Financial institution Wells Fargo is aiming to make mobile banking available on every platform with a Kindle Fire application.

The Wells Fargo app, which was released in 2010 for Android devices, has been optimized to fit the Kindle Fire screen. The app joins Well Fargo’s other mobile services, which include apps for the iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry and Palm devices.

“Our goal is to provide services that are relevant to our customers, and Wells Fargo customers are enthusiastic about anytime, anywhere mobile banking,” said Brian Pearce, senior vice president and head of retail mobile at Wells Fargo, San Francisco.

“As we considered making our app available on the Amazon Appstore for Android, the key was looking at our customers and new ways to reach them,” he said.

“This is another way for us to be where our customers are.”

Wells Fargo provides insurance, investments, banking and mortgages to consumers and commercial businesses and has more than 9,000 stores and 12,000 ATMS.

Mobile banking
The Wells Fargo Kindle Fire app is available for free download from Amazon’s AppStore.

Wells Fargo clients can use the app to sign-in to their account and view multiple bank accounts at once.

The app’s features have been elongated to fit the size of the Kindle device.

Consumers can locate a nearby Wells Fargo branch and ATM by using the device’s GPS. Users can also view a map with directions to the nearest locations.

Clients can also make payments and send transactions to others via the app.

Users can also view pending and sent transactions.

Full bank
Wells Fargo also has a mobile-optimized Web site and SMS program for users to manage their finances.

Mobile is now a necessary part of any financial service’s offerings and consumers expect they can receive it from their bank, whether it is large or small.

Consumers are increasingly using mobile to replace going into a bank or branch location and in order to compete, financial institutions will need to make their mobile offerings more sophisticated.

Additionally, tablet usage for banking is different than smartphone banking. Users are more likely to engage in more time-consuming activities, such as browsing their account history while on tablets and complete more time-sensitive tasks such as quick interactions while on-the-go.

“As we look at our 2012 mobile channel roadmap, we’re focused on efforts that are “mobile unique,” Mr. Pearce said.

“Wells Fargo is moving beyond the basic building blocks of account management and bill pay and into innovative new areas,” he said.

“We will continue to focus on simplifying our customers’ financial lives by delivering features and functionality that enable them to conveniently, securely and simply bank anytime, anywhere.”

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York