Customers of USAA, a privately held bank and insurance copmany, now can photograph both sides of their checks, send the images through an iPhone app and then void the checks.
USAA is updating its iPhone application to include remote check deposit for consumers. According to The New York Times, the phone's camera and Internet connectivity are the only required features, since the user must capture images of both sides of the check and then email them to the bank.
Wayne Peacock, executive vice president of USAA, says the imaging capability is just another step toward fully automated deposits:
 | We're essentially taking an image of the check, and once you hit the send button, that image is going into our deposit-taking system as any other check would. |  |
Customers will not have to mail the check to the bank later; the deposit will be handled entirely electronically, and the bank suggests voiding the check and filing or discarding it. To reduce the risk of fraud, only qualified USAA customers will be able to make remote deposits with their phones.
Peacock told The New York Times that it is time for commerce to go mobile:
| Mobile is going to be a bigger part of how people do commerce and how they interact with their financial institutions. The great value that we see is the time savings. | |
About a million of USAA's 7.2 million customers use their cell phones to access their accounts — either via text message, a mobile browser or the iPhone application introduced in May.
