Wells Fargo first major bank to launch nationwide wireless banking
According to Forrester Research, almost 50 percent of the U.S. population owns a cell phone and, according to Meridian, by 2003 there will be close to 8 million users of wireless financial services. Through Wells Wireless, Wells Fargo is offering the opportunity for its customers to access their financial information through these Web-ready wireless devices.
"Wells Fargo, a trusted financial services provider with a solid history on the Internet, is in an ideal position to extend its services to wireless Web-ready devices," said Avid Modjtabai, senior vice president of Consumer Internet Services, Wells Fargo. "Through Wells Wireless we are providing customers anytime, anywhere account access and continuing to demonstrate leadership and innovation by offering a service that is convenient and secure."
Wells Wireless, a personalized and secure channel for customers to conduct their banking transactions where and when they choose, is free of charge to Wells Fargo's 2.5 million online banking customers. Customers will have immediate access to services such as account balances and transaction history, and can make transfers between accounts. Customers can also obtain stock quotes as well as track securities using the watchlists and stock alerts capabilities. Additional functionality, including a Wells Fargo ATM and store locator, bill pay and brokerage services are planned for future phases.
"We are proud to have partnered with the leading Internet bank to help bring its online customers a new level of personalized, secure and mobile financial services. Wells Wireless puts the convenience of anytime, anywhere banking into the hands of more North American consumers," said John Sims, chief executive officer, 724 Solutions Inc., a global leader in delivering secure, scalable mobile transaction capabilities.
The Wells Wireless service is available to any Wells Fargo consumer or small business customer anywhere in the U.S. using a Sprint PCS Web-ready phone or Palm VII personal digital assistant with Internet access. Wells Wireless is backed by over 1,000 dedicated customer service agents and offers 24-hour customer support. Details on using the Wells Wireless service can be found at www.wellsfargo.com./wireless.
As the first major financial services company in the U.S. to launch Internet banking services in 1995 (wellsfargo.com), Wells Fargo has blazed the trail for interactive tools and features for customers. Wells Fargo started online services in 1989, and over the last decade has introduced a wide range of easy-to-use online services for customers. Nielsen/Net Ratings recently named Wells Fargo the top Internet bank in terms of total monthly unique visitor count.
With dual headquarters in Toronto, Canada, and Austin, Texas, 724 Solutions, Inc. provides a suite of products and services that allows companies to build, deploy and integrate personalized and secure mobile commerce and lifestyle applications that are essential to the mobile Internet.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is a $263.5 billion diversified financial services company providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance services through almost 5,700 stores, its Internet site (www.wellsfargo.com) and other distribution channels across North America and elsewhere internationally. Wells Fargo is the leading Internet bank in the world.