CHARLOTTE, N.C. – By April, Bank of America Corp.’s Web site will allow visitors to open checking accounts almost instantaneously, the company says.
A computer will process the application and verify identity based on answers to a series of personal questions.
The company, based in Charlotte, is racing other large retail banks to extend the range of business a customer can conduct online, and to increase the ease of use.
Web sites also help the big banks compete against local banks that emphasize personal service but lack the resources to compete online.
Do it all online
Bank of America already provides customers with computerized advice on which type of checking account will best serve their needs.
It prints and mails checks for account holders. And when you apply for a second account, it fills out the form automatically.
The goal is a Web site that will provide exactly the same services – right down to the very same advice – that a customer can get at a branch, said Sanjay Gupta, the executive responsible for the site.
“You could pretty much live (your financial life) online,” Gupta said.
The goal, he said, is to improve online banking toward in-person banking until “it’s just a question of (through) what channel does the customer prefer to do business.”
Wachovia Corp., Bank of America’s next-door neighbor and rival in many markets, already offers computerized account approval and plans to allow customers to fund their accounts online by the fall.
Currently, customers must mail in a check or make a deposit in person.
Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc. also plan to offer instant accounts by the end of the year.
Demand for online services continues to expand. At Bank of America, Gupta says the company has found that many customers first open online accounts, then they sign up for online bill pay and eventually they sign up to receive bills online.
27 million bills paid
The bank had 12.4 million online customers at the end of December; 5.8 million had signed up for online bill payment services.
Collectively they used the service to pay 27.9 million bills per month and to receive 4.4 million bills.
Wachovia has also seen growing demand for its online services.
The bank had 2.9 million online customers, 1 million of whom had enrolled in its bill pay service, at the end of 2004, according to spokesman Doug Caldwell.
He said the bank is working with CheckFree Corp., which provides the online bill-paying service, to roll out an easier-to-use site later this year.
Wachovia also is exploring the possibility of distributing bank statements online, he said.
Meanwhile, Bank of America has rolled out an online chat room where customers can get their questions answered.
The answers come from people, not computers.
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