PNC Opens Pop-Up Branch

PNC Financial Services Inc. (Pittsburgh) has opened its first pop-up branch. The experimental, 160-sqaure-foot, steel-constructed office will be open through mid-November in Atlanta’s Atlantic Station mixed-use center.

The branch will be open seven days a week. But instead of tellers, it will be staffed by financial services consultants who will help with new accounts and personal loans, referrals for a PNC mortgage, investments, merchant services and other products.

PNC announced the consultants will use iPads to demonstrate various of the bank’s online and mobile services. A “smart” ATM will also be available on a 24-hour basis.

The intention of the pop-up will be to promote the PNC brand in the Southeast market and to test the new concept. “Given the ability to track customer usage, the three-month trial can help determine the need for a more permanent banking location or other banking services near Atlantic Station, along with future use of the pop-up branch,” said Todd Barnhart, PNC’s executive vp of branch banking.

“Branch convenience to home remains the No. 1 reason that consumers choose their primary bank, but they are using branches very differently today,” Barnhart said. “This pop-up branch is a creative way to bring banking to customers.”