BOSTON -- Considered to be among the newest offerings within the financial services industry, remote deposit capture is now offered by nearly three-quarters of the 30 largest U.S. banks with more than 37% of community banks doing the same, according to a new report from Aite Group, LLC.
The report is based on a survey of 303 U.S. small businesses, which are defined as those generating less than $10 million in annual revenue. Key drivers for small business adoption of remote deposit include faster availability of funds, lower costs, greater time savings and later deadlines for deposits, the report found.
Remote deposit capture allows a user to scan checks and transmit the scanned images and/or ACH-data to a bank or credit union for posting and clearing.
Of particular note was of the small businesses surveyed, only 19% use services provided by one of the "top five" banks--Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank, Wachovia and JP Morgan Chase. Meanwhile, a number of CUSOs have started offering remote deposit capture.
"As banks of all sizes increasingly look to win the business of the highly desired small business customer segment, their ability to offer coveted products--such as remote deposit--will play a large role in their overall success," said Christine Barry, research director with Aite Group and author of the report.
Remote deposit has been a "hot topic" in the banking industry for the last few years, Barry noted.
"Not since the introduction of the ATM has there been so much excitement around a product and such fast adoption of it," Barry said.
