The top reason why some business owners have not adoptedremote deposit capture is because they were not aware thattheir financial institution even offered the service.

That's according to a new survey from check processing providerCummins Allison and marketing firm Branmark Strategy Group.

The survey, “Check Imaging, RDC and ICLs: Depositor and BankExperiences and Viewpoints,” revealed that 44% of respondentsoffered RDC to stay competitive with other financial institutionswhile 24% believed RDC helped them attract new commercial accounts.Another 11% reported the service helped lower operationalcosts.

Due in large part to these perceived benefits, 75% of bankrespondents offer RDC to commercial accounts. However, two-thirdsof banks that offer RDC still have less than 5% of commercialaccounts using the service, according to the survey.

Despite this slow adoption, the majority of depositors who weresurveyed said they would be interested in a service that wouldallow them to scan and transmit check images to their financialinstitution.

“Herein lies one of the most surprising disconnects: over halfof the banks surveyed feel as though they actively market RDC tocommercial accounts. However, depositors responded that the numberone reason they do not use electronic deposit is because they areunaware that their FI offers the service,” Matthew Gniech, productmanager of check imaging for Cummins Allison, said in a pressrelease.

“Clearly, awareness is still a barrier to commercial RDCadoption,” he added.

To reconcile this awareness gap, financial institutions mustensure they are effectively marketing RDC to their commercialaccounts by promoting the benefits that matter most to depositors,the survey noted.

“Contrary to what banks believe, time saved by not traveling totheir bank or credit union to make a deposit is not theprimary benefit of electronic deposit for commercial customers,”according to both firms that conducted the survey.

Meanwhile, 45% of depositors felt that time savings whenpreparing deposits was the overwhelming benefit ofelectronic deposit. Additional benefits mentioned by depositorsincluded:

• Cost savings from financial institution by not depositing paperchecks
• Time savings from not going to the bank or credit union to makea deposit
• Extended deposit deadlines
• Quicker access to funds vs. conventional deposits

One improvement businesses would like to see is more accurateand faster check scanning equipment, the survey revealed.Two-thirds responded that they would be more productive if theirscanner were faster and more reliable.