Wells Fargo to Release Tablet App, Enhance Its Mobile Banking in Early 2013
Wells Fargo & Co. is releasing tablet-specific versions of its mobile apps in early 2013, as well as planning for a major upgrade of its smartphone app next year, Bank Innovation has learned.
“We’ve entered an era of mobile maturity,” Brian Pearce, head of the retail mobile channel for the San Francisco-based bank, told Bank Innovation. “The basics have been built out and adoption is still growing. We have more than 9 million mobile users, and the basic features are covered.”
Details on the Wells tablet app are sketchy as of now. Pearce said a key component of the tablet app will be its facilitation of multi-channel banking. As Pearce described it, “Simultaneous or sequential use of devices, moving transactions across devices — what can we do that plays on that to help customers?”
Meanwhile, the Wells mobile will be enhanced in 2013 to leverage “the power of the smartphone camera” by allowing consumers to input data with the smartphone camera. Wells is also “looking into” new features, including “alerting capabilities” for its mobile application.
“Now it’s time to take advantage of the power of the smartphone,” he said. “We can do a lot to help customers manage their financial lives.”
Pearce does not envision Wells Fargo charging for features such as mobile remote deposit capture, as, for example, US Bank now does.
“Mobile isn’t about cost-saving or revenue generation,” he said. “It’s about engaging customers. Customers love their mobile devices. They’re convenient, they always have them. The more they like to do on them, the more they want to interact with us. The more channels we can serve customers well in — that will make the happiest, most profitable customers.”
Wells Fargo has total assets exceeding $1.3 trillion.
