Soricon Corp. has completed shipment of 7,694 optical character-recognition check and document readers to AT&T Global Information Services, which will be installing them at teller windows in Barclays Bank in England.
Soricon, headquartered in Boulder, Colo., received an initial purchase order worth about $3 million in May 1993. A second purchase order valued at approximately $775,000 Was received in JanUary.
The Soricon Readers come with a self-aligning, motorized transport mechanism that automatically aligns the check with the magnetic read head. The units can read most documents in less than a second.
In addition, the Soricon readers can be reprogrammed individually or over a network allowing remote upgrades from, one location. They can also interface with a full range for major point of sale and credit card terminals.
The $250 billion-asset Barclays Bank is using the Soricon Readers to automate the collection of code-line data from checks and documents such as utility payments at the teller window. This installation is part of a bankwide teller-automation project at Barclays.
The system will enable Barclays to credit and debit cash transactions to accounts immediately. It will also eliminate the need for customers to fill out checks or withdrawal slips at the teller window. Under the new system, the customer will hand the cashier a Connect Cardwhich is like an ATM card. The cashier debits or credits the customer's account. The customer then signs a printed receipt.
One of the key benefits of the new teller automation project is that the Barclays branches will be able to communicate information among themselves automatically. Customers at one Barclays branch will no longer have to wait while a teller telephones the customer's home branch to verify an account or cleared funds.
Ms. Sullivan is a freelance writer based in New York.
