a hand-cranked adding machine. What hasn't changed, however, is the way Surety Bank treats the people who walk through its doors.
For Lewis, that commitment extends beyond his own banking experience. When his sons were born, he opened accounts for each of them at Surety Bank, continuing a family tradition that has now spanned generations. One of his sons even participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony when Surety Bank dedicated its current building in the early 1990s.
Throughout his life of military service, public service, and community involvement, Lewis has always returned to the same bank.
What has kept him loyal all these years?
The answer is simple: people.
"You couldn't ask for better service or better people," Lewis says. "I don't know how they remember everybody's name that walks in the door, but they do. They're just super folks. The people have always been a gift to us and to the community."
Lewis believes that the values Surety Bank was founded on continue to define the bank today. One story from the bank's early history has always stayed with him. During the Great Depression, he recalls hearing that Surety worked with customers rather than rushing to foreclose on them because they cared more about helping people than taking their property. That philosophy, he says, is still reflected in the way the bank serves its customers today.
It's one of the reasons Lewis has become an advocate for the bank wherever he goes.
Whether he's encouraging friends to open a money market account, sharing the bank's history, or even suggesting a new Surety branch for his hometown of Lake Helen, Lewis proudly recommends the bank he's trusted for more than half a century.
"I wouldn't champion the bank if I didn't believe in these folks and believe in this bank," he says. "Everybody is important. They see past whatever's bothering someone that day and still treat people with kindness and respect."
As Surety Bank celebrates 100 years of serving Central Florida, customers like Lewis remind us that while banking has evolved, some things should never change. Genuine relationships, exceptional service, and a commitment to the community remain at the heart of everything we do.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
Strong Communities Are Built Through Strong Partnerships
For 100 years, Surety Bank has believed that community banking means more than serving customers inside the walls of a branch. It means investing in the people, organizations, and partnerships that help our communities thrive.
That commitment is something Carla Quann, Director of Community Relations for the Volusia Sheriff's Office, has experienced firsthand.
"Our goal is to support everyone in our community," Carla explains. "Ryan [James] wanted to be a part of what we're doing because he cares about the community."
The partnership between Surety Bank and the Volusia Sheriff's Office began when Surety Bank President & CEO Ryan James joined the Volusia Sheriff's Foundation Board. Since then, the relationship has grown into a collaborative effort focused on addressing some of the community's greatest needs.
One example came during the holiday season, when thousands of local families faced uncertainty after SNAP benefits were unexpectedly interrupted. Through the combined efforts of businesses, volunteers, and community organizations, more than 3,500 grocery bags were distributed to families throughout Volusia County.
According to Carla, Surety Bank was an important part of making that effort possible.
Beyond community events and charitable initiatives, the partnership has also helped strengthen public safety.
As financial scams targeting older adults became increasingly common, Surety Bank worked alongside the Sheriff's Office to provide education, share industry expertise, and help detectives better recognize the warning signs of fraud.
That collaboration ultimately helped lead to the creation of the Volusia Sheriff's Office Financial Crimes Unit—a dedicated team focused on protecting residents from fraud and financial exploitation.
Working together, those efforts have helped recover more than $2 million for local victims of financial crimes.
For Carla, those results reflect what makes Surety Bank different.
"They're not just another hometown bank," she says. "They care about their community."
She believes that commitment starts with customer service but extends far beyond banking. Whether supporting nonprofit organizations, helping law enforcement address emerging scams, or simply answering the phone when someone needs help, Surety Bank has built relationships rooted in trust.
"People trust them," Carla says. "They've built that trust with their customers, and that's why people stay."
As Surety Bank celebrates a century of serving Central Florida, partnerships like this demonstrate that community banking isn't defined only by financial services—it's measured by the impact a bank has on the people and communities it serves.
For 100 years, Surety Bank has believed that when communities succeed, everyone succeeds. Through partnerships built on trust, service, and shared purpose, that commitment continues today—and will continue for generations to come.
For Dan Glenn, Pastor of Stetson Baptist Church in DeLand, Surety Bank has become much more than the place where the church did its banking. Over the years, the initial banking relationship has grown into a partnership centered around a shared commitment to the community.
That partnership took on new meaning in 2018 when Stetson Baptist Church launched Night to Shine, an unforgettable prom experience for people with special needs held in partnership with the Tim Tebow Foundation.
Creating an experience like Night to Shine requires significant support, and Surety Bank was one of the event's earliest sponsors.
“Surety was one that came on very early saying, ‘Hey, we want to support that. We want to be a part of it.’”
For Dan, that moment marked a shift in the relationship. It became much more personal and community focused.
Surety continued supporting Night to Shine year after year, but one experience in particular showed Dan what that partnership truly meant.
After the first Night to Shine, Dan realized the church had never properly thanked Surety for its sponsorship. When it came time to plan the event again, he felt hesitant approaching Surety for another year of support.
The response surprised him.
There was no hesitation. Surety wanted to be involved again.
Years later, that commitment went even further when Surety reached out to the church without being asked and offered to increase its support.
“They have an intention to be generous, even when generosity may or may not be expected or requested.”
For Dan, that willingness to look for opportunities to make a greater impact is part of what distinguishes Surety Bank as a community organization.
Instead of simply waiting for someone to present a sponsorship request, Surety has been willing to ask a different question: How can we do more?
That philosophy extends beyond a single event.
Dan describes Surety not simply as a community bank, but as a “community-centered organization” that genuinely cares about DeLand and the relationships it has built throughout the city.
That personal connection is something Dan has experienced firsthand. His relationship with Surety isn't limited to the organization itself. It's also built through relationships with the people behind it.
As Surety Bank celebrates 100 years, Dan believes that commitment to people and community helps explain why the bank has remained part of DeLand for generations.
Over the past century, both the bank and the city have grown and changed. Yet Surety has continued to serve the community throughout that growth.
For Dan, that's exactly why Surety's 100th anniversary message, “How we've always done it is how we'll always do it,” resonates.
“The way they've always done things has been people centered, relationships centered, community centered.”
Those values create something that goes beyond banking. They create trust. They allow organizations like Stetson Baptist Church to know what to expect from a partner that has consistently shown up before and intends to continue showing up in the future.
After years of partnership, Dan hopes that part of Surety never changes.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
Growing Something of His Own: How DeLand’s Austin Scott Launched Coastal Green Pest Solutions
For Austin Scott, starting a business wasn’t the result of a lifelong plan. It was something that grew over time, much like the lawns he now helps his customers care for.
Born and raised in DeLand, Austin is the owner of Coastal Green Pest Solutions, a new Volusia County business specializing in lawn treatments, pest management, fertilization, and the care of palms and shrubs.
The company may be new, but Austin is far from new to the work.
Before entering the lawn and pest control industry, Austin was selling auto parts at O’Reilly Auto Parts. Then a landscaper friend suggested he take a job with a local pest control company.
He gave it a shot and discovered an industry that fascinated him.
“I like that I could learn something new every day,” Austin says. “You get to see different problems, and you get to see the benefits of your own labor making a lawn beautiful. You get to see it go from nothing to something.”
Austin spent nearly six years in the industry, gradually developing an understanding of not only what products to use, but why lawns develop problems in the first place.
Interestingly, the work even gave him a new appreciation for a subject he once struggled with: chemistry.
In school, chemistry had never come naturally to Austin. But working with fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and nutrients gave those concepts a real-world application.
“You get to learn something and then apply it directly,” he says.
And the more Austin learned, the more he realized there was an opportunity to do things differently.
Solving the Problem Behind the Problem
Austin believes one of the biggest shortcomings in the lawn and pest control industry isn't necessarily the products or treatment programs companies use. It's the communication that happens, or doesn't happen, between the company, technician, and homeowner.
A lawn problem can be the result of insects, fungus, nutrient deficiencies, irrigation issues, environmental stress, or a combination of factors. Simply treating the symptom doesn't always solve the underlying problem.
Austin wants Coastal Green Pest Solutions to be different.
“I take pride in being the solution and the end to the revolving door when it comes to these lawn programs,” he says.
That means spending time with homeowners, explaining what is happening on their property, and helping them understand what needs to change.
Austin compares a lawn or landscape to the human body. One problem can affect the health of the entire system. Killing an insect, for example, may address the immediate issue, but it doesn't necessarily explain why the lawn became susceptible to the pest in the first place.
“If you can be the middleman between the problem, the chemicals, and the customer, and you can explain all that smoothly, that's normally the end,” Austin says. “A lot of people don't take the time to talk to their customers and make sure they understand.”
It's an approach built around education and relationships as much as treatment.
Building Coastal Green Pest Solutions
When the company Austin had worked for was sold, he saw an opportunity to take everything he'd learned and build something of his own.
Coastal Green Pest Solutions was born.
Today, Austin primarily works with residential customers throughout Volusia County who care about the long-term health and appearance of their properties.
His services include:
Lawn treatments and fertilization
Insect and pest treatments for lawns
Herbicide and weed management
Fungicide treatments
Palm tree treatments
Shrub treatments
Nutrient deficiency management
Lawn and landscape health assessments
Irrigation guidance and trusted referrals
Austin's philosophy isn't about simply “spraying and praying,” as he puts it. Every property is different, so understanding what's actually happening comes before recommending a solution.
That philosophy also shapes how he plans to grow the business.
A Local Bank Helps a Local Entrepreneur Get Started
Starting a company requires more than expertise and ambition. There are trucks, equipment, products, operating expenses, and the reality that revenue doesn't necessarily arrive the moment the business opens its doors.
Austin knew he needed some financial breathing room as he got Coastal Green Pest Solutions off the ground.
That's where Surety Bank came in.
Austin first learned about Surety through his father, who had worked in real estate and developed a relationship with Surety Bank CEO Ryan James over the years.
When Austin was preparing to launch Coastal Green Pest Solutions, that local connection opened the door to a conversation.
“I was just looking for a good little loan—something to get me by, that way I had a little bit of breathing room,” Austin says. “I was very questionable on how I was going to make everything work, and honestly, I'm very grateful for Surety stepping in.”
Surety provided a business loan directly to Coastal Green Pest Solutions, giving Austin additional resources and flexibility during the critical early months of building the company.
For Austin, the experience demonstrated one of the advantages of working with a community bank: relationships matter.
Ryan knew Austin's family. He'd seen Austin working around town. And instead of Austin simply being another application, there was an opportunity to understand the person and business behind it.
That trust helped a local entrepreneur take the next step.
Growing the Right Way
Just a couple of months into the business when we spoke with him, Austin already had big ambitions for Coastal Green Pest Solutions.
Eventually, he'd like to have multiple trucks on the road, a dedicated irrigation team, a sales team, and expanded services including home pest and termite control.
But he's in no hurry to grow simply for the sake of getting bigger.
Austin wants to make sure the service and customer experience that distinguish Coastal Green today remain intact as the company expands.
“If I'm not taking the time to personalize your service and making sure that I'm putting down what I'm promising, then there's no point in me opening up the next step,” he says.
He describes his philosophy simply as “natural growth or no growth.”
It's an especially fitting philosophy for someone who spends his days helping things grow.
For now, Austin is focused on building relationships, earning the trust of homeowners and landscapers throughout Volusia County, and developing Coastal Green one customer at a time.
And he's doing it in the community he has always called home.
“I still enjoy the small-town aspect of DeLand,” Austin says. “Raising a family here, having good friends here, it's very nice. DeLand's a good home base.”
As DeLand and Volusia County continue to grow, Austin hopes Coastal Green Pest Solutions will grow right alongside them, without losing the personal relationships that helped get the business started in the first place.
Coastal Green Pest Solutions serves homeowners throughout Volusia County. For homeowners who care about the health and appearance of their lawn and landscaping, Austin and Coastal Green provide personalized lawn treatment, pest management, fertilization, and plant health solutions.
Personal Fraud Is on the Rise: Simple Steps to Help Protect Yourself
Personal fraud continues to evolve, and scammers are finding increasingly sophisticated ways to target consumers. From AI-powered messages that appear surprisingly convincing to attempts to gain access to entire financial accounts. Recognizing the warning signs is becoming more important than ever.
While you can't prevent every fraud attempt, knowing what to watch for and taking a few proactive steps can make it much harder for scammers to succeed.
Three Fraud Trends to Watch
1. AI-Powered Scams Are Becoming More Convincing
Artificial intelligence is making fraudulent calls and text messages feel more personal and legitimate. Scammers can use AI to create convincing communications designed to make you believe you're interacting with a trusted person or organization.
Be cautious when you receive an unexpected call or message asking for personal information, money, or access to an account. Before responding or taking action, reach out to Surety Bank directly to verify they are the ones calling. This step could mean not being scammed out of your money.
2. Scammers Are Targeting Entire Financial Accounts
Fraudsters are increasingly looking beyond individual credit card numbers and attempting to gain access to entire financial profiles, including personal bank and investment accounts.
Protect your accounts by regularly reviewing activity for transactions you don't recognize and using multifactor authentication whenever it's available. Never provide your password, login credentials, or verification codes to someone who contacts you unexpectedly.
If you notice something unusual in your Surety Bank account, contact us promptly.
3. Financial Fraud Targeting Older Adults Is Growing
Older adults continue to be frequent targets of financial scams, particularly those involving tech support and investment-related schemes.
These scams often rely on urgency or fear to convince someone to act before they have an opportunity to question what's happening. Talk with older family members about common scams and encourage them to check with someone they trust before sending money or providing sensitive information in response to an unexpected request.
Taking a few minutes to verify a situation can help prevent a significant financial loss.
A Few Simple Habits Can Make a Difference
Protecting yourself doesn't require becoming a fraud expert. Start by being skeptical of unexpected requests for money or information, especially when someone pressures you to act immediately.
Use strong, unique passwords and enable multifactor authentication when available. Avoid clicking links in unexpected emails or text messages, and regularly review your bank accounts and credit reports for activity you don't recognize.
Most importantly, trust your instincts. If something doesn't feel right, stop and verify before taking action.
Resources to Help Protect Your Information
If you'd like to take additional steps to protect yourself, here are three resources worth exploring:
FTC IdentityTheft.gov Best for someone who thinks their identity has already been compromised. The FTC provides a personalized recovery plan and steps for addressing identity theft. Visit IdentityTheft.gov
FTC Credit Freeze & Fraud Alert Guide Customers can place a free credit freeze, which can prevent identity thieves from opening new credit accounts in their name, or add a fraud alert. Learn About Credit Freezes & Fraud Alerts
Aura For those interested in a paid protection service, Aura offers identity and financial monitoring tools and other fraud-protection features. I’d position this as an optional third-party tool, not something Surety is recommending over other services. Explore Aura
These resources are provided for informational purposes. Surety Bank does not endorse or guarantee any third-party product or service.
Stay Alert and Take Your Time
Fraud tactics will continue to change, but one of your strongest defenses is also one of the simplest: slow down.
Scammers often depend on creating urgency so you act before thinking. If you're unsure about a request involving your Surety Bank account, don't rely on the phone number, link, or contact information provided in the message. Contact Surety Bank directly through a trusted channel.
We're here to help you protect your financial information and recognize potential fraud before it becomes a loss.
For Maria Bonfiglio, working at Surety Bank has always been about more than banking. It's about taking care of people.
Maria has been part of the Surety Bank family for nine years, but her journey began with a simple text message. A former boss she had stayed in touch with reached out years after they had worked together and told her, "I have the perfect job for you." Maria's response was simple: "Where should I sign?"
Nine years later, her enthusiasm hasn't changed.
"I love it. I love my job."
Over the years, Maria's role has evolved, giving her the opportunity to learn new skills and develop deeper relationships with customers. She has gotten to know some of them so well that she can recognize who is calling just by the sound of their voice. For Maria, those relationships are what make Surety feel less like a workplace and more like a family.
That personal connection also shapes the way Maria approaches protecting customers.
When something doesn't seem right, she isn't afraid to ask questions. Whether she's reviewing a check or helping someone resolve an issue with an account, Maria understands that taking a little extra time can make a significant difference.
"We really care about our customers," Maria explains. Even when customers may wonder why the bank is asking additional questions, she wants them to understand the reason behind it. "We don't want them to lose money."
For Maria, that care isn't limited to customers. She has experienced it personally as an employee.
During some of the most difficult moments of her life, including an extended hospital stay and the loss of her son, Maria remembers her Surety family checking on her, visiting her, and making sure she knew she wasn't alone. Those experiences showed her that the relationships Surety talks about aren't simply something customers experience. They're part of the culture inside the bank, too.
It's also why Maria believes Surety Bank has remained part of the community for 100 years. She has worked at other banks, but says Surety's involvement in the community feels different. The bank isn't trying to be the biggest. Instead, it has remained focused on the people and communities it serves.
That same philosophy comes through in Maria's relationships with her customers. Some have developed such a strong connection with her that when they call, they specifically ask for Maria. She takes pride in being someone they know they can turn to when they have a question or need assistance.
After nine years, Maria still says thank you for the opportunity that brought her to Surety Bank. Her story is a reminder that relationship banking begins with people who genuinely care about the people on the other side of the counter or phone.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
For Lewis Long III, banking with Surety Bank is a relationship that has lasted more than five decades.
As one of Surety Bank's longest-standing customers, Lewis has watched the bank grow alongside the community since his connection to Surety began more than 50 years ago. He originally opened a savings account after hearing from neighbors that the bank consistently offered strong value and genuinely cared about its customers.
Over the years, Lewis has seen a lot of change. He remembers making deposits with a passbook while employees manually updated balances using a hand-cranked adding machine. What hasn't changed, however, is the way Surety Bank treats the people who walk through its doors.
For Lewis, that commitment extends beyond his own banking experience. When his sons were born, he opened accounts for each of them at Surety Bank, continuing a family tradition that has now spanned generations. One of his sons even participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony when Surety Bank dedicated its current building in the early 1990s.
Throughout his life of military service, public service, and community involvement, Lewis has always returned to the same bank.
What has kept him loyal all these years?
The answer is simple: people.
"You couldn't ask for better service or better people," Lewis says. "I don't know how they remember everybody's name that walks in the door, but they do. They're just super folks. The people have always been a gift to us and to the community."
Lewis believes that the values Surety Bank was founded on continue to define the bank today. One story from the bank's early history has always stayed with him. During the Great Depression, he recalls hearing that Surety worked with customers rather than rushing to foreclose on them because they cared more about helping people than taking their property. That philosophy, he says, is still reflected in the way the bank serves its customers today.
It's one of the reasons Lewis has become an advocate for the bank wherever he goes.
Whether he's encouraging friends to open a money market account, sharing the bank's history, or even suggesting a new Surety branch for his hometown of Lake Helen, Lewis proudly recommends the bank he's trusted for more than half a century.
"I wouldn't champion the bank if I didn't believe in these folks and believe in this bank," he says. "Everybody is important. They see past whatever's bothering someone that day and still treat people with kindness and respect."
As Surety Bank celebrates 100 years of serving Central Florida, customers like Lewis remind us that while banking has evolved, some things should never change. Genuine relationships, exceptional service, and a commitment to the community remain at the heart of everything we do.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
Strong Communities Are Built Through Strong Partnerships
For 100 years, Surety Bank has believed that community banking means more than serving customers inside the walls of a branch. It means investing in the people, organizations, and partnerships that help our communities thrive.
That commitment is something Carla Quann, Director of Community Relations for the Volusia Sheriff's Office, has experienced firsthand.
"Our goal is to support everyone in our community," Carla explains. "Ryan [James] wanted to be a part of what we're doing because he cares about the community."
The partnership between Surety Bank and the Volusia Sheriff's Office began when Surety Bank President & CEO Ryan James joined the Volusia Sheriff's Foundation Board. Since then, the relationship has grown into a collaborative effort focused on addressing some of the community's greatest needs.
One example came during the holiday season, when thousands of local families faced uncertainty after SNAP benefits were unexpectedly interrupted. Through the combined efforts of businesses, volunteers, and community organizations, more than 3,500 grocery bags were distributed to families throughout Volusia County.
According to Carla, Surety Bank was an important part of making that effort possible.
Beyond community events and charitable initiatives, the partnership has also helped strengthen public safety.
As financial scams targeting older adults became increasingly common, Surety Bank worked alongside the Sheriff's Office to provide education, share industry expertise, and help detectives better recognize the warning signs of fraud.
That collaboration ultimately helped lead to the creation of the Volusia Sheriff's Office Financial Crimes Unit—a dedicated team focused on protecting residents from fraud and financial exploitation.
Working together, those efforts have helped recover more than $2 million for local victims of financial crimes.
For Carla, those results reflect what makes Surety Bank different.
"They're not just another hometown bank," she says. "They care about their community."
She believes that commitment starts with customer service but extends far beyond banking. Whether supporting nonprofit organizations, helping law enforcement address emerging scams, or simply answering the phone when someone needs help, Surety Bank has built relationships rooted in trust.
"People trust them," Carla says. "They've built that trust with their customers, and that's why people stay."
As Surety Bank celebrates a century of serving Central Florida, partnerships like this demonstrate that community banking isn't defined only by financial services—it's measured by the impact a bank has on the people and communities it serves.
For 100 years, Surety Bank has believed that when communities succeed, everyone succeeds. Through partnerships built on trust, service, and shared purpose, that commitment continues today—and will continue for generations to come.
For Dan Glenn, Pastor of Stetson Baptist Church in DeLand, Surety Bank has become much more than the place where the church did its banking. Over the years, the initial banking relationship has grown into a partnership centered around a shared commitment to the community.
That partnership took on new meaning in 2018 when Stetson Baptist Church launched Night to Shine, an unforgettable prom experience for people with special needs held in partnership with the Tim Tebow Foundation.
Creating an experience like Night to Shine requires significant support, and Surety Bank was one of the event's earliest sponsors.
“Surety was one that came on very early saying, ‘Hey, we want to support that. We want to be a part of it.’”
For Dan, that moment marked a shift in the relationship. It became much more personal and community focused.
Surety continued supporting Night to Shine year after year, but one experience in particular showed Dan what that partnership truly meant.
After the first Night to Shine, Dan realized the church had never properly thanked Surety for its sponsorship. When it came time to plan the event again, he felt hesitant approaching Surety for another year of support.
The response surprised him.
There was no hesitation. Surety wanted to be involved again.
Years later, that commitment went even further when Surety reached out to the church without being asked and offered to increase its support.
“They have an intention to be generous, even when generosity may or may not be expected or requested.”
For Dan, that willingness to look for opportunities to make a greater impact is part of what distinguishes Surety Bank as a community organization.
Instead of simply waiting for someone to present a sponsorship request, Surety has been willing to ask a different question: How can we do more?
That philosophy extends beyond a single event.
Dan describes Surety not simply as a community bank, but as a “community-centered organization” that genuinely cares about DeLand and the relationships it has built throughout the city.
That personal connection is something Dan has experienced firsthand. His relationship with Surety isn't limited to the organization itself. It's also built through relationships with the people behind it.
As Surety Bank celebrates 100 years, Dan believes that commitment to people and community helps explain why the bank has remained part of DeLand for generations.
Over the past century, both the bank and the city have grown and changed. Yet Surety has continued to serve the community throughout that growth.
For Dan, that's exactly why Surety's 100th anniversary message, “How we've always done it is how we'll always do it,” resonates.
“The way they've always done things has been people centered, relationships centered, community centered.”
Those values create something that goes beyond banking. They create trust. They allow organizations like Stetson Baptist Church to know what to expect from a partner that has consistently shown up before and intends to continue showing up in the future.
After years of partnership, Dan hopes that part of Surety never changes.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
Growing Something of His Own: How DeLand’s Austin Scott Launched Coastal Green Pest Solutions
For Austin Scott, starting a business wasn’t the result of a lifelong plan. It was something that grew over time, much like the lawns he now helps his customers care for.
Born and raised in DeLand, Austin is the owner of Coastal Green Pest Solutions, a new Volusia County business specializing in lawn treatments, pest management, fertilization, and the care of palms and shrubs.
The company may be new, but Austin is far from new to the work.
Before entering the lawn and pest control industry, Austin was selling auto parts at O’Reilly Auto Parts. Then a landscaper friend suggested he take a job with a local pest control company.
He gave it a shot and discovered an industry that fascinated him.
“I like that I could learn something new every day,” Austin says. “You get to see different problems, and you get to see the benefits of your own labor making a lawn beautiful. You get to see it go from nothing to something.”
Austin spent nearly six years in the industry, gradually developing an understanding of not only what products to use, but why lawns develop problems in the first place.
Interestingly, the work even gave him a new appreciation for a subject he once struggled with: chemistry.
In school, chemistry had never come naturally to Austin. But working with fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and nutrients gave those concepts a real-world application.
“You get to learn something and then apply it directly,” he says.
And the more Austin learned, the more he realized there was an opportunity to do things differently.
Solving the Problem Behind the Problem
Austin believes one of the biggest shortcomings in the lawn and pest control industry isn't necessarily the products or treatment programs companies use. It's the communication that happens, or doesn't happen, between the company, technician, and homeowner.
A lawn problem can be the result of insects, fungus, nutrient deficiencies, irrigation issues, environmental stress, or a combination of factors. Simply treating the symptom doesn't always solve the underlying problem.
Austin wants Coastal Green Pest Solutions to be different.
“I take pride in being the solution and the end to the revolving door when it comes to these lawn programs,” he says.
That means spending time with homeowners, explaining what is happening on their property, and helping them understand what needs to change.
Austin compares a lawn or landscape to the human body. One problem can affect the health of the entire system. Killing an insect, for example, may address the immediate issue, but it doesn't necessarily explain why the lawn became susceptible to the pest in the first place.
“If you can be the middleman between the problem, the chemicals, and the customer, and you can explain all that smoothly, that's normally the end,” Austin says. “A lot of people don't take the time to talk to their customers and make sure they understand.”
It's an approach built around education and relationships as much as treatment.
Building Coastal Green Pest Solutions
When the company Austin had worked for was sold, he saw an opportunity to take everything he'd learned and build something of his own.
Coastal Green Pest Solutions was born.
Today, Austin primarily works with residential customers throughout Volusia County who care about the long-term health and appearance of their properties.
His services include:
Lawn treatments and fertilization
Insect and pest treatments for lawns
Herbicide and weed management
Fungicide treatments
Palm tree treatments
Shrub treatments
Nutrient deficiency management
Lawn and landscape health assessments
Irrigation guidance and trusted referrals
Austin's philosophy isn't about simply “spraying and praying,” as he puts it. Every property is different, so understanding what's actually happening comes before recommending a solution.
That philosophy also shapes how he plans to grow the business.
A Local Bank Helps a Local Entrepreneur Get Started
Starting a company requires more than expertise and ambition. There are trucks, equipment, products, operating expenses, and the reality that revenue doesn't necessarily arrive the moment the business opens its doors.
Austin knew he needed some financial breathing room as he got Coastal Green Pest Solutions off the ground.
That's where Surety Bank came in.
Austin first learned about Surety through his father, who had worked in real estate and developed a relationship with Surety Bank CEO Ryan James over the years.
When Austin was preparing to launch Coastal Green Pest Solutions, that local connection opened the door to a conversation.
“I was just looking for a good little loan—something to get me by, that way I had a little bit of breathing room,” Austin says. “I was very questionable on how I was going to make everything work, and honestly, I'm very grateful for Surety stepping in.”
Surety provided a business loan directly to Coastal Green Pest Solutions, giving Austin additional resources and flexibility during the critical early months of building the company.
For Austin, the experience demonstrated one of the advantages of working with a community bank: relationships matter.
Ryan knew Austin's family. He'd seen Austin working around town. And instead of Austin simply being another application, there was an opportunity to understand the person and business behind it.
That trust helped a local entrepreneur take the next step.
Growing the Right Way
Just a couple of months into the business when we spoke with him, Austin already had big ambitions for Coastal Green Pest Solutions.
Eventually, he'd like to have multiple trucks on the road, a dedicated irrigation team, a sales team, and expanded services including home pest and termite control.
But he's in no hurry to grow simply for the sake of getting bigger.
Austin wants to make sure the service and customer experience that distinguish Coastal Green today remain intact as the company expands.
“If I'm not taking the time to personalize your service and making sure that I'm putting down what I'm promising, then there's no point in me opening up the next step,” he says.
He describes his philosophy simply as “natural growth or no growth.”
It's an especially fitting philosophy for someone who spends his days helping things grow.
For now, Austin is focused on building relationships, earning the trust of homeowners and landscapers throughout Volusia County, and developing Coastal Green one customer at a time.
And he's doing it in the community he has always called home.
“I still enjoy the small-town aspect of DeLand,” Austin says. “Raising a family here, having good friends here, it's very nice. DeLand's a good home base.”
As DeLand and Volusia County continue to grow, Austin hopes Coastal Green Pest Solutions will grow right alongside them, without losing the personal relationships that helped get the business started in the first place.
Coastal Green Pest Solutions serves homeowners throughout Volusia County. For homeowners who care about the health and appearance of their lawn and landscaping, Austin and Coastal Green provide personalized lawn treatment, pest management, fertilization, and plant health solutions.
Personal Fraud Is on the Rise: Simple Steps to Help Protect Yourself
Personal fraud continues to evolve, and scammers are finding increasingly sophisticated ways to target consumers. From AI-powered messages that appear surprisingly convincing to attempts to gain access to entire financial accounts. Recognizing the warning signs is becoming more important than ever.
While you can't prevent every fraud attempt, knowing what to watch for and taking a few proactive steps can make it much harder for scammers to succeed.
Three Fraud Trends to Watch
1. AI-Powered Scams Are Becoming More Convincing
Artificial intelligence is making fraudulent calls and text messages feel more personal and legitimate. Scammers can use AI to create convincing communications designed to make you believe you're interacting with a trusted person or organization.
Be cautious when you receive an unexpected call or message asking for personal information, money, or access to an account. Before responding or taking action, reach out to Surety Bank directly to verify they are the ones calling. This step could mean not being scammed out of your money.
2. Scammers Are Targeting Entire Financial Accounts
Fraudsters are increasingly looking beyond individual credit card numbers and attempting to gain access to entire financial profiles, including personal bank and investment accounts.
Protect your accounts by regularly reviewing activity for transactions you don't recognize and using multifactor authentication whenever it's available. Never provide your password, login credentials, or verification codes to someone who contacts you unexpectedly.
If you notice something unusual in your Surety Bank account, contact us promptly.
3. Financial Fraud Targeting Older Adults Is Growing
Older adults continue to be frequent targets of financial scams, particularly those involving tech support and investment-related schemes.
These scams often rely on urgency or fear to convince someone to act before they have an opportunity to question what's happening. Talk with older family members about common scams and encourage them to check with someone they trust before sending money or providing sensitive information in response to an unexpected request.
Taking a few minutes to verify a situation can help prevent a significant financial loss.
A Few Simple Habits Can Make a Difference
Protecting yourself doesn't require becoming a fraud expert. Start by being skeptical of unexpected requests for money or information, especially when someone pressures you to act immediately.
Use strong, unique passwords and enable multifactor authentication when available. Avoid clicking links in unexpected emails or text messages, and regularly review your bank accounts and credit reports for activity you don't recognize.
Most importantly, trust your instincts. If something doesn't feel right, stop and verify before taking action.
Resources to Help Protect Your Information
If you'd like to take additional steps to protect yourself, here are three resources worth exploring:
FTC IdentityTheft.gov Best for someone who thinks their identity has already been compromised. The FTC provides a personalized recovery plan and steps for addressing identity theft. Visit IdentityTheft.gov
FTC Credit Freeze & Fraud Alert Guide Customers can place a free credit freeze, which can prevent identity thieves from opening new credit accounts in their name, or add a fraud alert. Learn About Credit Freezes & Fraud Alerts
Aura For those interested in a paid protection service, Aura offers identity and financial monitoring tools and other fraud-protection features. I’d position this as an optional third-party tool, not something Surety is recommending over other services. Explore Aura
These resources are provided for informational purposes. Surety Bank does not endorse or guarantee any third-party product or service.
Stay Alert and Take Your Time
Fraud tactics will continue to change, but one of your strongest defenses is also one of the simplest: slow down.
Scammers often depend on creating urgency so you act before thinking. If you're unsure about a request involving your Surety Bank account, don't rely on the phone number, link, or contact information provided in the message. Contact Surety Bank directly through a trusted channel.
We're here to help you protect your financial information and recognize potential fraud before it becomes a loss.
For Maria Bonfiglio, working at Surety Bank has always been about more than banking. It's about taking care of people.
Maria has been part of the Surety Bank family for nine years, but her journey began with a simple text message. A former boss she had stayed in touch with reached out years after they had worked together and told her, "I have the perfect job for you." Maria's response was simple: "Where should I sign?"
Nine years later, her enthusiasm hasn't changed.
"I love it. I love my job."
Over the years, Maria's role has evolved, giving her the opportunity to learn new skills and develop deeper relationships with customers. She has gotten to know some of them so well that she can recognize who is calling just by the sound of their voice. For Maria, those relationships are what make Surety feel less like a workplace and more like a family.
That personal connection also shapes the way Maria approaches protecting customers.
When something doesn't seem right, she isn't afraid to ask questions. Whether she's reviewing a check or helping someone resolve an issue with an account, Maria understands that taking a little extra time can make a significant difference.
"We really care about our customers," Maria explains. Even when customers may wonder why the bank is asking additional questions, she wants them to understand the reason behind it. "We don't want them to lose money."
For Maria, that care isn't limited to customers. She has experienced it personally as an employee.
During some of the most difficult moments of her life, including an extended hospital stay and the loss of her son, Maria remembers her Surety family checking on her, visiting her, and making sure she knew she wasn't alone. Those experiences showed her that the relationships Surety talks about aren't simply something customers experience. They're part of the culture inside the bank, too.
It's also why Maria believes Surety Bank has remained part of the community for 100 years. She has worked at other banks, but says Surety's involvement in the community feels different. The bank isn't trying to be the biggest. Instead, it has remained focused on the people and communities it serves.
That same philosophy comes through in Maria's relationships with her customers. Some have developed such a strong connection with her that when they call, they specifically ask for Maria. She takes pride in being someone they know they can turn to when they have a question or need assistance.
After nine years, Maria still says thank you for the opportunity that brought her to Surety Bank. Her story is a reminder that relationship banking begins with people who genuinely care about the people on the other side of the counter or phone.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
For Lewis Long III, banking with Surety Bank is a relationship that has lasted more than five decades.
As one of Surety Bank's longest-standing customers, Lewis has watched the bank grow alongside the community since his connection to Surety began more than 50 years ago. He originally opened a savings account after hearing from neighbors that the bank consistently offered strong value and genuinely cared about its customers.
Over the years, Lewis has seen a lot of change. He remembers making deposits with a passbook while employees manually updated balances using a hand-cranked adding machine. What hasn't changed, however, is the way Surety Bank treats the people who walk through its doors.
For Lewis, that commitment extends beyond his own banking experience. When his sons were born, he opened accounts for each of them at Surety Bank, continuing a family tradition that has now spanned generations. One of his sons even participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony when Surety Bank dedicated its current building in the early 1990s.
Throughout his life of military service, public service, and community involvement, Lewis has always returned to the same bank.
What has kept him loyal all these years?
The answer is simple: people.
"You couldn't ask for better service or better people," Lewis says. "I don't know how they remember everybody's name that walks in the door, but they do. They're just super folks. The people have always been a gift to us and to the community."
Lewis believes that the values Surety Bank was founded on continue to define the bank today. One story from the bank's early history has always stayed with him. During the Great Depression, he recalls hearing that Surety worked with customers rather than rushing to foreclose on them because they cared more about helping people than taking their property. That philosophy, he says, is still reflected in the way the bank serves its customers today.
It's one of the reasons Lewis has become an advocate for the bank wherever he goes.
Whether he's encouraging friends to open a money market account, sharing the bank's history, or even suggesting a new Surety branch for his hometown of Lake Helen, Lewis proudly recommends the bank he's trusted for more than half a century.
"I wouldn't champion the bank if I didn't believe in these folks and believe in this bank," he says. "Everybody is important. They see past whatever's bothering someone that day and still treat people with kindness and respect."
As Surety Bank celebrates 100 years of serving Central Florida, customers like Lewis remind us that while banking has evolved, some things should never change. Genuine relationships, exceptional service, and a commitment to the community remain at the heart of everything we do.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
Strong Communities Are Built Through Strong Partnerships
For 100 years, Surety Bank has believed that community banking means more than serving customers inside the walls of a branch. It means investing in the people, organizations, and partnerships that help our communities thrive.
That commitment is something Carla Quann, Director of Community Relations for the Volusia Sheriff's Office, has experienced firsthand.
"Our goal is to support everyone in our community," Carla explains. "Ryan [James] wanted to be a part of what we're doing because he cares about the community."
The partnership between Surety Bank and the Volusia Sheriff's Office began when Surety Bank President & CEO Ryan James joined the Volusia Sheriff's Foundation Board. Since then, the relationship has grown into a collaborative effort focused on addressing some of the community's greatest needs.
One example came during the holiday season, when thousands of local families faced uncertainty after SNAP benefits were unexpectedly interrupted. Through the combined efforts of businesses, volunteers, and community organizations, more than 3,500 grocery bags were distributed to families throughout Volusia County.
According to Carla, Surety Bank was an important part of making that effort possible.
Beyond community events and charitable initiatives, the partnership has also helped strengthen public safety.
As financial scams targeting older adults became increasingly common, Surety Bank worked alongside the Sheriff's Office to provide education, share industry expertise, and help detectives better recognize the warning signs of fraud.
That collaboration ultimately helped lead to the creation of the Volusia Sheriff's Office Financial Crimes Unit—a dedicated team focused on protecting residents from fraud and financial exploitation.
Working together, those efforts have helped recover more than $2 million for local victims of financial crimes.
For Carla, those results reflect what makes Surety Bank different.
"They're not just another hometown bank," she says. "They care about their community."
She believes that commitment starts with customer service but extends far beyond banking. Whether supporting nonprofit organizations, helping law enforcement address emerging scams, or simply answering the phone when someone needs help, Surety Bank has built relationships rooted in trust.
"People trust them," Carla says. "They've built that trust with their customers, and that's why people stay."
As Surety Bank celebrates a century of serving Central Florida, partnerships like this demonstrate that community banking isn't defined only by financial services—it's measured by the impact a bank has on the people and communities it serves.
For 100 years, Surety Bank has believed that when communities succeed, everyone succeeds. Through partnerships built on trust, service, and shared purpose, that commitment continues today—and will continue for generations to come.
In this article we want to answer the major questions surrounding proper employee training so you can use this as a tool to improve the performance of your business.
Why you should train your employees
Most mistakes that MSBs make in their businesses are directly related to their lack of employee training.
Many mistakes can be avoided, and your business doesn’t have to suffer by being held back. But it takes a little bit of time and energy invested into best practices to create an environment that is geared towards training.
We see some MSBs focusing their time and attention in other places too often which leaves their employees unsure about how to handle certain situations. The result can come in the form of fines, slowed growth, losing your MSB license and even losing their banking relationship.
Another major reason to train employees is to fully utilize your resources and assets. For example, you are using a software for check cashing. Are you using just the surface level features or are you using it to its fullest potential? This software offers a lot of features that can make your employees’ jobs much easier and can create efficiencies that map to profitability. This asset alone could bring improvements that impact your business tremendously in the short and long term.
Employee training should be held as a high priority and taken seriously. If so, the result is a smooth operation, less drag on resources and time spent fixing mistakes and less worry about being in business in the coming months or years.
Taking employee training seriously is the first step to sustainable growth in your MSB business. It’s the foundation of everything you do and the bedrock of your business.
How to train your employees
One of the four pillars of BSA is required employee training.
Naturally, if training is not considered a high priority in your business, employees will find ways to fulfill this requirement without becoming more knowledgeable or getting better in their role. People are generally going to take the path of least resistance when it is offered to them unless you are creating an environment with a higher standard.
Taking a basic test online to fulfill training requirements isn’t always going to achieve the desired result. You’re not doing training just to say you completed it. The purpose of completing the training is to stay compliant, get better and avoid costly mistakes that can put you out of business.
Besides completing a standardized test to confirm your knowledge of the subject, employee training best practices include several other factors. We’ve listed some of them here.
Stay up to speed on current events that are happening in your industry, in your part of the region and in the world. This will give you context to trends you should be aware of and things to consider as suspicious activity.
Keeping yourself updated on topics like anti-money laundering, terrorist financing is a great place to spend some time once a week, reading articles and staying aware.
Looking up fines that other MSBs have had recently is a great way to stay on top of activities you should look out for in your business. Learning from others mistakes is a great mindset for protecting your business, not just staying compliant.
The WSJ has a section titled “compliance”. This is a great resource for keeping track of current day activities and what to look out for in your business.
The bottom line is that you should want to be the best at being compliant, because it’s a huge component to the business you’re in. To be the best, you have to seek out knowledge and resources to get better and instill that mentality in all of your employees.
As we seek to be the best in what we do, we want to be one of those resources and extend that knowledge to you so you can grow wisely.
If you have questions about employee training, please reach out to our team.
Suspicious activity reporting (SAR) enables law enforcement to initiate or supplement money laundering or terrorist financing investigations as well as other criminal cases. SARs also provide FinCEN and other federal agencies in identifying trends and patterns associated with financial crimes.
The Federal Financial Institution Examinations Council (FFIEC) website states that the most important factors for effective SAR monitoring and reporting include five key components:
• Identification or alert of unusual activity (which may include employee identification, law enforcement inquiries, other referrals, and transaction and surveillance monitoring system output).
• Managing alerts.
• SAR decision making.
• SAR completion and filing.
• Monitoring and SAR filing on continuing activity.
An effective SARs must be complete, sufficient, and filed timely. The most critical part of the SAR is the narrative. The narrative should identify the five essential elements of information (who? what? when? where? and why?) for the suspicious activity being reported. The method of operation (or how?) is also important and should be included in the narrative. Remember, you need to grab the reader’s attention with the first paragraph!
We are proud to say that we have an entire BSA Department dedicated to assist our MSB customers with questions regarding SAR filing.
Over the last decade we have worked hard to provide the absolute best and highest quality support for our MSB customers, and it has proven to support them with a high level of compliance in their businesses.
As we continue to build our banking services around our MSB customers, we look at the most important factors for sustainability and compliance and make those our goal for growth.
If you have any questions about SAR best practices or would like to speak with a BSA representative, contact us at mysuretybank.com
Top Two Reasons for MSBs to Improve Their CTR Filing Process
As a partner to many MSBs throughout the country, Surety Bank has a lot of practical knowledge to share that can help you grow a better business. We take our role seriously and want to provide you with all the resources you need for growth and compliance.
As you know, for any cash transaction above $10,000 in cash, a bank, Money Service Business or any financial institution is required to file a CTR on the individual or entity that is conducting the transaction. The CTR is a form where you will enter the information requested about the person or entity in which you are filing. Then you will upload that information within 15 days. You can find more information about this time frame and answers to many other questions at the link below:
In this article we’ll be covering how you should think about the process of filing a Currency Transaction Report (CTR). This is one of the most routine tasks you may have in your business, but getting it wrong could result in major complications to your business. So, let’s get into the top two reasons you may want to improve your process of filing a CTR.
For example, if you’re a Money Service Business in Miami and you have hundreds of customers that are coming in every day. A lot of those customers could be construction companies that are cashing checks over $10,000 on a daily basis. As an MSB, you would have to file a lot of CTRs. This can get overwhelming as it presents more work for your staff on top of your normal workload for your customers. However, overlooking details can cause a lot of trouble in the future.
Be Thorough.
Where you can get into trouble here is by skipping steps in the process or leaving out any necessary information on each customer. We see MSBs getting into trouble when they don’t take the time to properly fill out and submit the form for each of their customers. Missing information can cause red flags when getting audited.
At Surety Bank, we use software to help us automate a large amount of the work and make sure it is getting done correctly. When a customer comes in deposits $12,000, it would automatically notify us and then would auto fill their information. We would just have to send it in within the given amount of time. Some MSBs are still handling their CTRs manually. If this is you, we would highly recommend getting software to help automate your work and make the reporting more accurate.
File On Time
As an MSB, you have a 15 day window from the time of the transaction to file an accurate CTR on time. It’s gotta be accurate. We’ve seen that some MSBs completely miss the 15 day window and it results negatively on them and their businesses.
A big part of MSBs missing their window or not filing at all for some customer transactions is due to a lack of oversight on specific account activity. For example, let’s say a customer comes in three times in one day and deposits $4,000 each time. That total deposited is $12,000. This requires a CTR on that customer and their transactions. Having software in place would help you catch this while handling this manually will result in many more human errors.
In Summary
If you want to be in business many years from now, our recommendation is to make compliance your competitive advantage. Just like keeping accurate tax records, filing accurate and timely CTRs is the kind of work that will keep you in business for the long haul.
Reach out to our BSA team through our website at mysuretybank.com/msb for more information or connect with directly our CEO by email: rjames@mysuretybank.com.
Suspicious Activity Report Best Practices for MSBs
As an MSB, you are probably aware that you have to file a suspicious activity report (SAR) if you detect any kind of facts that point to suspicious financial activity. This is a necessary requirement that can either create a layer of work that detracts from your focus of growth or can become an integral part of your business and fuel growth.
Similar to a Currency Transaction Report (CTR), a SAR reports the information of the customer in question but then gives as much information about the actual suspicious activity found by your team.
Depending on the activity, some customers can fly under the radar if your team isn’t trained to spot subtle actions that add up over time or point to some larger issue. Unlike a CTR, suspicious activity is not always as noticeable. Having a team that is defaulting to a mindset of watching for suspicious activity versus trying to catch things that have already happened is a good start to making this a priority.
Here is a good example of the not so obvious suspicious activity:
Frank Smith comes into your business and asks for 12 money orders in the amount of $1000.00 each. The cash Frank hands over consists of mostly large bills. When you ask him for additional information to complete your CTR he gets defensive and is wondering why you are asking him so many questions. He asks you how much money he can deposit without having to provide additional information. He gets irritated and decides to cancel the transaction and take all his cash back.
Structuring is the breaking up of transactions for the purpose of evading the Bank Secrecy Act reporting and record keeping requirements and, if appropriate thresholds are met, should be reported as a suspicious transaction under 31 C.F.R. § 103.18.
Why should you make your SAR a priority?
Besides the obvious negative results that will come at some point, making your SAR process a priority puts you in the driver’s seat in your business. You are choosing to stay on top of something that will inevitably blow up if not paid significant attention.
By making this a priority you are also choosing to say no to certain less than desirable customers who might actually be a good source of revenue. As an MSB, at times you can be incentivized to ignore some types of suspicious activity. The trade off between servicing and not reporting customers who bring you revenue or not servicing those customers, is a decision that will keep you in business for many years and allow you to sleep soundly at night. Just remember that one bad customer can put you out of business.
How to properly approach SAR filing:
Use compliance as your competitive advantage. We see MSBs go out of business all the time because they aren’t prioritizing the efforts that make up the fundamentals of their business.
Have a set process for how your team identifies and reports suspicious activity. Build this into your culture. Hiring people who want to help you run a business that’s above board and giving them a solid process, means you don’t have to manage them as closely and can still get the same result.
Reach out to our BSA team through our website at mysuretybank.com/msb for more information or connect with directly our CEO by email: rjames@surety.bank
Our ultimate goal with our MSB community is to be a resourceful partner in compliance. We want to see you succeed and see your customers succeed. In this article we’ll cover the very important topic of passing a state exam or an audit. We want to help you understand how to approach it and steps you can take to be successful.
Be Organized
This may seem at first like the simplest approach, but we see MSBs everyday who don’t have their business and paperwork in order. They don’t have foundational systems in which they run their business and it shows in their disorganization. Most of the time not having a formal process that your team can work from begins to disrupt all kinds of other aspects of your business.
Making the choice to get organized is of high value when it comes to passing any state exam or audit. Knowing you can put your hands on any documents that are requested is a good feeling and excellent way to know what is happening at any time in your business. Scrambling last minute to find information usually results in undue stress on you and your team and inevitably creates bigger problems as one event leads to another.
Be Aware of What’s Required
The great part of any state exam or audit is that it is not a mystery. Everything that is required of you is available online. If you want to build a process around a successful exam, take a look at the appropriate resources and prepare accordingly.
Below is the link to the FinCEN MSB Exam manual. This is what FinCEN uses when conducting an exam on a MSB. Studying this document is like getting a copy of the test before you take it.
There are all the resources you need to comply with the agency who will be examining your business. The bottomline is that you and your team just have to do the front end work of studying them so you can organize your process around them.
Be Respectful
Having helped many MSBs for many years, we’ve seen the potential for some of them to not respect the position or authority of the examiner and the role they play in keeping the industry regulated. As an MSB, it is important for you to do your part in complying with the regulators.
Regulators are just normal people that put on their pants on one leg at a time, just like we do. So treating them with respect and not having a confrontational relationship with them typically leads to them not making you have a bad day. This is very similar to your interaction with a police officer. When you get pulled over, it’s better to just cooperate with their requests (license, registration etc) rather than being disrespectful.
In summary, our best advice is to do the right thing every day. Then it’s not going to feel like you’ve got two years worth of weight on your shoulders trying to get ready for an exam.
If you would like more information on this topic or any topic that is related to running a successfully compliant business, reach out to our BSA team at www.mysuretybank.com/msb.
What MSBs Need to Know When Adding a New Product or Service
How Early Planning Helps You Get Online and Start Earning Faster
Adding a new product or service can significantly increase revenue for an MSB. Whether it is money transmission, ATM services, or another offering, early coordination with the bank helps ensure your new service launches smoothly and begins generating income as quickly as possible.
Many service-related delays occur when new offerings are added without notifying the bank in advance.
Why the Bank Needs to Be Involved Early
Each product or service comes with specific monitoring, reporting, and account requirements. The bank must be able to review activity accurately and ensure it aligns with regulatory expectations.
When a new service is launched without notice, activity may flow into the wrong account or lack required reporting. Fixing these issues after the service is live often causes delays or temporary interruptions.
Common Product and Service Additions
ATM Services If you are adding an ATM, the bank typically requires:
A separate account dedicated solely to ATM activity
A copy of the ATM processor agreement
Monthly cash load and transaction reports
ATM activity cannot be combined with other MSB transactions due to reconciliation and compliance requirements.
Money Transmission Services This includes services such as Western Union or other money transfer providers.
While these services may not require a separate account, they do require monthly reporting. At a minimum, reports must include:
Sender
Receiver
Transaction date
Amount
Destination country
These reports allow the bank to identify patterns, monitor risk, and meet regulatory obligations.
Even if a third-party provider has its own compliance program, the bank is still responsible for monitoring the activity flowing through your accounts.
A Key Risk to Avoid
Some MSBs assume that because a vendor manages compliance on their side, the bank does not need reporting. This is a common misconception. Ultimately, the funds flow through the bank, and the bank must conduct its own review.
Failing to provide required reporting can delay approvals, reviews, and future expansion plans.
How Early Planning Saves Time and Money
Adding services often requires:
Account setup or restructuring
Reporting expectations to be established
IT coordination
Vendor documentation
When these steps are completed in advance, services can go live quickly. When handled after launch, they often result in delays, holds, or additional review.
The Bottom Line
Growth is a positive step for any MSB. Whether you are adding a new product, service, or location, early communication with the bank helps ensure the process is efficient and compliant.
Starting the conversation early allows the bank to guide you, prepare properly, and help you move forward with fewer obstacles and less frustration.
If expansion is even a possibility, reaching out now can save significant time later.
Opening a new location is an exciting milestone for any MSB. New storefronts mean new customers, increased volume, and business growth. However, opening a new branch also brings additional banking, compliance, and operational requirements that must be completed before you can begin operating.
One of the most common causes of delayed openings is a lack of early or consistent communication with the bank. When the bank is informed early and kept in the loop, the process moves faster and far more smoothly.
Why Communication Is Critical
From the bank’s perspective, opening a new MSB location is not simply adding another address. There are multiple regulatory, licensing, and operational steps that must be completed before the first transaction can take place.
We often see situations where a customer notifies the bank months in advance, receives a checklist of required items, then communication stops. When the customer reconnects and is ready to open, none of the required steps have been completed. At that point, the bank cannot approve activity, even if the storefront is ready.
Consistent communication ensures both sides stay aligned and prevents last-minute delays.
What Is Required Before a New Location Can Operate
Depending on the state, services offered, and geographic location, opening a new branch may require:
Updated FinCEN registration to reflect the new location
State check cashing licenses for the specific state
Remote Deposit Capture setup and successful trial deposits
Cash courier agreements
Confirmation that Surety Bank can service cash needs in that area
Internal system setup for deposits, approvals, and reporting
Even experienced MSBs are sometimes surprised to learn that requirements vary by state and location. A location that works in one market may require different preparation in another.
A Common Misunderstanding
Many MSBs assume that once a lease is signed and the store is ready, operations can begin immediately. From a banking and regulatory standpoint, this is not always the case.
If required licenses, amendments, or system testing are not completed, the bank cannot allow the location to operate. This is not meant to slow down your business. It is meant to protect both your operation and the bank from compliance violations.
How to Open Faster and With Fewer Issues
The most efficient openings share a few things in common:
The bank is notified as soon as expansion is being considered
Communication continues throughout the setup process
Documentation is submitted promptly
Questions are asked early, not at the last minute
When communication stays consistent, opening timelines are shorter, approvals are smoother, and unexpected delays are far less likely.
Why On-Site Visits Matter: Strengthening MSB Partnerships Through Face-to-Face Support
When it comes to Money Service Businesses (MSBs), so much of the relationship between the bank and the customer happens behind the scenes through emails, phone calls, documents, and reviews. But sometimes, the most valuable conversations happen face to face.
Recently, Surety Bank conducted a series of on-site visits with MSB customers across Florida. In just two days, our team visited 12 businesses meeting owners where they operate, seeing workflows in real time, and having honest, productive conversations about compliance, fraud prevention, and growth.
The takeaway was clear: on-site visits create clarity, trust, and better outcomes for everyone involved.
Seeing Your Business From Your Point of View
From the bank’s side, we review transactions, reports, and data. But that only tells part of the story. Visiting MSBs in person allows us to see how your business actually operates, how customers flow through your store, how decisions are made, and what challenges you face day to day.
For many MSBs, this was the first time they were able to put a face to a name they usually only see in emails or hear on the phone. That alone made a difference. Customers were able to ask questions, share concerns, and better understand why certain compliance requirements exist, not just that they exist.
Identifying Issues Before They Cause Delays
Site visits also help uncover small issues that can cause big delays later.
During one visit, a customer believed their corporate files were fully up to date. A quick spot check showed otherwise: expired corporate resolutions, missing documentation, and records that hadn’t been refreshed annually as required by Surety Bank policy.
That conversation mattered. Without those documents:
● Checks could be delayed or placed on hold ● Approvals could be paused ● Cash flow could be impacted
Addressing these gaps during a site visit helps MSBs avoid last-minute scrambles, rejected transactions, and unnecessary frustration.
Fraud Prevention Starts on the Front End
Another consistent theme during site visits was fraud. MSBs are very aware that they are vulnerable and site visits give us the opportunity to talk through practical, preventative steps.
From understanding why certain customers are blocked, to recognizing patterns of suspicious activity, these conversations help MSBs make better decisions before a check is cashed rather than dealing with losses afterward.
More Site Visits Coming in the New Year
Based on the success of these visits, Surety Bank will be conducting more on-site visits starting in the new year. While we can’t visit every MSB at once, we are prioritizing visits based on risk assessments and geographic proximity.
These visits are not audits. They are not meant to tell you how to run your business.
They are meant to:
● Build stronger relationships ● Provide clarity around compliance expectations ● Identify issues early ● Support MSBs with real, practical guidance
Most importantly, they reinforce one thing: we’re here, we’re accessible, and we care about your success.
Interested in a Site Visit?
If you would like to request a site visit or learn more about what to expect, we encourage you to reach out and our team will follow up to discuss next steps.
At Surety Bank, we believe strong partnerships are built through communication, transparency, and mutual understanding. On-site visits help bridge the gap between policy and practice and we look forward to continuing these conversations in person throughout the year ahead.
Maximizing the Capabilities of Your Point-of-Sale Software: A Compliance Tool Every MSB Should Be Using
For many Money Service Businesses (MSBs), a point-of-sale (POS) check-cashing system is required in order to bank with Surety. Larger MSBs generally use these systems as intended but smaller, “mom-and-pop” MSBs often don’t fully understand the capabilities of the software they’re paying for each month.
This gap has created significant issues for MSBs and for our analysts when performing compliance reviews.
The truth is: your POS system is not just a transaction tool. It is a powerful compliance engine. And when it’s used correctly, it protects both your business and the bank.
POS Software: You’re Paying for It, Make It Work for You
Every approved vendor on Surety’s list provides a robust set of compliance features. These tools are designed to:
Capture complete customer profiles
Store accurate ID information
Run OFAC checks
Detect fraudulent checks using magnetic ink (MICR) recognition
Flag expired IDs
Organize data for CTRs, SARs, and quarterly reviews
But when MSBs don’t know how to operate the system, or bypass required fields, these features fail, and risk increases.
Where Things Are Going Wrong
The transcription captures several recurring issues we see during reviews. Below are the biggest problems and how to fix them.
1. Poor or Missing Customer Photos
MSBs must take a clear photo of each customer. But many stores:
Never adjust the camera
Capture the ceiling or a lamp instead of the customer
Skip the photo entirely
This becomes a problem when analysts need to match customers to suspicious activity.
Fix: ✔ Adjust the camera. ✔ Make sure the customer is actually looking at the lens. ✔ Retake the photo if it's unclear.
2. Incorrect Address Information from IDs
When an ID is scanned, the system autofills the address. But 8 out of 10 profiles contain outdated, inaccurate addresses. This causes major compliance issues when filing CTRs or SARs.
Fix: ✔ Always verbally confirm the customer’s current address. ✔ Update the POS record manually when the ID address is outdated.
3. Not Running OFAC Checks
Some MSBs never used OFAC checks until Surety required POS systems. Now they have access to the tool and still forget to use it.
Fix: ✔ Ensure OFAC checks run on every customer, every time.
4. Incorrectly Editing Check Information
This is one of the biggest issues.Many MSBs edit the payee section and mistakenly enter:
❌ The name of the person cashing the check (the conductor) instead of:
✔ The name of the entity the check is actually payable to.
This leads to:
Bad data
Incorrect reporting
Inaccurate cross-references during compliance reviews
Fix: ✔ Always enter the maker and payee correctly. ✔ Never leave fields blank. ✔ Never rely on whatever the system “guesses.”
5. Ignoring Fraud Alerts, Including MICR/Magnetic Ink Warnings
Your POS system is capable of detecting fraudulent checks before you cash them. But some MSBs override alerts manually, sometimes losing thousands of dollars.
Fix: ✔ Trust the system. ✔ Never override a fraud alert. ✔ Stop the transaction and ask questions.
Training is Available, Use It!
Most POS vendors offer:
One-on-one support
Training sessions
Feature walk-throughs
Troubleshooting help
MSBs are strongly encouraged to schedule additional training with their vendor to learn the system fully.
Why Accurate POS Use Matters to Both You and the Bank
When MSBs use the POS system properly:
MSB Benefits:
Fewer losses from fraudulent checks
Stronger compliance records
Faster and cleaner audits
Fewer callbacks and follow-ups
Bank Benefits:
Cleaner data for quarterly analysis
Accurate suspicious activity detection
More efficient reviews
Fewer non-compliance penalties for MSBs
If the system is used upfront, risk drops dramatically and compliance becomes smoother for everyone.
Your POS system can only help you if you use it. By taking advantage of the features you’re already paying for, you’ll reduce risk, increase accuracy, and build a stronger compliance foundation for your business.
This Holiday Season, Is Cash Really “King” for Retailers?
It’s November, your store is packed, the line at the register is snaking down the aisle and your seasonal staff is doing their best to keep up. You’re watching every sale, every return and every refund, knowing that the next six weeks can make or break your year. With card processing fees climbing, it’s tempting to push customers toward cash and even add a 3% “convenience” or “non-cash adjustment” fee when they tap or swipe a card. After all, there are no fees on cash… right?
The problem is that cash comes with its own price tag, one most retailers don’t see until it’s quietly eaten into their margins.
The Hidden Cost of Cash in a Busy Retail Season
A study by the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council found that the real cost of cash can range from 4.7% (grocery) to as high as 15.5% (bars and restaurants) once you factor in labor, handling and shrinkage. That means for every $100 in cash you accept, you might really be keeping only $84.50 to $95.30.
For many retailers, the biggest hidden cost is time:
Counting drawers at open and close
Reconciling registers with point-of-sale totals
Preparing and transporting deposits
Investigating discrepancies when the numbers don’t match
For example, convenience stores—which operate in a similar high-volume, low-margin environment as many retailers—spend an estimated 15–20 hours per week just counting and handling cash. At an average wage of $14.33 per hour, that’s:
15 hours/week: $214.95
20 hours/week: $286.60
Over a year, that works out to $11,177–$14,903 in labor just to handle cash. During the holidays, when lines are longer and staff is stretched thinner, those hours often go up, not down.
Cash vs. Real-Time Insight
Cash also keeps you in the dark longer than you might realize. With cash-heavy operations, you often don’t know your true daily performance until drawers are counted, deposits are prepared and everything is reconciled—sometimes hours after the store closes. That lag makes it harder to adjust staffing, reorder inventory or tweak promotions while it still matters.
Electronic payments, by contrast, can feed real-time metrics into your point-of-sale and treasury platforms. You can see, often down to the hour, what’s selling, which locations are busiest, which promotions are working and how your cash flow looks heading into the next day. That visibility is especially valuable in the holiday rush, when a fast decision about staffing or inventory can mean the difference between a record weekend and missed opportunities.
Risk, Fraud and Counterfeit Bills
On top of labor, cash exposes retailers to risks that electronic payments help reduce:
Theft and shrinkage: Industry estimates suggest U.S. retailers lose tens of billions of dollars each year to cash theft, whether from the register, the safe, or in transit to the bank.
Counterfeit currency: High-traffic holiday weekends are prime time for counterfeiters. A busy cashier with a long line may not catch a fake bill, and once it’s accepted, that loss is on the business.
Human error: Extra seasonal staff, longer shifts and higher stress all increase the odds of miscounted drawers and deposit errors.
This is why many banks are rolling out treasury platforms with fraud controls, positive pay, ACH options and remote deposit capture to help business customers move away from “cash management” and toward cash flow management. Framing the conversation around speed, security, real-time information and time savings can be more effective—and more honest—than simply pushing for “more cash.”
Why Surcharging Cards May Not Be the Win You Think
Let’s apply real numbers to a typical retail scenario.
Say you own a store and decide to add a 3% convenience fee to card transactions while still accepting cash. Here’s what happens on a $100 ticket:
Card payment with a 3% convenience fee
Ticket: $100
Convenience fee added: +$3
Total charged to customer: $103
Assumed merchant processing fee: 3% of $103 = $3.09
Net to your business: $103 – $3.09 = $99.91
Cash payment with hidden costs (using the 15.5% example)
Ticket: $100
No visible fee to the customer
“Hidden” costs (labor, theft, errors, etc.): $15.50 (15.5% of $100)
Net to your business: $100 – $15.50 = $84.50
So for every $100 transaction, you effectively keep:
$99.91 when a customer pays by card (even with processing fees), versus
$84.50 when a customer pays with cash, once hidden costs are included
That’s a $15.41 difference per $100 ticket in favor of electronic payments.
During the holidays, when your volume spikes, that gap adds up quickly. The season you’ve been counting on to boost profits can quietly turn into the season where hidden cash costs quietly steal them away, one transaction at a time.
If you’d like to talk through how to reduce the hidden costs of cash, improve fraud protection and gain better real-time visibility into your business accounts and merchant processing, contact Surety’s Treasury Services Department to discuss business accounts and merchant accounts with built-in protection.
How One Fraud Incident Can Damage Your Business Reputation: A (Fictitious) Cautionary Tale
This is a fictitious story—but it's based on real events that happen to small businesses every single day.
The owner of a thriving local furniture business had just signed the biggest deal of the year. Everything seemed on track until her bookkeeper received an email from a familiar client with “updated wire instructions.” The message looked legitimate. No red flags. So the payment—nearly $50,000—was sent. Two days later, the real client called to say the deposit never arrived. The money was gone. And so was the illusion that something like this “would never happen to us.”
Within a week, long-time customers started asking tough questions. A supplier tightened payment terms. A local partnership quietly backed out of an event. And worse—people started whispering that the business “might not be secure.”
This is how quickly a single fraud incident can unravel years of hard-earned trust.
Why One Fraud Event Can Be So Damaging
Even if you recover the stolen funds or file an insurance claim, the damage to your reputation can last far longer—and cut deeper.
Customers lose confidence. A majority of U.S. consumers say they’d stop doing business with a company that experienced a data or financial breach.
Vendors and lenders take notice. Your partners may adjust credit terms or even re-evaluate contracts.
Employees lose morale. When trust is shaken externally, it often ripples inward too.
News travels fast. In the age of online reviews and social media, bad news spreads faster than facts.
Steps You Can Take to Prevent It
Protecting your business starts with building strong internal controls and using the tools your bank offers:
Surety Bank offers many of these solutions through our Treasury team, and we can help tailor them to your specific operations.
If It Happens to You: Rebuilding Trust
Even with great controls, no system is bulletproof. If fraud strikes, your response will determine how much damage your reputation takes—and how quickly you can recover.
In the first 72 hours:
Notify your bank and law enforcement immediately.
Appoint a single spokesperson for clear, consistent communication.
Identify and close the breach—disable accounts, reset credentials, pause payments.
Contact affected clients or partners with transparency and professionalism.
In the weeks that follow:
Offer real solutions (like credit monitoring or fee reversals) to support affected customers.
Implement new controls and publicize your improvements.
Bring in a third-party review to verify changes and rebuild confidence.
Communicate successes—“90 days fraud-free,” audit completions, or security certifications.
Your Reputation Is Worth Protecting
This fictitious business was lucky—it survived. But the lesson is clear: fraud isn’t just a financial risk, it’s a reputational one. And once trust is broken, it takes time, strategy, and transparency to win it back.
At Surety Bank, we help businesses of all sizes protect their operations from fraud. Whether you need payment controls, alert systems, or a plan for what to do in a crisis, our Treasury & Fraud Prevention Team is here to help.
For Dan Glenn, Pastor of Stetson Baptist Church in DeLand, Surety Bank has become much more than the place where the church did its banking. Over the years, the initial banking relationship has grown into a partnership centered around a shared commitment to the community.
That partnership took on new meaning in 2018 when Stetson Baptist Church launched Night to Shine, an unforgettable prom experience for people with special needs held in partnership with the Tim Tebow Foundation.
Creating an experience like Night to Shine requires significant support, and Surety Bank was one of the event's earliest sponsors.
“Surety was one that came on very early saying, ‘Hey, we want to support that. We want to be a part of it.’”
For Dan, that moment marked a shift in the relationship. It became much more personal and community focused.
Surety continued supporting Night to Shine year after year, but one experience in particular showed Dan what that partnership truly meant.
After the first Night to Shine, Dan realized the church had never properly thanked Surety for its sponsorship. When it came time to plan the event again, he felt hesitant approaching Surety for another year of support.
The response surprised him.
There was no hesitation. Surety wanted to be involved again.
Years later, that commitment went even further when Surety reached out to the church without being asked and offered to increase its support.
“They have an intention to be generous, even when generosity may or may not be expected or requested.”
For Dan, that willingness to look for opportunities to make a greater impact is part of what distinguishes Surety Bank as a community organization.
Instead of simply waiting for someone to present a sponsorship request, Surety has been willing to ask a different question: How can we do more?
That philosophy extends beyond a single event.
Dan describes Surety not simply as a community bank, but as a “community-centered organization” that genuinely cares about DeLand and the relationships it has built throughout the city.
That personal connection is something Dan has experienced firsthand. His relationship with Surety isn't limited to the organization itself. It's also built through relationships with the people behind it.
As Surety Bank celebrates 100 years, Dan believes that commitment to people and community helps explain why the bank has remained part of DeLand for generations.
Over the past century, both the bank and the city have grown and changed. Yet Surety has continued to serve the community throughout that growth.
For Dan, that's exactly why Surety's 100th anniversary message, “How we've always done it is how we'll always do it,” resonates.
“The way they've always done things has been people centered, relationships centered, community centered.”
Those values create something that goes beyond banking. They create trust. They allow organizations like Stetson Baptist Church to know what to expect from a partner that has consistently shown up before and intends to continue showing up in the future.
After years of partnership, Dan hopes that part of Surety never changes.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
Growing Something of His Own: How DeLand’s Austin Scott Launched Coastal Green Pest Solutions
For Austin Scott, starting a business wasn’t the result of a lifelong plan. It was something that grew over time, much like the lawns he now helps his customers care for.
Born and raised in DeLand, Austin is the owner of Coastal Green Pest Solutions, a new Volusia County business specializing in lawn treatments, pest management, fertilization, and the care of palms and shrubs.
The company may be new, but Austin is far from new to the work.
Before entering the lawn and pest control industry, Austin was selling auto parts at O’Reilly Auto Parts. Then a landscaper friend suggested he take a job with a local pest control company.
He gave it a shot and discovered an industry that fascinated him.
“I like that I could learn something new every day,” Austin says. “You get to see different problems, and you get to see the benefits of your own labor making a lawn beautiful. You get to see it go from nothing to something.”
Austin spent nearly six years in the industry, gradually developing an understanding of not only what products to use, but why lawns develop problems in the first place.
Interestingly, the work even gave him a new appreciation for a subject he once struggled with: chemistry.
In school, chemistry had never come naturally to Austin. But working with fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and nutrients gave those concepts a real-world application.
“You get to learn something and then apply it directly,” he says.
And the more Austin learned, the more he realized there was an opportunity to do things differently.
Solving the Problem Behind the Problem
Austin believes one of the biggest shortcomings in the lawn and pest control industry isn't necessarily the products or treatment programs companies use. It's the communication that happens, or doesn't happen, between the company, technician, and homeowner.
A lawn problem can be the result of insects, fungus, nutrient deficiencies, irrigation issues, environmental stress, or a combination of factors. Simply treating the symptom doesn't always solve the underlying problem.
Austin wants Coastal Green Pest Solutions to be different.
“I take pride in being the solution and the end to the revolving door when it comes to these lawn programs,” he says.
That means spending time with homeowners, explaining what is happening on their property, and helping them understand what needs to change.
Austin compares a lawn or landscape to the human body. One problem can affect the health of the entire system. Killing an insect, for example, may address the immediate issue, but it doesn't necessarily explain why the lawn became susceptible to the pest in the first place.
“If you can be the middleman between the problem, the chemicals, and the customer, and you can explain all that smoothly, that's normally the end,” Austin says. “A lot of people don't take the time to talk to their customers and make sure they understand.”
It's an approach built around education and relationships as much as treatment.
Building Coastal Green Pest Solutions
When the company Austin had worked for was sold, he saw an opportunity to take everything he'd learned and build something of his own.
Coastal Green Pest Solutions was born.
Today, Austin primarily works with residential customers throughout Volusia County who care about the long-term health and appearance of their properties.
His services include:
Lawn treatments and fertilization
Insect and pest treatments for lawns
Herbicide and weed management
Fungicide treatments
Palm tree treatments
Shrub treatments
Nutrient deficiency management
Lawn and landscape health assessments
Irrigation guidance and trusted referrals
Austin's philosophy isn't about simply “spraying and praying,” as he puts it. Every property is different, so understanding what's actually happening comes before recommending a solution.
That philosophy also shapes how he plans to grow the business.
A Local Bank Helps a Local Entrepreneur Get Started
Starting a company requires more than expertise and ambition. There are trucks, equipment, products, operating expenses, and the reality that revenue doesn't necessarily arrive the moment the business opens its doors.
Austin knew he needed some financial breathing room as he got Coastal Green Pest Solutions off the ground.
That's where Surety Bank came in.
Austin first learned about Surety through his father, who had worked in real estate and developed a relationship with Surety Bank CEO Ryan James over the years.
When Austin was preparing to launch Coastal Green Pest Solutions, that local connection opened the door to a conversation.
“I was just looking for a good little loan—something to get me by, that way I had a little bit of breathing room,” Austin says. “I was very questionable on how I was going to make everything work, and honestly, I'm very grateful for Surety stepping in.”
Surety provided a business loan directly to Coastal Green Pest Solutions, giving Austin additional resources and flexibility during the critical early months of building the company.
For Austin, the experience demonstrated one of the advantages of working with a community bank: relationships matter.
Ryan knew Austin's family. He'd seen Austin working around town. And instead of Austin simply being another application, there was an opportunity to understand the person and business behind it.
That trust helped a local entrepreneur take the next step.
Growing the Right Way
Just a couple of months into the business when we spoke with him, Austin already had big ambitions for Coastal Green Pest Solutions.
Eventually, he'd like to have multiple trucks on the road, a dedicated irrigation team, a sales team, and expanded services including home pest and termite control.
But he's in no hurry to grow simply for the sake of getting bigger.
Austin wants to make sure the service and customer experience that distinguish Coastal Green today remain intact as the company expands.
“If I'm not taking the time to personalize your service and making sure that I'm putting down what I'm promising, then there's no point in me opening up the next step,” he says.
He describes his philosophy simply as “natural growth or no growth.”
It's an especially fitting philosophy for someone who spends his days helping things grow.
For now, Austin is focused on building relationships, earning the trust of homeowners and landscapers throughout Volusia County, and developing Coastal Green one customer at a time.
And he's doing it in the community he has always called home.
“I still enjoy the small-town aspect of DeLand,” Austin says. “Raising a family here, having good friends here, it's very nice. DeLand's a good home base.”
As DeLand and Volusia County continue to grow, Austin hopes Coastal Green Pest Solutions will grow right alongside them, without losing the personal relationships that helped get the business started in the first place.
Coastal Green Pest Solutions serves homeowners throughout Volusia County. For homeowners who care about the health and appearance of their lawn and landscaping, Austin and Coastal Green provide personalized lawn treatment, pest management, fertilization, and plant health solutions.
Personal Fraud Is on the Rise: Simple Steps to Help Protect Yourself
Personal fraud continues to evolve, and scammers are finding increasingly sophisticated ways to target consumers. From AI-powered messages that appear surprisingly convincing to attempts to gain access to entire financial accounts. Recognizing the warning signs is becoming more important than ever.
While you can't prevent every fraud attempt, knowing what to watch for and taking a few proactive steps can make it much harder for scammers to succeed.
Three Fraud Trends to Watch
1. AI-Powered Scams Are Becoming More Convincing
Artificial intelligence is making fraudulent calls and text messages feel more personal and legitimate. Scammers can use AI to create convincing communications designed to make you believe you're interacting with a trusted person or organization.
Be cautious when you receive an unexpected call or message asking for personal information, money, or access to an account. Before responding or taking action, reach out to Surety Bank directly to verify they are the ones calling. This step could mean not being scammed out of your money.
2. Scammers Are Targeting Entire Financial Accounts
Fraudsters are increasingly looking beyond individual credit card numbers and attempting to gain access to entire financial profiles, including personal bank and investment accounts.
Protect your accounts by regularly reviewing activity for transactions you don't recognize and using multifactor authentication whenever it's available. Never provide your password, login credentials, or verification codes to someone who contacts you unexpectedly.
If you notice something unusual in your Surety Bank account, contact us promptly.
3. Financial Fraud Targeting Older Adults Is Growing
Older adults continue to be frequent targets of financial scams, particularly those involving tech support and investment-related schemes.
These scams often rely on urgency or fear to convince someone to act before they have an opportunity to question what's happening. Talk with older family members about common scams and encourage them to check with someone they trust before sending money or providing sensitive information in response to an unexpected request.
Taking a few minutes to verify a situation can help prevent a significant financial loss.
A Few Simple Habits Can Make a Difference
Protecting yourself doesn't require becoming a fraud expert. Start by being skeptical of unexpected requests for money or information, especially when someone pressures you to act immediately.
Use strong, unique passwords and enable multifactor authentication when available. Avoid clicking links in unexpected emails or text messages, and regularly review your bank accounts and credit reports for activity you don't recognize.
Most importantly, trust your instincts. If something doesn't feel right, stop and verify before taking action.
Resources to Help Protect Your Information
If you'd like to take additional steps to protect yourself, here are three resources worth exploring:
FTC IdentityTheft.gov Best for someone who thinks their identity has already been compromised. The FTC provides a personalized recovery plan and steps for addressing identity theft. Visit IdentityTheft.gov
FTC Credit Freeze & Fraud Alert Guide Customers can place a free credit freeze, which can prevent identity thieves from opening new credit accounts in their name, or add a fraud alert. Learn About Credit Freezes & Fraud Alerts
Aura For those interested in a paid protection service, Aura offers identity and financial monitoring tools and other fraud-protection features. I’d position this as an optional third-party tool, not something Surety is recommending over other services. Explore Aura
These resources are provided for informational purposes. Surety Bank does not endorse or guarantee any third-party product or service.
Stay Alert and Take Your Time
Fraud tactics will continue to change, but one of your strongest defenses is also one of the simplest: slow down.
Scammers often depend on creating urgency so you act before thinking. If you're unsure about a request involving your Surety Bank account, don't rely on the phone number, link, or contact information provided in the message. Contact Surety Bank directly through a trusted channel.
We're here to help you protect your financial information and recognize potential fraud before it becomes a loss.
For Maria Bonfiglio, working at Surety Bank has always been about more than banking. It's about taking care of people.
Maria has been part of the Surety Bank family for nine years, but her journey began with a simple text message. A former boss she had stayed in touch with reached out years after they had worked together and told her, "I have the perfect job for you." Maria's response was simple: "Where should I sign?"
Nine years later, her enthusiasm hasn't changed.
"I love it. I love my job."
Over the years, Maria's role has evolved, giving her the opportunity to learn new skills and develop deeper relationships with customers. She has gotten to know some of them so well that she can recognize who is calling just by the sound of their voice. For Maria, those relationships are what make Surety feel less like a workplace and more like a family.
That personal connection also shapes the way Maria approaches protecting customers.
When something doesn't seem right, she isn't afraid to ask questions. Whether she's reviewing a check or helping someone resolve an issue with an account, Maria understands that taking a little extra time can make a significant difference.
"We really care about our customers," Maria explains. Even when customers may wonder why the bank is asking additional questions, she wants them to understand the reason behind it. "We don't want them to lose money."
For Maria, that care isn't limited to customers. She has experienced it personally as an employee.
During some of the most difficult moments of her life, including an extended hospital stay and the loss of her son, Maria remembers her Surety family checking on her, visiting her, and making sure she knew she wasn't alone. Those experiences showed her that the relationships Surety talks about aren't simply something customers experience. They're part of the culture inside the bank, too.
It's also why Maria believes Surety Bank has remained part of the community for 100 years. She has worked at other banks, but says Surety's involvement in the community feels different. The bank isn't trying to be the biggest. Instead, it has remained focused on the people and communities it serves.
That same philosophy comes through in Maria's relationships with her customers. Some have developed such a strong connection with her that when they call, they specifically ask for Maria. She takes pride in being someone they know they can turn to when they have a question or need assistance.
After nine years, Maria still says thank you for the opportunity that brought her to Surety Bank. Her story is a reminder that relationship banking begins with people who genuinely care about the people on the other side of the counter or phone.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
For Lewis Long III, banking with Surety Bank is a relationship that has lasted more than five decades.
As one of Surety Bank's longest-standing customers, Lewis has watched the bank grow alongside the community since his connection to Surety began more than 50 years ago. He originally opened a savings account after hearing from neighbors that the bank consistently offered strong value and genuinely cared about its customers.
Over the years, Lewis has seen a lot of change. He remembers making deposits with a passbook while employees manually updated balances using a hand-cranked adding machine. What hasn't changed, however, is the way Surety Bank treats the people who walk through its doors.
For Lewis, that commitment extends beyond his own banking experience. When his sons were born, he opened accounts for each of them at Surety Bank, continuing a family tradition that has now spanned generations. One of his sons even participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony when Surety Bank dedicated its current building in the early 1990s.
Throughout his life of military service, public service, and community involvement, Lewis has always returned to the same bank.
What has kept him loyal all these years?
The answer is simple: people.
"You couldn't ask for better service or better people," Lewis says. "I don't know how they remember everybody's name that walks in the door, but they do. They're just super folks. The people have always been a gift to us and to the community."
Lewis believes that the values Surety Bank was founded on continue to define the bank today. One story from the bank's early history has always stayed with him. During the Great Depression, he recalls hearing that Surety worked with customers rather than rushing to foreclose on them because they cared more about helping people than taking their property. That philosophy, he says, is still reflected in the way the bank serves its customers today.
It's one of the reasons Lewis has become an advocate for the bank wherever he goes.
Whether he's encouraging friends to open a money market account, sharing the bank's history, or even suggesting a new Surety branch for his hometown of Lake Helen, Lewis proudly recommends the bank he's trusted for more than half a century.
"I wouldn't champion the bank if I didn't believe in these folks and believe in this bank," he says. "Everybody is important. They see past whatever's bothering someone that day and still treat people with kindness and respect."
As Surety Bank celebrates 100 years of serving Central Florida, customers like Lewis remind us that while banking has evolved, some things should never change. Genuine relationships, exceptional service, and a commitment to the community remain at the heart of everything we do.
This is how Surety Bank has always done it. It's how we will always do it.
Strong Communities Are Built Through Strong Partnerships
For 100 years, Surety Bank has believed that community banking means more than serving customers inside the walls of a branch. It means investing in the people, organizations, and partnerships that help our communities thrive.
That commitment is something Carla Quann, Director of Community Relations for the Volusia Sheriff's Office, has experienced firsthand.
"Our goal is to support everyone in our community," Carla explains. "Ryan [James] wanted to be a part of what we're doing because he cares about the community."
The partnership between Surety Bank and the Volusia Sheriff's Office began when Surety Bank President & CEO Ryan James joined the Volusia Sheriff's Foundation Board. Since then, the relationship has grown into a collaborative effort focused on addressing some of the community's greatest needs.
One example came during the holiday season, when thousands of local families faced uncertainty after SNAP benefits were unexpectedly interrupted. Through the combined efforts of businesses, volunteers, and community organizations, more than 3,500 grocery bags were distributed to families throughout Volusia County.
According to Carla, Surety Bank was an important part of making that effort possible.
Beyond community events and charitable initiatives, the partnership has also helped strengthen public safety.
As financial scams targeting older adults became increasingly common, Surety Bank worked alongside the Sheriff's Office to provide education, share industry expertise, and help detectives better recognize the warning signs of fraud.
That collaboration ultimately helped lead to the creation of the Volusia Sheriff's Office Financial Crimes Unit—a dedicated team focused on protecting residents from fraud and financial exploitation.
Working together, those efforts have helped recover more than $2 million for local victims of financial crimes.
For Carla, those results reflect what makes Surety Bank different.
"They're not just another hometown bank," she says. "They care about their community."
She believes that commitment starts with customer service but extends far beyond banking. Whether supporting nonprofit organizations, helping law enforcement address emerging scams, or simply answering the phone when someone needs help, Surety Bank has built relationships rooted in trust.
"People trust them," Carla says. "They've built that trust with their customers, and that's why people stay."
As Surety Bank celebrates a century of serving Central Florida, partnerships like this demonstrate that community banking isn't defined only by financial services—it's measured by the impact a bank has on the people and communities it serves.
For 100 years, Surety Bank has believed that when communities succeed, everyone succeeds. Through partnerships built on trust, service, and shared purpose, that commitment continues today—and will continue for generations to come.
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