CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It's the latest sign that remnants of the old Wachovia Corp. are disappearing: On Wednesday, the Charlotte bank replaced the ATM at its trademark branch on South Tryon Street with a high-tech machine from Wells Fargo & Co.
But the change isn't visible unless you're using the machine. Though the technology is different, the blue-and-green Wachovia sign will remain, probably until the first half of 2011.
The Wells Fargo machines are supposed to save time and hassle, the bank says. Insert a stack of dollar bills or checks – no envelope – and the ATM will add up the total. It will also print an image of each check on the receipt. The machines offer six language options: English, Spanish, Chinese, Hmong, Korean and Vietnamese, while the old machines offered only the first three. They also remember your most popular transactions, and can display them as the main options when you log on.
Wachovia says it expects to change out all 587 ATMs in North Carolina, including 106 in Charlotte, by spring.
Banks have been experimenting with flashy ATM features for several years. That's partly because technologies like envelope-free deposits are more environmentally friendly. It's also cheaper for a bank to help a customer at an ATM rather than at a bank branch. Kendall Alley, the bank's Charlotte regional president, said the bank isn't trying to drive customers out of the stores. Rather, he said, transactions through the stores, the ATMs and online have all increased.
“The people who like the stores still like the stores,” Alley said.
Alley is a Wachovia alum who was named to his new job this year, after Wells Fargo bought Wachovia on Dec. 31. San Francisco-based Wells is slowly changing out signs and technology platforms at Wachovia, beginning with markets like Colorado, where both banks have branches.
Alley said the bank plans to hire in local branches in 2010. Wachovia employees had been told they would know by the end of 2009 what their role would be in the combined bank, and “we're close to that,” he said.
Bank of America introduced similar ATMs in 2003 as part of a pilot program in Charlotte. Like the Wells ATMs, they require no envelopes, add up the total, and print images of each check; the main difference between them is that they accept only one check at a time. Bank of America began a major push to convert its ATMs in 2007, and is on track to finish by the end of this year.
