Wells Fargo just launched a digital-only banking offering for new customers this week, an effort to “meet customers where they are” and build relationships with them.
Greenhouse will begin as a pilot program in early 2018, with the intent to make the app available for iPhone customers later that year. At launch, Greenhouse will be focused squarely on new customers, and the bank will have a dedicated service team to interface with them. It offers customers an account tied to a debit card and a second account within which discretionary spending “envelopes” identified by the customer can reside. For example, a customer can decide to create such categories, as rent, utilities and credit cards and other recurring commitments, and set rules of how much money gets contributed on a regular basis towards them.
“It’s not so much catching up with [new] customers — 80 percent of interactions with the customer are digital in nature today — people’s use of services evolves over time, and what we’re doing is connecting the dots here with the change in customer behavior,” said Steve Ellis, Wells Fargo’s head of innovation.
Wells Fargo joins a growing group of banks and startups offering a mobile banking experiences with personal finance features folded in. It’s a sign that personal finance management is becoming part and parcel of mobile banking — a must-have in the battle to get new digital-first customers.
