It's official: We can no longer turn on the TV or surf the Web without someone reminding us that our country's economy is in a recession.
And whether you want to listen to them or not, the reality is that most Americans are feeling the pain of a slowing cash flow and are worried about the future. And we've seen a lot of comments here on the blog that confirm that our customers are looking for ways to make their dollar go further.
Inevitably, such an economic state opens the door for companies to promote their lower-cost products through ads — like this one 
— that speak to our media-driven anxiety by offering us money-saving options.
Since they won't put me in charge of advertising, here's my pitch: Now, when every penny counts more than ever, are you getting the most out of your accounts with Wells Fargo and Wachovia?
Hmm...not too bad if I do say so myself. But let's get to the point, eh?
You see, it was only a few years ago that I was still hand-writing checks, addressing envelopes and buying stamps. Fortunately, I eventually took, oh, about 5 minutes to sign up for Wachovia's Online Banking with Bill Pay and was blown away at just how easy it is to manage my bills online. (Of course, Wells Fargo customers have access to Bill Pay too.)
If memory serves, I used to spend at least a half hour twice a month paying my bills by hand. Now, paying them online takes, at most, a minute to knock out.
But, saving time is only part of the benefit to using bill pay. You see, with the price of stamps going from $0.42 to $0.44 next month , you can also save a nice chunk of change.
Let's do some quick math: Say you pay 12 bills every month (mortgage/rent, gas, electric, water, phone, cell phone, cable, Internet, car, insurance, and a few credit cards), and each bill requires a $0.44 stamp. By taking a few minutes to set up your online bill pay account, you can save $63.36 in a year. Now that's probably not going to make or break you, but hey, every dollar counts. Besides, wouldn't you rather rent 63 movies over the next year than spend that money on stamps for paying your bills?
And as an added bonus, online banking offers you the opportunity to reduce your paper consumption and keeps your important account and personal information out of the hands of opportunistic criminals.
Saving money, saving time, helping the environment, and protecting your identity...now that's what I call living better.
I hope that Wells Fargo knows that Wachovia customers want the Integration to happen quickly. You say you are listening to customers, and we are saying we don't want this to take 3 years.
Online Banking is a great example of why. Wachovia's Online Banking is okay. Nothing fancy. Just something simple with no advanced options like budgeting tools. It doesn't take advantage of any new Web technologies.
Wachovia never made any indication that they put any money into upgrading it or adding features. I think the interface has changed once since 2001, without any new features being added.
We want to take advantage of Wells Fargo's more advanced Online Banking.
4 checks lost in the past couple of months. The money is taken from my small business account on the pay date regardless of whether or not a check is cashed. When I call, the customer service people take care of canceling it but say "we just use the postal service." Something's up and no one will look into it. Customer service people should not be conditioned to think their organization is infallible. I understand mistakes but at least look into it when it's obvious something strange is happening.
Email if you want to help.
I am anxiously waiting for the Wells Fargo online banking to replace Wachovia's. I am tired of the not having features similar to what I see on the demo on Wells Fargo's site. I have seriously started considering changing banks due to this.
I'm with Jessica on this one. What kind of bank withdraws money from your small business without actually paying the check? If the payee never receives or cashes the check, the money should not be taken from my account. Why on earth do they do this. My other two banks don't. And I can't get an answer from customer service as to when my money will be returned!
I'm with you all.
Can't wait to get Wells Fargo billpay - what's the ETA?