Frost Bank financial center, the first full-service bank to operate on campus, was opened at UTSA Aug. 25. in the University Center.

“Having a bank on campus will be more convenient to the university community,” University Center director Lowa Mwilambwe said. “In addition, students, faculty and staff will be able to use various resources available through the financial center.”

In order to choose the bank best suited for the UTSA community, the purchasing office of the university prepared a Request for Proposal that described the operating conditions and types of services they wanted.

Frost Bank, San Antonio Federal Credit Union, Firstmark Credit Union and Chase Bank submitted proposals of interest. A committee made up of students, faculty and staff then reviewed each proposal and made a recommendation.

“In the opinion of the committee, Frost Bank offered the best overall value to the university,” Kevin Price, associate vice president dean of students, said.

“The factors considered included such things as the quality of services provided, cost of fees charged to customers and compensation for space rental. Frost offered an attractive package to UTSA community members, expanded hours, good customer service and reasonable fees.”

The university decided that instead of having access to only a few ATMs, a small bank on campus would be more beneficial.

“A university center should provide the types of conveniences that serve the university community so that students, faculty and staff can more easily attend to basic daily tasks while on campus,” Price said. “A full-service bank provides a much broader array of services than do ATMs.”

Financial center customers will be able to open an account, use free ATMs, learn about money management and receive a financial analysis for future planning. Customers will also receive free online banking, imaged checks, a savings account with no monthly service charge and a free gift for opening an account.

Frost Bank will be celebrating their grand opening next week with a variety of events for the UTSA community. On Sept. 15, there will be a continental breakfast from 8-10:30 a.m., with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 9 a.m. On Sept. 16, Frost will offer breakfast tacos from 8-10:30 a.m. There will also be a $50 gas card drawing each day throughout the week, and an Ipod drawing ending the week.