Including insurance as part of a complete package of financial services is just one means banks will use to cement existing small-business relationships and forge new ones. Meridien has found that banks are, in fact, employing both strategies, acquiring insurance agencies and entering partnerships or outsourcing arrangements with insurance carriers, agencies, and aggregators. While that may or may not be true, the aggressive bank looks to be among the first to offer nationwide wireless service. Wells Fargo says that Wells Wireless is a personalized and secure channel for customers to conduct their banking transactions where and when they choose and that it is free of charge to Wells Fargo's 2.5 million online banking customers. Customers will have access to services such as account balances and transaction history, and can make transfers between accounts.
Customers can also obtain stock quotes as well as track securities.
Additional functions such as a Wells Fargo ATM and store locator, bill pay, and brokerage services are planned for the future. As Chairman, Strassman will introduce luminaries such as keynote speaker Esther Dyson, and will present a keynote address and workshop. In 1970 he formed and headed the Xerox Information Services division, a for-profit operating unit performing data processing, telecommunication and programming services. In 1991, he was appointed to the post of the highest level information system executive in the Department of Defense. Strassmann is the holder of the Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest decoration ever awarded to a civilian computer executive.