Virtual Billions

PC Computing, April, 2000
by Thomas Claburn

Pity the poor bank robber. When Wingspan Bank opened its virtual doors on June 24, 1999, masked men all over trembled. Without tellers to hold at gunpoint, their financial future looked bleak. Such fears are shared, says Wingspan president Michael Cleary, by traditional banking institutions. "We are trying to steal share from Wells Fargo and Citibank and even Bank One, which is our parent company." As a result, he explains, "They're all developing their own dot-com initiatives." But getting a better interest rate online hasn't proved as much of a draw to consumers as the tenfold savings realized with online brokerage commissions. "We have to have a consumer proposition that is a whole lot more compelling. Through the power of the Internet, we can become your trusted adviser. We have relationships in marketplaces that help consumers find great insurance rates, great mortgage rates. Over time we will prove to our consumers that we can improve their financial health." For Cleary, successful online transaction aggregation—it's not just banking anymore— requires building a relationship with the customer, something people no longer have with banks. Today, he says, "you don't have a relationship with your bank. You have a relationship with your ATM."