Home remote deposit capture is the latest tool in the chest for Summit Credit Union as it competes for members, SEG by SEG.

The $125 million Greensboro, N.C.-based organization operates seven branches in four cities across the Piedmont, and being able to tell prospective members they can deposit their checks with a simple scanner at home is definitely a good thing, said Glenn Kirk, Summit’s executive vice president of marketing.

“My job is to try to get new companies to join with us and one of the first things the CEO or HR people ask me is, ‘Where is the closest branch?’” Kirk said. “When I tell them all they need is a scanner and a highspeed Internet connection, I often hear, ‘holy cow.’ There’s a real wow factor.”

With ATMs and shared branching, there are plenty of places to make withdrawals, but making deposits can often be another story. “This just closes the loop,” Kirk said.

Click here to read the full article.

• Credit unions may find themselves choosing between back-office and teller check capture.
• Some industry participants say the shift is to the teller option, others say they haven’t seen it.
• Each option has its own characteristics, and the choice involves member service questions as much as technology options.

Institutions can find themselves facing two options: capture the images and truncate them by the batch in the back shop at the branch or a centralized location, or capture them at the teller line as the transaction is occurring.

Those who are worried about slowing down the action at the window, where tellers might better spend their time providing personal service rather than scanning checks, prefer the back shop option, and that’s where most credit unions are now in the Check 21 process.

He [Randy Glassburn, CEO of Ball State FCU] also said that he had heard concerns about teller capture slowing down teller lines but that that had not been his credit union’s experience.

“If you are doing it properly, it really is a matter of seconds in terms of the time difference,” he said. “Compared to the time it takes to scan checks at the end of the day, and the time associated with tracking down fraudulent items or correcting errors after the member has left the credit union, those few extra seconds are really a non-issue.”

The article continues to examine the various options through interviews with ProfitStars, Aite, Bluepoint Solutions client Ball State FCU, Wescom Resources Group, VSoft and Open Solutions. Randy Glassburn, CEO of Ball State is cited:

Click here to read the full article.

Document Archival and Retrieval Technology version 1.1, or DART, is Bluepoint’s newly developed, proprietary, server communication application. DART is the long awaited replacement for ODOC, the application that is currently used in all of Bluepoint’s enterprise content management (ECM) products.  DART is the primary server application that interfaces with Bluepoint Solutions’ suite of ECM applications and the database.

DART brings greater enterprise level consistency and scalability to Bluepoint’s growing ECM product line. A virtually unlimited number of features can now be added across our ECM suite, providing a higher level of flexibility to the development process. The technology forms a new foundation of source code that will be enhanced and modified to better satisfy the needs of all financial institutions, regardless of size.

Bluepoint’s ECM suite will now rely on DART’s framework for client communication and server administration. For example, FD Master’s client-centric file system and DART together will form FASTdocs, your paper-free storage solution. Bluepoint’s feature-rich Receipt and Transaction Management solutions will also rely on DART for storage and retrieval of images associated with transaction records and business intelligence information. Bluepoint’s entire ECM suite will take full advantage of DART’s .NET framework platform, offering all the features and functionality you’ve come to expect and more!  DART will continue to ensure record integrity and data security by allowing you to store all account holder information in a single, highly organized file. It will also continue to support any windows file types including text, numeric, audio, video or image.

One tremendous benefit of developing a proprietary server communication application for our ECM product line is that we now have complete control over future development.   This enables us to enhance and upgrade the software directly, speeding turnaround times and increasing our responsiveness to the needs of our customers.  For example, DART offers a new time saving feature called QwikLogon that allows users to be recognized by FD Master using their Windows® user name and credentials.  DART links the Windows® user name with the FD Master user name. Once this link is established, FD Master does not require its own logon—it simply grants access and permission based on the user who is currently signed into Windows®.   DART 1.1 also offers users a significant boost in performance, noted in the increased speed of processing, plus greater flexibility, evidenced by longer file names that are allowed in the system.

DART offers greater stability, reliability and performance than ever before.   DART version 1.1 makes it possible for us to optimize the database and reduce data request response times for client workstations, whether they are at the main branch or a remote branch.  With the development of this new, modern  platform, we are protecting the investment of our customers and future customers.

Upgrades to DART version 1.1 will be available to customers in the coming weeks.  Make sure to schedule your institution’s installation of DART, well in advance, with your Bluepoint technical account manager (TAM).  Be the first to take advantage of DART’s new features and functionality!  Stay tuned for more exciting information about the release of DART version 1.1.

Recently, Bluepoint reached a milestone achievement with the launch of an automated proactive monitoring system, custom developed for use by the TAM group to help our customers maximize their technology investment with Bluepoint’s solutions and systems. This proactive monitoring system will replace the current manual processes to maintain Bluepoint solutions—making our operations and response times even faster and more accurate.

Unlike standalone disk space monitors or SQL Agent Jobs trackers, Bluepoint’s proactive monitoring tool does not require your staff to install or maintain any new processes. It is specifically designed around our systems and will efficiently inform your TAM about any upcoming risks to those systems. Your TAM will continue to manage your system in a completely hands-off model for your institution. In addition, your TAM now has instant access to all information about your system functionality at any given moment.

Bluepoint knows that nothing stops your business faster than a key technology system going down. Effects will be felt immediately by your employees and account holders alike through reduced efficiency, productivity and service response-time.

Typical system failures arise from running out of memory and/or reaching usage capacity. Automated reporting that runs in the background is also a high-risk function because it might be days or even weeks before it’s caught. Ultimately these failures result in the loss of data which can be costly or impossible to recreate. All of these are easily prevented, if levels and efficiency are monitored regularly.

Included in the monitoring provided by Bluepoint is:

• Hard drive (includes local and NAS/SAN devices) capacity and disk usage—can be used to do trend analysis on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
• SQL Agent jobs—reports on success and failure of all functions.
• ODOC and DART storage pools—sends notification when it gets low, based on parameters set for each institution’s individual usage trends.
• Licenses—tracks the number of licenses used vs. licenses purchased, which allows you to make use of each license and order more, if necessary, before you run out.

Through years of support experience, our team has developed an intuitive system, capable of tracking trends for each institution’s use. As part of our personal management, each institution’s assigned TAM is able to accurately forecast upcoming usage and potential failure-points well in advance. As a result, your institution will avoid facing emergency outages and the resulting expense and inconvenience, and you can plan for costly IT infrastructure upgrades. By mitigating the risk of service interruptions to both internal and external customers you will gain increased employee productivity and enhanced customer satisfaction. By providing—and constantly upgrading—this combination of technology and support, Bluepoint has ensured highly efficient system operations for our customers and has secured an extraordinary 95% contract renewal rate.

VISTA, Calif. — July 15, 2010 — Bluepoint Solutions, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and innovator in remote deposit capture (RDC), image-based item processing and enterprise content management (ECM) software technology for financial institutions, has completed an in-depth white paper entitled “In-house Item Processing: A Closer Look at the Benefits and Costs.”

Download Here

“Many of our credit union customers have been asking us about moving their item processing in-house,” said Hal Tilbury, founder and CEO of Bluepoint Solutions.  “They all have the same questions.  ‘How much does it cost?  Will I need additional staff?  What are the steps involved?  How will it impact my members?  What value does a third party processor provide?’  We conducted a three-month study to analyze all aspects of an in-house solution and have compiled the results into this white paper.  One of the most significant findings of this study is that many of the reasons for outsourcing item processing are no longer valid. In fact, the findings of the study instead suggest there are substantial benefits to move item processing in-house.”

“In-house Item Processing: A Closer Look at the Benefits and Costs” discusses the steady move from outsourcing toward in-house item processing among credit unions since the passage of Check 21. The paper concludes that, in fact, most credit unions will be exploring the move toward in-house item processing within the next year. The benefits of this transition include reduced costs, streamlined workflow, increased control and flexibility, improved member service and enhanced data security and risk management. A case study example is included in the white paper to further demonstrate the practical requirements of bringing item processing in-house and the required day-to-day operations.

“Bluepoint Solutions has spent the last 10 years partnering with credit unions to help them regain control over processes like document management, remote deposit capture, imaging, business continuity and archiving strategies, “ said Tilbury. We are now moving into the next phase, helping credit unions regain control over item processing by making it a relatively seamless process to bring in-house and manage without needing to add additional IT or operational resources. As more credit unions move toward in-house item processing, we look forward to working with them to provide innovative yet proven solutions that allow them to reduce costs and improve member service.”
Bluepoint’s white paper reflects dedication to the financial services industry through education and awareness.

VISTA, Calif. — July 8, 2010 — Bluepoint Solutions, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and innovator in remote deposit capture (RDC), image-based item processing and enterprise content management software technology for financial institutions, announced the release of QwikDeposit To Go, a sophisticated mobile remote deposit capture application. Powered by Mitek Systems patented IMagePROVE technology, Bluepoint Solutions QwikDeposit Mobile Capture application completes Bluepoint’s existing suite of Check 21 capture points.

Click Here for Detailed Product Information

“When implemented alongside our existing branch, teller, ATM, merchant and home capture applications, QwikDeposit To Go is an opportunity for institutions to provide a valuable service for account holders, while at the same time drive out operational and processing costs, as well as add efficiencies in the check processing timeline,” said Hal Tilbury, chief executive officer and founder of Bluepoint Solutions. “The fusion of Mitek’s advanced image quality technology with Bluepoint’s proven remote deposit capture and item processing aggregation engine provides institutions with a sophisticated and reliable mobile capture application. Having the ability to deposit checks at any time of day, regardless of location is a service that is extremely valuable to consumers.”

“The dramatic increase in the use of smart phones, combined with consumer demand for mobile banking applications has created a perfect storm for mobile capture,” adds Tilbury. “The emergence of mobile capture  is a direct reflection of a larger shift in how people interact with their financial institutions – remotely, 24 hours a day, on their schedule, and on the go.  Financial institutions of any size must react to these trends to remain competitive.  QwikDeposit To Go is a tool designed to help institutions do just that – and as a result grow existing accounts and attract new customers or members.”

In a recent Mercatus Mobile RDC Adoption Research Study, Managing Partner, Bob Hedges, stated, “We expect consumers to significantly embrace mobile remote deposit capture and it will be the ‘killer app.’ With consumers placing a premium on convenience, mobile RDC has the potential to significantly change retail banking’s business model by providing a way for people to do basic banking without branches.”

Bluepoint’s QwikDeposit To Go enables consumers to securely deposit checks with a camera-equipped smart phone, providing quicker availability of funds and added convenience. Account holders initiate mobile-banking sessions, key in their deposit amount and simply snap photos of both the front and back of the check with their smart phone cameras. The software captures the check, formats the image, automatically corrects any image distortions or skewing and confirms the images meet Check 21 and mobile image-quality standards. All transactions are transmitted with multiple layers of security and, if necessary, can be traced back to registered smart phones, marked with time and location, in order to combat fraud.

QwikDeposit To Go relies on a patent-pending software application from Mitek Systems Inc. (OTC: MITK.OB; www.miteksystems.com), called Mobile Deposit®, which is being embraced widely by technology applications providers like Bluepoint Solutions and financial services institutions of all sizes for its ease of use, security and the industry leading quality and accuracy of its image processing.

Mobile Deposit complies with all industry standards – including Check 21 – and was developed specifically to help banking institutions take advantage of the growing consumer acceptance of smart phone applications for the mobile Web, including mobile RDC, with the utmost security for every transaction.

“We think of Mobile Deposit as the ‘Gold Standard’ in mobile RDC because of the acceptance of our application by all the major integrators and ASPs that cater to financial institutions,” said Mitek CEO James DeBello. “We’re very pleased that our partnership with Bluepoint Solutions further validates that trend.”

Bluepoint Solutions gives institutions the option of selecting a full licensed version of QwikDeposit To Go or they can take advantage of Bluepoint’s unique monthly use-fee delivery model. Additionally, institutions have the option to operate QwikDeposit To Go within Bluepoint’s SAS70-certified data center, enabling small to mid-size institutions to compete with much larger, nation-wide banks without making a large financial investment. Also included with the solution from Bluepoint is a proprietary online Marketing Center that provides institutions immediate access to a repository of professional-quality marketing collateral including statement stuffers, email campaigns and a variety of signage to build awareness and promote the new mobile deposit offering to the community.

“Mobile RDC allows smaller institutions to compete with larger, nationwide banks,” said Tilbury. “By bringing down the cost of mobile capture technology and making it easy for our customers to deploy, we are empowering the small-to-medium banks and credit unions we work with to better retain account holders and attract new ones. There is a lot of demand for this technology among the small to mid-size institutions and we look forward to making it available to our customers.”

Vista, Calif. – July 1, 2010 – NET Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Scranton, Penn., today announced its selection of Bluepoint Solutions’ ImagePoint Teller Capture and Receipt Manager solutions. Bluepoint Solutions is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and leading innovator in remote deposit capture (RDC), image-based item processing and enterprise content management software technology for financial institutions.

“Our tagline is ‘Banks have customers; here you’re family. Welcome home!’ We are truly here for the members’ benefit, and ImagePoint Teller with Receipt Manager will help us to serve them even better,” said John Errico, vice president of finance at NET. “We looked at other remote deposit capture solutions in the past, but they lacked the research capabilities that really make ImagePoint Teller Capture and Receipt Manager stand out.  Our current research and balance process is highly manual and paper-based, which results in increased overtime and unmanageable workloads. Following the implementation of the modern teller capture platform, the workloads will be streamlined, the overtime eliminated – resulting in significant cost and time savings for the credit union.”

NET Federal Credit Union operates two branches, has more than 21,000 members and $157 million in assets. In addition to the efficiencies gained on the teller line, the credit union anticipates faster and more accurate balancing, as well as a reduction in fraud by catching questionable items before they ever enter the institution.
Errico continued, “The recent changes to Reg CC, the Expedited Funds Availability Act, means all checks are now local. With our current process, the time it takes to clear a check gives sophisticated fraudsters ample opportunity visit several other branches and make the same fraudulent deposit. Having Bluepoint’s teller capture will enable us to capture documents at the point-of-presentment and immediately verify them, making fraud more difficult – protecting the credit union and our members.”

ImagePoint Teller Capture enables the capture of items at the teller line, increasing efficiency and accuracy by reducing time spent on manual data entry and preventing human error. It verifies, processes and balances checks in real time, making information available more quickly than traditional options. Receipt Manager integrates with the existing teller transaction flow, storing the receipt data with the check image electronically and making them searchable and available to authorized users throughout the entire credit union.

“More and more credit unions, like NET, are realizing the significant advantages to be gained by implementing teller capture solutions,” said CEO and founder, Hal Tilbury. “We understand the challenges facing credit union executives and as a result, our ImagePoint teller capture platform is uniquely designed to lower costs and streamline workflow, all while improving member-service.  As a member-centered organization, NET will benefit from the increased efficiency that ImagePoint Teller Capture and Receipt Manager provide, because it means that their time will be spent with members rather than paperwork. We look forward to working with them in the coming years.”

Bluepoint Solutions, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The company began its life as a “spin-out” from Bluebird Systems with nine original employees and 20 inherited employees. Today Bluepoint employs more than 60 people, with proven products serving more than 1200 financial institutions nation-wide. In an insightful Q&A, CEO and founder Hal Tilbury discussed the lessons learned during the past 10 years, where credit unions are failing and succeeding, the company’s aggressive growth goal for the decade ahead, and other issues. Click here to read the entire Q&A at the Credit Union Journal website.

VISTA, Calif. — June 16, 2010 — Bluepoint Solutions, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and innovator in remote deposit capture (RDC), image-based item processing and enterprise content management (ECM) software technology for financial institutions, announced a strategic partnership with SIGNiX, a provider of a digital signature solution that allows users to securely “sign” documents from multiple locations including the Internet.

Bluepoint’s eSign & Capture product captures PDF documents and automatically specifies where signatures are needed for execution. The document is then made available in-branch through the existing eSign platform for signature. In partnership with SIGNiX, eSign & Capture now makes the document available for digital signature through the SIGNiX service, after all the required in-branch signatures are collected. Once SIGNiX collects all required signatures over the Internet, the document returns to eSign and is automatically indexed and filed to Bluepoint’s ECM system, FASTdocs. The document owner is automatically notified via email when the process is completed.

“Financial institutions can now collect signatures online with the same level of confidence they have collecting signatures in-branch,” said Jay Jumper, chief executive officer of SIGNiX. “Digital signatures are more secure than traditional methods and stand uncontested in court, due to the use of sophisticated public key cryptography. By allowing customers and members to sign documents from outside the branch via our combined solution, banks and credit unions will save time and money by providing a convenient, paperless service without sacrificing security. We have a large installed base of users and have seen first-hand how this type of technology improves operations. We look forward to working with Bluepoint to bring this new capability to its clients.” eSign & Capture, enhanced with SIGNiX’s remote capabilities, expedites and streamlines the document-signing process by cutting out time-consuming steps in document processing. The solution eliminates paper document scanning and storage, while providing immediate enterprise-wide access to all electronic documents. By identifying which document fields require signatures and tracking those signatures as they’re added to the document, the software prohibits document archival until all necessary signatures have been obtained, ensuring compliance.

“We are pleased to partner with such an innovative provider,” said Hal Tilbury, chief executive officer and founder of Bluepoint Solutions. “Integrating SIGNiX’s technology further enhances the functionality of our eSign & Capture product as part of our overall enterprise content management strategy. This partnership is a result of our continued commitment to providing our customers with the most useful and innovative technology.”

About SIGNiX

SIGNiX, headquartered in Chattanooga, TN, offers a patented digital signature solution that enables individuals to “sign” documents via the Internet, over the phone or face to face, helping to increase speed, accuracy and security over traditional, paper and ink-based signature processes. Users become “known customers” through a web or call center session so that documents requiring a signature can be legally executed online without the costs or delays of paper processing. SIGNiX’s highly secure e-signature service, which requires no hardware installations or software downloads, enables companies to quickly obtain the necessary signatures to execute new contracts or authorize transactions – ultimately helping to turn more verbal commitments into legally-executed, revenue generating relationships. For more information visit www.signix.com.

By Hal Tilbury

Community banks have invested significant time, resources and money to achieve the goal of a paperless environment, sometimes only to recoup a minimal return on their technology investment. As a result, many have given up on enterprise content management (ECM) and dismissed these solutions as costly but necessary. After working with community financial institutions for more than a decade, Bluepoint Solutions has developed 10 industry best practices that have proven to greatly reduce costs, improve employee productivity and enhance customer service.

1. Use customer-centric filing.
2. Make it intuitive and easy to use.
3. Keep electronic content electronic.
4. Capture content at the point of presentment.
5. Eliminate manual indexing.
6. Have content immediately available.
7. Have a universal content repository.
8. Aim for life-cycle management.
9. Allow for disaster recovery.
10. Record customer interactions.

To view the entire article, download here.

Vista, Calif. — May 18, 2010 — Bluepoint Solutions, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and leading innovator in remote deposit capture (RDC), image-based item processing and enterprise content management software technology for financial institutions, today announced its ImagePoint Teller, Receipt Manager and FD Master products have been verified as Citrix Ready®. The Citrix Ready program helps customers identify third-party solutions that are recommended to enhance virtualization, networking and cloud computing solutions from Citrix Systems, Inc. Bluepoint’s teller capture, transaction imaging and document management solutions completed a rigorous verification process to ensure compatibility with Citrix XenApp™ 5, providing confidence with joint solution compatibility.

The Citrix Ready program makes it easy for customers to identify complementary products and solutions that can enhance Citrix environments. Customers can be confident that ImagePoint Teller, Receipt Manager and FD Master have successfully passed a series of tests established by Citrix and can be trusted to work effectively with XenApp 5.

ImagePoint Teller enables the easy and efficient capture of check images at the teller line, resulting in additional cost savings, operational efficiencies, fraud prevention possibilities and improved service to account holders. Receipt Manager integrates with the existing teller transaction flow, storing the receipt data electronically and making it available to authorized users throughout the entire institution. FD Master offers a flexible, easy-to-access and speedy interface for scanning and importing documents and data to a robust, object-oriented database.

Citrix Ready products are featured in an online catalog at www.citrixready.com and carry the Citrix Ready logo.
“As a member of the Citrix Ready Program, we are able to offer our customers intelligent solutions that combine our products with the Citrix XenApp 5 product,” said Hal Tilbury, president and chief executive officer of Bluepoint Solutions. “The offering clearly demonstrates our plans to work closely with trusted partners, through the Citrix Ready partner ecosystem, in order to provide the highest quality experience for our customers.”

There is a software delivery method that has the potential to transform the way your financial institution operates.  It can expand your customer base, allow you to offer more services faster and at a lower cost, and differentiate you from your competitors.

What is this revolutionary technology?  SaaS.

SaaS — which stands for “Software-as-a-Service” — is the biggest tech buzz term of 2010 (so far.)  Discussed behind board room doors as much as it is on convention floors, it is the topic of frequent articles in technology magazines, trade journals, and industry publications.  In fact, in a July 2009 Aite Group survey of 80 North American bank CIO’s, 45% of participants stated that increased use of SaaS would be “Somewhat to Very Important” to their institution’s cost reduction strategy over the next 24 months.  SaaS is especially attractive to large banks that have traditionally been slower to embrace this model.

What is the buzz all about?  And, more importantly, how can it benefit your institution?

Applications On Demand
SaaS is a model of software deployment whereby an application is licensed by a customer for use as a service on demand.  The application can be uploaded to the customer’s device but it is often hosted on servers controlled by the software provider.  This latter method is frequently referred to as cloud computing, since the application is hosted offsite and accessed remotely.

The SaaS method of deployment has several advantages, most notably cost savings experienced from not having to buy expensive equipment and software licenses, savings on staffing and maintenance, and real-time data backup in case of natural disaster or equipment failure.  SaaS is a departure from traditional licensing which requires financial institutions to purchase licenses for software that they are subsequently responsible for installing and maintaining.

The popularization of internet-based applications has fueled the popularity of the SaaS model.  Instead of software licenses being purchased, they are now “rented” from a vendor for a fixed period of time.  There are several benefits to a SaaS deployment that  impact financial institutions of all sizes, but due to their economies of scale, they can have a more significant impact on small to medium-sized institutions.

The Need for Speed
Launching new account holder services as fast as possible is vital to stay ahead of your competition.  It is also key to retaining existing customers and attracting new ones.  The necessity of deploying a new service quickly creates a daunting new technical project that falls upon the shoulders of your IT department.  IT departments are often understaffed, overworked, and overburdened.  Financial institutions — especially the smaller to medium sized ones — are not usually equipped with the resources required to quickly install, integrate, test and maintain a new technology.

This is the first area where a SaaS solution can have a major impact on getting a new technology up and running.  Whereas with an in-house solution you are dependent upon your IT department, with a SaaS solution this responsibility falls upon the vendor you have selected to provide the service.  This frees up your IT department to work on other projects and cuts the time required for launching your new service.

Integrating a new technology into an institution’s existing network is typically a labor-intensive and time-consuming process.  With SaaS, the vendor provides all hosting and maintenance giving the institution a working solution that requires little effort from its IT department.  This allows the institution — even one with limited IT resources — to offer more services to its customers faster and at a lower cost.

Pay-as-you-Go
The upfront cost is the single, greatest obstacle to a financial institution deploying a new technology.  With an in-house solution, the entire cost of the software and hardware is paid up front.  Depending on the application, this can represent an expenditure of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Many financial institutions are currently experiencing a shortage of capital, and such a huge expense makes initiatives for implementing new technologies difficult to financially justify.

With SaaS, the upfront expense is considerably lessened.  Instead of having a single, huge initial payment, payments are based on the amount of usage of the application, so the financial institution only pays as much as it uses the service.  This has a significant impact on the cash-flow requirements of the application, and can ease the burden of acquiring the new technology.

Mitigate Your Risk
There are so many new customer-facing technologies available to financial institutions that it is impossible to know which are worthwhile and which are a waste of time.  Home capture, mobile capture, personal financial management tools, mobile banking applications are just a few of the new technologies available.  Many of them so new that there is considerable uncertainty surrounding the adoption rate among customers.  That represents a significant risk to executives who are trying to steer clear of investing scarce capital and resources in a technology that might never get off the ground.

Herein lies the third major benefit to deploying new technology in a SaaS environment.  Since the cost of a SaaS solution is typically based on the amount of usage and is spread over the life of the technology, if your particular customer does not widely adopt a technology, the loss is relatively small compared to if you had chosen the in-house method.  The financial risk is thus greatly reduced whereas if a license was purchased upfront, the entire cost of that license would have been a waste.

The Takeaway
Freeing up IT resources within your institution, minimizing the upfront cost of deployment and ongoing maintenance, and scaling back the risk of taking a chance on a new technology are the three major benefits of choosing a cloud computing model for your next new technology.  The unique characteristics of the SaaS deployment method will allow your institution to decrease the lead time and cost of offering new services to your customers.  Additionally, a broader service offering can be a key differentiation point with competitors that allows you to attract new customers.  There will always be situations where deploying in-house makes sense, especially if there is a strong desire within your institution to own your technology.  However, if time to market, cost, and risk are important factors in your decision to implement a new technology, you should take a serious look at your SaaS options.

Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Saint Francis Federal Credit Union (approximately $30 million in assets) made the decision to bring its item-processing in-house in 1992 to eliminate the expenses and inefficiencies generated from relying on third-party interceptor and settlement relationships. It was at this time that the credit union established a relationship with the Federal Reserve. Check 21 and the advent of image exchange presented the credit union with a critical decision — to maintain its paper-based item processing in-house or outsource to a third-party provider or corporate credit union. In 2007, Saint Francis FCU installed a branch-based, Check 21 solution for the forward presentment of items to the Fed, while continuing to receive incoming paper.

After completing the necessary due diligence, the executive team at Saint Francis FCU examined each option and ultimately determined that maintaining its independence and control over its item processing was the best decision for its members, as well as its employees. In 2008, Saint Francis FCU licensed the ImagePoint Foundation product from Bluepoint Solutions and transitioned to an entirely image-based process. At the time, Saint Francis was one of only a few credit unions that went this direction. However, this decision has yielded a significant return for the credit union, in terms of cost savings, efficiencies and improved member service.

CEO and President of Saint Francis Federal Credit Union, Tom Eaton, said, “Many of our peers are unfamiliar with the terminology of image-based item processing. This, along with concerns about communicating with the Fed, has made bringing item processing in-house a rather daunting and confusing endeavor for them. Terms such as, ‘cash letters’ and ‘reserve requirements’ are not commonly used in a credit union environment. In fact, the Fed has been a great source of support and communication has never been an issue. We took advantage of the excellent training materials provided by the Fed, and I would encourage other credit unions making the transition to do the same.”

One of Saint Francis FCU’s concerns about maintaining an in-house item processing system was having the necessary IT resources to support the endeavor. “We are a smaller credit union and our IT department basically consists of one person,” explained Eaton. “When we made the decision to maintain our item processing in-house and move to an image exchange environment, we knew finding the right technology partner would be critical. We looked at many options in the market, but ultimately selected Bluepoint’s ImagePoint Foundation solution because of the platform’s intuitive design, the ease of installation and its proven reputation in the credit union industry.”

“The installation process was seamless,” continued Eaton. “We were up and running in one day. With limited IT resources, this was crucial. ImagePoint is basically a plug and play design, which makes it ideal for our institution. Additionally, Bluepoint provided one-on-one training for our end-users. This, combined with the intuitive design of the software, enabled our front and back-office staff to easily migrate and master the new system. The support provided by Bluepoint has been out of this world!”

Bluepoint Solutions’ ImagePoint is a complete, point-to-point, item-processing and check clearing solution. It includes the capture, aggregation and exchange necessary for financial institutions to conduct entirely image-based item processing. Approximately 15,000 in-clearing items and 12,000 outbound items are processed by ImagePoint each month from Saint Francis FCU’s three branch locations.

Since moving to an electronic environment, the credit union has saved approximately $10,000 per year by eliminating courier costs, $2,500 per year by eliminating coding costs and an estimated $16,000 by cutting out third-party processing fees. Additionally, the credit union was not required to maintain membership capital shares with a corporate credit union, resulting in further savings. Plus, Saint Francis FCU realized a return on investment in 12 months instead of the anticipated 18 months — 6 months ahead of schedule.

“The most important benefit to our credit union is the value we’ve been able to provide to our members,” said Eaton. “In addition to passing savings on directly on to our members, our transactions and processing times are faster and more efficient. Having everything managed in-house gives us the ability to reconcile returns immediately, and to quickly retrieve images and research member requests. We are not reliant on a third-party for information — all of the data is available in real-time to our staff.”

“Looking back, the initial investment we made to manage our item-processing in-house was a wise decision for the credit union,” said Eaton. “Some of our peers viewed this decision as a risky and cumbersome process. Our investment will, in fact, pay dividends well into the future. Bringing item processing in-house is a fairly simple process and doesn’t need to be intimidating. There is no magic involved in running the exchange system — essentially, if you can cut and paste on a PC, you can easily maintain control of your item processing by managing it in-house.”

Vista, Calif. — May 12, 2010 — Bluepoint Solutions, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and leading innovator in remote deposit capture (RDC), image-based item processing and enterprise content management software technology for financial institutions, named Alfred F. Riedler, new chief financial officer (CFO). In his new position, Riedler is responsible for accounting, financial planning and analysis. He will work to establish and monitor key performance indicators, while increasing the value of Bluepoint Solutions.

Riedler brings more than 20 years of experience in the technology and financial services industries. Most recently he served as a financial consultant for Australian online gaming company Shoreline Marketing while it completed a reverse triangular merger. Prior to Shoreline, he acted as CFO at the software technology firm Retail Pro, Inc. where he assisted the company in its move from public to private.

“We are very pleased to welcome Al to Bluepoint,” said Hal Tilbury, founder and CEO of Bluepoint Solutions. “His experience managing the financial performance of high technology companies will be an asset as our growth continues to accelerate. Bluepoint is dedicated to maintaining a strong and experienced executive base to accommodate growth, without sacrificing our commitment to quality. Al’s proven record of growing revenue and reducing expenses makes him a perfect addition to the Bluepoint team.”

Prior to his tenure at Retail Pro, Riedler was CFO at security technology provider St. Bernard Software, where under his guidance the company was named a Deloitte & Touche Fast 50 company for three consecutive years. He had also previously worked as CFO at Bluebird Systems. Riedler holds a bachelor of science in business administration degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

“Bluepoint recently celebrated its 10th year of business,” said Riedler. “Having seen what a profitable year 2009 was for the company, I look forward to helping Bluepoint increase revenue and reduce cost in order to meet the financial goals of 2010 and beyond: rapid and continued growth while maintaining a stable foundation.”