Wells Fargo 2.0

My goal with this post was to list and comment the key online initiatives & features Wells Fargo launched in the last couple of years.
Please note my list is surely not exhaustive.

I started to keep track of Wells Fargo (WF) a few month ago, at the Online_Banking_Summit_2007 in Charlotte, North Carolina. I was one of the key speakers and my panel was on banking and web 2.0.

Among my fellow speakers and the attendees, there were a few people from Wells Fargo. I am glad I had the chance to meet Richard Weeks, Senior Vice President - Business Internet Services, and his colleagues David and Barry.

Best of breed: Innovation, customer experience and web 2.0
As far as I am concerned, WF is the most innovative bank online: they use many web 2.0 features and provide one of the best customer experience on the web.

They even have a VP, social media: Ed Terpening.
Check Ed's interview.
Ed, what a great job you have!

Wells Fargo online banking services won many awards in the last couple of years: Global Finance Magazine (2005), Global Finance Magazine (2006), NetBanker (2006).

Please find below a list of articles published in 2002, 2004 and 2005 demonstrating Wells Fargo's core strategy to integrate all channels and to provide the best possible online customer experience:
* Wells Fargo: All ATMs Now Web-Enabled, All Banking Stores with Online Stations (2005)
* Wells Fargo Re-Envisions Online Banking for Corporations As It Moves to Bank of the Future Today (2004)
* Wells Fargo Leads Customer Service as First To Market, Offering Real-Time Web Collaboration To Online Commercial Customers (2002)


New Homepage: 50% increase in online application
This is one of the most recent initiatives from Wells Fargo. And it will surely be one of the most successful.

WF recently launched a new homepage designed to better meet the expectations from both visitors and customers.

Video sharing and social networking sites (like YouTube, MySpace, Facebook or Linkedin) became extremely popular and Web 2.0 is all about giving the power to people: nowadays, you can easily generate your own content (articles, audio, video), share your ideas, publish your comments... Your expectations have changed too: you expect companies to listen to you; you want your bank to act as a trusted financial partner.

With this re-design, WF has dramatically improved its customer experience, which will surely translate in better customer acquisition, better customer retention, and more online sales. Well done!

From Paul Penrose, finextra: methodology and early results
The updated Wells Fargo website takes a highly customer focused approach to ease access to most wanted features. The results have been spectacular with a 50% increase in online applications.
(...)
The bank’s Internet Services Group used site stats, survey data and internal search information to pick up on customer requirements and shortcomings in navigation and fed this back into the re-development.

The key features and tools available on the homepage are:
* Direct access to all the key features of Internet Banking,
* ATMs & Stores locator,
* Rich text content (video),
* Open an Account for the key products (you land on the first page of the application process)
* Check today's rates.

WF listened to their clients and online visitors, and they showed they were listening: this is exactly what customers were looking for.

If you want to know more about this re-design, I invite you to check the excellent case study from Forrester Research, published on 23rd May 2007.

In addition to this case study, I found some useful insight in a couple of blogs: finextra, the EDM blog and the Bankwatch.


Wells Fargo 2.0
WF use an impressively long list of available web 2.0 features such as blogging, social networking (presence on MySpace and Second Life), Podcasts, RSS Feeds, Tagging and Video sharing.

I invite you to check out the excellent Wells Fargo posts on the brilliant NetBanker blog.

Please find below some stats on Wells Fargo:
* First U.S. bank with a blog (though Verity Credit Union beat them to it by more than a year)
* First bank with a student loan blog
* First bank with a business banking blog
* First bank in the world with a Second Life presence
* First bank on MySpace at <www.myspace.com/stagecoachisland>
* First bank with 2, 3, and 4 blogs
* First bank with an avatar persona on MySpace
* First bank with a VP Social Media

It is impressive. Indeed, even though research companies such as Gartner in August 2006 advised banks to use web 2.0 features to target the youth market or increase customer retention, most banks are still cautious and are not using web 2.0 technologies.

Blogging
Most banks still refrain from launching a blog for instance. They are concerned with the potential brand damage.

Wells Fargo is extremely involved in blogging with 4 blogs.
"The Student LoanDown" blog is extremely popular among students. They have just celebrated the first anniversary of their first blog, "Guided by history".
 
Personal Finance
In a previous post, I talked about the increasing importance of providing good Personal Finance tools.

Wesabe is one of the most famous communities built around Personal Finance. 

WF provide a comprehensive service to help manage your finance: the My Spending Report service.

With this service, based on tagging, WF customers can:
* Automatically tracks their accounts in one place
* Sorts card and Bill Pay purchases into familiar categories
* Updates information automatically, every business day
* Organizes spending view by month, up to three months
* Download a year or more of your spending history
 
Podcasts
Event though their offer is not as rich and comprehensive as a first direct and its first direct interactive service, WF provide podcasts. It is another web 2.0 box you can tick.


Social networking
Banks have four options with social networking: they can
* launch a new social network from scratch with a brand new platform
* launch a new social network using one of the leading platforms such as Xing
* develop their presence on the most popular social networks such as Facebook or MySpace
* develop their presence in virtual worlds such as Second Life

Wells Fargo has a presence on MySpace (an avatar and a page) and in Second Life.

Mobile Banking
Wells Fargo is also active in Mobile Banking. They recently launched a CEO Mobile Banking service for their business banking customers.
* Wells Fargo Launches CEO Mobile Banking Service - 18 May 2007
* Wells Fargo introduces mobile banking for business customers - 18 May 2007

Site Search
Providing a search feature (or not) is a commonly debated topic in the banking industry. Indeed, it is quite challenging: ideally, you would like to access the info after one of two clicks maximum. Providing a search engine is easy. Providing useful, optimized, results is extremely challenging.

Banks have two key goals: provide the best user experience and sell more online.
The key problem is the lack of patience from the visitors: the more clicks, the bigger the drop off rates... It is a major problem which has a significant impact on the top of the sales funnel.

Usually, media agencies advise banks to encourage their users to browse their website using the navigation bars.

WF provide an elaborated Search feature: you can enter a specific question or a phrase, and the results are categorized in 4 sections: Individuals, Small business, Commercial and about Wells Fargo.



Wells Fargo Online Tour
Wells Fargo offer a good interactive presentation (in flash) to introduce its comprehensive internet banking service.

Hands on banking
This training and resource center is available at handsonbanking.org.

Wells Fargo developed this entertaining and educational program for kids, teens and adults as a commercial-free public service. It can help you improve your knowledge of:
* Budgeting
* The importance of saving
* Bank accounts and services
* Borrowing money and maintaining good credit
* Buying a home
* Investing
* Starting and managing a small business

In the library, you will find some tips categorized by topic and available in pdf format. For instance, I invite you to check WF's high level shopping and spending tips.

My Savings Plans
WF provide another interesting tool to its internet banking users: My Savings Plan. It is a clever way to:
* increase customer satisfaction improving customer experience and customer support,
* urge your clients to register to Internet Banking, save money and apply for WF saving products online.

Resources: Wells Fargo and Web 2.0
Please find below some articles on WF approach to Web 2.0.
* Wells Fargo Taps Web 2.0
* Wells Fargo Experimenting with Web 2.0
* Why Wells Fargo bank is different
* Most Business Tech Pros Wary About Web 2.0 Tools In Business
* Adoption of Web 2.0 Is Taking Off, But Some Firms Are Still Reluctant

the online_banking_summit - update

A quick update following up the recent online_banking_summit_2007, organized by Royal Media Group in North Carolina in March. JJ Hornblass, Royal Media's CEO, invited me to speak about web 2.0.

Advisory Board
After this successful first conference, JJ and his team offered me to join the advisory board of this annual event. I am proud to be part of the board, and I very much look forward to helping Royal Media take the summit to the next level.

Keane - Online Services Survey: What Customers Want
Imran Sayeed, VP Global Financial Services, was one of the speakers. We met on the first day, got on very well, and kept in touch. After the event, Imran sent me an excellent study Keane released in 2006.

He kindly accepted to share that presentation with you too: Online Services Survey: What Customers Want.

1,816 banking customers in the US, UK, and Canada responded to a 69-question online survey during Dec ’05 and Jan ‘06.

Please find below the key findings.
* The majority of customers want to improve their financial planning and admit they need help
* Financial services firms are pinpointing online customer experience as a priority for boosting their organic revenue growth
* Customer retention and cross-selling opportunities dominate the justification for investing in online customer experience
* But when customers are asked for more details of their online experience, it’s clear that they are not satisfied... it is obvious that primary institutions are falling short in advisory and planning offerings

Aite - Automating Account Opening In-Branch and Online: A Case Study of Alliant Credit Union
Aite just released a new 21-page impact note: "Alliant Credit Union, on average, was able to drive 13% of new account applicants to its online system in the first six months after deployment, and examines the business case for automated account opening solutions, in-branch and online."

Link to Visible-Banking.com on Banknet360.com
Thanks Sara for the link to Visible Banking in your post on Banknet360, Banks Adding Products Online.

online_banking_summit_2007: a success!

First, I must congratulate the Royal Media Group: JJ Hornblass and his dynamic team have done a tremendous job! It is particulary impressive as it was their first online banking event.

A good mix of panels & presentations, and an excellent alchemy on stage 
I have attended a lot of conferences in various countries, on various topics, and as far as I remember, it is the first time there was such a consensus from the delegates: they all found the sessions very valuable, and they agreed the format worked extremely well.

Most sessions were organized in panels of three or four experts: during the sessions, someone from Royal Media Group came to collect the questions from the audience. Then, the moderator asked most of those questions to the panel.
The discussions were relaxed, and very valuable as the speakers got on extremely well together. They shared not only their thoughts but also their own experiences, good or bad.

The presentations were very interesting and contained a lot of useful facts and figures. My congratulations to:
* Robin Nakamura, Senior VP, eBusiness, First National Bank
* Theo Moumtzidis, Managing VP, First Manhattan Consulting Group

My Top 5 speakers
All the speakers were chosen carefully, and I liked them all. They were enthusiatic, and they knew how to share their experience with an audience.
Nevertheless, I would like to share my Top 5 speakers with you.
* Bruce Hobbs, Fifth Third Bank: according to me, Bruce has to be the top speaker. He did a great job on stage, and shared a lot of information about his success but also his shortcomings. He made a very valuable contribution. Moreover, I had the chance to have dinner with him twice this week. Bruce is a great guy, extremely knowledgeable, and he has worked on many projects all over the world.
* Alan Lyon, Wachovia Corp.: a bit like Bruce, Alan shared a lot of information on stage. Both were part of the same panel, and I found the interaction between them perfect during their discussion on "Overcoming Internal & Technology Challenges". Unfortunately, I didn't have the pleasure to talk to Alan...
* Drew Sievers, mFoundry: Drew has an extensive experience in mobile banking, not only in the US but he and his company are also working on many international projects in countries such as India or Japan. Drew was capable of addressing many topics and issues from the banks, the telcos and the regulatory angles. He is a very good speaker, very knowledgeable, and he successfully uses a good mix of specific examples and good jokes.
* Theo Moumtzidis, First Manhattan Consulting Group: Theo is an excellent consultant. He shared a new presentation about the impact of Online Banking in Retail Banking. Theo demonstrated a great knowledge of the industry, shared a lot of valuable info and facts about the current and future trends in Retail Banking, and he is an excellent speaker who uses the right jokes (or pictures ;-)) at the right time. His presentation, the last of the day, was very entertaining.
* Rob Klapper, Prosper.com: Rob and I were participating to the same panel on web 2.0. Rob is a great guy, and even though he joined Prosper.com (a really exciting company, in an exciting space!) only 3 months ago, Rob showed a lot of enthusiasm and passion for Peer-to-Peer and their Social Lending market place!

You can find all the biographies of the speakers here.

Our session on web 2.0 and Peer-to-Peer
I was really thrilled and honored to be the only speaker who came from Europe.
I believe the attendees showed interest in our session: web 2.0 is mainly a marketing name, and people are still a bit confused and don't know if banks should use "technologies" such as social networking, blogging, RSS, Podcasts, Videos...

The main fear is about brand damage. Fortunately, we still see some promising web 2.0 initiatives from banks such as Wells Fargo and its blogs, or Fortis Bank and its new social network for entrepreneurs, Join2Grow.

The key messages from Vince, Ed, Rob and myself were:
* web 2.0 is all about giving the power & more control to the people
* it has an impact on people's expectations: they express themselves, and they expect companies to listen and show they care
* complaints are good, they give you the opportunity to win a faithful base of clients
* before using one/several of those technologies, think carafully about your goals
* you need to create value to the members of your community, you need to engage them and urge them to contribute

At the end of our session, we advised the audience to check out the following websites: netvibes, ning, Linkedin, wesabe... and of course Prosper, BillHighway and Visible Banking! ;-)

Excellent networking opportunity
Everybody was impressed not only by the quality of the speakers, but also by the attendees. Because of its size (around 100 people), this conference was one of my very best networking experiences. I met a lot of very knowledgeable, approchable and friendly people. They all came to the conference not only to get something out of it, but also to share their experience.

In two days, I have met people from the following companies:
1st Bank, Aite, AnchorBank, Banco Popular, Bank of America, Bharosa, BillHighway.com, Capstrat, CheckFree, Cibernet, ClairMail, DataQuick, Edgar Dunn & Company, E-Loan, EquiFirst, Fifth Third Bank, First American Title Insurance Company, First Manhattan Consulting Group, First National Bank, iGobanking.com, Keane, MarkMonitor, Marshall & Ilsley Corporation (M&I), Medianet, Mellon, mFoundry, PayStream, Prosper, RBC Centura, RSA Security, Scarborough Research, Secora, Silanis, Spectrum Message, Stax, the Royal Media Group, TowerGroup, United Commercial Bank, Wachovia, Wells Fargo, Wescom Resources Group.

They came mainly from the US, but also from Canada and Puerto Rico.
 
a few pictures


JJ, I will definitely recommend your conference and it would be a pleasure to be invited to speak next year. Keep up the good work!
... and you should think of organizing the equivalent in Europe too!

Charlotte, North Carolina (March 2007)

I arrived yesterday in Charlotte, North Carolina.

I am extremely pleased that JJ Hornblass, CEO of the Royal Media Group, invited me to speak at the online_banking_summit_2007. I am also proud to be the first speaker from Europe.

I will participate to a panel on web 2.0. Please check the agenda of the event.

a few pictures of Charlotte

First speaker from Europe!

If you visited my blog recently, you must be aware of the online_banking_summit_2007 organized by the Royal Media Group in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In any case, I was planning to fly all the way to Charlotte to attend that exciting event next week.

But before registering, I decided to contact JJ Hornblass, CEO of RMG.
I invited JJ to check my linkedin profile and my blogs (Visible Networking & Visible Banking) about social networking, web 2.0 and online banking.

Being visible online works, and it creates opportunities: I am extremely pleased to announce that JJ invited me to be part of the "New Frontiers Panel" on Tuesday 13 March. How exciting!

I also plan to cover the event on my blog.

It is still possible to register. I look forward to meeting with you next week!

online_banking_summit_2007

Today, I found out about an exciting conference organized by the Royal Media Group for the first time this year: online_banking_summit_2007.

In November 2006, RMG created a dedicated blog to better promote the event. (I have decided to add the xml feed to my blog) 






List of speakers (26/02/07)
RMG did a very good job for a first event. Please find below the list of confirmed speakers.
* ILIEVA I. AGEENKO, SVP and Director of Emerging Applications, Wachovia Corp.
* NANCY ATKINSON, Senior Analyst, Aite Group, LLC
* JOHN BEST, Director of IT Development, WesCom Credit Union
* MIKE GIBB, Senior Editor, BankNet360.com
* BRUCE HOBBS, Director of Alternative Delivery, Fifth Third Bank
* JJ HORNBLASS, President & CEO, Royal Media Group
* HENRY IJAMS, Managing Director and Founder, PayStream Advisors
* ROB KLAPPER, Chief Marketing Officer, Prosper.com
* MARK LEFANOWICZ, President, E-Loan
* SARA LEPRO, Associate Editor, Royal Media Group
* ALAN LYON, Vice President, IT Systems Manager, Wachovia
* THEO MOUMTZIDIS, Managing Vice President, First Manhattan Consulting Group
* ROBIN NAKAMURA, Senior Vice President, First National Bank of Omaha
* MICHELLE A. PALOMBO, Vice President, Information Services Product Line Manager, Mellon Working Capital Solutions
* PATRICK REETZ, Vice President, Director of Online Banking, M&I Corp.
* VINCENT RYAN, Managing Editor, BankNet360.com
* IMRAN SAYEED, Vice President, Financial Services, Keane Inc.
* GINGER SCHMELTZER, Manager, Edgar, Dunn & Company
* DREW SIEVERS, Co-Founder & CEO, mFoundry
* MATTHEW SPEARE, Corporate Information Security Officer, M&T Bank
* VINCENT P. THOMAS, Founder, Billhighway.com
* RICHARD WEEKS, Senior Vice President, Business Internet Services, Wells Fargo & Co.

You can check the most up-to-date list of speakers directly on the website.