Wells Fargo Mobile App Review: Mobile Banking Simplified

Wells Fargo Mobile App Review: Mobile Banking Simplified article image.

The Wells Fargo Mobile app allows you to manage your credit card account on the go and do a lot more. The app covers the basics, like the ability to manage payments, and has a relatively simple interface that allows you to see spending and take other actions with a quick tap. Don't let the simplicity fool you, though: The Wells Fargo Mobile app has a variety of other features that could come in handy and make your life easier.

Key Features of the Wells Fargo Credit Card Mobile App

Wells Fargo customers can use the Wells Fargo Mobile app to access a full suite of features they can use to manage their account, pay their bills and transfer funds and much more.

Login and Security

The Wells Fargo Mobile app requires a username and password to sign on. Like many other apps, you can also enable additional security features depending on your phone's capabilities. The app will work with your phone's fingerprint and facial recognition biometrics for both iPhones and Android phones.

The app's menu screen includes a list of categories that each have helpful descriptions of actions you can take underneath them (so you don't have to waste time guessing where features may be). If you find you need to lock your card because it's been lost or stolen, the app can help you do that: Tap the first option under the "Card" category in the menu "Turn Card On or Off." Can it get any simpler than that?

Account Alerts

You can set up a number of account alerts from the mobile app. Options include alerts that notify you when payments are due or when they have posted, as well as more granular alerts like one for gas station purchases. Security-focused alerts are pretty limited, as they only allow users to get notified when their username and/or password is changed or when account access is suspended. You can choose how you'd prefer to receive these notifications: email, text message or push notification.

Payment Options

Setting up autopay from the mobile app is a relatively straightforward process. Once you choose which accounts you want to use for the recurring payments, you select the frequency and amount, and you're pretty much done. The process is pretty similar to the way you would set up autopay on your laptop, so there shouldn't be a lot of ambiguity about how to set it up if it's something you've done before. What's less straightforward, however, is how to turn autopay off if you need to.

Reward Redemptions

One useful feature is the ability to quickly redeem rewards within the app. It's not an easy feature to find, however. To redeem rewards, you need to select the credit card account you want to see, slide a row of icons at the top of the app, click on the "More" menu (which is just an icon of an ellipsis) and select "Redeem for Purchases." Perhaps users should be rewarded just for finding the rewards section, since it takes a little bit of sleuthing to navigate to. Once there, the experience feels very similar to the online experience, so there are no surprises there.

Credit Score Access

Users have the ability to get their credit score for free within the Wells Fargo Mobile app. Located under the "Financial Planning" section of the app, you can see a FICO® Score based on Experian data. In this section, there is some language that provides context for what the user sees, as well as some added information about credit scores in general. The score is updated monthly, so there's plenty of incentive for users to get on top of their financial life to see their score improve.

Spend Tracking

Tracking spending in the app is fairly straightforward. Balance summaries, along with posted transactions and authorizations, allow you to see what's coming out in an easy-to-read format. It's also extremely easy to access bank statements through the app—maybe even easier than doing it on a laptop. Outside of the standard offerings (like the list of ongoing card transactions), the real help in budgeting is the app's alerts functionality, which is spending-centric. Getting notifications before you hit your spending limit or notes about total daily spending help provide an idea of spending habits and help you avoid overspending.

Ratings

  • Apple App Store: 4.8 stars out of 5 (September 2021)
  • Google Play Store: 4.8 stars out of 5 (September 2021)

Use Your Mobile App to Stay on Top of Your Finances

The Wells Fargo Mobile app is a solid offering that mostly mimics the online and desktop experience. It's not a groundbreaking experience, but it's a familiar one. That familiarity is what helps to fill the gaps when the ease of navigation becomes less intuitive. It manages to blend simplicity with a decent amount of other valuable features without "feature overload" that risks making the experience a confusing one. Checkout some other great credit card mobile apps that come with an assortment of cool features.

Note: The Android version of the Wells Fargo mobile app was used for this review. Features and capabilities of the app on Apple devices may differ slightly from what is described here.