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Deposit Checks By iPhone

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the bad-day-to-be-a-bank-teller dept.

kaychoro writes to mention that at least one privately held bank is planning on removing a little bit more legwork for the consumer by allowing the electronic submission of paper checks via a new iPhone app. The app would allow users to take a picture of the front and back of the check and submit that to the depository. "Customers will not have to mail the check to the bank later; the deposit will be handled entirely electronically, and the bank suggests voiding the check and filing or discarding it. But to reduce the potential for fraud, only customers who are eligible for credit and have some type of insurance through USAA will be permitted to use the deposit feature. Mr. Peacock said that about 60 percent of the bank's customers qualify."

7 of 293 comments (clear)

  1. Checks by arth1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Some countries still use personal cheques? How quaint!

    1. Re:Checks by spoilsportmotors · · Score: 5, Funny

      Probably, considering that I couldn't get my state treasury to issue a single old person. Stupid economy.

    2. Re:Checks by SBrach · · Score: 5, Funny

      Ohhhhhhh, so instead of checks you have pre-printed pieces of paper that you fill out and take to your bank. How futuristic.

    3. Re:Checks by Kadin2048 · · Score: 5, Informative

      The giro system is still superior to cheques / drafts -- it's a "push" system instead of a "pull", and for that reason a lot less prone to fraud. Typical check-fraud strategies don't work with giro, because the transfer is initiated from the payor's side, not the payee's.

      It's unfortunate that the US never transitioned over to the giro system, but my understanding is that it's something that occurred in Europe post-war, when they had an opportunity to change things around that the US never got. Cheques and drafts are an older concept.

      Just because both systems involve paper doesn't mean they're in any way equal. Nor does it mean that an electronic system would be, just for being electronic, superior to one or both: it's quite easy, actually, to make an electronic system that's less secure and more prone to fraud than a paper-based one. I'd much rather see a paper-based giro system in the US than an electronic version of the "pull"-based check, where anyone can suck money out of your account using nothing but the ABA routing and account numbers.

      --
      "Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
  2. Not entirely new by 644bd346996 · · Score: 5, Informative

    USAA has allowed customers to scan and electronically deposit checks for quite a while. The only new thing here is the iPhone app. Still, it's pretty cool, especially compared to mailing checks in. (For those who don't know, USAA doesn't have physical branches. They were established by and for members of the military, and they've pretty much always been pioneers of remote banking, first by mail and phone, and now over the internet.)

  3. Re:Oh God Make It Stop by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

    *This* is why you voted for Obama?

    This and the unicorns.

  4. USAA is unique in its banking by Tanispyre · · Score: 5, Informative

    USAA (United Serviceman Automobile Association) is not your normal bank that has offices all over where you can make a deposit. It is a banking service available to military personnel and their dependents. It has always been set up so that servicemen deployed around the world can access their accounts. Before they wrote the iPhone app, members could scan their cheques and email them to the bank for credit, this is just an extension of that service, nothing new.