After two-years of behind the scenes changes, Wells Fargo & Company is ready to make its relationship with Wachovia banks more obvious.

The company has announced that it will change the names of 208 Wachovia branches in Georgia — including seven in Gainesville — to Wells Fargo in late October.

Existing customers shouldn’t be impacted negatively by the change, bank officials say.

“All accounts will remain the same,” said J.D. Mealor, Gainesville market president.

“Customers won’t have to worry about their account numbers (or account activities) changing.”

Although accounts will be unaffected, that isn’t to say that customers won’t notice any changes. In addition to extensive renovations to create a more “open-air” feel, banking clients will also notice a staff increase.

“Typically, when Wachovia customers walk into a branch, there may be two or three tellers. But under Wells Fargo customers can already see an increase in the number of available tellers,” Mealor said.

On top of tellers, Wells Fargo has also brought in additional loan and mortgage officers, increasing existing Gainesville Wachovia staff by 15 employees.

Since merging in December 2008, Wells Fargo began converting the Wachovia banks in November 2009. The conversions started in Colorado and moved to Arizona, Illinois and Nevada.

Other banks in Wachovia’s existing Southeast region, including those in Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi, will be converted to Wells Fargo branches in September.

Prior to the name changes, many of Wachovia’s facilities underwent some systematic updates. For instances, the institutions now offer homeowners and renters insurance, as well as payroll services for small businesses. Customers can also now take advantage of “envelope free” deposits through ATMS.

“Our customers can expect to continue to have access to the branches that they are most accustomed to using,” said Mealor.

“Going forward, Wells Fargo will have a very positive impact on Gainesville.”