To me, there's almost no bigger financial fear than the thought of bouncing a check or overdrawing an account. On top of potential embarrassment, there are also usually fees that go along with having insufficient funds. I normally try to keep plenty of money in my checking account to avoid any such concerns, but recently I've had more bills to pay than usual — I just finished grad school and began paying my student loans — so my checking account balance has gotten uncomfortably low. Adding to this stressful situation, my husband and I recently decided to move, which is an always unpleasant and expensive undertaking.
We spent a few weeks looking at apartments and finally found the one. It had the right mixture of price, amenities and location for our budget and lifestyle, so after speaking to the owner we were ready to submit an application.
As my fellow renters out there may be aware, most landlords require a security deposit to hold an apartment, and in our area that deposit was equal to an entire month's rent (that's a lot of money in Northern California!!) I had my checkbook with me and was halfway through writing out the check when the thought struck me: Do I have enough money in my checking account to clear this check?!
Just when I was about to panic, I remembered that I had signed up for Wells Fargo MobileSM Banking. so my balance and account activity are always at my fingertips. I pulled out my phone and texted "bal" (for balance) to "93557" (that's "WELLS" in mobile speak). Within 10 seconds — I kid you not — I had a text message response from Wells Fargo giving me my available balance.
Thankfully, I had plenty of money in my checking account to clear the check, so I let out a sigh of relief and finished filling it out.
I've played with the Wells Fargo Mobile Banking service a bunch since then, and I think it's actually pretty cool! There are a number of pieces of information you can get via text message, and there's a mobile browser option as well which lets you transfer money and find nearby Wells Fargo ATMs. I've used Mobile Banking everywhere I go — at the grocery store and even at the mall — to keep me on top of my money and under control.
BTW, I'm happy to report that we got the apartment thanks to the security deposit and my strong credit history...more on that topic later!
Mobile Banking works for me — does it fit into your lifestyle?
Does the Wells fargo online bank service work with all kinds of phones? Could I use it with an iPhone?
Hi Jim D.- While we don't have a specific iPhone application for consumers available, you can use Wells Fargo Mobile Banking via your iPhone mobile browser at wf.com. The Text Banking feature I described in my post should work as well. Try it out and let us know what you think!