Everyone has them — ancient files, boxes of records saved for reasons barely remembered and binders filled with important documents that somehow get stacked at the top of the closet shelf or tucked away in a garage. The list of essential personal and financial items one must keep on hand, and in a safe place, grows with one’s fortunes. But there is a way to protect your documents and keep them somewhere safe — the Internet.
Several online companies such as Google and Microsoft already offer cyberspace document storage. Now, Wells Fargo & Co. is introducing the vSafe, an online storage unit that allows customers to upload materials that can be digitized, such as tax returns, marriage and death certificates, passports, wills and digital pictures. The vSafe is accessible from any computer with Internet access worldwide, said Stephanie Smith, senior vice president of Wells Fargo’s Internet Services Group. Smith said the company is the first financial institution providing this service to retail banking customers.
“It’s a 21st century equivalent of a safe,” said Smith, who added the idea to create the vSafe came out of market research that showed customers needed help managing their financial lives.
Wells Fargo customers can scan in any type of file format — PDFs, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, etc. — from their work or home computers and can get help online or through Wells Fargo’s telephone customer service number. Wells Fargo has already made vSafe available to 159,800 of its employees. It will be available for customers in select states this summer and then to everyone by the end of the year, Smith said.
For the vSafe, customers will pay a monthly fee depending on the size of space needed: $4.95 for 1 gigabyte; $9.95 for 3 gigabytes; and, $14.95 for 6 gigabytes. For unlimited backup space, competitor sites,…