2008-10-02 02:21:01 -

- Wells Fargo & Company Media: Andrea Mahoney, 415-222-4722 Michele R. Scott, 415-396-8380 or Investors: Jim Rowe, 415-396-8216 Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) today announced the national availability of the Wells Fargo vSafe service, a personal online safe for Wells Fargo customers and the first storage solution of its kind from a major financial institution. First piloted in March, the Wells Fargo vSafe service lets customers protect, organize and access online copies of their most important documents and personal materials, such as loan and tax documents, wills, passports, birth and marriage certificates, photographs, and digital audio and video files.

Storing information in a secure online location enables customers to readily access and recover copies of important documents while traveling

or in the event of an emergency such as a fire, flood, theft, or hard drive crash.

"The launch of the Wells Fargo vSafe service marks the release of a new and innovative online product, but more importantly it signals Wells Fargo's continued leadership and pioneering spirit. For 157 years, Wells Fargo has stood as a symbol of strength and security, and we are proud of our heritage. New electronic services, such as Wells Fargo vSafe, are important to our ability to satisfy all our customers' financial needs - and the safety and security of this product ties back to the founding principles of our company," said John Stumpf, Wells Fargo president and CEO, during an event at the bank's vintage vault in San Francisco earlier today.

"The feedback after our rollout to Wells Fargo team members in March was overwhelmingly positive," said Jim Smith, head of Wells Fargo's Internet Services Group. "They love the convenience of being able to manage copies of their most important documents from one safe, secure, online location, and to know that in an emergency they could access all of their important information. This national launch symbolizes our ability and commitment to work with our customers in the early development of a product by listening to their needs, incorporating their feedback and providing a financial service that really makes a difference in their lives."

How Wells Fargo vSafe Works

Customers can access their Wells Fargo vSafe account from any Internet connection - unlike hard drives, flash drives and archiving solutions. To meet the needs of each customer, the service includes:

-- The power to store virtually any popular file format (e.g., Word documents, PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, photos, audio and video files).

-- An easy-to-use interface that includes informational templates to quickly capture key data, and standard folders such as "Medical," "Legal" and "Family" to help organize materials. Customers have the ability to add, modify and delete the standard folders if they choose.

-- The option of having many Wells Fargo account statements automatically uploaded.

The Wells Fargo vSafe service features the same layers of security as Wells Fargo Online(R) banking, including individualized passwords, timed log-offs, firewalls, and more. In addition, two-factor authentication and encrypted transmission and storage protects Wells Fargo vSafe customers' highly confidential and personal information. These multi-layer security safeguards are part of Wells Fargo's commitment to being a leader in online security.

Electronic copies of certain signed paper documents - such as wills, deeds, trusts, stock certificates, passports, and powers of attorney - are not the same as signed paper originals. However, they can be very helpful in jump starting the replacement process should the original documents be lost or destroyed.

Wells Fargo vSafe customers are supported with a toll-free customer service number, should they prefer help from a customer service agent, or can learn more at www.wellsfargo.com/wellsfargovsafe.

Note to Editors / Producers: Video B-Roll related to this announcement is accessible to journalists for 90 days via www.mediaseed.tv/Story.aspx?story=35778

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $609 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through almost 6,000 stores and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and elsewhere internationally. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is the only bank in the U.S., and one of only two banks worldwide, to have the highest possible credit rating from both Moody's Investors Service, "Aaa," and Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, "AAA."

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