Wells Fargo Revamps Its Mobile Payments Experience

Wells Fargo has not had a good run of things lately, with hits to the reputation cropping up all over. Seriously, just run “Wells Fargo scandal” through Google and the first thing you’ll be asked is if you meant the one from 2016 or the one from 2018. With a new ad campaign in the works featuring the tagline “Established 1852. Re-established 2018 with a recommitment to you.”, it’s easy to see Wells Fargo wants to be—or at least seem—different. Changes to its mobile payments service going under the name “Pay with Wells Fargo” should likewise illustrate an interest in change.

Pay with Wells Fargo features a ready connection to the app’s home screen that allows users to bring their most frequently-used payment solutions right to the front. Whether that’s Zelle, a mobile wallet system, or even a Card-Free ATM Access Code with transfer options, it’s all right on the front. Sounds good, but it gets better; future plans for expansion are already in the works, including such things as the ability to donate money to users’ charities of choice from the mobile tool. There’s even set to be some customization based on each user’s use patter

While all this is probably going to prove welcome for the dozen or so Wells Fargo customers who haven’t voted with their wallets and gone to some other bank, I can’t help but wonder if Wells Fargo is solving the wrong problem. People aren’t abandoning Wells Fargo because the mobile experience wasn’t up to snuff; people were abandoning Wells Fargo because of what amounted to basic ethics issues.

It’s going to be hard to persuade customers to trust Wells Fargo again on the strength of a new mobile experience and some advertising, but certainly, it’s making the effort. Hopefully the company can find its footing and get back its lost customers to enjoy the new Pay with Wells Fargo experience.