Wells Fargo just introduced in their mobile app, the ability to deposit checks by taking a photo of the front and back of the check. This is so cool. I really don’t like going to the bank to make these deposits and would prefer being able to do it online somehow. Now I can take a picture of the front and back of the check and Wells Fargo can deposit it for me.
Online Security
The problem is this: Passwords.
Wells Fargo touts “using your existing Wells Fargo Online® Username and Password.” This is where I have a problem and cannot use this app. You see, my online username and password are a mishmash of characters and numbers because I use a password generator to help secure my passwords. This means that I do not know my WF password since it looks something like “R1l82bohWm0ToOsxymiv”. There is no way I can enter this on a cell phone, even if I can remember it!
Solution
The solution is a simple one. Do what Paypal does. They require me to register my cell phone on their website so that I can do online transactions with it. I can add several phone numbers and edit the list at any time. If Wells Fargo would allow me to add a “registered cell phone” and allow me to use a different username and password (a simple password), then I could actually use the app. But for now, since they require me to use the same password, I’m not willing to give up my difficult password just to have mobile access.
Another wells fargo password issue
I know every website has their own password requirements, but Wells Fargo’s password requirement is pretty lame. They require 6-14 characters, containing at least 1 number and 1 letter, and no more than 9 numbers.
Why limit to 14 characters? I routinely use 20+ character passwords using Keepass. I make each website have a different password. This is far less secure than it can be. Why not allow 25 character passwords? Or 35? Each additional character makes it that much more difficult to hack.