Memphis Area Teachers' CU Going With FIS Remote Check Deposit Solution

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Beginning Sept. 1, Memphis Area Teachers' Credit Union has taken another key step toward its bid to be the financial institution of choice for the community and 400 SEGs it serves.

The $536 million credit union launched its first remote check capture and deposit service, allowing members to deposit checks over the Web without coming in to a branch.

"As the largest credit union in our area, we really need to set the bar for what credit unions in Memphis can do," said Maria McLendon, MATCU's assistant vice president of marketing.

"The majority of national and regional financial institutions here have implemented commercial capture for their customers. We need to be able to do the same as large institutions, if we're going to meet our goal to be the most viable institution available to the people in the community we serve," she said.

The 54,000-member MATCU is using the Commercial Capture Xpress system from Fidelity National Information Services, the same company that's providing the MISER core processing system that MATCU also is in the process of converting to, McLendon said.

By allowing businesses to electronically deposit checks all day, the Commercial Capture Xpress system eliminates the need for transporting checks to the branch and allows the credit union the option of extending the same-day processing window.

Each business is equipped with a front-and-back-image camera, endorser and MICR reader and the software to run them, and the checks are then scanned and submitted through the financial institution's Web site, the company said.

Deposits are balanced and approved and then an electric deposit slip is created and the deposit is transmitted to FIS for presentment and payment via ACH, image exchange or substitute check, the company said.

Daily deposit limits can be set and MICR line information is kept for a year to flag duplicate captured checks, among other features.

Randy Fluitt, FIS executive vice president, said moving into remote deposit services was a natural extension of the item-processing services the Jacksonville, Fla., company said it already provides to about 1,750 financial institutions.

Last year, FIS processed 1.8 billion items through its 44 processing service centers nationwide, and electronically exchanged 215 million images, the company said.

"Payment services are very important to us strategically, and we've always been very committed to this whole industry, from credit and debit card services and ATM deposits to becoming early adopters of remote deposit technology," Fluitt said.

"We certainly see this as a way that can transform the way we do business with credit unions and banks," he said.

FIS currently has about 450 banks and credit unions using its commercial capture product, the vast majority of them banks. Less than 10 credit unions have signed up so far, mostly larger, more sophisticated institutions such as MATCU, Fluitt said.

FIS is offering a similar service for individual consumers, called consumer remote deposit services. Like others in the growing marketplace for such solutions, it allows members to scan their own checks and send them in for processing.

In addition to personal business, FIS said, its solution also is "especially appealing to small, service-oriented companies such as landscape management, construction and property management firms. This technology offers a convenient and time-saving solution to deposit checks without visiting a branch office."

Matt Bowen, senior vice president of remote services at FIS, said, "We know of a lot of demand among sole proprietors who take a lot of checks. This is a perfect way for them to make deposits without worrying about having to get to the credit union during regular business hours."

That appeals to MATCU.

"Our reason for wanting to take advantage of commercial deposit is to serve small to mid-sized businesses," said McLendon, the MATCU marketing vice president. "We're talking about doctors' offices, automotive services, service providers who don't have the opportunity to run to the bank. Serving the needs of those members of our community is the reason we're taking part in this program."

MATCU is still working out details such as pricing for equipment and the service itself, and Bowen at FIS said he sees a variety of approaches among his client base.

"Some are giving scanners to customers to use and retaining ownership of them and then not charging at all or charging some kind of compensating balance so it comes down to no charge on a monthly basis as long as they maintain a certain minimum balance," he said.

"Others, meanwhile, are charging more than $100 a month for the service, and they're often our most successful users of the service, interestingly enough," Bowen said.

The adoption rate has been strong, FIS said, and in June, the company processed about $6 million in remote deposits that otherwise would have gone through tellers.

And while electronic payments continue to grow, neither the credit union nor its vendor see traditional checks vanishing completely anytime soon.

"We think that paper is a great medium," said Bowen, the FIS senior vice president. "That's why it has lasted for thousands of years.

"We also acknowledge that while fewer checks are being written this year than last, check writing remains a pivotal part of payment mechanisms in the United States. And it costs credit unions so much money to process paper checks that we want to offer them a way to operate much more efficiently for member businesses or individual consumers," he said.

"I don't think check writing is going away, and I really don't foresee it becoming obsolete," added McLendon at MATCU. "But from both the commercial and consumer perspective, writing and mailing and receiving and handling checks is an inconvenience, so anything we as a credit union can do to make that process easier for members will be a beneficial thing."

--mrapport@cutimes.com