PNC Financial Services Launching Program for Customers to Avoid Overdraft Fees

By Allison Prang

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. is widely launching a "Low Cash ModeSM" for its Virtual Wallet customers that will give those customers at least one day to handle overdrafts before they are charged a fee, the company said.

Customers will be able to decide whether ACH transactions and checks are processed that could lead to overdrafts, PNC said, something the company said is usually decided by banks. Customers will also be told when they have a low balance.

The company said that with the program, which it has tested with nearly 20,000 customers and led to a more than 60% drop in overdraft fees as a group, it expects customers on a yearly basis will avoid between $125 million and $150 million in overdraft fees. This option will launch nationwide in June and July to Android and Apple phone customers that use Virtual Wallet, the company said.

"While we expect to realize a reduction in fee revenue, we firmly believe that this innovative and differentiated approach will drive significant growth in new and existing customer relationships over time as we execute our national expansion strategy," Chief Executive, President and Chairman Bill Demchak said in prepared remarks.

PNC said the company's 2021 revenue outlook already anticipated for this drop in fees.

Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 13, 2021 07:56 ET (11:56 GMT)

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