US bank Wachovia has added CashEdge's funding tool, FundNow, to its Internet banking service to enable customers to deposit funds directly into new Web accounts.
Wachovia says the new feature bolsters its current online account opening capability by adding the funding component and making the process completely automated from start to finish. This secure process walks the customer through a number of steps to open a chequeing, savings or money market account and fund it from any other deposit account the customer holds.
Ron Kerr, Internet director, retail products, Wachovia, says: "While we've had the ability for customers to open deposit accounts online for more than five years, this new feature will allow the customer to also fund the account online as part of the account opening process."
CashEdge CEO, Sanjeev Dheer, comments: "CashEdge's FundNow solution provides a risk-managed service for instantly and securely funding new accounts online. Coupled with Wachovia's online account opening solution, FundNow will increase new account funding by making account opening and funding a seamless and effortless process."
Wachovia first introduced online account opening in 2000 and says it now opens more than 15,000 accounts via the Internet per month, equivalent to the volume of over 150 branches.
More than three million of the bank's 12 million retail and small business customers currently use the Web banking services.
Kerr says more people first learn about Wachovia via the Internet, compared to any other channels.