Northern Trust Co. of Chicago is planning to install check scanners at teller windows in all of its 84 branches.
It will use scanners from Panini SpA of Turin, Italy, and imaging software from Alogent Corp. of Alpharetta, Ga. The scanners and the Alogent software will be connected to the teller software Northern Trust is already using, from the Dutch firm Getronics NV.
"Image capture is a vital component for us in terms of handling - or not handling - paper, going forward," said Michael Valdez, Northern Trust's vice president for personal financial services, in an interview last Tuesday, the day the plan was announced.
The scanners are expected to eliminate 10 of the 12 steps Northern Trust tellers use when customers deposit checks, Mr. Valdez said. The company also plans to install scanners at its back counters.
Kevin Kunz, the director of sales for Panini in North America, said Northern Trust expects to start testing the scanners in mid-September and should be using them companywide by mid-2006.
