Remote Possibilities

Some remote deposit customers use the product to make more frequent deposits, instead of waiting for checks to pile up and justify a trip to the bank. That, combined with the later same-day deposit deadline, can increase a company’s available balance. “That can help in investing or reducing debt,” Kelley says.

It also helps companies with multiple locations deposit all their checks into one bank account. A firm based in Minneapolis with an office in Ely might have a bank account in Ely where the local office deposits checks; that money would periodically be moved into the company’s Minneapolis account. Or the firm might rely on a courier or the mail to deposit its checks once a week in Minneapolis. Neither system is the   best use of a business’s money, notes Steve Bianchi, the metro business banking region manager in Minneapolis for Wells Fargo. “If the money is sitting in another account, or not getting to the bank the same day it’s received, it’s not accessible for paying down debt or investing,” he says.

Some remote deposit software can even link to a company’s accounting software, allowing the firm to download deposit information. The remote deposit product offered by Signature Bank, for instance, “captures the information and sends it both to the bank and to some accounts-receivable software,” says President Ken Brooks. “This way you don’t have to enter the information twice.”

Guarding Against Fraud

For all the convenience that remote deposit offers, it comes with a large liability: the possibility of fraud. Because companies make deposits without surrendering the actual check, it’s possible to re-present the checks—physically or electronically—for multiple deposits. And because bankers don’t see the physical checks, a user might be able to scan and deposit a counterfeit.

Banks and customers can both implement safeguards to help prevent fraud. For their part, bankers say that they are careful to offer the product only to businesses that can handle it safely. “We really wanted to know who our customers are,” says Liz Dienst, senior vice president for treasury management at Wells Fargo. “When you do something new, you really try to do that with customers you know pretty well.”