PLANO, Texas — The days of "paper hangers" may be drawing to a close, as real-time check fraud detection becomes a reality.
Brad Ganey, vice president of item processing for Southwest Corporate, said the corporate CU worked with technology partner Bluepoint Solutions three years ago in setting up the first natural person credit union to go live with the firm's teller capture system, which scans and scrutinizes paper checks.
"The software picks up the fact certain critical information is missing, such as MICR, while someone is still standing at the counter," Ganey explained. "It is a great opportunity to get real-time fraud detection."
Dick Drew, chief operating officer for Bluepoint Solutions, added, "The interface improves fraud detection. If you can stop the item before the money goes out the door, it is ideal. And that's where teller capture takes us. We're not there yet, but we are close."
According to Drew, credit unions are "way ahead" of banks in installing and using teller capture.
"Banks are just starting to talk about it," he said. "The credit union industry is setting the pace. Banks are ahead on merchant capture, but credit unions are miles ahead of banks on consumer capture."
Ganey said Southwest Corporate sees some credit unions going straight to teller capture, while others start with branch capture and then migrate to teller capture.
No Strict Formula
There is no strict formula based on the size of the credit union, Ganey noted. "We've seen single-branch credit unions deploy teller capture." The process of collecting deposit items has changed dramatically in a short period of time, he said. Not long ago, it all took place along one predictable path: the items were coded, sorted and processed overnight. Thousands upon thousands of pieces of paper were transported all over the country.
The great thing about using image technology to process checks, Ganey declared, is "having opportunities to offer other services to members. The critical point is, financial institutions must be very deliberate and thoughtful about the long term. Our focus has been on what services are coming in the future. Credit unions know they can plug into us, and if they have teller capture, image ATMs, or other solutions, we can manage it for them. Everything is in one place. It all accomplishes the receipt of a deposit, but it is critical that one system handles all those different points of capture."
