As Banking Goes Mobile, Branch Closures Rip Through Local Economy

Phil Arlia has been dispensing medication in Pitcairn since 1968, but he was more than a pharmacist.

He was a kind of banker.

“We always had a courtesy of cashing customers’ paychecks, state checks, any kind of check,” said Arlia, owner of Phil’s Pharmacy on Broadway Boulevard.

But he stopped cashing checks when the borough’s only remaining bank, a Citizens Bank branch, closed last March. Arlia no longer had fast access to cash to replenish his register when it got low.

The branch closure made it more difficult for Pitcairn residents to access cash to spend at local businesses.

Read more: http://triblive.com/business/headlines/7501236-74/bank-branch-banking#ixzz3QcH1zOMS
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Fees Nibble At Income Of Those Paid With Plastic

An HSBC Solo debit card issued in the UK in 2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  It’s generally people with lower incomes that get paid this way 😦

On paper, it couldn’t be more convenient: Instead of a check every two weeks, your employer hands you a debit card, depositing your pay automatically and freeing you to spend it immediately.

But then there are the fees: $1.50 to withdraw cash, another $2.50 if you do it from a non-company ATM, the $2 monthly account fee.  For workers making low wages, those fees can eat up a sizable portion of their income, a fact that has sparked lawsuits in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

With one of the nation’s largest banks headquartered here and a slew of local public employers already signed up for similar programs, what role will Pittsburgh play in the payroll debate?

“It really is consistent with best business practices of going as paperless as possible,” said Brad Korinski, chief counsel at the Allegheny County controller’s office.  “On the consumer end of things, the debit cards provide immediate and guaranteed access to funds.  You’re not waiting for the post office to get it to you.”

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/fees-nibble-at-income-of-those-paid-with-plastic-694438/#ixzz2YHeekGb0

PNC Bank To Close 10 Branches In Pittsburgh Region

PNC Bank will close 10 more branches in the region within the next 90 days as part of an effort to cut costs and focus on serving customers who increasingly are banking online and via smartphones.

The closures, which include the last remaining bank branch in the city of Clairton, come on top of four other branches shuttered earlier in the year.

Spokeswoman Marcey Zwiebel declined to say how many more branches in the region might be closed this year, saying decisions beyond 90 days may not be final.

Pittsburgh‘s biggest bank has said it planned to close about 200 branches this year across its footprint in 19 states and Washington, D.C., which is about 7 percent of its network of roughly 2,900 offices.  The bank closed 65 branches last year.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/pnc-bank-to-close-10-branches-in-region-687669/#ixzz2TQEP42Sq