PNC Financial Services Group Inc. launched a bank account that limits fees to help consumers facing financial pressures worsened by the pandemic maintain their access to banking services.

The checking account, which has no charges for overdrafts or insufficient funds, will cost $5 a month, a company spokesperson said. It’s designed to hold on to customers struggling to pay loans or fees, according to Chief Executive Officer Bill Demchak.

“We have to charge them off—for accounting you have to do that,” Demchak said of customers who miss payments. But they could be assigned “a safety product—a no-overdraft product—basic banking,” he said in an interview.

Havoc wrought by the pandemic threatens to push more lower-income families to the fringes of the financial system. Those who are underbanked typically don’t have enough cash to start an account or get loans from banks, and are especially vulnerable because they rely on cash as many merchants shift to digital transactions. The problem also intensifies the nation’s wealth gap, which disproportionately affects minority groups.

One in four U.S. adults is considered unbanked or underbanked in the U.S., according to the nonprofit Financial Health Network, which says those consumers pay almost $200 billion a year in fees and interest on financial products.

“Practically we do money, we create wealth, we can help people own a home, we can help people manage credit, we can bring people into the financial system,” Demchak said. “There’s actually a lot of things we can do that can impact lives.”

PNC’s charges related to consumer overdrafts declined to $273 million last year from $412 million in 2019, according to regulatory filings.

When it comes to using algorithms to make credit decisions, banks have to “go old school and continually monitor” to avoid bias, Demchak said. The issue has come under scrutiny as banks and other lenders increasingly rely on machines to reduce costs and boost volume.

“Even if you designed it on the first day to be as neutral as you make it, through time, every day it changes, there’s the risk it leads to disparate impact,” the CEO said.

—With assistance from Jenny Surane.

This article was provided by Bloomberg News.