Updated Review of PNC's Virtual Wallet
PNC Bank's Virtual Wallet has changed quite a bit since I first reviewed it in 2009. The good news is that it's still easy to keep it free without monthly fees. Considering how many of the large banks have added monthly fees and debit card fees to their checking accounts, PNC's Virtual Wallet is noteworthy. The bad news is that you don't get rewarded like you used to. Another downside is that it has become more complicated. Virtual Wallet has never been simple. It's composed of three different accounts:
- Spend Account (checking)
- Reserve Account (for short-term savings & overdraft protection)
- Growth Account (high-interest savings account)
PNC has made this more complicated by adding two differnt Virtual Wallets:
- Virtual Wallet
- Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend
Only Virtual Wallet is free of monthly service charges, and it requires that you do not exceed 3 paper checks per month (50 cents per check after 3). To have monthly service charges waived for the Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend there are minimum balance requirements or direct deposit requirements.
Another new complication is that you have to work to qualify for the high interest rate of the Growth Account, and the "high" in the high interest is not really applicable. As of 10/07/2011, it's 0.85% APY for balances up to $25K. To qualify for this rate, you must now have 5 or more debit card or credit card purchases per month.
If you don't want to be charged fees at non-PNC ATMs, you'll need the Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend. Only that account reimburses other banks' fees for non-PNC ATMs (up to $8 per month). Also, there are no PNC charges when you use a non-PNC ATM.
Another perk with the Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend is free check orders. Only the first set of checks is free with the plain Virtual Wallet.
PNC Mobile Deposit
PNC highlights many of the special features in its Virtual Wallet website. One notable feature is the iPhone remote deposit. PNC calls it mobile deposit, and it allows you to deposit checks using your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Unlike Chase's QuickDeposit, it doesn't appear to support Android phones yet.
PNC Free Checking - Will It Stay Free?
If this is too complicated for you, PNC does still offer a plain free checking account with no minimum balance requirements and no monthly service charge, and unlike Virtual Wallet, it doesn't charge you when you write more than 3 checks per month. Hopefully, PNC won't follow the other giant banks with monthly service charges and debit card fees. It has already ended its points program for most accounts and they have increased ATM and paper statement fees.
PNC Bank Overview
PNC is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S. It had grown to over 49,000 employees and over 2,600 locations. Most of PNC branches are in the Northeast. It also has hundreds of branches in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Florida.
The bank has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 4 stars (out of 5) and a Texas Ratio of 18.17% (average) based on June 2011 data. Please refer to our financial overview of PNC Bank for more details. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 6384).
Anonymous - #1, Friday, October 7, 2011 - 4:45 PM
THe PNC Cash Rewards credit card reward rate is also dependent on your account balances. The $25K balance tier ceiling and purchase requirements makes it look like a RCA. Too many annoying stipulations to maintain the highest rate. I'll pass.
Anonymous - #2, Friday, October 7, 2011 - 7:20 PM
Not worth to even apply, too many hoops and lots of cash tied up.
Anonymous - #3, Saturday, October 8, 2011 - 11:28 AM
I'll stay away from this bank since too many traps. Most of the people will result in No expecting Bonus but end up with fees charged to the accounts. Believe it or not, even the employees in this bank will nicely talked you into opening some certain accounts, then it's too late when you found out. You are just like scammed with tons of fees. That's why PNC has huge chunk of annual FEE REVENUE--even it's employees won't bank with PNC. PNC---a BAD BANK with some crooked employees. You'd better off NEVER banking with PNC.
Anonymous - #4, Wednesday, October 26, 2011 - 10:13 AM
PNC is without a doubt the worst bank that I have ever done business with. They order debits ahead of credits daily. They order debits from greatest to least to maximize overdraft charges. They enroll you in "over draft" protection for debit cards. This means that instead of refusing payment on a debit card, they sack you with high over draft fees. In addition,they play with "pending" charges as well to their advantage. Do business with them at your own risk.
Anonymous - #5, Wednesday, October 26, 2011 - 10:18 AM
Yes if you're looking for a ranking/rating of PNC Bank you will often find it at the bottom of the charts. It is not well liked at all. PNC practices "gotcha" banking. PNC pushed an elderly friend of mine into fee-laden annuity. Good luck!
Twitchrdrm (anonymous) - #6, Friday, October 28, 2011 - 9:41 PM
Wow, I'm shocked at all of the hate on here. I work in banking for a rival of PNC's and I love my virtual wallet with performance spend. I do not pay any monthly fees since I have direct deposit and I dont pay any fees. I love the budgeting tools and the calander interface that allows me to see the big picture. This is the best online banking layout in the Chicago market, hands down. As a plus I get .85 on my savings account (most bank savings accts will pay you .10 to .20 right now the rates just simply suck due to prime being 3.25) I still get rewards points, my checks are free, and PNC credits back up to $8 per statement period in other bank atm fees, wow! Needless to say I'm very happy. People complaining about fees need to educate themselves better about how bank accounts work and not overdraw their accts. BTW PNC or any bank for that matter will not automatically opt you into overdraft coverage, you are opted out by default it's a federal law. Banks are for profit corporations, if you can't play by their rules and use an acct properly go to the currency exchange and whine when they charge you to cash your check!
Anonymous - #7, Tuesday, February 14, 2012 - 6:48 PM
Not sure why you are down on PNC. I have used them almost a year. Switched to PNC because of Virtual Wallet, and I will tell you, there is no other banking experience quite like it. I have all of my bills set up on automatic payment. All I have to do is look at my Virtual Wallet once a week (on payday) to make sure everything is ok. If there is going to be a problem, I can transfer money out of savings, or simply move a payment to another day. I also have the Cashbuilder credit card from PNC. I pay for everything with my Cashbuildier card and get 1.5% cashback. There is no other online baking experience that comes close to PNC & Virtual Wallet
Anonymous - #8, Thursday, May 10, 2012 - 3:46 AM
Most of what the author has stated in this article is exaggerated. PNC has NOT made it more complicated by adding the Performance accounts. Those accounts are targeted to meet varying needs with clients who may carry higher balances or use foreign ATM's frequently. PNC has also recently expanded (March 5,2012) to include the southestearn states with the exception of Tennessee. The accounts are no more complicated than anyone who has a savings and checking account. I love my virtual wallet and have had many friends switch to PNC specifically because this account is so amazing! I challenge this author to change his perspective and re-write a less negative article because I shopped around at other banks before choosing PNC and the main reason why I chose this bank is because of their genuine care for the customer and the virtual wallet account. There is nothing complicated about the virtual wallet account.
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