Wells Sending Out an SMS

Wells has become the first major bank to offer retail and small business customer’s two choices in a mobile banking platform. Just months after launching its mobile-browser based service, the San Francisco bank has introduced a text-banking service. Wells Fargo Mobile Text Banking lets customers access account balances and see recent account activity when they key in text commands such as “bal,” “bal all,” and “act” to Wells’ 93557 short-code number. The new service comes on the heels of its introduction of mobile banking service available to customer with Web-enabled phones, and is one leg of a mobile banking triangle of platforms that are gaining ground in the market (along with downloadable Web applications available through carrier/banking arrangements, as well as Web-mobile banking services available through certain phone browsers). Wells announced its Wells Fargo Mobile service in July, and has also announced a mobile payment project with Visa.