CHICAGO — Though many banks have taken indifferent stances to deploying personal finance management [PFM] features, two institutions walked Net.Finance’s conference attendees through why PFM tools are not only important for banks to deploy, but also how they are integral to online banking’s future.

“People want to manage their finances better,” said Patrick Smith, senior vice president of Wells Fargo & Company’s online financial management group, during a panel this week. And banks can help consumers navigate their financial labyrinths. Wells, for one, offers customers My Money Map, which provides customers’ financial picture dashboards.

“We have gotten lots of growth,” Smith said. “It fuels confidence that this is a good area to invest in.”

Plus, PFM is important to the future of online banking because the two tools for consumers are converging.

“Online banking will be more geared toward consumer intent,” said Smith.

What does this mean? Rather than online banking’s design largely structured by tabs, the channel’s design paradigm will morph into what consumers intend to do. Perhaps consumers banking online do not want to see their financial transactions as much as ensure that they will not run out of money, Smith suggested.

Currently, Wells does not charge for its PFM service. Smith pointed out that PFM’s value proposition will become more meaningful when the Durbin amendment lowers debit interchange fees, implying that Durbin will lead banks to increase fees in other banking channels. The PFM service, meanwhile, may make a fee-laden checking product more palatable to consumers.

1st Mariner Bank, meanwhile, white-labeled Geezeo’s PFM tool about a year ago to help its customers better manage their finances.

“The bottom line is we think it is the right thing to do,” said Kevin Lynch, senior vice president of ecommerce, contact center.

The target audience of 1st Mariner’s PFM service is less Quicken users and more consumers who want to set financial goals and budget their finances, he said.

“It’s a good generator for the next generation of banking people,” said Lynch.

A challenge to banks deploying PFM services — among several — is getting customers using the tool. Smith made a point to mention that he does not view the Mints of the world as competition. Rather, he identified inertia as the primary competition to Wells’s PFM services. In other words, the bank’s primary hurdle is inducing consumers to get started using PFM. Smith said the bank tries to overcome this hurdle by trying “to make consumers do as little as possible” to use the tool.