PNC Financial Services Group Inc. is planning to provide a mobile banking app by October for customers of its Virtual Wallet account that use smartphones running Google Inc.'s Android software.
In a post to PNC's "Inside the Wallet" blog, which is visible from within a Virtual Wallet online banking session, PNC's Michael Ley said that "our plan for the new app is to have all the key features you have read about in the iPhone app," including mobile check deposit, a feature the iPhone app received in April.
PNC's existing Android app for its mainstream checking customers has been criticized in reviews on the Android Market for lacking features such as mobile check deposit. One reviewer said an Android app for PNC's Virtual Wallet account, which is targeted to online-centric users, is "sorely needed."
The iPhone app for Virtual Wallet users is built around the account's unconventional structure: it is a combination of three accounts for spending, short-term and long-term savings. Consumers view their cash flow primarily from a calendar, and they can transfer funds using a slider graphic. This interface, originally designed for the Web, is preserved in PNC's Virtual Wallet mobile app.
"We are well into development and are excited about the Android operating system and its capabilities," Ley, a vice president in PNC's e-business and payments group, wrote. "In fact, one of our senior engineers recently visited Google's [headquarters] in Mountain View, [Calif.], to get an update on their strategy and review best practices for Android app development."
Ley said the Pittsburgh company would provide further updates closer to the Android app's launch date, which is currently projected to be in September or October. Ley also warned that Android handset owners should be using version 2.1 or later of the mobile operating system.
A commenter on PNC's blog, using the online handle "zaxis," thanked Ley for the update but insisted that the lag between the iPhone app's 2009 launch and the Android app's projected 2011 launch is "a huge … misstep," in serving the growing number of Android users.
Ley said in his blog post that he owns an Android phone and therefore, "I understand your desire for a native Android app for Virtual Wallet."
