PNC Bank Review: Checking, Savings and CDs

PNC’s more competitive offering, Virtual Wallet Checking Pro, isn’t available nationwide but is offered in states without PNC branches (and a handful of states that do have branches); where Virtual Wallet Checking Pro is unavailable, Virtual Wallet, a low-yield alternative, is available. PNC’s Virtual Wallet Checking Pro bundle includes Growth, a savings account. The Growth account offers a competitive rate of 4.65% APY on balances over $1. Customers in regions where Virtual Wallet Checking Pro is not available earn a lower rate on their Growth accounts.

Virtual Wallet Checking Pro Spend offers free mobile banking and online bill pay. There’s no monthly fee and no minimum deposit required to open an account.

The bank offers a network of 60,000 ATMs across the country.

The account offers tools that let you schedule bill reminders, track your balance and set up budgets and alerts.

In addition to the Spend account, Virtual Wallet Checking Pro automatically includes a secondary checking account called Reserve. This account, which didn't factor into our ratings, is meant for setting aside money for upcoming expenses and doesn’t earn interest.

PNC's fixed-rate CD yields for popular terms are some of the lowest. Other banks and credit unions have lower minimums and much higher yields on CDs.

Customer service representatives are available Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET and on weekends from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. Support is also available by live chat. PNC Bank earned second place in the 2021 J.D. Power National Banking Satisfaction Study; it performed highest in resolving customer problems, according to the study. In 2022, the bank placed fourth in the study.

The PNC mobile apps also earn good ratings from both Android device users and iOS device users.

PNC Bank has high overdraft fees but it also offers some easy, free ways to avoid them. If a transaction causes your account to go more than $5 negative, the fee is $36 per item and can be charged a maximum of once per day. PNC offers a Low Cash Mode program, which is available with Virtual Wallet accounts. With the program, customers get a 24-hour grace period to bring negative balances to $0 or higher to avoid overdraft fees.

Plus, customers can decide whether certain transactions should be paid or returned to avoid balances going negative, though the bank has the final say on how to handle transactions. PNC doesn't charge for overdraft transfers if you link an account as a backup, as long as the backup account has available funds.