Wachovia has started replacing its ATMs in the Triangle with next-generation machines, part of the bank's transformation under the ownership of Wells Fargo.
The new, high-tech ATMs will be able to scan and add up checks without deposit envelopes, count cash deposits and remember your most frequent transactions -- and offer those options when you sign in. The ATMs also will offer six languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Hmong, Korean and Vietnamese.
Wells Fargo bought Wachovia late last year and is just beginning to convert branches in other states to the new name. Branches in North Carolina aren't scheduled to change until early 2011. This state will be the last one converted because Wachovia has such a large market here, said Jack Clayton, regional president for the bank's Triangle East region.
But installing the new ATMs is part of a broader effort to integrate Wells Fargo systems and technology, and begin to make customers familiar with the brand, Clayton said.
The strategy also includes hiring up to 30 percent more employees for each branch, including service managers and mortgage specialists. "When people go into one of our stores, they'll feel a lot fuller," Clayton said.
Wachovia now employs about 1,600 people in the Triangle and is this region's biggest bank by deposits. The bank has 149 ATMs in Wake, Durham, Orange and Johnston counties.
The company expects to change its more than 500 ATMs across the state by February. On Wednesday, workers replaced one in downtown Charlotte, left.
"We'll do some in each market in phases" to avoid any disruption for customers, Clayton said.
Banks have been adding features at ATMs for years, partly for customers' convenience, but also because automated transactions are cheaper than in a branch.
Wachovia ATMs' new languages are aimed at drawing the growing population of non-English-speaking customers. And features such as check scanning and cash counting will benefit restaurants and other small businesses, Clayton said. The new ATMs also will allow money deposited by check before 8 p.m. to be available immediately.
The new machines will still say Wachovia on top, but will include "a Wells Fargo company" below that name for now, said spokeswoman Christine Shaw. The signs will change in 2011 when the branches convert to the Wells Fargo brand.
Assistant Business Editor Alan M. Wolf joined the N&O in 1999 covering the business of health care. He became an editor in 2001, and helps oversee the paper's daily business coverage and Sunday Work&Money section. He lives in Clayton with his wife and two children. Reach him at 919-829-4572 or 
