Now All You Need to Deposit a Check is a Smartphone

Trips to the bank may soon be a thing of the past.

New imaging technology lets you take a snapshot of a check with your smartphone and use that to make your deposit. Mitek Systems says it has partnered with more than 2,000 financial institutions – including the top 10 retail banks in the U.S. – to bring mobile check deposits to customers.

For a lot of small business owners, the ability to deposit a check they receive without having to plan a trip to the bank could save time and money. Provided your bank uses Mitek’s licensed technology, all you have to do with your customer’s check is point and shoot. In about two days, the money is deposited to your account.

Mitek’s patented technology allows customers to use their “Camera as a Keyboard.” The mobile photo technology automatically captures images of personal and financial documents and then extracts relevant data, according to the company’s website. Now that a lot more financial institutions are getting on board, the head of Mitek Systems expects use of the technology to grow exponentially.

Mitek President and CEO James B. DeBello says in a company release:

“We’re excited to see the continued adoption of Mobile Deposit. We continue to support the top 10 banks in the country, and coupled with our 100% customer retention rate, this further solidifies our leadership position in the market. We now estimate that consumers have deposited over $150 billion which represents more than 250% growth in cumulative deposit volume.”

Several small business owners spoke with Small Business Trends recently to discuss their experiences with and the advantages of depositing checks through a smartphone photo:

Jeff Wolfert is an aspiring professional football kicker. While he’s chasing that dream, Wolfert runs KCKicking camps in the Midwest. His camps aim to get college recruiter exposure for high schoolers. He says that he receives a lot of checks and often, on the road, there isn’t a Bank of America nearby. Another benefit is that, even if there is an error on the check – like the name of his business being spelled wrong – there aren’t delays in making the deposit. Wolfert explains:

“Running a small biz, it’s about time. If I can take 5 pictures in one minute, it saves me a 25-minute run to the bank. I’ve never had a check returned to me because of errors on the check. It’s a little less strenuous.”

Oleg Korneitchouk is a young Web designer and has been using Mitek’s technology for more than a year. He says that he started depositing checks via his smartphone once he upgraded to a better phone. Like Wolfert, he sees efficiency as the main advantage of the technology. He adds:

“(Going to the bank) took up a lot of my time. The mobile app is super convenient to deposit my money. It’s the most convenient way to deposit checks.”

Image: Mitek Systems

The post Now All You Need to Deposit a Check is a Smartphone appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Source: Small Business Trends

Now All You Need to Deposit a Check is a Smartphone