On a chilly early spring day, the PNC mobile bank branch pulled into the parking lot of an office building in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood.

At first, the blue and orange truck can be mistaken for just another attractive vehicle. Then the staff open a hatch revealing an ATM. They place a table outside the mobile branch with fliers and other literature – in English and Spanish – about PNC products and services. There are even coloring books, designed to get children on an early path to financial literacy.

Step inside. You may see an employee behind a desk, ready to help you open an account or do other banking, just like you would find at any brick-and-mortar branch.  

We have to be relatable. We have to connect with our communities.

Erica Ressler, manager of the PNC mobile branch

While you can get the same services at the mobile branch that you can at its brick-and-mortar counterparts, the truck has a different mission. The focus is on outreach and financial education in communities that often don’t have banks and where residents often don’t have bank accounts. 

(To learn more about the mobile bank’s mission, see How a bank branch on wheels is bringing more than an ATM to Clevelanders.)

The mobile branch staffers don’t wear suits or the other business attire typically worn by workers in regular branches. All are dressed casually.  Erica Ressler, who manages the mobile branch, sports slacks and a blue outer jacket with the words and emblem of PNC Bank affixed to it. 

“We have to be relatable,” said Ressler. “We have to connect with our communities.”

Staff survey the parking lot and nearby sidewalks looking for people with whom to engage in a “meaningful conversation.” These interactions are a primary method branch staff use for increasing the financial literacy of residents. Foot traffic is very sparse on this day, leading to few prospects.

The mobile bank set up in the parking lot on Quincy Avenue because a nonprofit organization PNC is collaborating with in this effort is located in the office building. Fairfax Renaissance Development Corp. (FRDC) is one of more than a dozen organizations and institutions with which PNC is working. The mobile bank only stops at collaborating organizations. (See list below.)

Part of meeting the needs of community members and collaborating organizations includes providing “equal access to education, classes and meetings outside of normal business hours,” said Brian Williams, PNC’s community development banking leader.

Jerilyn Mason, Fairfax Renaissance’s program manager for workforce development, is connecting PNC with the nonprofit’s partners, which include employers. She said many of the employees at these partner businesses and government organizations can benefit from the mobile branch’s financial education mission.

“We want to be able to extend financial literacy, financial wellness and the opportunity to have a bank account to people who possibly would have used other services, such as those offered by check-cashing services,” Mason said.

The PNC mobile branch stops at the organizations and institutions below. Contact them for the dates and times the mobile branch will be there.

Economics Reporter (she/her)
Economics is often thought of as a lofty topic, but it shouldn’t be. My goal is to offer a street-level view of economics. My focus is on how the economy affects the lives of Greater Clevelanders. My areas of coverage include jobs, housing, entrepreneurship, unions, wealth inequality and pocketbook issues such as inflation.