Bank of Bird-in-Hand is seeking permission from state regulators to bring one of its mobile branches – dubbed Gelt buses – into upper Dauphin County around Gratz. The buses are designed to serve the Amish and other members of the Plain community who may lack convenient access to a conventional branch.
- The bank currently operates three Gelt buses that make stops at locations in Lancaster and Chester counties. Gelt is a word for money in Pennsylvania Dutch.
- To serve upper Dauphin, the bank is bringing its original Gelt bus out of retirement, according to Lori Maley, president and CEO of Bank of Bird-in-Hand, which is based in Leacock Township, Lancaster County.
- The bank has not finalized locations where the bus will stop, Maley wrote in an email, but she expects it to start with two locations. The bus will have a staff of two, she added.
Why upper Dauphin: Amish families from Lancaster County moved to the area in the late 1970s and they maintain close ties to Lancaster, according to Maley.
- Bank of Bird-in-Hand opened in 2013 with an emphasis on serving the Plain community.
