Wells Fargo & Co. has upgraded its alerts service to better meet the needs of its mobile customers.  

The enhanced free Rapid Alerts service allows Wells Fargo Visa credit cardholders to receive individual alerts that the users customize. The feature also provides nearly real-time alerts to customers if suspicious activity occurs on their accounts and will allow users to easily monitor their spending 

“Our customers have been telling us that they would like more transparency with their credit card transactions,” said Peter Ho, product manager at Wells Fargo Consumer Credit Card Product Innovations, San Francisco.  

“Rapid Alerts is one way we are addressing this request by delivering near real-time alerts when specific transactions occur on their account,” he said. “In addition, Rapid Alerts can help customers manage their spending and identify potential fraudulent transactions.” 

The Wells Fargo’s free Rapid Alerts program sends an email or text message to customers, based on the specifications they previously selected. Standard carrier costs and messaging fees may apply. 

The information customers receive in the alerts include when and where a transaction occurred, as well as how much was spent, and merchant information. Users can also act immediately should they be alerted of potentially fraudulent charges on their account. 

Cardholders can personalize the Rapid Alerts service by selecting from several different alert options, such as for transactions that exceed the cardholders pre-selected budget, international transactions, telephone transactions, ATM machine withdrawals and declined payments. 

Wells Fargo cardholders can sign up for the service and learn more at www.wellsfargo.com/rapidalerts. 

Customers are being notified of the service enhancement through email and ATM notifications. As an incentive to enroll, Wells Fargo offers all new Rapid Alerts enrollees the chance to enter a sweepstakes at www.wellsfargo.com/enrolltoday. 

Prizes include a $1,000 Apple Gift Card, an iPod touch and an iPod nano.

“We are constantly trying to optimize customer interactions with Wells Fargo,” Mr. Ho said. “The enhancement we made to Rapid Alerts will allow joint account holders to set their own alert preferences, providing timely and personally relevant alerts to each account holder.” 

In addition to this new alerts service, Wells Fargo also offers free alerts through Wells Fargo Online. These online alerts allow users to control their finances through their checking and savings accounts, as well as prevent fraud, and pay loans and bills. 

Wells Fargo offers three other mobile banking options in addition to the Rapid Alerts service, including its mobile Web site at http://wf.com, smartphone applications and a text service (to short code 93357). 

Additionally, the Visa microSD mobile payment pilot allows specific BlackBerry and iPhone smartphone users to make payments at any contactless payment readers. Corporate participants of this pilot include various fast food restaurants, concession stands, vending machines and taxis. 

“As a trusted financial services provider, we believe it is important to allow our customers to interact with us in the channel they desire,” Mr. Ho said. “Mobile is clearly a channel that consumers are embracing and we are meeting customer demand by offering services like Rapid Alerts.”