Where Have You Been All My Life--Remote Deposit Capture?

When the first reports of depositing checks over mobile devices reached the paper, admittedly there was a good deal of scepticism. But, as usual, with a bit of time, the convenience of this new breakthrough started to make a lot of sense.

There isn’t one business person in the entire world that hasn’t run into some unexpected problem in getting to the bank before it closed and having to wait until the next morning to get it deposited.

When a deposit includes checks that means it will be an additional day before it shows up as real money in your account. This is where remote deposit capture prevents unnecessary delays.

How Remote Deposit Capture Works

Being able to scan a check and deposit it to your bank account is not the only benefit of this new technology. As Wesley Yuhn of Tampa explained in a recent seminar, there are three types of remote deposit.

The first includes a software package and the ability to scan your check online, which is called a browser based deposit. The second is making deposits through an RDC system which provides its own scanner. The third is by taking a photo of the check and sending the picture of the check to your bank for deposit.

Browser based technology allows you to logon through any computer with a scanner and sign in with your authorization codes as provided. The disadvantage of this technology is that you cannot logon if the bank is not online at the time. This is when you can turn to your smartphone and make the deposit, in case you do not have an RDC program subscription.

RDC or remote deposit capture software systems works with your desktop computer, allowing you to scan in any number of checks and upload the whole batch at once. You don’t have to be connected to the internet to use it but this does mean that the information on the checks may remain on your hard drive – including account data.

Finally, mobile remote deposit capture is done by taking a picture from your smartphone of the front and back of the check and sending it to your bank. The disadvantages of this method are that it may not recognize handwritten checks and you can only transfer one check at a time. But, that beats the heck of not getting to the bank!

Unexpected Benefits of Remote Deposit Capture

If you choose an RDC program that has the added benefit of knowing instantly if a check is good or bad, if the account is open or closed and having the check become cash immediately after it enters your bank account, you stand to benefit more than one way. You could even accept electronic checks, deposited directly into your account 24/7/365.

This means that you can verify a check at the point of sale, instead of discovering that the customer’s account was short of funds three or ten days after you made the deposit. It also means your bank account won’t be charged a “return” fee for uncleared checks, either.

Remote deposit is accepted at nearly every bank and credit union in the nation. It helps you avoid getting to the bank late and saves the bank money in scanning checks.