Wells Fargo & Co. has begun using software that lets its employees send and receive voice messages and data over a single telecommunications line.
Such software could be a boon to home banking services via personal computer, since it lets people at each end of a phone conversation view the same information on-screen and talk about it.
A Wells Fargo official said the software lets the bank pursue customers beyond its historical geographic reach.
"Wells Fargo's on-line strategy is to try and be where the customer is, and this is just another way of being there," said Susan Weinstein, vice president in the bank's on-line division.
A Boulder, Colo., company, Radish Communications Inc., makes the data communications software, called VoiceView.
Since Radish began shipping the product in January, five computer makers and three modem companies have agreed to package VoiceView with their products.
More than 400,000 copies of the software are sold each month, said DeAnna J. Wassom, director of marketing for Radish. Industry officials said the number of users is likely to grow, providing a large customer base of computer-savvy customers for banks and other companies.
A PC user with VoiceView installed on a hard drive can click on an icon that displays a menu of companies that have the automated customer-service capability. Wells Fargo is listed, along with Blockbuster Entertainment Corp., American Airlines, 1-800-Flowers, and others.
Another click, and the customer's PC modem dials the requested phone number.
Once the customer is connected to the bank, visual information can reinforce the content of a bank employee's conversation. For example, a salesperson could download interest rate comparisons for a variety of accounts to the customer's PC screen.
Using VoiceView, Wells Fargo customers can apply for checking and savings accounts and access to the bank's on-line products. Wells plans soon to add credit card applications.
Hewlett-Packard Co., Packard Bell Electronics Inc., NEC Corp., AST Research, and Sony Corp. have all included VoiceView on hard drives because it lets their customer service representatives diagnose a user's computer problems while talking on the phone.
Radish executives said Citicorp is looking into using the software, but Citicorp executives could not be reached for comment.
