Wells Fargo's CEO plans to make banking apps more user-friendly.
By simplifying in-person and online facilities, the company has renovated 730 branches by the end of 2024.
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During a meeting, Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf said: “The company is renovating its branches across the country, with 730 completed by the end of last year.
“We continue to make improvements to our mobile app, including making account openings much easier, and in the fourth quarter, more than 40% of consumer checking accounts were increased.”
The number of mobile customers rose by 1.5 million last year, which is 5 percent more than in 2023.
According to the CEO, customers use Zelle and the bank generated more than $1 billion in sales transactions last year.
This is a sharp increase of 22 percent since 2023.
Zelle is marketed as “a fast, secure, and easy way to send and receive money with friends, family, and other people you trust” on its website.
However, one Wells Fargo customer's account was drained after she used Zelle.
Charlotte Staines shared her painful situation on Tik Tok video, where she informed her followers about a scam so they would be aware of it.
Steins, who goes by the name Charlottesteens8, wiped away tears as she recorded the video in July from the parking lot of a Wells Fargo branch.
“I got a call from a Wells Fargo number saying I had fraudulent activity on my account and that money was being sent to a random person from Zelle,” she began.
Staines said the staggering amount the alleged person was receiving raised concerns.
“I had never used Zelle, so this scared me,” she added.
“They asked me to log into my account and that I needed to secure my Zelle account by sending money that would go right back into my account afterward.”
Moments later, Staines paused and broke down in tears again after realizing how unclear the impostor's details were.
“Looking at that, I literally feel like an old person who fell for a stupid scam, like I feel so stupid,” she said.
“So, I did everything they asked to do, and they literally drained my bank account, and I felt like it was sketchy the whole time, but since it came from a Wells Fargo number, I trusted them.”
Staines said she immediately went to the nearest Wells Fargo branch and reported her problem to employees at the location.
When I explained the situation to the Wells Fargo employee, the employee took her phone and spoke to the person on the other line.
“I lost my relationship, and I was talking to the poor lady at the desk, and I said, 'I don't know if this is a scam or not,'” Staines said.
“I explained the situation, she took my phone and said something like can you check your mouth, blah, blah, and they hung up.
“At that point, I knew I was being completely ridiculous.”
Staines said she eventually convinced employees to sit down with her and talk to their fraud department.
The administration said it would appeal all charges and would inform it of the outcome within 10 days.
“It's literally crazy how they were able to use the same number. It was a Wells Fargo number, their 1800 number, so I guess, just be aware,” Staines warned.
