Looking for a simple way to manage your money? With PNC Bank, you’ll receive a ton of financial tools and have a variety of checking and savings accounts. To find out if PNC Bank Bank is right for you, continue reading the review below.
Located near the east coast, PNC Bank has over 2600 branches in 19 states. If you don’t live close to a branch, they do offer online banking services.
PNC Bank also has a specialized, combined invest account called the Virtual Wallet to help keep all your banking accounts in one area.
In addition to that, PNC works with college students at universities, encouraging youth to start saving money early and be knowledgeable of finance.
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Virtual Wallet
The Virtual Wallet is an all-in-one mobile app that provides access to a checking, savings, and investment account.
These accounts are referred to as Spend, Reserve, and Growth. Spend is for your day to day transactions, Reserve is for short term savings, and Growth is for long term savings and allows you to grow your money supply.
The virtual wallet also comes with other benefits. Through its dashboard or mobile app, you can do the following:
This is a financial calendar. You’ll see when you get paid next, how much money you’ll spend on bills, how much you are spending and more importantly, where you spent your money.
Pay your bills on time with Virtual Wallet’s Bill Pay by setting up recurring payments. If you prefer to make your payments yourself, you can set up reminders to avoid those late payments.
Get advanced warnings of overdrafts. This also allows you to transfer money over from your Reserve account.
You can set you up your goals by distributing money towards each of them. With Wish List, you can watch your money grow and slowly turn them into a reality.
You can set up budgets for each category and receive notifications to let you know when you are over your limit or about to be over it.
You can automatically set a specific percentage of each paycheck and transfer it directly into your savings account.
On the Virtual Wallet app, you can navigate over to the Piggy Bank and “punch it” (shake your smartphone) to transfer money over to your Growth account.
The cool thing about PNC Bank is that you can pair any of your checking accounts with Virtual Wallet. Minimum balance requirements and monthly fees with vary based on tiers.
If you need additional information, you can learn more about Virtual Wallet here.
Checking Account Options
The only difference between checking accounts is how big of a bonus you can get. It is recommended that you pair them with Virtual Wallet if you want to get the most out of your checking account.
$300 bonus — make qualified direct deposits totaling $5,000 AND make at least 10 PNC Bank Visa® Debit card purchases.
$200 bonus — make qualified direct deposits totaling $2,000 AND make at least 10 PNC Bank Visa® Debit card purchases.
$50 bonus — make qualified direct deposits totaling $500 AND make at least 10 PNC Bank Visa® Debit card purchases.
This premium checking account offers free checks, unlimited refunds of the charges for use of a non-SunTrust ATM, and access to up to four Essential Checking accounts with no service fee.
You also have the option to get reimbursed on up to three overdraft/returned item fees in a 12-month cycle.
This account does earn interest, but you’ll need a minimum balance of $25,000 to waive the higher monthly service fee.
Compare Checking Accounts
 • New Chase checking customers enjoy a $300 bonus when you open a Chase Total Checking® account with qualifying activities • Chase Mobile® app - Manage accounts, pay bills, send money to friends with Zelle® and deposit checks from almost anywhere. • Chase Overdraft AssistSM – no overdraft fees if you’re overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the business day or if you’re overdrawn by more than $50 and bring your account balance to overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the next business day* • Help keep your money protected with features like Zero Liability Protection, fraud monitoring and card lock. • Chase Total Checking includes FDIC insurance up to the maximum amount allowed by law. • With over 4,700 branches, Chase has the largest branch network in the U.S. plus access to more than 15,000 ATMs. • Open your account online now • Available online nationwide except in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. For branch locations, visit locator.chase.com. *With Chase Overdraft AssistSM, we won’t charge an Overdraft Fee if you’re overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the business day OR if you’re overdrawn by more than $50 and you bring your account balance to overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the next business day (you have until 11 PM ET (8 PM PT) to make a deposit or transfer). Chase Overdraft Assist does not require enrollment and comes with eligible Chase checking accounts. |
Savings Account Options
PNC offers 2 main saving accounts, standard savings and premiere money market. They offer these accounts in tiers. The higher the tier, the higher the interest rate. Visit their website to learn more about these savings.
A standard savings account that is targeted for children under the age of 18. They use fun images from Sesame Street on their learning center to teach kids about the importance of saving up your money.
This account is designed to help you save your money with unlimited deposits. You can earn interest on it and they will increase overtime.
Compare Savings Accounts
 Open a Discover® Online Savings Account for all these features: • Earn $200/$150 Bonus with promo code LOP325 by 9/11/2025 • Earn high interest rate of 3.70% APY • No minimum opening deposit, no minimum balance requirement, and now no fees • Interest on Discover Online Savings Accounts is compounded daily and credited monthly • Manage your account online or with the Discover mobile app • FDIC insurance up to $250,000 • See advertiser website for full details To qualify for Bonus: Apply for your first Discover Online Savings Account, enter Offer Code LOP325 at application, deposit into your Account a total of at least $15,000 to earn a $150 Bonus or deposit a total of at least $25,000 to earn a $200 Bonus. Qualifying deposit(s) may consist of multiple deposits and must post to Account within 45 days of account open date. Maximum bonus eligibility is $200. What to know: Offer not valid for existing or prior Discover savings customers. Eligibility is based on primary account owner. Account must be open when bonus is credited. Bonus will be credited to the account within 60 days of qualifying for the bonus. Bonus is subject to tax reporting. Offer ends 09/11/2025, 11:59 PM ET. Offer may be modified or withdrawn without notice. Due to new customer funding limits, you may wish to initiate fund transfers at your other institution. For information on funding, see FAQs on Discover.com/Bank. |
Reasons to Bank with PNC
- With Virtual Wallet, you will get a plethora of budgeting tools to help you plan out your finances. The graphs are easy to read and the color-coded notifications make it easy to realize when you are in danger of going over on your account.
- You can set up automatic overdraft protection with Virtual Wallet.
- If you have proof that you’re enrolled in college, you won’t pay fees for Virtual Wallet. College students at PNC partner colleges may also have access to personal finance education classes.
- Pay bills online completely free of charge.
- Apply for PNC accounts on their website and get a response back in a second.
- Get your ATM fees reimbursed with most PNC accounts. The type of account and your location will determine the maximum amount PNC will cover.
- Transfer money between PNC accounts, from your PNC account to an external account, or to friends/family using PopMoney.
- Make mobile deposits by using the PNC mobile app.
- PNC offers a non-advertised second chance checking account. If you’ve had financial issues in the past and can’t get a traditional checking account, the Foundation Checking account may be a good option to get you started.
Reasons Not to Bank with PNC
- You need at least $500 in your account to avoid fees if you don’t use direct deposit on even the most basic PNC checking account.
- PNC only operates in 19 states. If you don’t live in those 19 states, using non PNC ATM’s can get pretty costly.
- The interest rates offered are fairly low if you use the standard account. PNC reserves their higher interest rates for Virtual Wallet clients and knocks the rates down to next to nothing for standard accounts.
PNC Routing Number
PNC’s routing number varies depending on state. You can find your routing number on the lower left corner of your PNC Bank check, or check out their website.
Contact Customer Service
Reach PNC Customer Service at 1 (888) 762-2265. You’ll be able to call anytime so you can get the help you need with your accounts or any other problems you might have.
If you want to visit them in person, make sure you use their Locator.
How PNC Bank Compares
- Chase Bank: Chase is one of the biggest banks in the U.S and offers just about almost everything. Compared to its other competitors, Chase offers much more checking account options.
- Regions Bank: Regions Bank has a wider variety of savings, CDs, & IRA options to help you save. You can find Regions Bank across 15 states.
- SunTrust Bank: As a Southeastern bank, SunTrust prides themselves in top-tier customer service. SunTrust offers a comparable selection of checking & savings accounts in comparison. However, you’ll need $100 to open an account at SunTrust. The bank also offers a cash back rewards program & a small number of checks come free with each checking account.
- TD Bank: TD Bank has similar options to PNC Bank, and they also offer bonuses for signing up for a checking account. They have various account options that suit all kinds of consumers as well.
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Bottom Line
If you prefer to have all your banking needs organized in one central app or account, then take advantage of PNC’s Virtual Wallet. PNC goes out of their way to include budgeting tools for those new to banking and encourage youth to open their own savings or checking accounts.
However, keep in mind that when you look for a checking or savings account be sure to look into all the fees charged. Don’t focus on the interest rate alone, but on what the account will cost you overall.
If you’re interested in banking with PNC Bank, see our list of the latest PNC bank bonuses! For more options from a variety of banks, see our list of the best bank promotions!
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