Remote Check Scanning Speeds Payment

by Adam Throne

Check scanning makes life easier because it can turn a paper-based process into a fast-moving electronic transaction. The sooner the check is scanned, the less it will cost to process and the faster the check can be cleared.

This simple premise is the main appeal of the TellerScan 200, from Digital Check, Northfield, IL. This compact, 5-by-9-inch USB-connected check scanner is easily installed just about anywhere. Priced at $1,650, it just might make sense anywhere from a brokerage firm or check cashing operation to multiple teller windows at branch banks.

In a branch banking scenario, the TellerScan (TS) 200 allows tellers to scan checks as they are deposited throughout the day. Check images can then be transmitted to the main branch and processed as they arrive; this minimizes the need for couriers and speeds end-of-day reconciliation at both locations. Branches can stay open later and still provide same-day deposits. The main branch can process more checks per day. As a side benefit, banks can return check images to the customer, in some cases at a premium. The images also support online customer service or even self-service from secure sites.

You might expect a pipsqueak scanner to be a stripped-down model full of compromises, but the TS 200 is loaded, with front- and back-side cameras for duplex scanning, grayscale support, autothresholding, an in-line MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) reader and even a pre-scan endorser. Duplex scanning is essential for capturing endorsements, and the grayscale and autothresholding features ensure image quality for OCR/ICR recognition. The MICR reader recognizes E13B (U.S.) and CMC7 (European) standard code lines printed along the bottom of checks in magnetic ink. The back-side, ink jet endorser can be programmed to print logos, dates, sequential numbers or other information.

The whole process of scanning, MICR reading and endorsing takes less than a second with image resolution of up to 200 dpi. Images are delivered as bitonal Group IV TIFFs or grayscale BMP or JPEG files. We began testing with a hard-to-scan check with a noisy background. Without adjustment, the initial 200 dpi bitonal TIFF image was somewhat hard to read, but an image intensity feature allowed us to adjust front- and back-side brightness independently and obtain a suitable image. The 4-bit (16 shade) and 8-bit (256 shade) grayscale images were easy to read from the start, and background noise was eliminated.

If there is one thing missing from this scanner, it's an autofeeder. The TS 200 is designed to be fed one check at a time (at, theoretically, up to 25 checks per minute). This is consistent with the scanner's intended distributed use, but tell that to the teller who is handed a batch of 25 checks by a commercial customer. Digital Check says these types of demands are better handled by the company's TS 400, which has an 80-item autofeeder and an optional two-pocket sorter. This $4,495 scanner is more likely to be placed in a central location for multiple operators.

We recommend the TS 200 for teller stations and remote sites that deal with small but consistent volumes of checks day after day. Check images already speed reconciliation and clearing processes, but regulatory changes are now being considered that would turn check images into legal tender. With its MICR reading and duplex scanning capability, the TS 200 will help institutions evolve for the coming era of purely electronic post-scan processing.