PR Newswire

   Wednesday April 19, 1:32 pm Eastern Time

  Company Press Release

   SOURCE: Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo, California Council of the Blind Announce 20 Talking ATMs Are Up
and Running

   SAN FRANCISCO, April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Wells Fargo and the California
   Council of the Blind announced today that 20 Wells Fargo Talking ATMS
   are now up and running in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego
   areas. Through voice instruction, the new Talking ATMs tell users who
   cannot read information on an ATM screen how to deposit money,
   withdraw cash, transfer funds and buy stamps. The ATMs have audio
   jacks to deliver voice information privately to protect the security
   of blind and low vision users.

   Working with the California Council of the Blind to meet the needs of
   an important and under-served segment of customers who are
   vision-impaired, Wells Fargo announced on June 23, 1999, that it would
   pilot 20 Talking ATMs in the Bay Area and Los Angeles and San Diego
   counties this year. After the successful completion of the pilot,
   Wells Fargo will install a Talking ATM at each of the more than 1,500
   Wells Fargo ATM locations in California.

   Catherine Skivers, president of the California Council of the Blind,
   said, ``We are excited that Wells Fargo's Talking ATMs in the pilot
   locations are ready for use by the blind and visually impaired people
   and we applaud the work that Wells Fargo has done over the past months
   to make these machines a reality.''

   ``We are proud of our commitment to serve our diverse group of
   customers, including those who are blind or have low vision,'' said
   Terri Dial, Wells Fargo's head of retail banking in California. ``We
   were the first in the country to draw up a plan for developing and
   installing Talking ATMs and we look forward to testing and rolling
   them out and to working closely with the California Council of the
   Blind to improve ATM access for vision impaired customers.''

   The California Council, with 46 chapters statewide, is an affiliate of
   the American Council of the Blind. Four blind individuals; the
   Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Berkeley; the law firm
   of Saperstein, Goldstein, Demchak & Baller, Oakland; and the Law
   Office of Elaine B. Feingold, Berkeley; also participated in the
   planning.

   In California, Wells Fargo -- a diversified financial services company
   -- provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgages, and consumer
   finance from more than 1,300 stores and other distribution channels.
    20 Pilot Locations for Talking ATMs

    BAY AREA METRO
    Berkeley Main, 2144 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley
    Castro Valley, 3452 Castro Valley Blvd., Castro Valley
    Danville, 585 San Ramon Valley, Danville
    Elmwood, 2959 College Ave., Berkeley
    Hopyard-Hacienda, 4767 Hopyard Rd., Pleasanton
    Market California, 1 California St., San Francisco
    North First Street, 1705 North First Street, San Jose
    Orinda, 80 Moraga Way, Orinda
    Paseo Padre, 39265 Paseo Padre Pkwy., Fremont
    San Francisco Main, 464 California St., San Francisco

    LA METRO
    Hollywood Main, 6320 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood
    Los Angeles Main, 333 S Grand Ave., LA
    Miracle Mile, 6245 Wilshire Blvd., LA
    North Alhambra, 1910 W Main St., Alhambra
    Whittier Main, 7202 S Greenleaf Ave., Whittier

    SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY REGION
    Encinitas, 276-A  N  El Camino Real, Encinitas
    La Jolla, 7714 Girard Ave., La Jolla
    Rancho Bernardo, 16901 Bernardo Center Drive, San Diego
    Solana Beach, 245 Santa Helena, Solana Beach
    Wells Fargo Plaza, 401 B St., San Diego

   SOURCE: Wells Fargo
   _______________________


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