Remote Deposit: The Next Big Thing

Now that banks have invested in the imaging infrastructures encouraged by the Check Clearing For The 21st Century Act (Check 21), the stage is set for you to provide businesses with the technology to transmit checks electronically.

In a July 2005 Business Solutions article entitled "Is Check 21 For Real?," I cautioned VARs not to wait on banks to become Check 21-ready to begin familiarizing themselves with the technology implications of the act. Did you listen? If not, don't worry; there's still time for you to capitalize on the business opportunities created by Check 21. The biggest opportunities are currently in the realm of remote deposit, also known as corporate capture.

As we all know, Check 21, an act that made it legal for check images to be transmitted as opposed to their paper originals, is for real. It just took a little longer than expected for banks to build the infrastructures necessary to accept the images of checks commonly known as substitute checks or IRDs (image replacement documents). Most banks now have these infrastructures in place, and this is making it possible for the business community to begin benefiting from Check 21 through implementation of remote deposit or corporate capture solutions. Remote deposit solutions allow businesses to scan incoming checks and transmit deposits electronically to their banks, all from the convenience of their own offices. These solutions typically consist of a check scanner attached to a new or existing PC and a remote deposit software application that interfaces with the user, manages the scanner, and uploads check images to a bank of choice via the Internet.