We've compiled the best banks in Pennsylvania if you're seeking the best bank to bank with in PA.
In 2024, with the ever-growing digital environment, national banks don't just provide their customers with checking and savings accounts — but they will also offer various tools conssumers can use to pay bills online, manage their money and cash flow.
Banks are competing to provide the best deals for their customers and provide them with the best ways to access and manage their money.
In Pennsylvania, there are plenty of choices you can get when you are looking to open a checking or savings account for personal or business purposes.
Each bank will give you the best features and benefits to make it easier for you to save, spend, and grow your money.
With many choices available in front of you, it might be quite difficult for you to pick the best bank in Pennsylvania you can use today.
This guide will help you pick the best banks in Pennsylvania and guide you to find the right one for your needs.
Continue reading to learn about the best banks in Pennsylvania.
7 Best Banks in Pennsylvania
There are quite a lot of banks that you can find in Pennsylvania, and most banks will offer similar banking products and services.
However, some banks will provide unique features that make certain banks preferable than other banks or credit unions.
Some banks will offer you benefits that are not available in other banks, so it’s important for you to choose the best bank for your needs.
Here are the best banks you can find in Pennsylvania:
- SoFi Bank: Best for Mobile Banking in Pennsylvania (Best Overall)
- Santander Bank: Best Free Checking Account in Pennsylvania
- TD Bank: Best Bank for Small Businesses
- Citizens Bank: Best Pennsylvania Bank for Financial Planning Tools
- CIT Bank: Best PA Bank to earn APY on Savings Accounts
- PNC: Best for Branch Accessibility
- PSECU Credit Union: Best Credit Union in PA
- Philadelphia Federal Credit Union: Runner Up Best Credit Union in PA
1. SoFi Bank: Best for Mobile Banking in Pennsylvania
SoFi Bank offers you the ease and convenience of mobile banking, with various benefits you can enjoy, such as no maintenance fees, no overdraft fees, earlier paycheck, debit card, a $300 welcome bonus, 4.60% APY for your account balance, and many more features.
It also offers various banking products and services, such as student loan refinancing, personal loans, credit card consolidation, IPO investing, crypto access, and many others.
You can manage all aspects of your money and cash flow with the mobile banking app from SoFi Bank.
Features:
- You don’t need to pay any ATM fees, maintenance fees, and overdraft fees when you use SoFi money, and with the debit card you get, you can make transactions in thousands of merchants worldwide, both online and offline.
- The Simple Savings feature allows you to save your money on autopilot, making it easier for you to grow your account balance and money investment with SoFi Money. You can also create various savings goals and set a schedule to reach your savings goals.
- With up to 4.60% APY for your account balance, you can earn more interest as you grow your account balance. Also, without having to pay any fees to use SoFi Bank, it will help you save more money in your transactions.
- SoFi also offers one of the best cryptocurrency exchanges, you can invest in cryptocurrencies to diversify your portfolio
Official URL: SoFi Bank
2. Santander Bank: Best Free Checking Account in Pennsylvania
Santander Bank is one of the best banks in Pennsylvania that allows you to create a free checking account with various premium benefits you can get.
You can open various types of checking accounts with Santander Bank, each with its own benefits, including Santander Select Checking, Simply Right Checking, Student Value Checking, and Santander Basic Checking.
Each checking account you open with Santander Bank will give you access to the mobile banking app and the online banking system.
Features:
- You can get free paperless statements with each checking account from Santander bank, and you can also get a free paper statement if you use the Santander Select Checking account.
- There’s a monthly fee you need to pay, but you can waive the monthly fee if you use the Santander Select Checking and Simply Right Checking account and if you meet certain requirements. The Student Value Checking account doesn’t require any monthly fee, while the Santander Basic Checking account requires a $3 monthly fee, which cannot get waived.
- Each checking account from Santander Bank gives you the debit Mastercard that you can use for various transactions, both offline and online, and the Santander Select Checking account will allow you to earn interest from your balance.
Official URL: Santander Bank
2. TD Bank: Best Bank for Small Businesses
TD Bank offers various personal accounts you can use for various purposes, which include running your small business (such as payroll processing).
With TD Bank, you can open Checking, Savings, Student, 60 Plus Checking, and Essential Banking accounts with ease.
Each account has their own unique benefits, and you will get various standard features for your personal banking account, such as fraud alerts, spending tracker, mobile deposit, overdraft protection, online statements, direct deposit, and pre-authorized payments.
Features:
- Each TD Bank account gives you the no minimum balance feature with low maintenance fee per month, and you will get a contactless debit card for your banking account.
- You can get access to free online statements and $1 per month paper statements, along with discounts on home equity and personal loan.
- You can get 24/7 access to your account with the online banking and mobile banking system from TD Bank, along with 24/7 cash access through TD ATMs and 24/7 access to live customer service.
Official URL: TD Bank
3. Citizens Bank: Best Pennsylvania Bank for Financial Planning Tools
Citizens Bank is the bank in Pennsylvania that you can use both for personal and business purposes, providing you with the tools to help keep your financial plans in check.
With Citizens Bank, you can get access to various financial planning tools, such as cash management, debt management, refinancing, business financing, and many others.
With Citizens Bank, you can run your small business with ease, from starting your business to growing it for future success.
Features:
- There are various features Citizens Bank can offer to small businesses, including banking and credit cards, financing, cash flow management, point of sale financing, business resources, and business investments.
- It offers 3 primary checking accounts for businesses, including Clearly Better Business Checking, Business Advisor Checking, and Citizens Analysis Business Checking. You can get a free maintenance fee per month if you use the Clearly Better Business Checking account.
- You can open any business checking account with no minimum balance requirement, and you can get savings overdraft transfer, overdraft line of credit, online and mobile banking, and debit card for each business checking account from Citizens Bank.
Official URL: Citizens Bank
4. CIT Bank: Best PA Bank to earn APY on Savings Accounts
CIT Bank is another recommended bank in Pennsylvania that provides convenience for you to manage your checking accounts, and it also offers up to 1.00% APY for the savings accounts.
You can use various features from CIT to make it easy for you to process various transactions, whether offline or online, through your mobile device.
The good thing about CIT Bank is that you don’t need to pay any maintenance fee per month.
Features:
- With the $100 minimum deposit, you can open a savings account with CIT Bank to earn interest of up to 0.40% APY, and there are no maintenance and account opening fees you need to pay for your account.
- CIT Bank offers the savings builder program that allows you to earn 0.40% APY when you deposit $100 per month to your savings account, or if you can maintain a $25,000 balance in your savings account you can earn an 1.00% APY.
- CIT Bank also offers you the upper tier 1.00% APY when you deposit $100 per month from an external account to the linked eChecking account you have with this bank.
Official URL: CIT Bank
Related: Finding Your CIT Bank Routing Number
5. PNC: Best for Branch Accessibility
PNC provides personal and small business banking products and services you can use to save and manage your money in simple ways.
It uses the Virtual Wallet system that also provides various money management tools to keep your cash flow in check.
You can find many PNC bank branches around the Pennsylvania area, which makes this bank a recommended one to use if you want the best branch accessibility, which includes easier access to PNC ATMs throughout Pennsylvania.
There are over 300 branches of PNC Bank you can find in Pennsylvania today.
Features:
- You can get access to the PNC bank mobile apps, which provide you with the Virtual Wallet to manage your money and keep your cash flow in check. You can track all your spending and income in one app, and you can also use various money management tools to help grow your bank account balance.
- PNC Bank allows you to earn various rewards and cashback on various purchases made with your debit card. The cashback rewards are only available in select merchants and stores, both offline and online.
- There is an option to create an automatic savings schedule for your account, and you can also set automatic loan payments with the Virtual Wallet system from PNC Bank.
Official URL: PNC Bank
Best Credit Unions in Pennsylvania
Many credit unions in Pennsylvania also offer various banking products and services, so you can sign up to these credit unions if you want to get access to some banking services, which can help you in managing your cash flow.
Credit unions will offer better loans and refinancing plans than regular banks, so it’s worth a try.
Here are some best credit unions in Pennsylvania:
6. PSECU Credit Union: Best Credit Union in PA
PSECU (Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union) is the largest credit union you can find in Pennsylvania, and it offers a member-owned digital banking system you can use for various purposes.
With PSECU, you can get various benefits, including free checking accounts with no monthly fees, no minimum interest fees, surcharge-free ATMs, free checks, debit card rewards, and free overdraft protection transfer service.
PSECU also provides you with various products and services, such as banking services, credit cards, auto loans, home loans, and personal loans.
Features:
- There are various banking services you can get from PSECU, which include checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates, IRAs (Individual Retirement Accounts), youth accounts, and business accounts.
- It offers a checking account that doesn’t require you to pay any fees per month, with benefits such as surcharge-free ATMs, ATM rebates, free checking, free checks, free overdraft protection transfer service, and debit card rewards.
- You can also open the savings accounts that allow you to earn 0.05% APY for the regular savings account, 0.10 APY for the money market account, and 1.00% APY for the youth savings account.
Official URL: PSECU
7. Philadelphia Federal Credit Union: Runner Up Best Credit Union in PA
Philadelphia Federal Credit Union (PFCU) is another credit union in Pennsylvania that offers various banking services for both individuals and businesses.
With PFCU, you can get access to various banking products and services that include personal banking and loans, business banking and loans, and insurance.
You can open an account with PFCU if you are living around the Philadelphia and Columbia County areas.
Features:
- With PFCU Checking, you can open an account with no minimum balance requirement, no maintenance fees, and no dividends for your account balance. However, there are other checking account options from PFCU that offer various rewards, benefits, and up to 0.10% APY for your account balance.
- PFCU also provides various savings account options you can choose for various purposes, such as when you need to make a big purchase, with 0.10% APY dividends you can earn from your balance. Most savings account options don’t require you to pay any fees per month, but you will need to reach a certain balance requirement to be eligible to earn dividends from your balance.
- With PFCU, you can also get various insurance options that include property insurance plans, auto insurance plans, personal insurance, business insurance, and pet insurance. Each insurance plan will provide you with various coverages that will help protect the things that matter in your life.
Official URL: Philadelphia Federal Credit Union
Summary – Best Banks in Pennsylvania
These are the best banks in Pennsylvania you can use in 2023. Each bank has its own benefits and features that might not be available in other banks.
For instance, if you want to use a bank that has plenty of branches around the Pennsylvania area, you can pick the PNC bank.
You can choose SoFi Money if you want to look for a bank that offers feature-rich mobile apps.
Some banks also offer you plenty of benefits, such as free maintenance fees, no minimum balance requirement, lucrative bank promotions, debit card rewards, being socially responsible, and many other features.
So, it’s best to pick the bank that meets your long-term financial needs.
