Bank to let customers deposit checks via iPhone

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Bank to let customers deposit checks via iPhone

USAA, a privately held bank and insurance company, plans to allow customers to deposit checks remotely using its iPhone application, the New York Times reports. The updated application, which is expected to be released this week, will use the iPhone’s camera to photograph both sides of a check, with an on-screen guide to make sure the check’s image is placed correctly in the frame. “We’re essentially taking an image of the check, and once you hit the send button, that image is going into our deposit-taking system as any other check would,” Wayne Peacock, a USAA executive vice president, told the NYT. Customers will not be required to mail the check in, and are told to void the check and either file it or discard it after it has been deposited. To reduce fraud, only customers who are eligible for credit and have some form of insurance through USAA will be permitted to use the feature, a group which includes about 60 percent of the bank’s customers.

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Comments

1

Well it is available already, just installed it on my iPhone. I usually don’t have too many checks to deposit anyways, but it is definitely cool to have that option available. Best part about the app though is the GPS integration into the Roadside Assistance. No more trying to explain to the operator where you are when you are stranded on the side of the road. (Wish I’d had this a couple months ago when I blew a tire…)

Posted by James on August 11, 2009 at 1:02 AM (PDT)

2

Checks (cheques); I don’t understand the US obsession with these long-outdated pieces of paper? I was amazed upon moving from the UK to the US in 2006 to find people still using these things; I had not sent or received a cheque since 1999. When on Earth will the US enter the 21st century and get proper free universal bank to bank transfers for everyone? It made me laugh when my local Californian bank unveiled its long overdue “online banking service” in 2007. This involved entering someone’s name and address online, the bank would then mail a paper check to someone’s house, all this for only $1.50, lol. It’s like the 1980s, but with an iPhone/web interface!

Posted by Scott on August 11, 2009 at 7:41 AM (PDT)

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