Credit Union Pioneers Browser-Based Mobile Check Deposit

http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/178_116/credit-union-pioneers-browser-based-mobile-check-deposit-1059921-1.html

Mobile check deposit is no longer exclusive to native banking apps.

Advances in browser technology have enabled a Wisconsin credit union to build mobile check deposit into its mobile browser. University of Wisconsin Credit Union, with more than $1.6 billion assets, is the first financial firm BTN has heard of to offer the feature through a mobile site.

"The main reason we went this way is we are web developers," says Eric Bangerter, vice president of e-commerce and internet services at the credit union with more than 177,000 members. "And we didn't have to make decisions as to what devices or platforms to support."

About a year ago, when UW Credit Union was in the market to allow members to deposit checks through their smartphones, the credit union expected to make those decisions. App-less at the time, Bangerter assumed the credit union would have to debut a native app in order to give members the widely popular functionality. Then technology changed: iPhones running iOS 6 and the new versions of Safari and Chrome (the browser which most Android devices use) improved in ways that allowed the browsers to access the smartphones' cameras, and ultimately allow for check deposit. The timing was good for the credit union, as it was integrating with its backend provider Ensenta, a vendor that white-labels technology from Mitek and comes with added fraud and risk management features, when UW Credit Union realized it could deliver the functionality on its mobile site.