Wells Lets Customers Sign Up for Money Fund Accounts On-Line

Wells Fargo & Co. has begun letting customers apply over the Internet to open money market mutual fund accounts.

It's the first major bank to do so, Wells said.

"This is the direction that all banks with home banking services of any consequence are heading," said Geoffrey Bobroff, a consultant in East Greenwich, R.I.

Wells said its on-line application requires customers to indicate that they have read an on-line prospectus and other disclosures.

The San Francisco-based bank, with $50.3 billion of assets, was already a leader in offering full-service banking on-line. First Interstate Bancorp, which it bought in April, is also an Internet trailblazer.

Both banks already allowed customers to check their account balances and apply for loans over the Internet. But until now Wells had not accepted applications on-line for uninsured investment products.

More than 250 banks maintain home pages on the World Wide Web, but services are limited. Most of the home pages merely provide basic information about the banks.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER