Electronic Checks

Non-bank ATM network operator Cardtronics Inc. has been trying to pump up transaction volume on its advanced-function Vcom machines ever since it bought them last July from 7-Eleven Inc. as part of the 5,500-machine ATM fleet the convenience-store giant unloaded for $137.3 million. Next week, part of that strategy takes …

Some recent statistics indicate banks are making significant headway in their ability to receive and clear electronic check images. PaymentsNation, a major clearing house for checks and check images, reported this week that the number of routing and transit numbers (R/Ts) receiving check images reached 5,275 at the end of …

Some high-profile payment-industry technology providers are reporting increases in their operating measures but are still struggling to make a profit in 2008 as they expand or try to compete in a tough market. –Boosted by demand in North America for countertop terminals and more networking and other services revenues, point-of-sale …

It grew 267% in just one quarter, yet the new back-office conversion (BOC) electronic-check code still isn't getting any respect. But it will, according to officials at NACHA, governing body of the automated clearing house network. NACHA reports that the ACH handled 3.08 million BOC transactions in 2007's fourth quarter …

With check volumes rapidly declining, the Federal Reserve on Monday said it would speed up its previously announced plans to downsize its paper-check processing system. Four full-service processing centers will remain, as under the earlier plan. But the closure or downsizing of other facilities will move up by anywhere from …

Retailers haven't exactly clamored to implement the new back-office conversion electronic-check option (BOC), but adoption will pick up, according to the Federal Reserve's point man on electronic payments. “It's slower than what many of us thought,” Richard Oliver, executive vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the …

One year after its launch, an option that lets merchants deposit checks electronically in centralized locations by converting the paper items into automated clearing house debits is growing more slowly than expected, according to a payments executive who led the effort to write the rules for the new option. Back-office …

The cost of check scanners is the biggest hurdle to small businesses' adoption of remote deposit capture, says a new report from Boston-based researcher Celent LLC. Yet only 15% of banks offer clients free scanners, with half requiring them to buy the machines upfront, either from the bank or from …

With free card-swipe terminals having already captured the imagination of acquirers and merchants, the notion of free check scanners might not be far behind. Indeed, free equipment that reads magnetic-ink-character-recognition lines while capturing check images could be the key for banks to drive remote deposit capture adoption among small businesses, …

In an effort related to a broader initiative to tighten risk management in the automated clearing house network, NACHA this week announced its voting membership has approved a rule that requires companies that originate transactions to identify themselves with names their customers will recognize. The new rule, which goes into …