Wells Fargo Rejects Black Lives Matter Debit Card Design

Wells Fargo rejected a customer-submitted “Black Lives Matter” graphic for their personalized debit card program. Rachel Nash, of Baltimore, created the design with what she described on Facebook as “elementary skills” – using MS Paint, no less. Her design was simple and elegant. It included the words “Black Lives Matter” and a clipart graphic of a fist raised in protest. After receiving notification that her design had been rejected, Nash called the behemoth bank for more information and was reportedly told the company “didn’t want to be associated with any ‘anti-social or offensive organizations’”.

Wells Fargo Vice President of Resolution Management Denise Thomas has since apologized for Nash’s experience, but she stood firm on the company’s decision to reject the submission saying the card personalization program “prohibits political and trademarked or copyrighted images.” It’s unclear from their statements whether Wells Fargo was concerned with the political nature of the raised fist or the copyright-ambiguous language “Black Lives Matter.” Like any good designer, Nash headed back to the drawing board to revise. Her second design was also rejected. It was a solid black rectangle and simply read “Black People Are Important.”