Based in San Francisco, California, Wells Fargo is the fifth largest bank in the United States by assets and the ninth in the world. It takes pride in being one of the two banks in the world with the highest credit rating “AAA” from both Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services and Moody’s Investors Service. Throughout its 150-year history, Wells Fargo has grown to be a global financial giant with more than 6000 retail branches, 160,000 employees and 23 million customers worldwide.

150 Years and Counting

If history is any indication, Wells Fargo is here to stay. In early 1848, soon after gold was discovered near Coloma, California, businessmen and entrepreneurs from different parts of the globe flocked to the area. Henry Wells (from Vermont) and William G. Fargo (from New York) took advantage of the booming economy and established their own companies.

Wells founded Wells and Company and Fargo, Fargo and Company. They became major players in the competitive express industry. Then, a new rival, John Butterfield, entered the scene with his brainchild Butterfield, Wasson and Company. After a period of stiff competition, Wells, Fargo and Butterfield soon realized that joining forces would be more beneficial to all of them. Together, they formed American Express Company and soon found themselves fiercely competing with Adams and Company. A proposal was made to expand their business in California, but the majority of the directors of American Express balked, fearing that Adams would manage to set up a monopoly in the West. Unshaken, Wells and Fargo started their own business as they continue to do their duties as directors of American Express.

On March 18, 1852, the partners founded Wells, Fargo and Company to provide banking and express services to the people of California. Its first office was opened in San Francisco in July 1852. Since then, the company expanded while experiencing several takeovers and other problems along the way. In 1998, Wells Fargo was formed as a result of an acquisition of Wells, Fargo and Company by Norwest Corporation. The new company decided to keep the name Wells Fargo to take advantage of the 150-year history and its widely known trademark stagecoach.

Online Services

In May 1995, Wells Fargo introduced access to trading and banking accounts online. With this new accessible feature, customers are able to check their account information, transfer money from a Wells Fargo account to another, pay bills to anyone in the US and trade securities. It also allows clients to sign up and apply for new accounts, products and services. In addition, it also lets customers to view their canceled checks and statements, find the nearest branch or ATM and sign up for account alerts. Customers are also able to set saving goals using the “My Savings Plan” feature and monitor their spending habits using “My Spending Report.” Wells Fargo also introduced another innovation by sending emails and wireless alerts to a customer’s personal or banking e-mail accounts in case high-risk transactions are detected, which protects them from fraud.

Being one of the pioneers of Internet banking franchises, Wells Fargo has very reliable online services. Its official site is an easy-to-understand guide that can help you make transactions on the web easier. Whether you want to set up an account or apply for a loan, it only takes a few minutes to finish a transaction. You can just visit their website and follow the instructions listed on each page. Here are some of the things you can do through their site:

Bill Consolidation Loan: Check out their website and accomplish the application form displayed. Remember that you must have a consistent income source. You also must be the owner of the property that is securing the loan. The processing of the application usually takes two business days.

Personal Loan: Completing a confidential online application for a personal loan from Wells Fargo is easy. You must be 18 years or above. If you live in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick or British Columbia, you must be at least 19. It takes 48 hours to process the application.

Opening an Account: If you want to open your account, visit the website and choose the account type from the dropdown list. Then, enter your username and password.

Checking Today’s Rates: Whether it is credit card rates, auto loan rates or home insurance quotes you want to view, all you need to do is log on to the website and click on what you want to check.