Wells Fargo Receives Top Marks for Small Business Online Site

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wells Fargo & Company’s (NYSE:WFC) small business Web site has been ranked #1 by Change Sciences Group, a national research firm, for the best online customer experience for small business customers among the top 40 national and regional banks.

“It's a win-win for banks and prospective customers if online services are easy to use, informative and convenient”

Change Sciences reports the Wells Fargo site is four times easier to use and more informative than the lowest ranked site and more than two and a half times better than the average site. The evaluation also accounted for helpfulness of content, ease of navigation, layout and data entry and the quality of look and feel.

“We continually seek information from our customers about their business operations and how we can provide the information and service they need,” said Melanie Donaghy, vice president and division manager for Wells Fargo’s Business Internet Services. “With small business owners increasingly turning to the Web for solutions and products, we’re proud Change Sciences recognized Wells Fargo as providing a top-rated customer experience.”

“It's a win-win for banks and prospective customers if online services are easy to use, informative and convenient,” said Steve Ellis, a Change Sciences Partner.

The top ranking follows recognition of Wells Fargo producing the highest-rated business-to-business (B2B) Web site by Forrester Research in their November 2006 report “Best and Worst of B2B Site Design, 2006.”

Wells Fargo, which serves more than 830,000 active online small business customers, was one of the first banks to launch a dedicated small business Web site and continues to enhance the informational content and online banking tools for this important customer segment, including:

• Solutions By Industry. Just this month, Wells Fargo added tailored solutions for the non-profit sector. Due to their unique structure and requirements, non-profits need special help and advice, and Wells Fargo is dedicated to providing financial services that support their distinctive needs. Wells Fargo also provides financial services and special no-fee accounts that support the distinctive needs of charitable institutions.
• Small business webcast series of interactive, online sessions to help small business owners meet their business growth and management goals. Approximately 45 minutes long, each webcast features a panel of experts, including economists and advisors, sharing relevant, practical advice.
• Patent-pending Employer Direct Pay, which provides business owners with a fast and secure way to make direct deposit payments to employee bank accounts, contractors or sales agents anywhere in the U.S.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $482 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through more than 6,000 stores and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and internationally. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is the only bank in the U.S., and one of only two banks worldwide, to have the highest credit rating from both Moody’s Investors Service, “Aaa,” and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, “AAA.”

Providing financial products and services to more than one million businesses with annual sales up to $20 million in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Canada, Wells Fargo is America’s #1 lender to small businesses in total dollar volume according to the most recent CRA data (2005).