Wells Fargo has deployed a system which enables online customers and remote call centre operatives to simultaneously view and share control of the same Web page while talking on the phone.
The west coast bank is using Web collaboration software from e-commerce vendor Hipbone to integrate its online and offline customer services.
To initiate a session, customers click on the "Live Help" button located on Wells Fargo's personal finance page and enter their name and phone number. Within seconds the customer receives a phone call from an agent and the customer and agent can simultaneously view the same Web pages.
Bank representatives can talk the customer through any navigational problems and even move a cursor on the customer's screen, for example to help set up online bill pay.
The bank is additionally rolling out the service to business customers through its commercial electronic office, an online portal providing a single point-of-entry for all commercial banking services.
John Stumpf, group executive vice president of Wells Fargo, says: "Wells Fargo has trained several hundred customer service agents to simultaneously use the phone and Internet to service customers. By seeing what's on the customer's screen, these agents are better able to quickly and accurately address a customer's questions."