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Mitek Systems is offering financial institutions a mobile photo account opening feature, using a mobile device's camera to scan and capture any needed documentation. The software also lets the customer immediately fund the account using mobile check capture.
September 10 -
Mobile check deposit, once a low priority technology for banks, has become one of the most sought out mobile banking app features. But along with popularity and increased use, the potential for fraud is emerging.
July 11 -
USAA's claims that it invented mobile deposit capture are false, Jim DeBello says, and Mitek will fight them. But he would prefer to keep USAA as a customer.
April 11
USAA and Mitek Systems settled a two-and-a-half year-old dispute over who invented the technology for mobile check deposit, with both companies' patents remaining intact and neither side paying the other.
Each party agreed to dismiss its remaining claims against the other under the settlement disclosed Wednesday.
"We're very pleased with the outcome," Jim DeBello, Mitek Systems' CEO, said Thursday evening. The number of financial institutions that have signed up for Mitek's mobile deposit technology has grown from 300 to 2,500, he said.
USAA declined to comment beyond the press release it issued, which stated the same basic facts as Mitek's.
Despite the laying down of swords in this case, Mitek vowed to vigorously defend its eight patents. It has a pending lawsuit against Top Image Systems for patent infringement, for which both parties are preparing for a June 2015 trial. They could settle in the meantime.
"We've spent years, if not decades perfecting the imaging technology," DeBello said. "We've spent several years working with the U.S. Patent office to secure protection for our inventions. It's our duty to our shareholders and company to protect those claims. We'd rather focus on innovation and new products rather than legal issues."
Mitek's patents include algorithms and processes for capturing a check image, correcting it for accuracy and extracting data.
Can any vendor offer mobile check deposit without infringing on Mitek's patents?
"I don't know the answer to that," DeBello said. "We'll have to wait and gauge that."
