SAN DIEGO — Mitek Systems Inc., provider of image-analytics and pattern-recognition software, says it's launched the first mobile-banking software that allows banks to accept paper-check deposits and bill payments via camera-equipped mobile phones.
Mitek's ImageNet Mobile Deposit supports the payments industry standards for remote check deposit, and extends mobile payments and deposit capabilities. And according to estimates, more than 600 million camera-equipped mobile phones shipped worldwide in 2007, with more than 100 million camera-equipped mobile phones shipped in the United States.
Remote deposit is popular with commercial and retail banking customers. Commercial installations of remote deposit workstations are expected to grow from 245,000 in 2007 to 785,000 this year, and to more than five million in 2012, according to Celent LLC.
"Remote deposit technology is proven and is enjoying accelerating adoption; but the hardware cost makes it a non-starter for consumers," said Bob Meara, a senior analyst with Celent. "Mitek Systems makes remote-deposit technology affordable and ubiquitous using camera-equipped mobile phones."
ImageNet Mobile Deposit works with mobile and smart phones equipped with a two-megapixel camera running on Microsoft Windows Mobile or the Symbian operating system. To make deposits, users download ImageNet Mobile Deposit to their camera-equipped mobile phones — to initiate a transaction, users key in deposit amounts and then take pictures of the fronts and backs of the checks. The software captures the images and recognizes and extracts the check's courtesy amount and legal amount.
Before transmitting data to the bank, ImageNet Mobile Deposit confirms the check images meet Check 21-accepted image quality standards. Once the bank's system receives the deposit, it sends the customer a confirmation text message.
Paying paper bills follow a similar approach.
"Currently, mobile banking customers can check balances, pay electronic bills and transfer funds, ImageNet Mobile Deposit is the next logical component in the electronic wallet," said James DeBello, chief executive of Mitek Systems. "Now banks can offer the full suite of core retail-banking services anytime and anywhere, without a computer."
