Pitney Bowes' RDC Initiative - when will banks engage?

Pitney Bowes and Jack Henry & Associates (JHA) have teamed up to offer remote deposit capture (RDC) to small businesses. JHA’s ProfitStars division is providing the solution. The relationship was announced in May. E-mail marketing has begun among Pitney Bowes installed base of postal meter customers. The bank-neutral solution branded Click Deposit provides bundled scanner fulfillment support and processing for a monthly fee starting at $39.95. The lowest cost option supports up to 150 checks per month. Businesses having higher check volumes would be invited to join at higher monthly rates – as high as $149.95 with several options in between. All plans require a 3-year commitment which includes leasing the Panini MyVisionX-30 scanner. The solution optionally provides an AR extract suitable for QuickBooks users. Click Deposit customers enter a merchant processing services agreement with JHA which is, of course, riddled with mention of Check-21 and ACH terms that perhaps one in ten thousand small businesses would understand. JHA underwrites each merchant and assumes the associated deposit risk. Funds availability is not specified in the agreement, only that funds may be delayed at JHA’s discretion. Merchants are liable for fraud, loss due to duplicate presentment, NSF and proper safeguarding of original items once scanned per the agreement. All reasonable terms in our opinion. In part, the agreement is lengthy because deposits are processed using both Check-21 and ACH rails. All deposits are aggregated at one or more presentment banks that clear items using image exchange. Individual DDAs at the multiple banks of first deposit are then credited using the ACH. Celent finds Click Deposit a solid service and a logical extension to Pitney Bowes existing solutions on terms that are currently competitive to what most banks are providing. The big difference between Click Deposit and individual bank solutions (beyond the incidental use of the ACH) is that Pitney Bowes is actually selling the product. It will, no doubt, enjoy this advantage for some time as most banks remain slow to introduce remote deposit capture to the small business segment. Longer-term, Celent expects competitive offers at lower monthly pricing utilizing less capable (and expensive) scanners aimed at small businesses with low check volumes. As the market matures, low total solution cost and access to efficient distribution channels will be of growing importance. In the absolute, Celent finds this a significant initiative. Pitney Bowes enjoys a large installed base and support infrastructure well-suited for Click Deposit. Banks that have not yet awakened from their slumber need to realize that the market is not standing still. Despite the troubling economy, a number of new, bank-neutral solutions are close aboard.