Many institutions are considering mobile phone-enabled check capture, a popular way of depositing checks in which consumers use their smartphones to take photos of checks to deposit them remotely.
Eugene, Ore.-based Selco Community Credit Union is among them, and it's created a best-of-both-worlds vendor agreement that will help it roll out RDC with less cost and more control. The credit union plans to outsource its check processing to VSoft while the vendor sets up teller-side remote deposit capture. Then at some yet-to-be-determined point, the credit union will switch to a licensing arrangement that will enable it to design its own ancillary products, such as mobile remote deposit capture.
The 80,000-member credit union built the transition from outsourcing to internal management into the initial outsourcing deal. "Initially, the credit union plans to outsource its check processing through VSoft's hosted services," says Babs Manion, vp of operations and HR for Selco Community Credit Union. "Selecting VSoft helps Selco achieve its long-term objectives by providing flexibility through a seamless migration to in-house check processing and the ability to expand the product offering over time."
Selco, which serves 21 counties in Oregon, will implement back office services with VSoft's global data center, VServe, which delivers the service though a hosted model.
Although Selco is outsourcing check processing technology to VSoft, it is managing the service directly. After the transition, the credit union will license the VSoft technology, which will give it more flexibility to add new financial services spun off of check image capture.
VSoft and Selco did not provide a firm timetable for a final migration to in-house management. But when the handoff does occur, the credit union will be able to develop a mobile check capture app to work with its mobile banking product. The credit union has further plans, down the road, to develop consumer and home office check capture based on the VSoft technology. The credit union may also add merchant capture, though that is likely a longer-term deployment.
While Selco is ramping up its check capture capabilities, the credit union has already been an active adopter of mobile banking. It offers mobile web, SMS banking and apps for iPhone and Android. Current services include balance inquiries, transaction histories, funds transfer, branch and ATM locators and account management.
Mobile check deposit is proving to be one of the most popular mobile banking services. Javelin says that about 25 percent of Americans want to use their mobile devices to deposit checks. When including users who are already using their mobile phones for banking, the percentage grows to 50 percent. The new apps get used quickly—Chase's mobile RDC app deposited more than $1 billion in 10 months, and PayPal's new app deposits more than $1 million per month.
