Check Processing…
Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) refers to the capture of a check image at a remote location for deposit into a bank or credit union account. This practice became legal in the United States in 2004, when the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (a.k.a. Check 21) took effect. The basic idea behind remote deposit capture is to allow checks to be cleared electronically, without a paper check being present. From a work-flow standpoint, Check 21 begins with capturing the check image. So the first question is: Where and how am I going to capture those checks? With centralized image capture, checks are collected at the branch and sent by courier to a central location for scanning and sorting. This method is Check 21 compliant, but still involves physical transport of batched documents.
Six possible remote deposit capture points have emerged:
- Branch Capture– checks are collected in the branch and batch-scanned right there at the end of the day.
- Teller Capture– checks are scanned at the teller window as each one is presented by a customer or member.
- Merchant Capture– businesses scan the checks they receive from their offices or stores, and transmit the checks electronically to their financial institution.
- Home Capture– consumers scan checks using ordinary computers and simple scanning equipment, and transmit their deposits over the Internet.
- ATM Capture– existing image-enabled ATMS capture and transmit full image-clearing check files.
- Mobile capture – the latest innovation, mobile capture allows consumers with camera-equipped mobile phones to transmit check images for deposit from wherever they are.
For both banks and credit unions, the focus over the past five years has clearly been on branch capture. Some large institutions that have sophisticated proofing operations already in place have also chosen to migrate their existing operations to support Check 21 by capturing check images at a central location. But the trend toward putting remote image capture directly in the hands of the financial institutions’ customers or member – both business and individual is developing quickly.
Best practices in any type of document management system call for decentralized capture. There is no reason for Check 21 to vary from this standard. In a post-Check 21 environment, continuing to use central processing can even cancel out many of the obvious advantages of Check 21, which are:
- Greater operational efficiency
- Reduced costs (such as employee overtime, courier fees)
- Little or no check fraud
- Reduced float and earlier funds availability
- Enhanced competitive advantage
As remote deposit capture matures, it is becoming clear that it pays to capture items as early in the process as possible. In the case of consumers, this point is at their homes; in the case of merchants, at their business locations; for in-branch transactions, at the teller window. Consumers and businesses are beginning to expect these types of enhanced benefits and services. In response to this trend, more and more vendors are developing and distributing remote deposit capture solutions.
First, Bluepoint allows financial institutions to enjoy all the benefits of RDC with innovative, flexible software that captures check images at the earliest point-of-presentment, wherever that might be: home, business, store, ATM, teller window, or branch.
Second, all points of capture are fully integrated with Bluepoint’s powerful Transport Service, which makes items available for immediate clearing. This results in earliest possible funds availability. It also allows financial institutions to schedule and coordinate multiple releases for clearing, which results in savings on dollar amount or per item transmission fees.
Third, Bluepoint’s software suite maintains a central repository for captured images, whatever their source. Images are immediately available for research and retrieval institution-wide, saving time every time a check is looked at.
Because Bluepoint RDC accommodates an infinite number of capture points, credit unions and community banks gain a competitive advantage compared to larger institutions, while at the same time completing the expected services of any size financial institution – large or small.
Bluepoint rounds out its offerings with its ImagePoint back-end item processing product. This makes Bluepoint the only provider of an end-to-end image based item capture and processing product line built entirely on a .NET platform.
Bluepoint’s total solution suite is the most technologically advanced offering available on the market, and a clear choice for banks and credit unions that want an integrated RDC capability. Financial institutions with first-generation centralized Check 21 systems can also adopt Bluepoint Solutions modern technology and best practice design and start to realize the full potential of Check 21. In either case, the savings and efficiencies realized from application of best practices in remote deposit capture allow for an almost immediate return on investment.
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