Heading into your local Wells Fargo branch is still a power move

Over the next four years, every branch in the United States will be refurbished with new technology as the bank evolves its service model.

Sherrell McMillan,

Staff Writer

Key takeaways

Wells Fargo has more than 4,000 retail bank branches in the United States and is investing in refurbishing its branch network across the country by the end of the decade.
Customers today increasingly visit branches to seek out financial advice and guidance, not to deposit checks or get cash.
Keeping pace with changes to how — and where — customers do business, Wells Fargohas evolved its previous model of providing an array of daily banking services.

Credit: William Gallego

Technology innovations over the last few decades have dramatically changed the way we do daily tasks in nearly all facets of life. We can order groceries online, meet with doctors in our homes via telemedicine, and hold meetings not in person, but through video calls.

Banking is no different, and Wells Fargo is investing in its branches to make sure that customers have a positive and seamless experience while banking in person.

The branch system remains the “heart” of Wells Fargo’s retail banking business, according to Brad Nolan, head of branch systems and transformation. Branches aren’t going away, he said, they are just evolving.

“It’s about advice and guidance now,” he said. “Customers want to sit with a professional and listen to them directly. The other thing is, money and finances can be emotional. When a customer is having a problem, they don’t want to deal with a web page or chat bot. They want to look a person in the eyes — someone they feel they can trust — who they know has a vested interest in a successful outcome for them.”

And so that’s why, over the next four years, Wells Fargo is investing millions into refurbishing its entire branch network in the United States. Every. Single. One.

“Even in this day and age, you choose who you bank with because it’s the branch down the street or your parents took you there when you were younger,” Nolan said. “Even if you have no plans on going in, it’s about knowing it’s there when you need it.”

A 2024 study by the American Bankers Association found that more than half of U.S. consumers are conducting their banking on mobile apps more often than any other method. Wells Fargo customers have access to a variety of online services with their checking accounts, including:

Free access to Zelle®, where they can safely and easily send and receive money with trusted friends and family who have U.S. bank accounts.
Bill Pay for sending payments within the U.S.
A digital wallet to make quick, secure, on-the-go payments on their mobile devices.
Check depositing from a mobile device.
Account syncing via Quicken®
Fargo®, a virtual assistant designed to offer a simplified and enhanced mobile experience.

During the same decades as the technological explosion, Wells Fargo grew through aseries of mergers and acquisitions, quickly expanding its footprint from the West Coast to the entire country. With these unions, sometimes came disparate brand identity and some locations in better condition than others.

“We did some light refurbishments back in 2023, but we never really invested the time, effort, or money to update everything at the same time,” Nolan said. “We want to make real substantive and structural changes to our branches to right size them for where our business exists today.”

So, heading into 2024, Nolan and his team started a yearlong process of researching, designing, testing, and getting feedback on what the Wells Fargo branch of the future will look like.

“It’s much more predicated on what you’d see in the hospitality industry,” he said. “We want them to feel a warm, welcoming, and professional environment, while really focusing on convenience in a secure setting that allows for direct, personal communication.”

In addition to augmenting the physical environment, the bank is investing in the tools its bankers use. These include new, digitally enabled processes like opening an account.

“In the past, a banker would have to find a customers’ information, review disclosures, print documents, and get them signed,” Nolan said. “Now, the customer can just finish everything on their mobile device. It helps our customers feel more empowered, and that’s really the evolution of the in-branch experience.”

This year, more than 700 branches will be refurbished in six priority markets —Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.

“We are listening to our customers,” said Nolan. “Both in what they tell us and in how they transact — that’s how we’re moving forward.”

Changes coming to your Wells Fargo branch in the next few years:

A more modern and innovative environment in customer-facing areas
A new digital account opening process that will be the go-to process for every banker
New consult rooms for customers to meet with bankers
Updated guest lounge area
New interior digital signage
New finishes like wall covering and paint

Branches of the future highlighted in Chicago groundbreaking and Tribeca grand opening

Wells Fargo’s first branch in lower Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood opened this winter, bringing its total to 80 across New York state. In addition to opening new branches in key markets, Wells Fargo will refurbish every branch in the United States over the next four years.

As part of modernizing all of Wells Fargo’s retail bank branches, the 2026 openings in Chicago’s Bronzeville and New York City’s Tribeca neighborhoods highlight the bank’s continued focus on local communities.

Slated to open this spring, Wells Fargo’s Bronzeville branch is a major milestone for the bank’s expansion in Chicago. A host of Wells Fargo leaders, government officials, and elected leaders attended the groundbreaking of the branch in last summer.

Nolan explained Wells Fargo’s goal of creating a more neighborhood-focused branch network while modernizing its footprint for customers and employees.

Wells Fargo has more than 4,000 retail bank branches and maintains the second largest branch network in the United States.¹ A Wells Fargo branch or ATM is within two miles of more than half of United States census households.

“We believe that everyone deserves access to the financial tools and resources necessary to achieve their dreams,” Nolan said. “Our Bronzeville branch will provide a welcoming space for residents to bank, save, and invest in their lives. It will be a beacon of financial inclusion.”

The Bronzeville branch will also include a HOPE Inside center, which features Operation HOPE financial coaches who help empower community members to achieve their financial goals through free financial education workshops and coaching.

To explore Wells Fargo’s branch locations nationwide, visit the Branch & ATM locator.

Even with more than 80 branches across New York state, Wells Fargo’s Tribeca branch is the bank’s first in the famed lower Manhattan neighborhood. Wells Fargo Head of AI and co-CEO of Consumer Banking and Lending Sal Van Beurden attended the grand opening ceremony on Feb. 10.

“When we open up a branch, it’s not only for the customers, our employees, and our people; it’s also for the communities,” Van Beurden said. “We are striving to show up and make the community stronger, whether through financial solutions, community support, or volunteer initiatives.”

During the ceremony, Wells Fargo Foundation announced a $400,000 grant to Renaissance Economic Development Corporation (REDC). Since 1997, REDC has supported low-to-moderate-income communities and under-resourced entrepreneurs by providing affordable small business loans, training, and counseling.