Wells Fargo add small business features, as they and Bank of Americal go head to head for best of breed online banking.
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) today announced new direct deposit functions for its Business Online(R) Banking services to help small businesses simplify and speed up their management of cash flow.
Wells Fargo's Business Online(R) Banking Services Boosts Productivity for Small Businesses; New, Patent-Pending Employer Direct Pay Expedites Payroll Deposits SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–April 19, 2006–Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) today announced new direct deposit functions for its Business Online(R) Banking services to help small businesses simplify and speed up their management of cash
flow.
The newest addition is the patent-pending Employer Direct Pay, which provides
business owners with a fast and secure way to make direct deposit payments to
employee bank accounts, contractors or sales agents anywhere in the U.S.
Wells Fargo was recently identified as a Best Practice company for Deposit
Account Application and Online Bill Payment by Barlow Research, specializing in
small business and middle market research and analysis, which measured the small
business internet experience of 12 national banks, including Wells Fargo.
"Our products and services are designed to help customers do more online,
simply and easily, eliminating the complexity of processing payments and
managing finances," said Mark Baumli, head of Wells Fargo's Business Internet
Services. "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."
According to a recent survey by Greenwich Associates, a financial research
firm, two-thirds of small businesses use electronic services for some of their
banking. Over half say they would prefer to conduct all their banking online.
NEW: Employer Direct Pay
With Wells Fargo's new Employer Direct Pay, business owners and authorized
signers may directly deposit employee net pay, reimbursed expenses and
commissions to the respective accounts, and also make one-time or recurring
payments to contractors or agents. The service is fully integrated with Wells
Fargo Business Online Banking and simplifies payroll distribution while
eliminating potential check fraud. Business owners can also:
— Maximize their daily cash flow because funds are debited from the account
by 3 p.m. Pacific Time on the date a payment is scheduled to be sent.
— Provide view-only access for up to 25 individuals, so that key employees,
accountants and bookkeepers can review the company's account information and
check images. They may also download online statements.
— Set-up email alerts, which enhance the customer experience by
automatically providing helpful information, such as an alert that notifies the
user when there is insufficient funding or there is a problem with a routing
number, for example. Employees receive an alert when their checks are deposited
into their accounts.
Wells Fargo is providing RSA Security's RSA SecurID(R) two-factor
authentication tokens for all Employer Direct Pay customers as an extra layer
for fraud prevention.
"We launched internet banking for small business customers in 2000, and we
continue to respond to their needs by working with them directly to keep abreast
of their business challenges and needs," said Adam Vancini, senior vice
president, Wells Fargo's Business Internet Services. "Our customers save time by
having a single, easy place to manage their finances and obtain timely
information."
Online Payment Solutions
In addition to expediting payroll deposits and reimbursed expenses through
Employer Direct Pay, Wells Fargo offers additional payment solutions to help
customers save time and manage cash flow, including the following:
— Business Bill Pay enables customers to make payments up to $50,000 and
arrange payments in advance. By scheduling a payment of one-time or periodic
expenses, such as rent and leases, customers can be assured that payments will
be made securely and on time, saving them the effort of manually submitting
payments. In addition, customers can receive bills online from participating
vendors — such as phone companies, utilities, insurance vendors and others —
eliminating unnecessary paperwork and helping protect the environment.
— Online Transfers allow business owners to easily and quickly move funds
between several business accounts, and between business and personal accounts or
brokerage accounts. Customers also can set up automatic transfers and make
payments to eligible Wells Fargo credit accounts through this service.
— WellsTAX(R) service enables businesses to pay their business taxes online,
anytime. The process is as simple as transferring funds between accounts, and
ensures federal, state and many local business tax deadlines are met. Business
owners receive immediate confirmation of tax payments.
Wells Fargo also provides online resources and services for small business
owners that help them save financial records, eliminate paper easily, and in
some cases, detect and prevent fraud, including:
— Account Activity is easily accessible and provides a consolidated view of
all Wells Fargo business checking, credit cards, lines of credit and other
accounts. Up to 90 days of account history can be downloaded for review.
— Online Statements are also available for checking and savings accounts and
some loans, and are accessible for up to seven years.
— Check images of cancelled checks may be viewed, both front and back, to
confirm when checks have cleared and that they were received by the appropriate
party.
— Email Alerts are free and delivered to customers' email addresses,
providing personalized information to help them effectively manage recent
account activity, thereby helping them to detect and prevent fraud. A customer
can receive email alerts for Checking and/or Savings accounts, Employer Direct
Pay and Business Bill Pay. Alerts notify users about daily balances; when checks
are paid, deposits clear, bills are due; or when an account reaches a specified
balance limit, and more.
— Business Spending Report allows customers to track their spending for 16
months by a variety of expense categories such as supply/stationery and
utilities/telecom for Wells Fargo(R) Business Check Card, Credit Card and Bill
Pay.
— An educational, award-winning newsletter is available on the Web site with
practical customer tips such as finding the right financial advisor and taking
accounting online for managing finances more easily.
About Wells Fargo & Company
Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with
$492 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and
consumer finance to more than 23 million customers from more than 6,200 stores
and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and elsewhere
internationally. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is the only bank in the United States to
receive the highest possible credit rating, "Aaa," from Moody's Investors
Service.
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