Banking Law

In response to my skepticism last week about remote deposit capture's path to glory in the consumer arena, commenter Elisabeth demurred: "I imagine that in the not too distant future, RDC for consumers will be old hat."

She may very well be on to something. Last Week's American Banker (paid subscription required) trumpeted CheckFree's brand new offering.

Fiserv's CheckFree Corp. is expected to introduce a remote deposit capture service today that it expects its financial clients to offer to brokerage customers.

And a report issued last week concluded that banks are likely to offer consumers the ability to deposit checks electronically from their homes eventually, but the few services available now appeal to specific market niches, such as the wealthy.

We discussed last week advances in technology that make it easier to capture and transmit legible check images electronically. If consumers can remember to scan both sides of the check, everything should be hunk dory, technology-wise.

Some bankers have expressed concern that consumers would not realize how clearly certain portions of the check would need to be scanned for the image to be useful, he said. "A lot of consumers have not even noticed that there's black writing at the bottom of the check."

CheckFree said that to address this concern, it had to make its software as easy to use as possible.

"You've got to simplify the interface to a Ms. Pac Man level," [CheckFree vice president Ron] Springhetti said.

"Simplify the interface to a Ms. Pac Man level." A mantra to live by. Somebody get that word to Bill Gates.

CheckFree's also got a ready answer to my primary concern, potential customer fraud.

Another bank concern was the potential of the devices to be used for fraud, he said, but CheckFree worked to address this by integrating the service with its fraud detection systems, so that banks can use the same behavioral monitoring they use for other transactions.

I'll remain skeptical, for the time being, that you can address the customer fraud issue solely through "behavioral monitoring technology." I'll also remain skeptical that this is a service that will catch on widely with banks or consumers. I could be proved wrong on both counts. It wouldn't be the first time.