PNC Joins Growing Trend, Unveils a Prepaid Card

PNC Bank is rolling out a reloadable prepaid card in an effort to capture its share of consumers who do not have traditional bank accounts.

The bank, a unit of PNC Financial Services Group (PNC), joins a number of its competitors including JPMorgan Chase (JPM), U.S. Bancorp (USB), Regions Financial (RF) and BB&T (BBT) in offering a prepaid card to both existing customers and those without a bank account.

The bank initiated a pilot program for its SmartAccess Prepaid Visa card in the spring and said Tuesday that it is now available in all of its 2,900 branches.

Lousiville, Ky., was among the cities where PNC tested the card. Lawrence Wilbon, executive director of the Presbyterian Community Center in Louisville, said in a press release Tuesday that he works worth many families who have fallen on hard times and are unable to get checking accounts.

"The PNC SmartAccess Card is a good fit for our clients who are trying to regain self-sufficiency," he said.

The card is free to obtain, but customers do pay a $5 monthly maintenance fee. Loading money at the bank and withdrawing cash from PNC ATMs is also free, the bank said.