Wells Fargo Takes the Hassle Out of Tax Time With Online IRAs and Electronic Filing

Business Wire, Feb 22, 1999

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 22, 1999--As consumers enter the heart of tax-season, Wells Fargo & Company today launched a new service on its popular personal banking site (www.wellsfargo.com).

It offers customers and visitors the opportunity to open an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) and make contributions up to midnight on April 15th. Interactive features on the site let taxpayers file and submit tax statements electronically.

Wells Fargo's new IRA center allows consumers to learn about the benefits of an IRA, determine what type of IRA they may be eligible for and apply for an IRA that may allow for a 1998 income tax deduction. In addition to this "toolbox" of interactive features, the Wells Fargo Tax Help Center is now available for online users interested in electronically filing their Federal and State tax returns using an online version of the popular WebTurboTax software program.

"For many people tax season is a time of added stress. Our aim is to take some of the hassle out of tax time by providing easy-to-use online services that are both quick and educational," said Sharon Osberg, executive vice president of Online Financial Services at Wells Fargo. "As people increasingly turn to the Internet for information, we want to offer interactive financial services that help people manage their finances and plan for their future."

The IRA Center has the following services and features: informational pages on the Roth IRA, Traditional IRA, Education IRA, Business Retirement Plans and 401(k) Plans; a set of interactive tools including the Roth Conversion Calculator, Retirement Estimator and Education IRA Calculator. Additionally, the IRAdvisor and IRA 101 topics and instructional steps and an application area features Wells Fargo full service brokerage IRA, online discount brokerage IRA, and FDIC insured IRA applications.

"Tax-deferred investments make sense for many people. We have built the IRA Center to ensure that our customers and any online visitor can make informed decisions that positively impact their financial futures," said Dennis Mooradian, executive vice president of Private Client Services, a division of Wells Fargo, and president of Wells Fargo Securities. "Many people don't realize that they are eligible to be IRA owners and the process to apply on the Wells Fargo site is fast and efficient."

The Wells Fargo IRA Center has a set of easy-to-use interactive tools, questionnaires and tutorials to help online users learn about their personal investment opportunities. -0-

--   Am I saving enough for retirement? Does it make sense to convert
     my Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA and how much can I save with an
     Education IRA? These are questions the IRA Center's Tools section
     answers through its Retirement Estimator, Roth Conversion
     Calculator and Education IRA Calculator. Combined, these
     time-saving features offer a customized perspective of personal
     retirement options.

--   Which IRA is best for me? What kinds of options do I have for my
     particular IRA contribution? Interactive questionnaires and easy
     to understand informational pages educate and inform online users
     who click through the center's IRAdvisor or IRA 101. Both of
     these online areas offer simple steps and real answers based on a
     user's current financial standing and investment eligibility.
     Typical questions include what age an individual wishes to retire
     and how much retirement income a user will need in the future.

--   I want to start my investment strategy today and take advantage
     of a possible 1998 income tax deduction. The last step for online
     users in the IRA Center is Apply Online, offering an IRA for
     every kind of investor from the self-directed to the
     conservative. Through the Wells Fargo center, applications are
     available for a Destination IRA, a WellsTrade IRA and an IRA
     2000.

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For online users who want to file their taxes electronically, Wells Fargo has arranged a special service with WebTurboTax that allows individuals to complete their taxes quickly and without downloading software. Users can work on their taxes safely and securely from any Web connection with state-of-the-art encryption technology that protects sensitive personal information. The service makes filing simple, as it processes a user's plain English responses into completed tax forms that are double-checked for errors and then electronically submitted.

Additionally, Wells Fargo has begun offering real-time approval of online credit card applications for its customers. Customers can apply for Platinum or Standard MasterCard and request value-adds like WellsMiles(R) and Overdraft Protection.

Wells Fargo first offered online services in 1989, and in 1995 became the first major bank to offer its retail customers banking over the Internet. Today, through Wells Fargo Online customers can access their account balances and transaction history, transfer funds between accounts, pay all of their bills. They can also buy and sell securities, apply for consumer accounts and lines of credit, and order travelers checks, cashiers checks, and foreign currency. Currently, Wells Fargo has about 700,000 customers banking online.