"The reason we launched Wells Fargo Card Design Studio is two-fold," said Brenda Yost, Wells Fargo Debit Card marketing manager. "First, our cardholders told us they want to be able to personalize their cards. Second, by giving our cardholders the ability to design their cards with their favorite images, we hope our cards become their payment form of choice."

Customers can add a photo to their card of themselves, a snapshot of their family or friends, a picture of a pet, or an image of a special hobby. Customers can customize the card background with an image of their choice or one from Wells Fargo's Image Library. Or they can add a personal headshot to the top left corner of their card.

Business owners can showcase their business on their cards by adding their logo or a photo that represents their business. Business owners have three options in creating their card design. They can customize the card background with an image of their choice or one from Wells Fargo's Image Library. They can add a logo to their cards with their business name and tagline. Or they can add a personal headshot to the top left corner of the card.

"Javelin research indicates that personalizing cards can be an effective tool for customer retention and increased card usage," said Bruce Cundiff, Javelin Strategy & Research director of payments research and consulting. "In the current economic environment, this can be effectively leveraged to drive customer affinity, transaction volume, profitability and competitive advantage."

The Card Design Studio service is available to card customers enrolled in Wells Fargo Online or Business Online Banking.