Big Banks Seek To Lock Up Check 21Businesses

ORLANDO - (11/17/05) -- The big banks are wasting littletime leveraging Check 21 and seeking to lock up small businesseswith remote deposit capture solutions. Credit unions at BAI'sRetail Delivery Show that are just getting into commercial servicesor are even veterans in member business lending got a good view ofhow they compare to the big banks. Major players such as Bank ofAmerica are putting significant resources into remote depositcapture solutions, in which merchants (and some individuals) usescanners and a high-speed Internet connection to capture checkimages themselves and then transmit that data to their financialinstitution. Royce Brown, president of NetDeposit, Inc., said thatin 2004, there were approximately 450 remote deposit capturelocations, a number that has grown to 2,700 in 2005. By 2006 NetDeposit is projecting that number will hit 15,000. Elizabeth M.Lee, senior VP with Bank of America's Global Treasury Services,said the bank is now working to reduce the cost of scanners formerchants to somewhere below $500.