Wells Fargo Unveils Business Online Banking Plus Service — The Latest Online Innovation For Small Business Owners

Business Wire,  August 8, 2002  

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Business Editors/Banking Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 8, 2002

Latest Offering Follows Wells Fargo's Web Site Recent Selection by

Speer and Associates as the Nation's Number One Small Business Site

for the Second Year in a Row

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), the leader in small business banking, today announced the Wells Fargo Business Online Banking Plus service, the latest innovative online banking option available through Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo's Business Online Banking Plus service allows small business owners to assign different user access levels, manage access to accounts by user, and organize accounts for multiple businesses. With the launch of this online banking service for small business owners, Wells Fargo demonstrates its continued commitment to serving the small business community with the online financial services that best meet their needs.

In a recent announcement, Speer and Associates, a leading financial services consulting firm, announced that Wells Fargo's small business Web site, the Resource Center for Small Business Owners, (http://www.wellsfargo.com/biz/) has been named as the top small business site in the Western Hemisphere by Speer and Associates. Speer and Associates selected Wells Fargo after conducting research on 107 commercial banks in the United States, Canada and major Latin American markets. Each bank was evaluated in terms of business development, value-added services, online deposit account features, and products.

The Wells Fargo Business Online Banking Plus service provides three distinct competitive advantages for small business customers.

-- Small business customers can control access to online accounts for multiple users ensuring that the right people have the appropriate level of access to their business accounts, whether they're delegating reporting responsibilities to their accountant or having their assistant transfer funds.

-- Small business customers can also manage business finances for multiple businesses in one place.

-- The service also enables customers to better organize their accounts by user and banking function. Small business owners can oversee all of their Wells Fargo business accounts, including checking, savings, money market, credit cards, loans and lines of credit -- across multiple businesses.

"Wells Fargo recognizes that not all small businesses are alike. The needs of small business owners can vary greatly in both size and in the types of financial services that best meets their banking needs," said Debra Rossi, Executive Vice President, Wells Fargo Business Internet Services. "The Wells Fargo Business Banking Online Plus service provides small businesses with another online banking option that gives them greater control in how they manage their business. This is the latest offering from Wells Fargo that guarantees our small business customers anytime, anywhere access to their banking needs."

The Wells Fargo Business Online Banking Plus service meets the needs of small businesses that have multiple employees or businesses and want to view only business accounts. The Wells Fargo Business Online banking service is available for those who want to view both business and personal accounts, as well as pay their bills online. These two distinct services demonstrate Wells Fargo's recognition that the small business industry is multi-level, and different businesses require different products and services.

According to Needham, Mass.-based financial services research firm TowerGroup, 19 percent of all small businesses use online banking services and another five percent indicate that they plan to use these services in the near future. Furthermore, 14 percent of small office/home office businesses pay their bills online and 8 percent of small businesses use the Internet to pay their bills.

Pricing and Availability

The Wells Fargo Business Online Banking Plus service is available July 22, 2002 for a monthly fee of $24.95 for up to 10 accounts with unlimited users and transfers. Each additional account is $2.50 per month. Customers can enroll in the Wells Fargo Business Online Banking Plus service or the Wells Fargo Business Online banking service by talking to their business banker, visiting www.wellsfargo.com/biz, or by calling 800/956-4442.

About Wells Fargo and Company

With 1.6 million small business customers, Wells Fargo is the largest small business lender in the United States. The Resource Center for Small Business Owners, featuring the Wells Fargo Business Online Banking Plus service and the Wells Fargo Business Online banking service, at http://www.wellsfargo.com/biz/ was ranked for the second year in a row as top among 90 large- and mid-sized banks by financial services consulting firm, Speer & Associates. In the March 2002 issue of Institutional Investor, which ranks companies for e-finance innovation, Wells Fargo beat all other banks.

Wells Fargo delivers secure payment solutions that are easy to implement, affordable and offer fraud protection to customers. Wells Fargo processes nearly $3 billion in credit card sales annually for 20,000 online merchants. Wells Fargo is a $315 billion diversified financial services company providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance services through 5,400 stores, its Internet site and other distribution channels across North America as well as internationally.

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