(Credit: Penn Community Bank)
Penn Community Bank, the largest mutual bank in eastern Pennsylvania, announced that its Access Checking account has been recertified by the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards (2025 - 2026). These national safe account Standards – co-created by consumer advocates, leading national nonprofit organizations, civic leaders, and other financial institutions – recognize banking products with low cost, high functionality, and built-in consumer safety.
Penn Community Bank’s Access Checking account is a fresh start option for safe and easy access to managing your money. Key features include no overdraft/non-sufficient funds services or fees, a low monthly fee that can be waived with just $500 in monthly direct deposits, and more. As with other checking product offerings, Access Checking is covered by standard federal deposit insurance.
“By partnering with Bank On, Penn Community Bank is working to address the significant need for affordable banking services in the region and promote financial inclusion,” said Penn Community Bank Chief Consumer Banking Officer Bernard Tynes. “Through products like our Access Checking account, we’re working to ensure that everyone has access to safe, affordable banking services that can help them grow and thrive. This recertification demonstrates our ongoing commitment to removing barriers to financial services and creating opportunities for economic mobility in the communities we serve.”
The Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund is delighted to award its national Bank On account certification to Penn Community Bank’s Access Checking account,” said Jonathan Mintz, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. “Access Checking offers Penn Community Bank customers who are looking to improve their finances a safe, affordable, and truly useful mainstream banking product to access and manage their money. Penn Community Bank’s offering of this terrific account brings them into the forefront of national banking access efforts, and we thank them.”
The goal of Bank On is to ensure that everyone has access to safe and affordable financial products and services. The Bank On National Account Standards identify critical product features for appropriate bank or credit union accounts, making it easier for local coalitions across the country to connect consumers to accounts that meet their needs.
About the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund): The CFE Fund supports municipal efforts to improve the financial stability of households by leveraging opportunities unique to local government. By translating cutting edge experience with large scale programs, research, and policy in cities of all sizes, the CFE Fund assists mayors and other local leaders to identify, develop, fund, implement, and research pilots and programs that help families build assets and make the most of their financial resources. The CFE Fund is currently working in over 100 cities and counties, and has disbursed over $66 million to local governments and their partners to support these efforts. For more information, please visit www.cfefund.org or follow us on Bluesky at @cfefund.bsky.social.
About Bank On: The CFE Fund’s national Bank On movement supports local coalition and financial institution efforts to connect consumers to safe, affordable banking accounts as a fundamental component of financial stability. Already, more than 470 accounts at banks and credit unions nationwide – representing over two-thirds of the national deposit market share – are certified as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards, which designate both core and strongly recommended features that ensure low cost, no surprise fees, high functionality, and consumer safety. More than 100 Bank On coalitions across the country are working to connect unbanked and underbanked individuals to certified accounts, often through leveraging large-scale government program and payment opportunities. Visit https://joinbankon.org/ for more information.
About Penn Community Bank: Penn Community Bank holds more than $2.9 billion in assets, employs more than 300 people, and offers banking and lending services at financial centers throughout southeastern Pennsylvania. As an independent, mutual financial institution, Penn Community Bank is not publicly traded and operates with its long-term mission in mind: to help businesses grow and prosper, to provide financial resources to individuals and families throughout their lifetimes, to strengthen the local economy, and to partner with local organizations to act as a catalyst for positive growth in every market it serves.
