Ameris Bank closes on site for second branch in area

True to its word about fanning out across the region as soon as possible, Moultrie, Ga.-based Ameris Bank closed on a property in West Ashley for what will become the lender's second Charleston-area branch.

Last Thursday the bank closed on a property at 834 Savannah Highway, near Magnolia Road. Ameris hopes to serve its first customer there near the end of the first quarter of next year. The bank's also close to signing a lease for an office on Trolley Road in Summerville and is busy looking for a Mount Pleasant location.

Last month, Ameris officially opened in downtown Charleston at 49 Archdale St., part of a plan to grow its South Carolina operations into a $1 billion concern within five years.

If you remember, back in January, Ameris Bancorp, the lender's holding company, gained a foothold in the state when it completed its purchase of Beaufort-based Islands Bancorp and its wholly owned subsidiary, Islands Community Bank.

Since then, Ameris has opened offices in Columbia and Bluffton and on Hilton Head Island.

Pet carrier

This caught my eye last week on the Associated Press wire. Progressive Group of Insurance Cos. apparently has gone to the dogs — with a new auto policy.

The company has introduced an option that allows customers to insure canine or feline pets that are injured or killed in a crash. The insurer will pay up to $500 if a policyholder's Fido is hurt or dies as a result of a car accident. The coverage is offered at no extra charge to customers who have standard collision coverage.

In most cases, the auto insurer pays out for pets in other cars, but the at-fault motorist's pets are not covered. Progressive officials are calling the option "first-party coverage for pets" and an industry first. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.progressive.com/pets.

Phone bank

Wireless telephone provider AT&T Inc. has launched a mobile banking platform that allows users to view account balances, transfer funds and pay bills from an AT&T mobile handset.

The technology is available to banking customers of Wachovia and SunTrust. The mobile application can be downloaded to more than 30 of AT&T's phone models, which represents about 30 million phones in the market today, according to the company. The software will be pre-loaded on future AT&T handsets beginning later this year, the company said.

There are security concerns with a service like this. AT&T says all data is encrypted, and customers can deactivate the service immediately if handsets are misplaced or broken. Also, new bill payees can be added only from customers' online banking accounts. For more information, visit Wachovia.com or Suntrust.com.

Reach Peter Hull at 937-5594 or phull@postandcourier.com.