Wells Fargo Keeps its Personal Smartphone Policy Simple: They're Not Allowed

A Wells Fargo employee can connect to Wells Fargo's network using any mobile device he or she wants as long as it's the device Wells Fargo provides them.

But when it comes to the question of connecting personal devices -- iPhones, iPads, Android, RIM or Palm phones and tablets, laptops, et cetera -- to Wells Fargo's network, Computerworld discovered the answer is clear: that's not allowed. As Computerworld reports:

The "just say no" policy applies to Apple iPads, Android tablets and smartphones owned by employees. The company also has strict policies regarding use of Twitter and Facebook, making the sites off-limits to many. Wells Fargo does, however, supply employees with corporate-approved smartphones, and a limited deployment of iPads that can connect to e-mail and other corporate systems.

While consumer technology is changing enterprise IT policies in other industries, Computerworld says it's not necessarily the case in banking, where security is key. JP Morgan Chase last year reportedly was piloting a program to allow its employees to use iPhones, and some other banks have considered making a switch from BlackBerry devices.

At Wells Fargo, Computerworld reports, employees given a company phone can choose from multiple devices running iOS, BlackBerry or Android operating systems, and some are provided iPads. Not a bad policy, indeed. But former Wachovia employees, who until Wells Fargo began merging the bank were able to eliminate corporate smartphones by connecting personal devices to the network, now have to go back to carrying two devices.