<p>Hi! My DS is an incoming freshman for the fall and I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on the best way to do banking on/around campus. We have TD Bank and Bank of America near us at home but I don't think they are located in Pittsburgh (Oakland area). I want to avoid ATM fees where possible and hope to find free checking for him. DS will need a bank for direct deposit of paychecks (hopefully he'll get a campus job!) and ATM access for cash when needed. Appreciate any insights!</p>
<p>This not an endorsement, but…PNC Bank has multiple ATM’s and branches in the Oakland area. (I think they even have ATM’s in some dorms) Back when D1 was a freshman (6 years ago) they had free checking for students. Even after graduating she’s still got her PNC account and does not pay any fees or charges. Another bank with branch’s and ATM’s is Citizens Bank - not sure what they have for students, but probably have some deal for them.</p>
<p>These days with online banking so easy to do, one can easily set up transfers from one account to another instantly. It doesn’t matter where the pay checks go, by the way as they are electronically routed where ever. </p>
<p>The local banks, and PNC is a most accessible one to Pitt students in terms of ATMs, will be offering all kinds of no and low fee deals. Find the best one for the ATM , put what you need to start up the account and have the transfer option put into effect. My college kids always had two accounts. One joint with us and tied to our account so we can transfer immediately if necessary and easily. That was their high school account that carried on to college. Then the local free checking, free ATM account that we’d pick when they got to college local the school, and have the student link up with the other account. That would be their own account, not joint with us. </p>
<p>Thanks for your replies. I will look into PNC as that has the most ATMs on campus. I do online banking for my bills but I was not aware I could transfer money between banks. I could move money from my B of A account into my son’s PNC account?</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about PNC, but it does seem to be most convenient. The student ID can double as an ATM Card, a good thing I guess. Also it looks like they have ATMs in many dorms.</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.pnc.com/webapp/unsec/Blank.do?siteArea=/pnccorp/pnc/home/personal/student+banking/university-of-pittsburgh”>https://www.pnc.com/webapp/unsec/Blank.do?siteArea=/pnccorp/pnc/home/personal/student+banking/university-of-pittsburgh</a></p>
<p>Yes, you can transfer funds between your bank and PNC (just check with them and see if they charge a fee). I know we could do it electronically between our bank and PNC (there was no fee).</p>
<p>My daughter is at Pitt and we signed her up for PNC when she did her PittStart - I think they had tables set up in Towers Lobby. The account has been great and I can do transfers from my Bank of America checking to her PNC for free. I do it as an external transfer from the PNC website. I had once looked into doing it from the BofA site and it seemed like there were going to charge me a fee but I do transfers through the PNC site pretty often and then no fees from them of BofA. My son’s doing his PittStart this month and I’m going to set him up with PNC as well. The key thing is to make sure that you’re on the PNC account along with your son - that way you can do the transfers. BTW, there are a million PNC branches and atms on campus and right around campus.</p>