The hot must-have technology in banking today has to be mobileremote-deposit capture, software that lets members take a photo ofa check with a smartphone camera and, presto, it’s deposited intotheir account. The big rub thus far is that smaller credit unionshave complained that mobile RDC is priced out of their budgets. Butthe news is that, suddenly, prices are getting pushed down, and anupshot is that a growing number of smaller financial institutionscan now woo their members with the latest technology.

“Our vendors are finding pricing levels where small institutionscan play,” said Daniel Simon, a regional sales manager with SanDiego, Calif.-based Mitek Systems, owner of a variety of key mobileRDC patents. The Mitek business strategy is to sell throughpartners, which include Brookfield, Wis.-based Fiserv, Henderson,Nev.-based BluePoint Solutions and Monett, Mo.-based Jack Henry.And, suggested Simon, several of its partners have beenaggressively pursuing deals with institutions that might not haveshown up on their radar a year ago. Now, however, as Mitek seeks tobroaden its footprint, the chase is on for more institutions andthat is shining a spotlight on credit unions with assets below $500million and often well below.

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At Vertifi, the Burlington, Mass., CUSO operated by corporatecredit union Eascorp., Alan Bernstein, president of the CUSO,indicated that they, too, can claim successful mobile RDCinstallations in smaller credit unions. More proof that thefinancial barriers to entry seem to be eroding.

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One case in point is the $108 million Torrance Community CreditUnion, which is based in the Los Angeles suburb. The 7,000-memberinstitution has had mobile RDC since January 2010, said its CEOSteve Stoppel, and that made it one of the country’s first creditunions of any size with mobile RDC.

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Torrance Community is using Vertifi’s tools, in part becauseVertifi “was willing to work with our core processor to make thishappen,” said Stoppel. “They also offered us a very lowimplementation fee.”

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About 250 members currently use the mobile RDC app, saidStoppel, who indicated around a dozen checks a day come in thatway. He added that members seemed to have more problems scanningchecks (using desktop scanners and multifunction machines) thanthey do with the Vertifi app. “We have had very few member reportsof difficulties with the app,” he said.

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One irony is that the small Torrance credit union does notcurrently have a mobile banking app, although Stoppel said he hopedto roll out one in the next 30 to 60 days.

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Over at McHenry County Federal Credit Union, a $42 millioninstitution based in Crystal Lake, Ill., CEO Gregory Rowlett saidhe rolled out mobile RDC to his members because his debit cardprocessor made him an offer he could not refuse. “They waived allstart up fees,” said Rowlett, who is using the Mitektechnology.

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McHenry County pays no fixed monthly fee. It’s only cost is$1.25 per mobile deposit and, right now, Rowlett is charging hismembers $1 per deposit. He indicated he understood that few creditunions presently are charging for mobile RDC, but at McHenry therehas been no member pushback over the fee, he said.

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In the first two months of the offering, McHenry County got 38members to join and, collectively, they have deposit around$14,000, said Rowlett.

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“The image quality from the mobile scans is really good,” saidRowlett who acknowledged he was surprised by how good thesmartphone pictures are.

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Similar, upbeat reports are heard from Bonnie Mascaro, a vicepresident at Atlantic Financial, a $100 million institution in HuntValley, Maryland. Atlantic Financial debuted mobile RDC in June andhas signed up about 150 members, said Mascaro, who noted thatmobile RDC fits with the credit union’s tagline, "Always Where YouAre."

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“I don’t know of any other credit unions in our area that offerit,” added Mascaro, who indicated Atlantic Financial’s mobilebanking vendor, Jack Henry, found a way for the credit union toafford mobile RDC.

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Important as the adoption of mobile RDC by a number of smallercredit unions is, experts caution that too much cannot be read intothis. Mitek’s Simon stressed that by his count, perhaps 150 creditunions total now offer mobile RDC under the Mitek patents, “and wehave a 90% market share.” By that arithmetic, around 7,000 remainwithout it.

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Gary Brand, a Fiserv executive, stressed that what his companysees is the upside. “The excitement around mobile RDC continues tobuild. There’s no slow down.”

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Brand added that his company has been working on ways to sharplylower the costs of implementing mobile RDC. mainly through findingmore efficiencies in integration, and as the costs fall, creditunion enthusiasm rises. “We are offering a mobile RDC solution at aprice point that appeals to many credit unions,” stressedBrand.

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“And now we are seeing growing adoption.” 

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