PNC Bank is a banking subsidiary of the PNC Financial Services Group (stylized as PNC), an American financial services company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It operates in 27 states plus in the District of Columbia and serves thousands of Americans, and has approximately 2,945 branches and thousands of ATMs across the country. PNC also provides financial services such as wealth management, asset management, loan servicing, estate planning, and information processing. You will learn more about opening a PNC checking account online shortly.
An online account allows you to access your money through the internet anywhere and any time of the day. You can use smartphones, tablets, or computers to manage your funds. That way, you can save yourself from the agony of going all the way to your bank to deposit, withdraw, check your balance, or carry out any other kind of transaction. In short, online bank accounts are convenient.
PNC is among those banks that allow you to manage your money online. You can easily carry out various transactions right from your palm without much effort. For your information, the bank is one of the country’s largest Small Business Administration lenders. Furthermore, the institution is one of the biggest credit card issuers. Credit cards are payment cards that allow you to borrow money from your issuer.
Details Of Get Started With PNC
To start using the PNC services, you should open an account. The financial service allows you to open a checking or savings account. But what is a checking account? A checking account allows one to keep money that they can access any time they need it, either from their banking app, using a debit card, or at the nearest branch.
On the other hand, a savings account allows you to save money for your future use and earn interest. Times have passed when people used to keep funds in their houses as there were many risks associated with the practice. To ensure that your funds do not lie idle in the banks, they lend it to borrowers and then give you some extra money every year known as interest.
When opening your account, you must present all the requirements without fail. You must have an email address, Social Security Number, an identification document, phone number, and a physical address. Identification can be your passport, Driver’s license, or national/state ID.
The importance of bringing your identification document is to make sure that no fake people open accounts to start doing unlawful transactions such as funding terrorism, human and drug trafficking, among other evil activities.
The Social Security Number is important to help the government track the number of years you have worked to decide your retirement benefits. That is why banks and employers must obtain the number. It also further identifies you since it carries your personal details.
Lastly, PNC and other financial companies require your phone number and email address to communicate with you when necessary.
Can You Open A PNC Checking Account Online
The institution allows you to open a free online checking account with no opening deposit. It does not matter whether it is a savings or a checking account. You can use a phone or computer to open an account.
You need to visit the PNC account opening page and enter your ZIP code on the display page to start opening your account. Providing your Zip Code helps an institution know the services to offer you since they may differ from one region to another. The Zip Code helps the banking officials to ensure that the information you see is accurate.
Once you insert your Zip Code, you open your checking account. The PNC checking account is called Virtual Wallet. We have two types of Virtual Wallets which include:
- Virtual Wallet
- Virtual Wallet Student By PNC Bank
Under Virtual Wallet, there are two advanced wallets which include Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend and Virtual Wallet with Performance Select. Depending on your preferences, you can select an account and open it as per the instructions.
You can send money with a checking account number instantly with any of the above accounts as what differs are the features, but the transaction capabilities remain the same. When opening a Virtual Wallet, you will expect the following.
i) Tell the bank about yourself.
To apply, you must be 16 years old and above if applying for a Student Virtual Wallet. Under 18 students must apply with a co-applicant who is at least 18 years old. When applying for the regular virtual Wallet, you will need to be at least 18 years old.
ii) Reveal your identity
You can provide a state-issued ID or Military ID, a valid driver’s license for verification. When everything provided is okay, you will get your account and fund it immediately to start using or fund later.
Features Of The PNC Checking Accounts
Since the institution has various checking accounts, you need to know what each of them entails to choose what you feel is best for you. Let us look at each of the checking accounts and their features.
i) Virtual Wallet Student
You can expect three things from your student account when you open your account.
- Spend – Everyday spending account
- Reserve – Short-term planning account
- Growth – Long-term savings account
The account is a suitable high school student checking account to help young scholars manage their finances online. It has no monthly service charges for the first six years for the spending account only. Again, you get fee-free reimbursement for non-PNC Bank ATM transactions for your first two domestic or international transactions you make on your Spend, Reserve, or Growth accounts per statement period.
Furthermore, you get a $5.00 other banks’ ATM surcharge fee reimbursement per statement period. Additionally, you will benefit from one automatic courtesy refund of all overdraft items or returned item fees linked to the first overdraft event. Above all, you will be able to benefit from free ATM transactions at nearly 18,000 machines across the country. Since it is an online account, you will get digital tools to plan and track your spending.
ii) Virtual Wallet
Like the Virtual student account, the regular virtual account allows you to benefit from the following services.
- Spend – Everyday spending account
- Reserve – Short-term planning account
- Growth – Long-term savings account
When opening your account, you will need zero minimum deposit to get started. That means you can open your account and then put money in at your convenience. Furthermore, there are no monthly service fees that you should pay whatsoever. However, there are requirements to obtain zero monthly charges.
You require at least $500 or more monthly direct deposit to the Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend account for the Virtual Wallet. Again, you need at least a $2,000 direct deposit every month to the Spend Account and at least $5,000 monthly direct deposit to the Virtual Wallet with Performance Select Spend account.
If you do not meet the monthly service charge requirements, then you will pay $7/month for the Virtual Wallet, $15/month for the Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend, and $25/month for the Virtual Wallet with Performance Select.
The Virtual Wallet is an online bank account with an instant debit card that you can start using online to pay for online purchases. You also enjoy managing your account online using the banking app. Therefore, you do not have to start with other banks that force you to visit their physical offices for particular services.
Bottom Line
PNC Bank is a banking subsidiary of the PNC Financial Services Group (stylized as PNC), an American financial services company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It offers checking and savings accounts. The various checking accounts from the bank have various features that meet specific populations.
The PNC checking accounts are called Virtual Wallets, and we have regular virtual wallets and Virtual wallets designed for students. PNC also offers a second chance checking account.
