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Coming Soon, Smartphone-Based Banking

Posted by timothy on from the honing-in-on-float dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Banks will be offering a new service at the end of the year that will let customers take a photo of a paper check and have it be deposited in their bank accounts, making the smartphone one step closer to an ATM."

6 of 187 comments (clear)

  1. DUPE by MBCook · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is a dupe from like 2 days ago, which was a dupe from like 6 months ago. USAA has been allowing this for months and months with the iPhone.

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    Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
  2. deja vu by bugs2squash · · Score: 2, Insightful

    all over again

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    Nullius in verba
  3. Ditch checks! by mseidl · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I've lived both in Europe and the USA, and I have to say, ditch the checks. Seriously. It's a joke and a pain in the ass.

  4. You're taking the piss. by Colin+Smith · · Score: 3, Insightful

    No? Really. Taking a photo of a cheque?

    Writing out a cheque, then taking a photo of it? No. You're pulling my leg. And this is an advance?

    Why not just transfer the money using the phone?

    We can do it here in Europe. They can do it in India and Africa for goodness sake;

    http://europe.nokia.com/ovi-services-and-apps/nokia-money

     

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  5. Get off your arses and go to the damned bank by LukeWebber · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Seriously, there are just so many more fraud opportunities dues to sheer bloody laziness on the part of the banks and their customers. Identity theft? Couldn't happen so readily if the banks would only make you come in there with your driver's license or passport before they go issuing credit cards. The same goes for government institutions.
    This idea sounds like it'd make it easy to copy a cheque, Photoshop it and bank it. You wouldn't even need to steal it. Just snap a quick shot with your iPhone and then slip it back. Just make sure you get it in before the owner and you're done.

  6. MAKE BIG BUCKS NOW! by dltaylor · · Score: 2, Insightful

    With automatic electronic transfers between banks, which do not verify the validity of the original check, the person who's going to be screwed by this is the one whose account number is on the fake check. Right now washing out a check, putting in new amounts, and presenting it for cash is a little bit more time-consuming (plus the check is gone) than just photoshopping a check image and scanning it on a phone, or several. The only small deterrent is that the checks are deposited, not paid out in cash immediately. Simple enough to hit up a few pensioners while there's still a bit in their account (or businesses that don't reconcile accounts frequently), wait for the deposits to clear, and clean out the temporary deposit account.