Cachet Financial Solutions, a provider of remote deposit capture (RDC) solutions will target the growing market for mobile check cashing and reloadable prepaid cards, which traditionally serve a large portion of the U.S. unbanked and under-banked population.  Several financial service organizations will begin offering Cachet’s mobile check capture solution to their customers by the end of the third quarter of this year.

Previously, RDC technology was directed toward banks and credit unions.  With Cachet’s proprietary technology, robust demand for mobile financial services, and changing customer preferences and demographics, the check cashing and prepaid card industries are can also participate in remote checking technologies.

Cachet currently offers a full suite of RDC solutions, including a front-end, mobile check loading application for the Android, Blackberry, iPhone smartphones and tablets.  The application can be branded for check cashers, program managers and processors to allow their customers to be able to load checks on their prepaid debit cards.  Cachet also offers a back-end product (CheckReview) that allows check cashers and load solution providers to review high-resolution images of the check’s front and back with full image quality analysis, CAR/LAR and Virtual MICR detection.  Cachet has developed an API which allows the check cashers to import the information into their risk/fraud mitigation tools or central database for decision/guarantee purposes.

The foundation of Cachet’s mobile check capture application is convenience and simplicity for the consumer.  Mobile check capture allows consumers to load checks onto their prepaid card using their camera-equipped smartphone or tablet.  Users can load checks from anywhere at any time, allowing for quicker access to funds on their reloadable prepaid cards.  Cachet’s mobile check capture is easy to use.  Users simply click the branded application on their smartphone or tablet, endorse the check, agree to any applicable fees and snap photos of the front and back of each check that is being submitted.

“Cachet is one of the few RDC companies that understands the dynamics of this industry and has both a front-end and mobile solution and a back-end check imaging/verification solution for the various solution providers,” said Jeffrey Mack, President and CEO of Cachet Financial Solutions.  “Our strategy is to create strategic partnerships with the program managers, processors, check cashers and guarantors/loaders.  We believe there is a great opportunity in this space and we’re poised to take the lead in it.”

Cachet’s strategy comes at a perfect time as industry data shows more and more consumers are moving away from traditional banking relationships in favor of alternative financial services such as check cashers and reloadable prepaid cards.  According to a 2009 FDIC National Survey, over 25% of U.S. households are under-banked or unbanked and that number appears to be rising as a result of the recent economic troubles.  According to research by Mercator Advisory Group, Americans will put an estimated $70.7 billion on reloadable prepaid cards this year.  That’s a 153% increase from the $28 billion loaded onto the cards in 2009.

“Our technology allows us to develop and execute a host of solutions for a variety of financial organizations – from check cashing companies to reloadable prepaid card issuers and processors,” said Mack.  “Financial service providers have to develop new methods to retain and satisfy their customers, and mobile check capture is just another example of that initiative.  We are proud of our work and will continue to innovate and develop new solutions on behalf of our customers.”