Merchants State Bank

What Merchants State Bank does

Merchants State Bank is a privately held, FDIC-insured state-chartered community bank founded on August 8, 1899, in Freeman, South Dakota. The bank operates four physical branches serving Freeman, Hurley, Viborg, and Irene in southeast South Dakota, holding approximately $220 million in total assets as of its most recent disclosure. Its core product set spans deposit products (NOW and Super NOW checking, statement savings, money market and Money Market Gold savings, 3- to 60-month CDs, traditional/Roth/SEP/Coverdell IRAs, youth accounts), lending products (consumer/personal, residential real estate, home improvement, commercial, SBA, and agricultural), card services (MasterCard debit and consumer/business credit cards), and ancillary services (wire transfers, cashier's checks, safe deposit boxes, night depository, notary). Digital channels include free internet banking, iOS/Android mobile app (MSB-SD, built on ProfitStars/TeleWeb), phone banking, text banking, and eStatements, with bill pay powered by third-party provider Allied.

Name

Merchants State Bank

Legal name

Merchants State Bank

Website

https://msb-sd.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1899

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Merchants State Bank is a privately held, FDIC-insured community bank founded in 1899 in Freeman, South Dakota, operating four branches in southeast South Dakota with approximately $220 million in assets. It serves local consumers, small businesses, and agricultural producers with deposit products, consumer/residential/commercial/agricultural loans, and standard digital banking services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Banking

NAICS

Commercial Banking (52211)

SIC

State Commercial Banks (6022)

akta.pro primary industry

Mass-Market Consumer Deposit Banking (Checking/Savings) (FSABAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Retail Lending (Personal Loans, Auto, Credit Lines) (FSABAAAB), Small Business Banking (Microbusiness/Sole Proprietor) (FSABAAAI)

Keywords

• Community banking services
• Agricultural lending
• Consumer deposit accounts
• Commercial lending
• Residential mortgage loans

Headquarters

HQ city

Freeman

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Interest Income from Loans: Primary revenue from interest earned on various loan products including consumer/personal loans, residential real estate loans, commercial loans, and agricultural loans. Interest rates vary by product type and term.
2. Interest from Deposits: Interest earned on NOW accounts, Super NOW accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. Interest rates tiered based on account type and balance.
3. Service Fees and Charges: Fees from overdrafts ($30 per item, $150 max/day), wire transfers ($20 domestic, $75 international), stop payments ($10-15), ATM card replacement ($10), cashier's checks ($5), account research ($20/hour), and copies ($0.25/page).
4. Account Maintenance Fees: Monthly service charges applied when minimum balance requirements are not maintained (e.g., $5 + $0.10/debit after 10 debits for NOW accounts if balance falls below $1,000).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Merchants State Bank is a privately held, FDIC-insured community bank that provides traditional consumer and business deposit products—including checking, savings, CDs, IRAs, and youth accounts—alongside a full suite of lending products spanning personal, residential real estate, commercial, and agricultural loans. The bank also offers payment services such as wire transfers, cashier's checks, and debit/credit cards, and provides digital banking access through internet, mobile, and text banking channels.

Product overview

Merchants State Bank is a community bank offering a comprehensive suite of financial products and services primarily focused on consumer and small business banking. The core product portfolio includes deposit products (checking, savings, CDs, IRAs), lending services (consumer, residential, commercial, and agricultural loans), and card services. These are complemented by convenience services including Internet Banking, Mobile Banking App, Bill Pay Service, Text Banking, Phone Banking, eStatements, and ATM services. The bank operates as a locally-owned institution with four physical branch locations in South Dakota.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Personal Checking Accounts
• Business Checking Accounts
• Savings Accounts
• Youth Savings Accounts
• Certificates of Deposit (CDs)
• Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)
• Personal Loans
• Residential Real Estate Loans
• Commercial Lending
• Agricultural Lending
• Debit and Credit Cards
• Wire Transfer Services
• Cashier's Checks
• Internet Banking
• Mobile Banking App
• Online Bill Pay

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AlliedcoreTechnology or IntegrationAllied is the third-party bill pay service provider contracted by Merchants State Bank to provide internet bill payment services to customers. Allied processes bill payments and handles customer service related to the Payment Service. Merchants State Bank reserves the right to change bill pay service providers at its discretion.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• U.S. Bancorp: Large national bank with a meaningful branch presence in South Dakota and across the Midwest, offering consumer, ag, and commercial products. Competes with Merchants State Bank for the same customers but at vastly greater scale and product breadth.
• Wells Fargo: National money-center bank with ag lending, consumer, and small business banking franchises that overlap with Merchants State Bank's product set, particularly in agricultural lending. Operates as a broad incumbent competitor rather than a niche peer.
• Great Western Bank: Regional bank with a dense footprint across South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, and other Midwest states, offering consumer, ag, and commercial banking. A larger incumbent that competes for the same rural depositors and ag borrowers as Merchants State Bank.
• MetaBank / Pathward Financial: S Sioux City / Sioux Falls-headquartered bank holding company with a much broader product mix including specialty finance, tax services, and payments — overlapping with Merchants State Bank in SD deposit and consumer banking but operating at meaningfully larger scale.

Direct peers

• First Dakota National Bank: South Dakota-based community bank with a similar mix of consumer, agricultural, and small business lending across multiple branches, making it a direct comparable in franchise model and rural ag orientation.
• First Bank & Trust: Community bank headquartered in Brookings, South Dakota, serving consumers, small businesses, and agricultural producers across the region with deposits, lending, and digital banking — directly comparable to Merchants State Bank in scale, geography, and product mix.
• CorTrust Bank: Community bank serving small towns across South Dakota and Minnesota with deposits, consumer loans, and ag lending — closely comparable in customer base, branch size, and product suite to Merchants State Bank.
• Reliabank Dakota: South Dakota community bank with a similar profile of small-town consumer deposits, residential lending, and ag financing — directly comparable in scale and rural banking approach.
• BankWest: South Dakota community bank with branches in Pierre and across central/western SD, offering consumer, commercial, and agricultural lending — a direct peer in geography, product mix, and community-bank model.

Regional players

• Bremer Financial Services: Midwest-focused community bank serving Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin with consumer, ag, and small business banking — comparable community-bank model and ag orientation, but operating in an adjacent geography rather than directly in SE South Dakota.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/merchants-state-bank

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Merchants State Bank