I was doing my morning routine, checking to see how my bank accounts were doing, when I stumbled upon an unknown to me feature called Wells Fargo Mobile. You can access your account via WF.com, but what I am most interested in is a feature called text banking. No, you can't complete corporate takeovers via text, and you can't ignore the fact that the screen does show a negative balance, but what you can do is pretty useful.

After the pretty painless sign up process that involves a verification text, choosing nicknames for your accounts, and opting in on the banks main site, you are on your way! I chose ppcheck and ppsave for my nicknames. Want to know what the balance is for one of the accounts? I just text bal ppcheck, and seconds later, I know that I need a higher paying job. Want to know the recent activity on one of your accounts? I text act ppcheck, and see that I did pay the DSL bill, and that I shop online entirely too much.

It's a good start, and like I said, if you need access to your account on your cell, you can always go to WF.com for more comprehensive information. The one caveat is that you do opt in to recieve texts about services. But it's not like they are going to text you at 3AM all Obama style to let you know that they have a special offer to get a toaster slash shotgun if you open a super duper saver account with the kung fu grip. And let's face it, the way things are going, text plans will be cheaper than data plans if the providers get their way.

What I'd like to see is a text warning you of an impending overdraft, or that your paycheck was deposited, or that you really should stop shopping online so much. But I'll take what I can get. for now, and being able to check my balance within 30 seconds is better than calling the automated number, or busting out the laptop and looking for a strong wifi hotspot.

Currently, it appears that they support most major carriers, except for T Mobile pre paid, and the Verizon pre paid MIGO.

I give the service a 7 out of 10.

LINKS:

Wells Fargo text banking

WF.com

Text banking FAQ