This week we reached a milestone for the Wells Fargo-Wachovia Blog: We've had over 300 of your comments published! As you know, one of the goals for our blog is to give you another forum to ask questions and share your thoughts about — as well as to give you updates on — the Integration.
Thanks to all your comments and questions, we're learning more about what's important to you and answering as many as we can!
Today, we're going to open the mailbag and respond to a couple of popular questions:
- Can I use both Wells Fargo and Wachovia branches?
- What is the Integration timeline?
Can I use the branches at both Wells Fargo and Wachovia?
Many of you are asking if you can use both Wachovia and Wells Fargo branches for your banking needs, like making deposits. For now, Wells Fargo and Wachovia will each continue to operate as separate banks.
- Wells Fargo and Wachovia banking locations will not have access to each other's customer information until after Integration; so continue to bank at your usual office.
- You can use your ATM Card or Check Card to make cash withdrawals or balance inquiries at any Wells Fargo or Wachovia ATM machines with no ATM access fee.
- If you need to make a deposit and you are not near your bank, you can mail in your deposit. For more info on bank by mail, check out either the Wachovia page or the Wells Fargo page, depending on where you bank.
A number of you have asked specific account-related questions or requested customer service. Although the bloggers would love to help you, our dedicated customer service team is much better suited to address your questions and needs right away.
Wachovia customers call: 1-800-922-4684
Wells Fargo customers call:1-800-869-3557
What is the timeline for Integration?
We are working very diligently on identifying the combined organization's leaders, systems, products and other processes. Because of the size of the Integration and our commitment to making it as smooth as possible for all of you, it will most likely take a few years to complete.
In the last few months, we've named many leaders of our combined organization, and hundreds of business integration teams have been working very hard on the nuts and bolts of it all. Unfortunately, given the complexity of it all, we don't have a specific timeline to share. But rest assured, you will be contacted and kept informed of any changes affecting your accounts as the integration draws closer!
As we move forward, Matt, Anne Marie and I — along with the rest of our bloggers — will continue to keep you posted (bad pun, sorry) about the integration too, so stay tuned. We really appreciate you all letting us know how we're doing and what you're thinking, so keep those questions and comments coming!
when can I use a wachovia branch location just as I would my wells fargo branch, when will the Intergration be complete.
As a Wachovia customer like many it would help if both banks would stop the slow move and just go ahead and make the banks one so that we as customers will not be stuck with the two names. I understand in the south the customers want to keep the Wachovia name but thats not a choice so I as many agree get the name brand Wells Fargo on the branches so we as customers can in these awful economic times have at least a bank we can truly call by its correct name.
@Gayle – Thanks for your question! You'll be able to use all banking branches when the integration is complete in your area. Unfortunately, we can't really give you a specific date because we're still in the planning process for the integration and moving at a pace that lets us make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible. Stay tuned though! As the integration draws closer, you'll get more information from Wells Fargo and from us, right here on the blog.
I'm also a Wachovia customer, but I appreciate the slow pace of integration since it's important to get it right. That's what made the First Union/Wachovia merger several years ago so successful. Combining two large banks with very different computer systems, etc., is no trivial matter.
Wells Fargo has great online banking, especially in regards to the look & feel of the site, and features. Will there be any enhancements to Wachovia's online banking in the near future, to match that of Wells Fargo's?
I am sick of reading/hearing:
"Business as usual" it's not, if it were WFC & WB would still be separate company's there wouldn't be a merger.
"Were still in the planning process..." Whats to plan change the name on the outside of the branches, merge the computer systems and get it over with
"Were going to go very slow and make sure we do it right, and we'll let you know far in advance" Please if people are to dense to understand whats going on and accept the transition, they probably shouldn't have a bank account
LETS JUST GET IT OVER WITH!!!!!!!!
This blog was created with the idea of informing us customers the process of the merger, but the only thing that's ever here are worthless feel good stories about some town that WFC or WB does business in and really has nothing to do with them meat and potato's of the merger and the same old tire lines listed above.
As a pre-merger WFC shareholder i feel that if WFC hasn't been able to work out simple integration plans by this point then maybe we bit off more than we can chew and we should give WB back to Citi.
And as for all the people (and Mr. Roberts its not just people in the south) who want to keep the Wachovia name or change the name to "Wellscovia" or something like that, sorry, WB's board and management ran a good company into the ground, shareholders stood by idly and continued to re-elect them year after year, so its Wells Fargo.
Disclaimer: WFC shareholder (pre-merger), WFC customer (pre-merger) & WB customer (pre-merger), NOT an employee of either company or its subsidiaries (and never have been)
I would also add that "One team, twice as strong" is completely misleading as well, since you are not one team.
IF you were one team, Wells Team members could help me with Wachovia accounts and Wachovia Team members could help me with Wells Accounts.
Maybe it should be changes to "One team coming at a snails pace" or "One Team, Someday" or "Two teams, Two Banks, One ticker symbol"
Successful integration between large companies do not happen overnight and that has been proven. There have also been stories of companies that have tried the "quick merger" path that have led to disaster, including the 1998 CoreStates-First Union merger (Wachovia's predecessor) and the 1996 First Interstate Bancorp and the old Wells Fargo merger. I mean it is a question of combining many resources like computer networks, phone systems, human resources, product lines, business strategies and practices, account numbers, prior commitments and liabilities, TRAINING of THOUSANDS of staff members, advertising and marketing, risk management, etc. The merger of course was just finalized just under three months ago and it will take its time. Both Wells Fargo and Wachovia know better as they both been there.
I do hope they both take their time to make it right.
@Jason - Glad to hear you're a fan of online banking!
Eventually our two online banking platforms will be consolidated to a single version for all of our customers, leveraging the best in functionality, usability and service.
Stay tuned.
@Matt - Matt, thanks your your response. I just feel that Wachovia's online banking system is substandard, primitive, and also lacks security features when compared to Wells Fargo, and even other banks.
I can't believe that Wachovia doesn't even have an iPhone application, like Wells Fargo, and most other banks.
I understand that merger integration will take time, but can Wells Fargo at least give specifics on this?
We've had no specifics on anything, and like many other readers to this blog, I am becoming frustrated with the vague responses and lack of specific information. Thank you.
I was using Wells Fargo's ATM locator on wellsfargo.com to locate Wachovia ATMs near Charlotte, NC.
The bird's eye feature was showing random pictures like woods and people's houses.
You might want to have the IT people looks at this issue.
JA Santes,
What, in your opinion, is an appropriate time frame to conduct/complete an integration of this nature?
Sure, we can all understand that it's not complete at this time, but to not even have a published plan/timeline? That's crazy.
When Wachovia announced the SouthTrust acquisition 35 days later they did an integration presentation in NYC. It's been 173 days since Wells announced Wachovia and not a peep on integration timetables -- all we get is "check back later".
Firefighter, "Wellscovia", that's funny! Good on ya mate.
Relative to on-line banking; I just swiched to Wachovia from another bank because for 3 years I was begging them to keep their on-line sessions open for more than 5 minutes before throwing you out for inactivity.
Whenever I would look away from the screen to make entries in my register or do some calculations, I'd look up when finished to find I'd been kicked out of the session, requiring me to log-in again with user ID, password, answer to security question, etc. Wachovia allows 30 minutes, (I timed it), of inactivity, (eg, not moving your mouse), and that's fine for my purposes.
I hope WF will not change this feature, or I'll be forced to move on again. Thank you.
MODERATOR'S NOTE: This comment was originally submitted 2009-06-03 05:57:47
I 2nd that we r in 2010, where almost everyone has an iPhone and almost every company has an app....
What's going on? We move in to 2010 or lots of customer loss....
I agree, there needs to be a iPhone app for Wachovia customers already. Wachovia is way behind on this.