PNC’s Gift to Community Banks and Credit Unions

by. Steve Topper

As the last of the top 20 banks in America to drop free checking, PNC’s gift to community banks and credit unions shouldn’t be ignored or go unused.

You might call it the gift that keeps on giving.

In last Thursday’s blog I provided the salient details about PNC’s recent announcement that it was throwing free checking customers under the bus – just not immediately.

So here’s the two-step deal.

Step #1 is that the bank will discontinue offering free checking as of August 17 of this year.

Step #2 is that PNC’s free checking customers now know that their free checking accounts will be converted to a fee-based account sometime in June of next year.

This delay provides an excellent opportunity for those community banks and credit unions competing with one or more local PNC branches to launch guerilla marketing campaigns directed at PNC free checking customers and prospects seeking free checking.

Just remember this very important fact about free checking.  It’s still consumers’ favorite checking account even if though it’s no longer available from the nation’s top 20 financial institutions.

Given a choice of checking accounts, the vast majority of consumers will always select free checking.  Why not?

It’s free of two of the checking account requirements consumers hate most – a monthly fee and a minimum balance requirement.  This is true even when the top 20 banks provide a variety of options to avoid one or both of these requirements.

By the way, what type of checking account do you have?   What about your family members?  What about your friends and neighbors?

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