November 3, 2009                                                          

                                                                                        

 

 

Check 21, Five Years Later:

 

New White Paper Explores Outcomes

and the Future of Remote Deposit

 

 

 

In terms of significance to the check processing industry, the Check Clearing for the 21^st Century Act has been compared to the monumental introduction of MICR line printing 40 years ago.

 

The goal of “Check 21,” which went into effect five years ago, was to create a more efficient check collection industry. Has that goal been accomplished? And if so, at what cost? Are credit unions better off as a result of this legislation?

 

Southwest Corporate Federal Credit Union examines these questions in a new white paper entitled, “Five Years Later: A Perspective on Check 21 and the Remote Deposit Industry.”

 

The paper explores the changes that have occurred in the check processing industry since the law became effective and offers observations on the direction the remote deposit industry is heading, including a look at member/consumer capture and mobile applications.

 

The 10-page document: addresses the impact created by the closure of Federal Reserve Bank check processing sites nationwide; reveals the results of Southwest Corporate’s survey of 124 Branch Capture user credit unions; provides three in-depth case studies of credit unions’ multi-year experiences with Branch Capture and Teller Capture products; and touches on the question of risk associated with remote deposit services.

 

“From the beginning, Branch Capture and Teller Capture were intended to streamline credit union operations and reduce risk. That goal is being realized. No one fully appreciated, however, the number of additional image-based products that would evolve as a result of remote deposit technology,” said Brad Ganey, Southwest Corporate’s senior vice president of payment services.

 

“In addition to focusing on back-office efficiencies, credit unions are now using the technology downstream to make their members’ lives easier and more convenient, with products such as Member Capture or ATM Capture,” he continued. “And convenience to members generally translates into increased or retained deposits and revenue to the credit union.”

 

Ganey, who has been involved with the image exchange industry since its infancy and worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of Jacksonville prior to joining Southwest Corporate in 2000, shares his insights in the white paper.

 

The white paper is available to credit unions at no charge. To request a copy, contact Southwest Corporate’s Communications and Marketing Department at 800-442-5763.