–Credit union moves item processing in-house, streamlines operations, lowers costs–

Vista, Calif. Jan. 6, 2010 Bluepoint Solutions, a 2010 CUNA Tech Council “Best of Show” winner, and provider of remote deposit capture, item processing and enterprise content management solutions for financial institutions, announced that New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union, with headquarters in Albuquerque, has selected Bluepoint”s comprehensive line of ImagePoint products for in-house item capture and processing. New Mexico Educators FCU joins a growing number of institutions that will move item processing from a third-party outsourcer to an in-house environment.

With over 125,000 members and approximately $1 billion in assets, New Mexico Educators FCU is the largest credit union in the state of New Mexico serving members of educational as well as health care organizations throughout the state with 16 branches. The credit union processes 18,000 items daily, including inclearings and returns.

New Mexico Educators FCU had already been using Bluepoint’s branch and home capture solutions that it had purchased from Southwest Corporate (now Southwest Bridge) Federal Credit Union. Bluepoint provided the credit union with a no-cost transfer of its ImagePoint Branch and QwikDeposit Home software licenses so that both will now be supported directly by Bluepoint. The ImagePoint platform, including all points of capture, provides an enterprise-wide, paperless solution that automates the processing, archival and research of check images.

“We had considered other outsource providers for our check processing. But with Bluepoint, we realized that managing check processing in-house would be  more efficient and more cost-effective. Plus, Bluepoint’s Transition Program allowed us to take advantage of the branch and home capture licenses we already had, while maintaining the continuity of service to our members,” said Tom Hagan, SVP of support services at New Mexico Educators FCU.

“Bringing item processing in-house allows credit unions, like New Mexico Educators FCU, to gain considerable control and streamline operations, while saving time and resources. With Bluepoint’s comprehensive solutions, the credit union can make exponential gains in efficiency with a single, modern technology platform that handles everything from the initial point of capture, to image exchange with the Fed, to long-term archival,” said Bluepoint’s CEO and Founder, Hal Tilbury.

By Marc Rapport, originally published by Credit Union Times, December 20, 2010

As Check 21 wraps up its first decade, its impact has been considerable, to the point where the Federal Reserve has but one site left for processing [paper] checks…

The Check Clearing Act for the 21st Century “Check 21″ was passed by Congress in October 2003 and took effect a year later.

Then in 2010, remote-deposit capture went mobile, as vendors and financial institutions that saw a market for it hastened to get the service onto BlackBerry, Android and iPhone platforms, further extending to consumers the conveniences that had been reserved for the enterprise itself.

“The cost of handling paper checks is getting so much lower than it used to be that I think we may see a renaissance in their use and in checking accounts,” [Bluepoint CEO Hal] Tilbury said. “They’re also easier to secure against fraud than a debit card.”

“I see equal lines forming to get mobile and home capture solutions and I see teller capture taking over a lot of the back-office work associated with branch capture, but I don’t see checks going away anytime soon.”

Click here to read the full article.

By Marc Rapport, originally published by Credit Union Journal, August 18, 2010

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 union adds teller, home, merchant and ATM capture options

VISTA, Calif. and Charleston, S.C. March 16, 2010. South Carolina Federal Credit Union announced that it has selected Bluepoint Solutions’ ImagePointTM Capture and Hub modules to electronically capture and aggregate check images. Bluepoint Solutions is 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.

Headquartered in Charleston, S.C., South Carolina Federal has approximately $1.3 billion in assets. The credit union operates 19 branches plus a lending center and offers 75 ATMs to serve its growing member base. Currently the credit union serves more than 150,000 members. South Carolina Federal plans to implement teller capture, merchant/business member capture, home/member capture and ATM capture, as well as ImagePoint Hub for aggregation and forward presentment of items. The credit union also selected Bluepoint’s Receipt Manager with Transaction Manager for advanced research.

“The implementation of Bluepoint’s suite of products will allow South Carolina Federal Credit Union to continue delivering on our brand promise ‘providing convenience to members,” said Joe Grech, chief financial officer, South Carolina Federal. “Allowing members to deposit checks from their home or business offers another LifeSimplified tool for members to connect with us. Additionally, we estimate a $500,000 savings annually in operating expenses from the implementation of Bluepoint solutions. This in turn can be used to develop new products and services that give members more convenient access to the credit union and their money.”

Additionally, the credit union cited the ease of integration with its existing core platform and the ability to purchase all points of capture from one provider as key factors in the decision. South Carolina Federal will be able to capture checks in real-time and at the point of presentment (teller, home/business, ATM) improving operational efficiencies, cost savings, fraud prevention and the overall member experience. Receipt Manager integrates with the existing teller transaction flow, by storing the receipt data and check image together electronically, while all captured images, regardless of point of presentment, are aggregated in ImagePoint Hub. Storing every image electronically at the point of presentment makes them available to authorized users throughout the entire credit union, reducing the research time needed to answer member inquiries.

“Bluepoint remains committed to helping credit unions leverage proven best practices, like capturing documents at the point of presentment, to not only save money, time and resources, but also improve the overall member experience,” said Hal Tilbury, founder and CEO of Bluepoint Solutions. “Given the current climate in the financial industry, we believe more and more credit unions will follow South Carolina’s lead and replace existing legacy capture solutions with sophisticated remote deposit capture strategies that leverage capturing items at the initial point of presentment. We look forward to working with the team at South Carolina Federal Credit Union.”

About South Carolina Federal
South Carolina Federal Credit Union is headquartered in North Charleston and serves more than 150,000 members that own and belong to the not-for-profit financial cooperative, which has over $1.3 billion in assets. South Carolina Federal is a community-chartered credit union. Anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in Dorchester, Berkeley, Charleston, Orangeburg, Clarendon, Calhoun or Georgetown counties, and most of the Columbia area, is eligible to join. South Carolina Federal has 19 branches, a lending center and more than 75 ATMs throughout Charleston, Columbia, Georgetown, Orangeburg, St.Matthews and Manning. In 2008, South Carolina Federal for the second consecutive year was voted one of the Best Places to Work in the state. More information about South Carolina Federal can be found at scfederal.org or on the SiMPLE CENTS blog at simplecentsblog.org.

Credit union cites best-practices approach as determining factor in decision

City & County Credit Union, headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., today announced its selection of Bluepoint Solutions’ ImagePoint, its complete point-to-point item processing suite, enterprise content management platform, receipt and transaction management tools and disaster recovery. 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.

“What began as a search for a home capture solution to better serve our members evolved into a full-blown campaign to evaluate and address all of our enterprise content management needs,” said Pat Pierce, CEO of City & County Credit Union. “As we got deeper into the evaluation phase, we uncovered several areas in the credit union that would benefit from a more sophisticated document management solution. After a systematic search, we determined that Bluepoint was the only provider that could satisfy all of our operational requirements, while adding the desired workflow efficiencies and functionality.”

City & County Credit Union operates four branches, has more than 41,000 members and $339 million in assets. The credit union cited Bluepoint’s unique best practices approach as the primary factor in its selection. Based on proven industry best practices, Bluepoint’s solutions are designed to improve client service, enhance business continuity, improve productivity and increase operational efficiencies. Additionally, its technology is member-centric, allowing it to align with the systems and procedures commonly found within a credit union environment.

Pierce continued, “After evaluating and meeting with several providers in the market, we were very impressed with Bluepoint’s best practices approach and their knowledge of how credit unions operate. It was clear their team held years of experience and had proven solutions to each challenge we presented. We determined Bluepoint’s best-practices approach would satisfy all of our requirements and significantly improve our processes. Additionally, the member-centric approach allows us to better serve our members. Other systems we examined were siloed according to department or document type; having all of the information organized by member is much more productive in a credit union.”

City & County will be implementing Bluepoint’s teller capture platform (vs. the alternative,  branch capture), which follows Bluepoint’s best practice recommendation of capturing documents at the point-of-presentment.

“We are looking forward to moving the entire credit union to an image-based environment and shifting away from paper-based operations,” said Pierce. “We made the decision to capture items at the teller station to not only improve our internal workflow, but also the overall member experience. If there are any questions about a document, our tellers will have the information at their fingertips to respond immediately. This will also eliminate the end of day rush to balance and get items processed.”

Pierce continued, “Once the entire suite is implemented, we’ve estimated the initial hard cost savings alone will amount to more than $250,000 over the next seven years. This does not include the soft savings in reduced time spent on research, reduction of errors due to keystrokes and the improved member service.”

City & County Credit Union has invested in a sophisticated content management and remote deposit capture strategy leveraging the following Bluepoint products: ImagePoint Teller Capture, Receipt Manager with Transaction Manager, ImagePoint Remote (QwikDeposit Home), ImagePoint Hub, ImagePoint Foundation, member-centric Enterprise Content Management platform and disaster recovery.

ImagePoint Capture enables the capture of items remotely or at the teller line, ImagePoint Hub aggregates and forwards presentment of items and ImagePoint Foundation provides central item processing functions and image exchange. When used together, the ImagePoint Platform provides a complete end-to-end solution from the earliest point of presentment to full “Day Two” processing for inclearings, returns and a full, feature-rich permanent archive for storage and research.

Receipt Manager integrates with the existing teller transaction flow, storing the receipt data electronically and making it available to authorized users throughout the entire credit union. Bluepoint’s Enterprise Content Management platform integrates with ImagePoint and Receipt Manager to provide a flexible, member-centric file system to manage all scanned and imported documents electronically, and create valuable reporting tools to analyze and review member data.

“Bluepoint is celebrating its 10th year in business this year,” said CEO and Founder, Hal Tilbury. “For the past decade, we have established best practices that when implemented, can save credit unions hundreds of thousands of dollars, uncover hours of lost productivity and significantly help their front and back offices better serve their members. City & County’s executive team is making an investment in their future and we are very proud to be the partner selected. Our team will start with a comprehensive evaluation of the credit union’s current processes and then implement our solutions to drive efficiencies throughout the organization. We look forward to working with City & County on this endeavor.”

Results shed light on future of consumer capture implementations

Vista, Calif. Feb. 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 the results of its 2009 Remote Deposit Capture for Credit Union’s survey. Bluepoint surveyed a random sampling of credit unions with assets ranging from $100 million to $1 billion to evaluate which remote capture point(s) they were currently using and/or future plans for leveraging the technology. More than 200 credit unions participated in the survey.

According to responses, 52 percent of participants indicated their credit union currently has at least one type of remote capture solution implemented. Out of those respondents, 63 percent have instituted a branch capture platform, 20 percent rely on teller capture solutions, nine percent have an ATM capture solution, four percent offer merchant capture and another four percent offer home or member capture.

Remote Deposit Capture Deployment

CEO and Founder, Hal Tilbury, said, “Credit unions are only now beginning to seriously embrace remote deposit capture.  As credit union executives become more aware of the cost, time and resource savings this technology can produce, adoption rates will accelerate dramatically until remote deposit capture is as common as online banking or debit cards.”

Respondents indicated a high interest in home capture as a valuable service for their members. When asked about future plans for implementing home capture, 42 percent of respondents indicated they currently had initiatives in place and another 46 percent responded they were currently exploring the service.

Senior Analyst for Celent, Bob Meara, said, “Branch capture’s swift adoption was driven by a compelling and urgent need to address the rising cost of processing paper. That same sense of urgency does not surround home capture. Member demand will eventually lead to widespread adoption, however, as awareness of home capture grows.”
“I’m not surprised to see this trend,” continued Tilbury. “In our society, consumers are used to banking anytime, anywhere. The convenience of making deposits from home creates loyalty from existing members and will attract new members.”

Originally appeared in March 2010 issue of Bank News.

By: Dick Drew, Executive Vice President of Bluepoint Solutions

Consumer confidence in larger financial institutions remains low, providing opportunities for community banks to attract new, and increase loyalty with existing customers. Many consumers that have grown frustrated with larger banks are shopping for a new financial institution, and many, for the first time, are looking at community banks as a viable option. Consumers are seeking institutions that offer the type of one-on-one banking that community banks are renowned for, but also provide sophisticated technology tools.

Consumer or home capture is one of these tools that can attract new customers and creating a protection strategy for existing customers. Home capture eliminates trips to the branch or the ATM, giving customers the flexibility to make deposits any time, from any place. The only thing required by the customer is a working scanner and an Internet connection; there is no software to install, making this a very attractive offering to the end-user. This type of service is extremely valuable to those customers that are self-employed or run side businesses out of their homes, such as rental property owners or product distributors like Mary Kay. These “consumers” are valuable to an institution, but may be often overlooked as a merchant or small business. Home capture offers a solution that meets the needs of the bank and the customer. Additionally, those community banks that are serving a dispersed customer base, such as retirees or active military personnel, will be able to retain those customers and collect deposits, no matter how remote the location.

In addition to customer convenience, this creates an entirely new channel to receive deposits. This technology is gaining momentum among credit unions and is demonstrating significant results even at an early stage in the adoption cycle. However, among community banks this still remains a relatively untapped opportunity.
According to a report by Lydia Cole in the 2009 Technology Guide for Credit Unions, Digital Federal Credit Union launched a home capture solution in March 2008, and within one year had 15 percent of its membership signed up for the service. The credit union received approximately 9,000 deposits per month, totaling more than $13.5 million.
Another example from the credit union community is USAA. According to the article “Now Might be Time to Reexamine Consumer Remote Deposit Capture” in the Jan. 21, 2009, issue of Bank Systems & Technology, USAA has nearly doubled the rate of its deposit growth since deploying the technology in 2005.

Once implemented, consumer capture can be used to fulfill consumer demand, increase deposits, retain existing customers and attract new customers. Additionally, when implemented in a software, as-a-service format, community banks can quickly deploy consumer capture, with minimal upfront expenses. During a recent webinar, Celent Senior Analyst Bob Meara said that consumer capture might be worth another look. As banks struggle to grow deposits and gain consumer trust, consumer capture is becoming more and more attractive.

While many financial executives dismissed consumer capture in the past, it is proving to be a technology that should no longer be ignored or overlooked. Given the growing distrust among consumers for larger financial institutions, the demand for convenience and anytime banking, and the demonstrable results from the credit union community; the market conditions are favorable for community banks to be successful with a consumer capture tool. The only question that remains is will your bank seize the opportunity or watch from the sidelines?

Bank leverages Software as a Service model to provide customers convenient, secure home/office deposit capabilities

Bluepoint Solutions, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and leading innovator in remote deposit capture (RDC), image-based item processing and electronic document management software technology for financial institutions, today announced that Oswego, Ill.-based Allied First Bank selected ImagePoint Remote, a consumer deposit capture platform. The bank will market the solution as QwikDeposit Home to its customers.

Allied First Bank has approximately $160 million in assets and more than 9000 customers. The bank is leveraging Bluepoint’s unique Software as a Service (SaaS) model to offer its customers a sophisticated and convenient capture solution, without the initial upfront capital expenditures associated with traditional technology implementations. The consumer capture solution will be integrated with the bank’s existing Internet banking provider, enabling customers to upload check images with the click of a button within the existing online banking portal. Customers can now easily make deposits from home or office with the use of a computer, a secure Internet connection and a scanner.

Once captured, the images will be hosted in Bluepoint’s secure data processing center, where item perfection and correction will be performed. Using the SaaS model, the bank gains access to a secure central repository of the captured images, significantly reducing and simplifying the research process. An aggregate X9.37 file will then be submitted to Allied First Bank according to the bank’s preferred delivery schedule.

“Years ago, we began as a credit union for employees of one of the nation’s largest airlines,” Andy Hardin, Vice President of Operations & Marketing at Allied First said.  “Today, we’re a retail banking organization, but our customers are still living and working all over the globe.  ImagePoint Remote is the next step in our strategy to leverage innovation and technology to offer the highest levels of security, access and control to our customers and the growing numbers of consumers who are reevaluating their primary banking relationships.”

“We are looking forward to working with Allied to implement a customer-facing solution that will not only add value to the existing customer-base, but will give the bank a competitive advantage in the market to attract new customers,” said Hal Tilbury, president and CEO for Bluepoint Solutions. “As an early adopter of the consumer capture solution, Allied is showcasing its commitment to advanced technology and offering innovative products to better serve its customers. Our consumer capture solution is designed to help banks like Allied provide better service, but more importantly, grow deposit accounts. By taking advantage of Bluepoint’s pay-as-you-go model, as well as the greater processing power found in an off-site, Bluepoint-managed application, Allied is poised for success with a very nominal investment. The ROI is almost immediate in this type of scenario.”

Is There Any Steak Behind the Sizzle?

By Andrew Tilbury

When home capture first hit the market, it generated considerable buzz among credit union executives.  Several salient questions emerged from the discussion.  Would home capture evolve into a wide-spread technology or would it remain a niche product?  Would fraud be so significant as to make the application pointless?  Would anyone use it once it was offered?  And, most importantly, would it be a good fit for my credit union’s members?

In the Fall of 2009, Bluepoint Solutions conducted an in-depth study focused on credit unions and remote deposit capture solutions.  We took a random sampling of credit unions with assets ranging from $100 million to $1 billion and asked what remote capture points of presentment they were currently using and what plans they had for implementing home capture.  Over 200 credit unions participated in our study and the results shed light on the future of home capture.

52% of the respondents surveyed indicated that they had a remote capture solution in place:  63% use branch capture, 20% use teller, and 9% use ATM capture.  Only 4% use merchant capture and another 4% use home capture.  This indicates that remote deposit capture is at the beginning of its life cycle.  As credit union executives realize the efficiencies they can gain by capturing check images at the first possible point of presentment, there will be a steady increase in the use of remote deposit capture solutions.

When asked about future plans for implementing home capture, 42% of the respondents said they already had initiatives in place to offer home capture.  Another 46% were exploring it, but had not yet decided whether they would ultimately proceed with installation.  Considering the high amount of interest in home capture, credit unions should, at the very least, take a serious look at home capture and ask whether or not it is a service that will appeal to their members.

Convenience for Your Members, Growth for Your Credit Union
It is clear that credit unions see an industry-wide movement toward home capture, but why is the technology so appealing to end-users?  The overarching reason is convenience.  Home capture eliminates trips to the branch or the ATM, working around branch hours and holidays, waiting in line at the branch, and finding an ATM.  Customers like the flexibility of making deposits any time, from any place.

In addition to the benefits to consumers, home capture has significant benefits for credit unions.  Take Digital Federal Credit Union as an example.  They launched their home capture solution “PC Deposit” in March 2008, and within a year had 15% of their member base sign up for the service.  They receive about 9,000 deposits per month totaling about $13.5 million.  This has created an entirely new channel for receiving deposits from members.1   Another good example is USAA.  After they launched their home capture application “Deposit@Home” in 2005, they experienced a near-doubling of their deposit growth.2  Both of these examples show the dramatic and positive impact that home capture can have on a credit union’s growth strategy.  Both of these show how a credit union can use this technology not only to fulfill a demand from their members, but also to increase deposits, retain existing members, and attract more members.

Risky Business?
It sometimes seems that the newer the technology, the more prevalent the fraud associated with it.  However, with home capture, this is not the case.  There are established risk mitigation strategies in place that credit unions can effectively use to reduce instances of fraud.

The first strategy is to apply know-your-customer (KYC) best practices.  Many credit unions use KYC techniques to identify various groups within their membership who are their low-risk customers.  This is typically done with a combination of criteria such as age of account, overall member relationship, history of returned items, and general account history.  You can apply these standards to segment your members and then offer home capture as a premium service to select members.

In addition to KYC methods, a viable home capture solution must have integrated fraud mitigation that includes duplicate detection and CAR/LAR validation.  This is done by using a single, real-time database for all deposited items, regardless of the original point-of-presentment.  Using a combination of a KYC, duplicate detection, and CAR/LAR validation, you can create a robust system for mitigating fraud that covers all points of presentment, including home capture.

Is Home Capture the Right Fit for Your Members?
How will you know if your membership will respond well to home capture?  There are a few key indicators that will give you a glimpse of potential adoption rates.  Are your members spread over a wide geographic area?  Do they typically live a long distance from a branch?  Do you receive a disproportionately large amount of deposits in the mail?  Do your members frequently use online banking, bill pay, and mobile banking?  Is your membership based on a certain occupation that requires them to be mobile or move frequently?  Does your typical member fit a younger, technologically savvy demographic profile?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you should closely examine implementing a home capture solution.   If not, you run the risk of missing a major opportunity to provide a valuable service to your members, and this could create a service gap that could be filled by a competing financial institution.

Licensing vs. Outsourcing
Even after applying relevant business cases, there may still be uncertainty surrounding the projected adoption rates of home capture among consumers.  This has made credit union executives and boards reluctant to invest in a technology with no proven track record.

One way to address this challenge is to outsource home capture to a third party provider.  This software-as-a-service model eliminates the upfront cost of licenses and takes the strain off of your IT department.  This allows you to bring home capture to market quickly and test the response among your membership.  It is a pay-as-you-go model that typically involves a nominal setup cost and a small per-item processing fee.  However, if you are confident that your members will respond positively to home capture, licensing is probably the better option.  The upfront costs will be higher, but, in the long run, your credit union will benefit from full-ownership of the technology and lower per-item processing costs.

Final Thought
Evaluating home capture for your membership is a simple but essential process.  You must first decide if your credit union’s members will respond to the technology and, second, if you can use it as an effective tool in your marketing and growth strategy to prevent members from defecting to other institutions and also using it to attract new members.  The one thing you cannot do is ignore it.

Originally published by Callahan & Associates in Technology@CU, 3Q09

Originally Appeared in Credit Union Journal: Dec. 21, 2009
During the 2009 BAI Retail Delivery Conference and Expo., Bluepoint Solutions’ Chief Marketing Officer, Dick Drew, sat down with Credit Union Journal’s Editor-in-Chief, Frank Diekman to discuss the state of consumer capture and opportunities afforded to credit unions as banks continue to focus on merchant capture.