YOUR MONEY Check Processing Gets A New Image (NAPSA)—One of the latest trends in business—often referred to as “the paperless office”— involves using imaging technology to move and retrieve information in a waythat’s faster and reduces storage costs. Recently, one bank applied this technology to check processing. The service is designed to offer small-business owners and their customers quicker transaction time, financial savings and more security. The process works like this: When a small business receives a check from a customer, the check is scanned electronically, capturing the payment amount of each check, the check image and the associated data. The data is then transmitted for processing and storage in electronic image archives, which can be done via a PC or the Internet. The system, called JPMorgan Chase Image Deposit Direct (IDD), allows the business to search for and retrieve images around the clock, simplifying the account research and customer service process. The businesses that use the service can save time by eliminat- ing the drive to the bank to deposit checks. They can also save the cost of gas. “Business customers have reduced the use of the bank branch by 20 percent over the last four years, while increasing use of the Internet and technology for transactions,” said Marcus von Kapff, Chase Business Banking and Cash ManagementSales Executive. Clearly, these services represent another development in a currenttrend. A new process that uses elec- tronic imaging and the Internet to capture and transmit the informa- tion on a check is said to save businesses time and money. Depositing checks electroni- cally and managing accounts online are just a few of the latest ways that small businesses can gain more efficiency. Businesses are also paying electronically using services such as ACH (Automated Clearing House) and wires instead of traditional paper checks. “More than half of all banking interactions are happening via the telephone, Internet or a specialist outside the branch,” von Kapff added. Depositing checkselectronically and managing accounts By using services such as IDD, companies can streamline their paymentactivities and lower costs by using some of the latest electronic payment solutions for payroll, taxes and vendorinvoices. For more information on cash management solutions for small businesses, go to chase.com/cash management.
