CrossCheck Blog

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in February of 2014 
and has been updated on August 7, 2015 to reflect new information. 

After close of business each day, you collect all of your customer’s checks, fill out deposit slips, and either you drive to and from the bank yourself or send one of your employees. You take all the shortcuts you know (maybe even run a yellow light or two) just so you can get to the bank before it closes to ensure you will get paid.

We have touted remote deposit capture's benefits ever since it was introduced more than a decade ago. For those who don't know, remote deposit capture (RDC) effectively brings the bank teller window to your place of business. It also allows business owners to:

Americans write a check to pay for one out of every five purchases of $100 or more, and over the course of the recession the value of an average check ballooned to $1,420.50 while one in five people said they increased their use of checks. 

Why are checks gaining traction now, right in the midst of a revolution in digital payments? First, because a handwritten check is an exceedingly secure form of payment, and second, because checks have the highest rating for bookkeeping accuracy, an aspect of checkwriting that appeals to fiscally conservative consumers whose ranks grew dramatically during the recession. 

People are exposed to nearly 20,000 ad messages per week ranging from TV commercials, radio ads, billboards, cell phone application ads, pop-ups, and website banners. Talk about sensory overload on steroids! As a home furnishings merchant yourself, you may even be contributing to this statistic in one form or another with a catchy jingle or special promotion. But there’s no shame in that, you have to generate brand awareness and market your own promotions.

Last year you saw a 34% increase in “door swings” as more people finally began to find the funds to enjoy motorsports, and it looks like you’re on track for another good year in 2014. While still not back to the pre-crisis boom times, store owners who find every possible source of margin have earned higher profits.

This year teamwork rules the world for independent repair shop owners and managers. A number of positive factors impacting your business have “teamed up” to make this year’s potential the best you’ve seen in a while. And to hit that potential, successful shops are taking their internal teamwork to a new level.

Banks offer “remote deposit capture” (RDC) services with their merchant accounts so merchants can deposit checks without going to the bank. But sometimes merchants assume that their bank’s RDC service includes features that it doesn’t, and often when they are needed the most.

Car enthusiasts have been anticipating a hydrogen-powered car for a decade, and environmentalists have been hoping for an entirely hydrogen-powered energy infrastructure for twice as long. Why? Because hydrogen is incredibly abundant and using it produces only one byproduct: water.

Remote Deposit Capture (RDC): What is it, how does it work, how will it benefit my business, and what else do I need to know?

What is Remote Deposit Capture?

Introduced in 2004 as part of the Check 21 Act, RDC is the efficient process of depositing a check into a bank account from a remote location without having to physically deliver the check to the bank.