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.

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.”

Founder and CEO of Bluepoint Solutions, Hal Tilbury, provides his thoughts on how remote deposit capture, particularly home and merchant capture can provide a valuable service to credit union’s business members. Besides relieving the tellers and reducing the need for ATMs, merchant capture can be a valuable tool to attract business members and drive growth in the credit union. To view the entire article, download here.