Banking Goes to the Cloud

Banks first created the teller, and it was considered good. Banks then created the ATM, and it was considered great. Banks then created electronic banking systems and it was considered fanastic. Banks have now created checks scanned to deposit, and it is? Oh, well the jury is still out. Fact the technology is just now being trialed. –

Soon you will be able to deposit checks by scanning them at home and sending them electronically to your bank. No need to visit a branch or even an ATM.

This is possible because of the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, passed in 2003, which allows banks to exchange electronic images of checks. Already about half of all checks are scanned by businesses or the banks they are deposited into and not shipped in bags back to the banks on which they were drawn.

Fiserv, the big transaction services company, has announced new software that will enable banks to let home users deposit checks by scanning them. It already has a similar service for small and medium businesses. USAA, the financial services company that serves the military, has offered deposits through scanners for two years, but the idea has not yet caught on.

The time is right for such a service, said Rodney Springhetti, a Fiserv vice president of business development. The technology has been debugged through several years of working with businesses, and meanwhile consumers increasingly have scanners at home, largely in the form of all-in-one printer units.

And this from Fiserv a provider of the service –

BROOKFIELD, Wis.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–CheckFree, now part of Fiserv Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV - News), a leading provider of information technology services to the financial industry, today unveiled its new remote deposit capture product, an innovative solution that allows retail customers to electronically scan and deposit checks from any location with a PC, a scanner and an Internet connection. It provides simple, easy-to-use functionality for the consumer without compromising the security, fraud identification or processing quality required by financial institutions.

Competition in the retail banking market is tremendous and banks must continually seek to offer new and innovative products to attract new consumers and retain existing customers. By providing a convenient, secure and easy–to-use online banking option for depositing checks, financial institutions will offer their customers faster funds availability without a trip to the branch, ATM or post office, thereby enriching the banking experience.

“Consumer capture will fundamentally change the way consumers interact with their financial institution, brokerage firm, utility or other payment processor when depositing checks. By offering consumer capture, financial institutions can quickly provide an online product that will attract new customers without regard to geographic territory; accelerating expansion beyond their brick and mortar branches,” said Mike Ringuette, executive vice president, Fiserv Global Payments. “This new solution allows banks, credit unions, other financial institutions and payments processors to offer expanded deposit windows due to the immediate receipt of an electronic image and all associated electronic data, with the potential to reduce costs and environmental resources associated with personnel, transportation and processing in the branch or back office.”

I might be interested in this as a service were I a small business. Considering funds to me are distributed direct deposit I don’t have many paper checks passing thru my front door. But others needs may vary. The other issue for me would be security. How valid is it in electronic form? The few checks I do deposit at the Credit Union, the teller still asks for ID’s on deposits. So the institution knows that the person presenting is who they say they are. [I should go on record here a note that most checks institution to institution travel in electronic form for which I have no qualms about.]

NYT article.
Fiserv press release.