PNC Hikes Rate On High Yield Savings Account

Last month when I first posted on PNC’s new High Yield Savings Account, I questioned if the account will remain competitive. This latest rate hike suggests that PNC may be serious in keeping it competitive. The rate increased 15 bps to 2.35% APY. Minimum balance to qualify for this rate is only $1. There’s no maximum balance, but according to PNC’s small print, they “may refuse or return any deposit amount causing the combined balance of all of your PNC accounts to exceed $5,000,000.” The account has no monthly service fee regardless of the balance.

Unlike other large banks that have started an online savings account, PNC didn’t create a separate website or internet division. The High Yield Savings Account page is accessible from pnc.com by going to the “Savings” page under “Banking”.

PNC is not offering the account nationwide. The High Yield Savings Account is only available to those who live outside PNC’s market area. You can see if you live in an eligible area by entering your zip code at this PNC page. If you qualify, you’ll be shown the PNC High Yield Savings page.

If you live in an area that’s eligible for the PNC High Yield Savings Account, is it worth opening the account? With a current APY of 2.35%, it is at the top for online savings accounts, and it does have several nice features. Below is a summary of the noteworthy features:

• No minimum balance to open
• No monthly service charge
• Balances of $1 and above qualify for the top rate
• No cost for online or paper statements
• Can be funded by an external account or a PNC checking account ($50k max)
• Can also be funded by a credit or debit card ($2k max)
• Ongoing deposits/withdrawals made via online transfers (ACH) with linked accounts
• Unlimited number of linked accounts can be established (per CSR)
• ACH transfer daily limits (standard): $250k for inbound, $75k for outbound (per CSR)
• No restriction on ACH transfers initiated at another bank (per CSR)
• Beneficiaries cannot be designated (per CSR)

PNC does have an edge in that they’re a large, well-known bank, and people can feel confident opening an online account at pnc.com. This may allow PNC to attract deposits without the highest rates. However, competition is growing. Many large banks have started to compete for your deposits with online savings accounts. So that may help keep the PNC High Yield Savings Account competitive for the long run.

Thanks to DA reader, calwatch, for his Forum post about this rate hike.

Availability

Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, PNC’s market area includes the states east of the Mississippi with the exception of Tennessee, Mississippi and the New England states. The market area also includes Missouri.

Typically, the market area for a bank is where an account is available. For this case, it’s the opposite. The PNC High Yield Savings Account is available in the states without PNC branches.

The PNC High Yield Savings Account must be opened online at pnc.com or via PNC Mobile App. The High Yield Savings Account page is accessible from pnc.com by going to the “Savings” page under “Banking”. However, when you first visit their site, PNC will ask for your zip code. If your zip code is inside their market area, where they have branches, you will not be shown the High Yield Savings Account.

If you live in PNC’s market area, PNC will list other savings account options. For my Florida zip code, the highest rate that I could find for a savings account option was 1.80% APY. This was only available in either the relationship rate for the Premiere Money Market Account that required Performance Select Checking or the relationship rate for Virtual Wallet with Performance Select. For both cases, the 1.80% APY required a $100k minimum balance. Lower rates were listed for smaller balance tiers.

For the High Yield Savings Account online application, PNC requires customers be U.S. citizens who are 18 years or older. Individual or joint accounts can be opened, but there is no option for trust accounts or POD accounts with designated beneficiaries.

Bank Overview

Based on June 30, 2018 data, PNC Bank has an overall health grade at DepositAccounts.com of "A," with a Texas Ratio of 5.56% (excellent). In the past year, PNC Bank has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $5.32 billion, an above average annual growth rate of 2.04%.

Established in 1944, PNC Bank is currently the sixth largest bank in the nation, with $369.0 billion in assets and more than 17.8 million customer accounts. Please refer to our financial overview of PNC Bank (FDIC Certificate # 6384) for more details.

How the PNC High Yield Savings Account Compares

When compared to the 215 Savings Accounts and 191 Money Market Accounts that are nationally available with minimum balance requirements of $10k and under, the PNC High Yield Savings Account ranks first.

The above rates are accurate as of 11/13/2018.

To compare the top Savings and Money Market account rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our Savings Account Rates Table and our Money Market Account Rates Table.