Mobile Payment Magazine

Wausau Financial Systems Signs New Financial Institutions to Mobile Remote Deposit Capture Service

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Wausau Financial Systems, a provider of payment and receivables processing solutions, has announced that three financial institutions, Citizens & Northern Bank, NewDominion Bank and Farmers State Bank of Calhan, selected its mobile remote deposit capture (RDC) solution, from its Deposit 24/7 Suite. Wausau’s RDC suite includes branch, merchant, consumer and mobile capture points, allowing for secure check depositing from any location.

Mobile banking continues to gain momentum, as more consumers press for the flexibility it offers. A recent study from Javelin Strategy & Research found 25 percent of Americans want to use their mobile devices to deposit checks, indicating consumer readiness for mobile remote capture offerings. The same study notes that despite the consumer demand for mobile RDC, only three of the 10 largest financial institutions in America are offering the service.

Citizens & Northern Bank selected Wausau’s mobile RDC solution to further differentiate its services and attract new customers with secure mobile check deposit capabilities.

“Our customers have shown they not only respond to, but embrace, technology. Given our rural footprint, we determined that mobile RDC would be a great fit,” said Shelley D’Haene, Cash Management Coordinator of Citizens & Northern Bank, an independent bank with 26 branches in Pennsylvania and New York. “Once we made the commitment to deploy mobile RDC, we found Wausau as the sole vendor that could provide a solution seemingly tailor-fit to our needs, easy for our customers to use, and with the robust risk monitoring capabilities we desired.”

Wausau’s risk monitoring functionality allows financial institutions and their clients to securely enjoy the benefits of RDC while complying with the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) guidelines. The risk monitoring module in conjunction with Deposit 24/7 Mobile includes features such as duplicate detection, velocity and dollar limits, as well as image analytics. With these features, risk management teams can better monitor and control risks associated with mobile RDC.

NewDominion Bank wanted to ensure it could implement mobile RDC for its customers, while continuing to monitor, mitigate and prevent security threats and maintain regulatory compliance, efficiency and financial performance.

“For NewDominion Bank, risk monitoring played a large factor in our selection, and WAUSAU offered us the most comprehensive reporting and monitoring tools, easing our insecurities around mobile,” said Tracey McLean, director of sales, marketing and retail operations for NewDominion Bank, a community bank headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. “Wausau’s understanding of FFIEC standards and proven track record of ensuring compliance make it and its mobile RDC solution truly stand out.”

Wausau’s mobile RDC solution allows customers to integrate with their mobile banking platforms, initiate mobile-deposit sessions and deposit checks remotely with a smart phone, while automatically correcting distortions and providing instant and thorough communication with the bank. Further, it provides the financial institution a competitive advantage, expanding its services beyond each branch’s four walls.

“As more and more financial institutions build branches in our market, our mobile RDC offering will help us retain customers who otherwise may have considered an institution closer in proximity to their home,” said Randy Pieper, CEO for Farmers State Bank of Calhan, a three-branch institution servicing the Eastern Colorado area since 1916. “Essentially, with Wausau’s solution we have eliminated the need for a branch on every corner, because now there’s one on every cell phone. We see this appealing to our existing client base, which includes many area businesses where checks are the primary currency, as well as the upcoming generations of customers.”

“The market for mobile RDC technology continues to grow, and small financial institutions are leading the charge as first adopters to differentiate their services from larger competitors in their markets. We’re excited to partner with the likes of Citizens & Northern Bank, NewDominion Bank and Farmers State Bank of Calhan, and deliver a mobile RDC solution that helps expand service beyond a physical branch, without sacrificing security or efficiency,” said Sam Golbach, vice president of product management for Wausau Financial Systems.

Wausau is currently expanding its Deposit 24/7 Suite to provide the small and mid-tier business markets a receivables hub that accepts checks and electronic payments via Automated Clearing House (ACH) and credit card. Wausau plans to add the ACH functionality to its merchant application this fall and credit card capabilities by early 2012.

Source: Wausau Financial Systems

Three Financial Institutions Switch to WAUSAU Financial Systems for Remote Deposit Capture

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WAUSAU Financial Systems, a provider of payment and receivables processing solutions, today announced that Westbound Bank, American Chartered and Alerus Financial have made the switch from their existing remote deposit capture (RDC) solutions to WAUSAU’s Deposit 24/7 RDC suite. Deposit 24/7, complete with risk monitoring and remittance payment capture functionality, is the most comprehensive RDC solution available, and includes merchant, consumer and mobile capture points which allow for convenient and secure check deposit from the office, at home or on-the-go.

For financial institutions previously unsatisfied with their check deposit technologies, WAUSAU Financial Systems’ RDC solution distinguishes itself through unique functionality, including automated risk monitoring, a necessity for financial institutions that plan to offer RDC to micro-businesses and consumers.

“After reviewing five potential RDC providers, many claimed comprehensive risk monitoring still wasn’t an option,” said Lisa Clark, IT manager, Westbound Bank. “Then, we were introduced to WAUSAU’s solution. Its full integration to Quickbooks, built-in lockbox capabilities and custom risk monitoring features truly set it apart from the other solutions.”

Understanding that risk strategies often leave financial institutions vulnerable, WAUSAU ensured its solution included components such as velocity and dollar limits and real-time decisioning, making the management of risk and compliance truly second nature for financial institutions and their risk management teams.

“Managing risk is always a bank’s primary concern, given the sensitive nature of our business,” said Kent Scharringhausen, senior vice president of treasury, American Chartered. “We were looking for one provider with a comprehensive RDC package including mobile and consumer options. We interviewed six vendors and WAUSAU was the only one that could provide complete assurance surrounding risk, in addition to a mobile RDC solution ready for deployment next month.”

Given the electronic, self-service options the technology provides, financial institutions like Westbound Bank, American Chartered and Alerus Financial can use WAUSAU’s RDC technology to retain and expand their customer bases, providing new levels of deposit convenience and reducing traditional branch deposit transaction volume and branch operating expenses.

“Introducing new technologies to our branches can sometimes cause uncertainty among our staff,” said Lori Laturnus, deposit platform manager, Alerus Financial. “With WAUSAU’s solution, however, we were given the proper training and resources to implement the new technology quickly, without the headaches new systems can often create.”

For innovative financial institutions looking for speed-to-market with mobile deposit solutions, WAUSAU’s Deposit 24/7 Mobile RDC application offers seamless integration options that allow them to get to market quickly without compromising on quality.

“Our unique mobile ASP solution is particularly fitting for community banks wanting to get to market quickly, given it can integrate with financial institutions’ existing mobile banking platforms or be used as a stand-alone application, if desired,” said Kathy Strasser, executive vice president of solution management for WAUSAU Financial Systems. “Currently, few financial institutions are offering mobile RDC. Those that make the decision to offer mobile will have a window of opportunity to attract new customers and capitalize on growth before the competition elects to follow.”

Industry analysts agree that many more financial institution RDC installations are to come.

“Celent estimates that more than a million consumers are registered users of consumer desktop or mobile RDC,” said Bob Meara, senior analyst in Celent’s banking group. “We’re beginning to approach mass adoption and see the recent RDC deployments as only the tip of the iceberg. A growing number of financial institutions, whether large or small, are sure to launch consumer directed RDC products in the coming year.”

For more information on WAUSAU Financial Systems’ Deposit 24/7 RDC solution, which has earned top ratings from industry analyst firms Celent and Aite Group, visit www.wausaufs.com.

Deposit 24/7 Mobile relies on technology from Mitek Systems, Inc. called Mobile Deposit, a patented application that allows users of many popular smart phones to deposit their checks simply by snapping photos with the cameras on their devices.

Source: PRNewswire