Here are the screenshots that support our previous blog entry.

Holiday Promotions and Themes from Top-20 Banks

5. PNC Bank (22 Dec. 2009)

Landing page <pncchristmaspriceindex.com>
Note: According to Compete, received 25,000 unique visitors in Dec. 2008

 13. TDBank (22 Dec.)
Note: The promotion was gone when we checked back today (24 Dec.)

Landing page

14. Citizens (RBS) (22 Dec.)
Note: The gift ad was gone when we checked back today (24 Dec.), but the free electronic calendar (to the left of the gift ad) was still running.

Landing page

15. Regions (22 Dec.)

16. Fifth Third Bank (22 Dec.)

17. ING Direct (24 Dec.)

20. Harris Bank (BMO)
Note: The points ad had been pulled down when we checked back this morning (24 Dec.)

Note:
1. Previous Netbanker December holiday-marketing posts (2007, 2006, 2006, 2004)
2. Rankings based on deposit on 31 Dec. 2008 (list here)

It's a bit of a holiday tradition at Netbanker (note 1), checking out the top-20 banks to see if they've upped their retail game during the year-end holiday period. Or at least pushed out a holiday greeting to visitors, such as Google's greeting to Gmail users yesterday (inset). 

It was pretty much business as usual at most large bank sites. The only top-10 bank with any major holiday message this week was PNC Bank, with its clever Christmas Price Index, which values the items listed in the 12 Days of Christmas song. The total this year: $21,500, up 1.8% over 2008 (press release).

PNC has calculated the price index for 26 years and displays a bar graph at their CPI microsite (below). It's been online for a number of years; we first blogged about it in 2004.

This year, we surfed the 20 largest U.S. banks on Dec. 22 and Dec. 24 (screenshots are in the next post; note 2). On the first visit, we found six top-20 banks with a holiday mention on the homepage (rank in parenthesis). We took a tour again this morning expecting to find a few more holiday messages. There was only one newcomer, ING Direct, and surprisingly, three of the original six had pulled down their holiday ads already. In all only four top-20 banks have a holiday message today (24 Dec., 9 AM Pacific time). 

December 22	December 24
5. PNC Bank	5. PNC Bank
13. TD Bank	15. Regions Bank
14. Citizens (RBS)	16. Fifth Third
15. Regions	17. ING Direct
16. Fifth Third
20. Harris Bank (BMO)

Luckily, an astute reader emailed yesterday to let us know that their bank was decked out in the holiday spirit, $2 billion (deposits) Union Bank and Trust (below) headquartered in Bowling Green, Virginia.

Union Bank & Trust (24 Dec. 2009)

Note:
1. Previous Netbanker December holiday-marketing posts (2007, 2006, 2006, 2004)
2. Rankings based on deposits on 31 Dec. 2008 (list here)

Are you tired of hearing "there's an app for that" yet? Well, get used to it, we are still at the beginning of the great app rollout. 

Even as recently as our iPhone Banking Report published in March, I assumed most financial institutions would have a single iPhone app. One bank. One app. It's how the Web worked, for the most part.  

But when Starbucks unveiled a dedicated app just for its stored-value card (separate from the main Starbucks brand app), I realized that I wasn't thinking big enough.

For example, in August PNC Bank become the first U.S. financial institution to offer multiple apps when it released an app for its Gen-Y-focused Virtual Wallet. That was followed last week by Wells Fargo when it unveiled its cash-management app for larger businesses, CEO Mobile (screenshot below; press release).

Now, I believe that each major bank will roll out dozens of apps, perhaps hundreds, to support their business lines, major products and large segments. There will be an app for each major affinity credit/debit card, one for students, one for small businesses, one for large business, one for senior checking, one for home equity lines, and so on.

And, if that's not enough, there could be a dedicated app for each stock broker, loan officer and mortgage broker. There could be one app for every branch, neighborhood, or region. Right now the search-and-discovery tools at Apple would implode under the weight of all these apps. But they'll figure that out. It's worth billions to them. 

Today, more than 100,000 apps are available for the iPhone. But fewer than 20 are for U.S. financial institutions. It's conceivable that in the banking vertical itself, well over 10,000 apps could be developed, possibly many tens of thousands (see notes 1, 2). 

Wells Fargo is first U.S. bank with a cash management iPhone app (12 Nov 2009)

Notes:
1. They won't all be iPhone apps. The mobile market is too big to have it all consolidated at one player. 
2. It's also conceivable that we'll move away from the dedicated app framework, and users will be able to configure their phones with hundreds of info feeds without needing to install an app for each one. More like the iGoogle portal model.  It will be fascinating to see how it plays out.

Too often we don't give online business banking the coverage it deserves, both here and in Online Banking Report (note 1). Online services can be far more valuable for a business customer than for the average consumer. But consumer services, with bigger advertising budgets and much more press coverage, tend to be more visible when we search for examples of financial innovations.  

That's why I was especially intrigued with the PNC Bank ad in the Aug/Sep issue of BusinessWeek SmallBiz magazine. Not only had PNC Bank shelled out for a full-page ad (p. 20, see inset; note 2), the creative was interesting and included a tease for the CFO product combined with easy-to-recall URL <pnc.com/cfo>.  

The new account, cleverly dubbed PNC|CFO, an acronym for Cash Flow Options, covers all the major headaches of business owners:

• Accelerate accounts receivable
• Improve your outgoing payments
• Invest your cash wisely
• Access information online
• Ensure access to cash (note 3)

Analysis
Naturally, I was most interested in the second-to-last bullet, online information. The audio-visual online banking demo is thorough, but surprisingly neglects mobile banking services. The only mention of mobile banking is at the end of the last paragraph on the online banking landing page. With business owners increasingly tethered to their businesses via Blackberry or iPhone, mobile capabilities should be front-and-center. 

The other thing missing from the web-based marketing: a human connection. The main call-to-action is the big orange Contact Request button (see screenshot below). Presumably a biz banker will quickly get on the horn and make that connection. However, the bank should make it clear that they have a bevy of qualified bankers available to usher new clients into the CFO account.

Simply changing the button to Contact a Business Banker would be an improvement. But I'd also like to see a bullet point that talks about customer  service. The only thing I saw was a few generic screenshots in the online demo which talked about responding to most questions "within 24 hours." That doesn't make the reader feel particularly special.

Finally, a small rant about the bank's contact form. I received error messages the first three times I attempted to submit it. Evidently, commas are not allowed in the company name or address fields. That not good programming and creates a needless poor first impression. There's is also no space in the form for comments from prospective customers. PNC Bank has been on the web for 14 years, it should have flawless forms (note 4).

Grade: Overall, I really like what PNC is doing so I'll give the marketing site an A for design and B- for execution.

Landing page for PNC's Cash Flow Options service (link, 19 Aug 2009)

PNC new account "contact me" form with error message

Notes:
1. Our last report on Online Small Business Banking is available here (June 2004).
2. Key Bank (p. 9) and Bank of America (p. 29) also bought full pagers.
3. The bank is referring to credit lines and loans; I'm not sure why they didn't state that more clearly. Access to cash sounds more like a checking account feature.
4. While I'm at it, here are a few more minor flaws: (a) Even though I made two errors in the form, the error message only identified the first one; (b) When an error is made, the form automatically clears the checks in the bottom column of boxes; (c) The bank has neglected to turn off auto-fill (at least in Firefox 3.0) in the "confirm your email" field. 

You'd think that seven months after Apple launched the App Store for the iPhone, it would no longer be news when a U.S. bank adds an application to the store.

It's not like a cost-prohibitive slotting fee is involved. Developers pay Apple exactly zero dollars to be listed in the store (note 1). Apple's revenue is from the 30% share of any fees charged for an app. All the bank apps are free, so that's not an issue.

But it is news since the addition of PNC Bank two weeks age (app here) brings the grand total of bank-specific apps to four, five if you count PayPal. Even if you include the several dozen banks supported by Firethorn's multi-bank app, there are still no more than 40 banks supported (note 2). And there's not a single credit union, yet. 

Here are the five App Store participants in order of their appearance:

• Bank of America and PayPal were both in the App Store when it first opened in July 2008 (post here)
• IBC Bank (powered by mFoundry) launched in Sept. 2008 (post here)
• Chase Bank launched Dec. 2008 (post here)
• PNC Bank (powered by mFoundry) launched late January 2009

Wells Fargo has an iPhone app, but it's not yet shown up in the official App Store.

PNC mobile banking app
PNC's entry is a full-featured app powered by mFoundry. Along with balance and transaction activity, it includes bill pay, funds transfer, and an ATM finder with location-based capabilities. Users must enable mobile banking from within online banking in order to use the app.

The app has risen from number 17 in the Finance category a week ago to 13 today (note 3). However, the app has not yet made it to the PNC website (note 4).

PNC iPhone App screenshots (11 Feb 2009)

Notes:
1. The app does need to be approved by Apple, a process that can take weeks or longer.
2. Users can also track thousands of financial institutions through Mint or PageOnce.
3. Bank of America is #1, Chase is #4, PayPal is #5, Mint is #6, Firethorn is #9.
4. A PNC.com site search for "iphone" yielded just one result, an iphone listed in a mobile banking compatibility table. (Off topic: Note to PNC Bank, your site search doesn't function in Firefox 3.0).
5. For more information on the market, see our Online Banking Report on Mobile Banking and the latest forecast in last month's Online Banking Report Online & Mobile Forecast.

Verizon Wireless mobile phone users can now download PNC Bank mobile banking directly from the Verizon Wireless site (here). The free service, powered by mFoundry, is housed in the Features & Downloads area (see first screenshot below).

However, unlike Firethorn's mobile banking app which carries a "recommended" endorsement from the wireless carrier (see second screenshot), the PNC Bank app is found only via site search (see last screenshot). The PNC app is currently not available via browsing the business apps.

Users may click on the Send to Phone button, a shortcut that sends an application directly to their mobile phone for easy downloading. Both mobile banking applications are free.

PNC Mobile Banking app on Verizon Wireless site (3 Nov 2008)

Search results for "banking" at Verizon's Tools & Applications area
(3 Nov 2008)

Firethorn's mobile banking app is recommended at the Verizon site
(3 Nov 2008)

Note:
1. For more information on the market, see our Online Banking Report on Mobile Banking.

As I was drilling into the latest Compete traffic numbers for the annual Online Banking Report planning issue, I noticed a significant uptick in traffic to online personal finance specialists, almost across the board.

Sept. traffic revealed a total of 1.2 million unique visitors (note 1) compared to less than 400,000 a year ago. Not surprisingly, consumers appear to be taking a closer look at their finances. 

The big three newcomers last year: Mint, Wesabe, and Geezeo saw combined traffic increase by 450,000 users, a nearly three-fold increase from 2007. Geezeo was the star percentage-wise, growing more than six-fold. But Mint accounted for three-fourths of the net gain across the existing players with 330,000 more visitors (see Table 1 below):

Also, two newcomers made a big splash last month:

• PNC Virtual Wallet launched in July (coverage here) by PNC Bank, which trailed only Mint last month with nearly 140,000 unique visitors (see 2 below).
• Rudder (a relaunch of Spendview) drew 50,000 visitors last month after its launch at DEMOfall in early Sept.

Granted, the PNC Virtual Wallet benefits enormously from the 2 million monthly visitors to parent PNC.com and PNCBank.com. Yet, it's still an impressive total and is encouraging for banks and credit unions considering similar efforts.

Table 1: Online PFMs launched more than 1 year ago

Table 2: The online PFM class of 2008

 Notes:

1. Sum of the monthly unique visitors from all PFM companies, visitors that went to more than one PFM provider are not eliminated from the total, so there is double counting in the totals. Data source is Compete, pulled 21 Oct 2008.

2. Rudder was previously Spendview, but we consider them to be essentially a new company.

Just when you thought Mint, Wesabe, and Geezeo had a lock on all the headlines for Gen Y personal finance, along comes a truly inspired effort from a major U.S. retail bank. Furthermore, it's not from Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase, or even ING Direct.

Pittsburgh, PA-based PNC Bank, the 15th-largest U.S. retail bank with $83 billion in deposits (see note 1), today launched a new online combo account called PNC Virtual Wallet.

The account comes with a checking account, bill payment, and two types of savings accounts. It also features several unique personal financial management features with an emphasis on functions most likely to appeal to a 20-something audience:

• Cash flow: debit card, checking, online bill pay, financial calendar, recent transaction report
• Savings: two types of savings accounts, automated savings options, wish list, and a random video-game-inspired savings tool called "punch the pig" (see below)

Finally, the account is priced well:

• No fees (except $0.50 per written check after the first 3 per month and the usual penalty fees)
• Free overdraft protection among linked accounts
• 3% APY on the growth savings component
• ATM-free rebate (but only if there's a $2000 average monthly balance in the checking account portion)

What's innovative? (note 2)

• Package of three deposit accounts: Spend Account (e.g., checking), Reserve Account (e.g., savings) and Growth Account (e.g., high-yield savings or money market deposit account)
• Ability to move money among the three accounts by moving a slider across the screen, called the Money Bar
• Automated savings function called Savings Engine that allows users to set up time-triggered (e.g., once per week) or event-triggered (e.g., each debit card use) automatic savings transfers
• Savings game called Punch the Pig, a video-game-inspired savings gimmick: Each time the pig appears on screen, users can elect to "punch" it to automatically move money from checking to savings
• Wish List with savings goals and progress reports

What can be improved?
Four areas that are noticeably absent, or at least not mentioned:

• Mobile functionality, especially text banking and alerts
• Online customer support: Customer can apply online through the Andera-powered app; however, there is no link to any online-support options such as chat, IM, text, or even a Web-based input form or old-school email address
• Social aspects: forums, reviews, blogs, or even testimonials (note 4)
• Credit: credit cards, line of credit, auto loans, and so on

The website design is impressive and very un-banklike, yet it lacks some basics:

• No demo: There are several Flash instructional videos that show most of the key features, but there is no all-encompassing demo for users wanting a tryout before buying.
• Lame homepage videos: Granted, I'm not in the Gen Y target market so I could be wrong, but if I think the videos are lame, what do you think a 22-year-old will make of them? I say lose the "man on the street videos" or reshoot them in a less-scripted manner. 
• Extensive FAQs: The FAQs need to be expanded tenfold. Currently, only 16 questions and answers are up, but with so many unique features, that number doesn't come close to answering many basic questions, such as "Are there account alerts?" or "What's the rate of interest on the reserve account" (note 3), or "How long are transactions stored?"

PNC Bank virtual wallet homepage (14 July 2008)

Explanation of "Punch the Pig" savings feature

Notes:
1. Deposits as of 31 Dec 2007; deposits were up 25% compared to $66 billion as of year-end 2006.

2. PNC has applied for a patent on the account and tools.

3. Eventually, I did find a link to interest rates and fees on the "how to apply" page

4. See Online Banking Report on Social Personal Finance for more info

It takes a long time before a new process or technology becomes "conventional wisdom," something that is accepted at face value without questioning its pros and cons. While we are still years away from that happening with remote deposit technology, at least the mainstream press has picked up on its benefits, one of the first steps towards mass adoption.

The latest example was in today's Wall Street Journal special Small Business section. In "Branching Out," a general article on banks' growing interest in small businesses, author David Enrich prefaced an Aite Group "levels the playing field" quote with this (p. R6):  

Remote deposit makes it less important to select a bank based on its location or number of branches--which many big banks tout as a key selling point.

Analysis
The key take-away here is that banks should make sure remote deposit services are prominently featured in checking/cash management offers aimed at attracting new business clients. 

For example, PNC Bank is currently running a remote deposit promotion with a free scanner for customers who sign up before the end of April (see landing page screenshot below). The service is powered by Bankserv (PNC data sheet here;

The promotion is well-placed on Google, with the fourth-highest AdWords placement giving PNC the top-right slot (see inset).

However, neither the promotion or remote deposit are mentioned on the bank's main business checking account marketing page (see second screenshot below). We like the promotion, the first we've seen advertising a free scanner via Google, but the bank seems to be missing the chance to grab new accounts with the freebie.  

PNC Bank landing page from Google search on "remote deposit capture"
(Seattle IP address, 19 March 2007, 9 AM PDT)

PNC Bank main business checking page (19 March 2007)

As mentioned last week (here), U.S. banks are starting to get more creative with their websites, with 12 of the 30 largest (note 1) injecting a bit of holiday spirit into their websites.

This year, three of the top-30 banks had major holiday themes running on their homepages; in 2004, none did. And today we viewed another nine with minor holiday sprinkles, making 12 in total. Two years ago, four banks had minor holiday-themed promotions.

We expected to see more banks marketing gift cards, one of the hottest holiday gifts, especially during the last few days before Christmas. Only four banks mentioned gift cards on their homepages on Dec. 24 (note 2):

• National City
• BB&T
• North Fork Bank
• Commerce Bank

Here is a rundown of those with major holiday themes:

1. Citibank: Citi had the best overall holiday theme as  it continued pushing its 5% e-Savings Account, with a clever 5% "ornament" hung next to traditional Christmas decorations (see screenshot below).
   
   
2. PNC Bank: Runner-up was PNC with its unique brand of holiday marketing, a tongue-in-cheek look at the cost of the items listed in the popular Christmas song, Twelve Days of Christmas. It's a holiday tradition at PNC which has been tracking the holiday index for 22 years (see screenshot below).
   
   
3. Bank of America: The largest online bank used a holiday theme, and $100 off a Dell PC, to encourage users to join the other 20 million BofA customers using its online banking. Customers hitting the bank's homepage were greeted with an animated banner displaying a wrapped package, which after two seconds changed to the Dell deal (see before and after screenshots below).
   
   Showing before and after package animation:
   
   

Other top-30 banks with holiday-oriented images on their homepages:

• Chase Bank: snow globe with 0% credit card offer
• Wells Fargo: packages
• Washington Mutual: snowball with 30-second credit card application
• Citizens Bank: packages with a debit card rewards promo
• National City: snowflakes with gift card promo
• BB&T: packages with a gift card promo
• Countrywide Bank: snow and packages with a loan promo
• North Fork Bank: Radio City promo with $15 off coupon and gift cards
• Commerce Bank: packages with gift card promo

Notes:

1. According to Online Banking Report's list of the 150 largest U.S. financial institutions as of 31 March 2006 (link here).
2. Searches conducted during late morning (EST) on Dec. 24, 2006, from a southwest Florida IP address. Although gift cards were not mentioned on US Bank's homepage on Dec. 24, we had seen them advertised on previous visits, although not necessarily on ithe homepage.

As we analyzed PNC Bank's identity protection services (see previous article), we happened to notice this timely photo of its hometown Pittsburgh Steelers, scheduled to compete Sunday in the Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks (click on inset for closeup). PNC is the official bank of the Steelers.

We were curious as to how many banks were leveraging Super Bowl fever in the states of Washington and Pennsylvania. Using Yahoo's directory, we found only one of 27 Washington Banks (see below), and two of 68 Pennsylvania banks with homepage references to their home teams.

And only First Mutual Bank <firstmutual.com> in Bellevue, Wash., has a promotion tied to the big game: a 4.05 percent "Championship Rate" on its High-Yield Money Market Deposit Account (click on inset for closeup).

The two Pennsylvania football tie-ins were simple eye-catching graphics on the homepage from Fidelity Bank (click on inset right for closeup) and PNC Bank (see above).

--JB

Editor's Note: Since the Steelers won 21-10, we are wondering whether bank website appearance may be a leading indicator of Super Bowl performance. We'll see next year.

How do you make your checking account stand out from the one across the street, around the corner, or two clicks away in Internet Explorer? It's not easy if you want to maintain or increase profitability.

Several banks, including Washington Mutual (NetBanker Nov. 8, 2005) and PNC Bank, use a relatively new technique that is inexpensive and plays to the current hysteria surrounding online security: identity theft insurance.

In PNC's case, three of its core checking account options come bundled with $2500 to $5000 in insurance: Premium Plan, Choice Plan, and of course Digital Checking (click on inset right for more details). Free Checking does not include ID theft insurance.

Action Items
Before giving away identity theft insurance, look instead at creating a profit center around fraud protection services. As we discussed in a previous Online Banking Report (OBR 83/84), identity theft protection and related credit bureau-monitoring services are among the few relatively easy fee-income opportunities online.

In fact, PNC Bank sells a full suite of credit bureau services housed under Identity Theft Safeguards in the Personal Finance area. The options range from a $29.95, one-time, three-bureau report to relatively pricey $120/yr and $180/yr subscription plans powered by TransUnion's TrueCredit, an OBR Best of the Web winner in 2002 (click on inset for closeup).

--JB

These days most major online retailers and consumer sites dress up their websites for the holidays.

Unless, they are bank sites.

Each year we surf major banks looking for holiday happenings. We were surprised again this year to find little creativity on bank home pages. On Dec. 21, none of the largest 30 banks in the U.S. had a major holiday theme running.

Two banks, National City (#11) and LaSalle (#15) were running prepaid gift card banners. And two others were running small holiday-themed promotions running, AmSouth Bank (#27) and PNC (#20).

PNC is running a tongue-in-cheek look at the cost of purchasing the items in the popular holiday song, The Twelve Days of Christmas. This year the total cost was $17,300, up 2.4% since last year. The bank has been tracking the cost for 20 years and provides a long-term look at the price increases. It's very clever, providing valuable publicity and a positive impression of the bank.

AmSouth Bank has an interesting holiday promotion, one that ties directly to online banking a bill payment. Website users can personalize a holiday greeting card and send it to anyone with an email address. Users are encouraged, but NOT required, to use the cards as a notification of a check being sent through AmSouth's bill payment system. The default "personal" message even says:

A monetary gift is being sent through AmSouth Bank, please look for it in your mail in the next 7 days.

Greeting card users do NOT have to be bank customers. AmSouth doesn't say whether it is capturing email addresses. We would have to assume not.

Action Items

Add a holiday promotion for your 2005 marketing plan. It's a great way to jazz up your website for the holidays and you can include a sales promotion at the same time, especially for prepaid cards or gift checks.

-- JB

----------------------------------------------------

If you'd like to learn more about the financial interactive marketing efforts, check out the Interactive Financial Marketing Database from our sister publication, the Online Banking Report.

Innovators in small business online delivery

Today much has changed. Everywhere you look, banks are innovating to serve the small business market more effectively. According to Watchfire’s GomezPro unit the best small business banking sites are Bank of America and National City, tied for first place in its year-end 2003 scorecard (see Table 55, right). 

Other online innovators in the small business market:

•          Barclays Bank (London; $800 billion) uses its website to target startup businesses with a broad array of support services that many startups would find essential, including a free business checking account for the first year. It’s so impressive, we’ve given it our second Best of the Web award this year
  (see next page).
•          PNC Bank (Pittsburgh, PA; $70 billion) and NetBank have both announced plans to offer remote check deposits, something most U.S. banks will support within a few years. One of the last reasons to visit the branch will be eliminated when clients can feed paper checks into a scanner instantly depositing the cash into their account and storing the image into their online banking archive
  This service is a shoo-in for an OBR Best of the Web once it goes live.
•          NetBank (Alpharetta, GA; $4.1 billion) which launched a new small business initiative a year ago, has attracted 1,600 businesses with $38 million in deposits ($24,000 average deposit). If it keeps to the announced third-quarter launch, NetBank may be the first bank to offer remote paper check scanning

Barclays provides valuable services for startups

Why do the U.K. banks do a better job serving small businesses online compared to their U.S. counterparts?¹ Perhaps U.S. banks are underestimating the value of services targeted directly to small business owners. Or maybe they’ve found it too difficult because business owners won’t bother switching bank accounts to save a few bucks a month. That’s why it makes so much sense for Barclays Bank to focus on startups at its business website <business.barclays.co.uk>. After all, if you succeed in being a startup’s first bank, you have the inside track to retain its business over time.

Barclays business homepage (see below) is dominated by a shaded area asking the important question, Starting a business? Even though the vast majority of visitors already have a business and a banking relationship with Barclays, those most likely shopping for services are startups. The bank also offers Pain relief in a box, a proprietary business management and accounting program targeted for tiny businesses or startups that haven’t settled on an accounting software system.

¹Two out of three of our Best of Web winners for small businesses are headquartered in the U.K.

Barclays’ small business Starter Accounts consist of the following features and benefits:

•          Current account (checking) with an overdraft facility; free for the first 12 months, 18 if you also maintain personal accounts at Barclays
•          Savings account
•          Loans, subject to credit approval of course
•          Insurance
•          45-minute free consultation with a business/marketing consultant
•          45-minute free consultation with an accountant
•          30-minute free consultation with an attorney

NetBank and PNC to offer remote deposits

According to recent press reports, both NetBank (American Banker, May 20) with 1,600 small business clients and PNC Bank (Wall Street Journal, June 8) with 200,000, will launch remote deposit service for their business customers. Although details of the yet-to-be-launched services are sketchy, it is expected that business customers will be able to scan paper checks into a remote device that transmits images to the bank for immediate deposit. PNC estimates the scanners will rent for $15 to $25 per month. No word on pricing from NetBank. The NetBank service is expected in late third quarter and PNC expects to roll-out by yearend. Alogent http://www.alogent.com/  is the technology provider for NetBank.

Benefits for small business owners:

1.   Saves time/money: Frees business owners from the daily/weekly trek to the branch, something 80% of online self-employed households reported doing during the past 30 days according to Javelin Strategy

2.   Improves cash flow: Checks can be deposited immediately rather than collecting dust waiting for the owner’s next trip to the branch

3.   Streamlines record keeping:

i.    the original check can be filed as a paper receipt if desired

ii.   a back-up electronic image is stored at the bank if questions arrive

4.   Improves customer service: Check images can be quickly retrieved and emailed if
a dispute arises

5.   Saves storage space/cost: Paper checks can be destroyed much sooner, eliminating storage and security issues

6.   Improves management control: Owners can spot-check deposit activity by looking at actual check images, rather than staff-entered accounting entries

Speaking as both as a small business owner and an industry analyst, this is a great service and a strong candidate for a Best of the Web award once it becomes operational.

PNC Bank

www.pncbank.com

PNC Bank’s new AutoWeb connects Pittsburgh residents with area auto dealers.

PNC Bank (Pittsburgh, PA; $78.8 billion; 1.6 million ATM cards) links the Pittsburgh online community with participating auto dealers at www.pncbank.com/autoweb/index1.html Users are promised a quote from up to three dealers by the end of the next business day. Naturally, users can apply online for financing with PNC.
Contact: Tom Kunz is VP Electronic Banking, (412) 762.8770).

Bank of America
www.bankamerica.com

Bank of America’s Build Your Own Bank, was the industry’s first personalized Web site back in late 1995. After logging-in, users are greeted with “Welcome to the Bank of username.” I had not logged in for over a year and was greeted with 16 pages of messages and news.

Fleet Financial
www.fleet.com

Fleet’s Personal Navigator has been around for more than a year now. Fleet is still using the same five profiling questions which cover age, family status, home ownership, financial wherewithal, and preferences in cars. No word as to what, if anything, they are doing with this data. I haven’t ever been contacted by the bank, despite having been in the database for over a year. Of course, I have an out-of-area zip code.

Deposit Guaranty
www.dgb.com

We really like Deposit Guaranty’s Express Menu. Rather than employing pesky cookies, or requiring users to memorize users IDs and passwords, the bank creates personalized menus on the fly. It only takes a few seconds to check the boxes. One improvement, in our view, would be the ability to bookmark the personalized menu for future reference. The ill-fated First Interstate site used this technique.

PNC Bank
www.pncbank.com

PNC Bank is the latest with a customized Web page called, what else, Customized Banking. It includes both a Personal Profile and an Entrepreneur’s Profile.

See also: Summit Bank www.summitbank.com profiled last month.

PNC outlines its three options: MYM, Quicken, AOL. Under “which options is best” users are steered to MYM unless they already use Quicken.

PNC Bank (Pittsburgh, PA; $70 billion; 1.3 million ATM cards) rolled out PC banking via MECA’s Managing Your Money <www.mymnet.com> on Dec. 16. PNC, which does not have an ownership stake in MECA, beat three of MECA’s six owners to the field and tied one:

PNC’s MYM banking program is also notable for two online banking “firsts”:
1. The first to support interbank transfers. PNC has boldly taken the plunge and is simplifying the process of transferring funds out of the bank.
2. The first to follow Intuit’s lead by providing a custom Netscape Navigator browser with unlimited free access to PNC’s Web, or full Internet access, from internetMCI, at $2 off the normal $19.95/mo charge.
Direct Bank exec Judy Campbell’s 1996 performance review should look good. During the year PNC launched a Web site; online banking through Quicken, MYM, and BankNow; a small business program Business Express/PC; unveiled a strategic alliance with Industry.Net’s Online Marketplace; and dropped $4 million into Integrion. Judy Campbell is SVP/Mgr of PNC’s Direct Bank, 412.762.2000. Paul Harrison is CEO at MECA, 203.256.5089. Stephen Von Rump is VP Enterprise Marketing at MCI, 202.887.3140.