Wells Fargo has been named Best of the Web in online banking by Forbes.com, mostly because of its versatility. WellsFargo.com allows online banking users to access all of their accounts with just one sign-in step. This includes checking, savings, business, credit card and lending accounts.
Although Wells Fargo scores high in both customer service and ease-of-use, it is not the most economical choice for low-balance customers. Bill Pay is free for the first two months, but customers are charged a monthly fee of $7.00 if their balance falls below $5,000. There is also a monthly maintenance fee for low-balance customers who do not use direct deposit.
Wells Fargo offers a full range of services online, including paperless statements and transfer of funds. They also provide message alerts, which can be turned on at the customer’s discretion, and alert the customer when funds are deposited, withdrawn or transferred and when there are three failed attempts to access your account online.
They also offer a free tour of their online banking system at WellsFargo.com, in which prospective customers or interested parties can look at all of the features before deciding to sign up.
“I’ve never had a problem with Wells Fargo,” says one customer on a message board. “I use their bill pay for all of my utilities and I also use it to track my investments.”
Another customer, who lives in California, says, “I liked Wells Fargo, but I had [better luck] with Bank of America. If my balanced dipped below a certain amount, I was penalized. I didn’t like that.”
The following accounts can be accessed through Wells Fargo’s online banking:
Business Checking, Savings, MMA and MRA
Commercial Lines and Loans
All eligible Personal Accounts
Business Credit Cards and Lines/Loans (<$100,000)
Mortgages and Equity Lines of Credit
The greatest benefit of Wells Fargo’s online banking seems to be for business owners. Since many have more than one account to manage, their banking is simplified with the ability to view each account through one ID and password. Since Wells Fargo allows customers to “link” accounts, it makes life easier for those who manage two or more accounts.
Wells Fargo business customers can establish direct deposit for their employees through online banking and can keep track of finances for each account. Money can be easily – and quickly – transferred. They are planning to eventually employ a new service called Direct Pay through which business customers can instantly deposit funds into any Wells Fargo bank anywhere in the U.S.
Last year, Wells Fargo was identified by Barlow Research as a Best Practice Company for Online Bill Payment. The study measured the online experience for twelve major financial institutions, and according to Barlow, Wells Fargo was the clear winner.
“Our products and services are designed to help customers do more online, simply and easily, eliminating the complexity of processing payments and managing finances,” says Wells Fargo’s head of Business Internet Services, Mark Baumli. Whether our customers are quick or slow to adopt online technology, we can give them easy access to the financial information and services they need.”
Since more than one half of Internet users and nearly one third of adults with bank accounts use some form of online banking, the financial institutions in the United States are working hard to make this process easier and more versatile for customers.
You can find out more about Wells Fargo online banking by visiting www.wellsfargo.com or by calling their customer service department at 800.956.4442.