Check Capture provides a flexible yet robust check imaging system that Tower Bank clients will use to scan and electronically deposit their checks.

With over $700 million in assets, Tower Bank is the primary financial service provider in northeast Indiana. Tower Bank offers financial services to both individuals and businesses and has eight full-service banking centers spread amongst Fort Wayne, Warsaw and Angola. As a proactive community bank, Tower Bank is continuously searching for new and better ways to serve their customers.

Tower Bank is pleased to have Captovation as a partner because the organization believes that RDC software will help eliminate the majority of their back-office check operations including check encoding, image capture, and check delivery/courier systems. Most importantly, however, remote deposit capture software will give Tower Bank a new financial solution that can be offered to both local and non-local clients alike.

"We felt from the beginning that having a remote deposit capture offering would be mutually beneficial for Tower Bank and our clients," said Michael Rice, chief information officer at Tower Bank. "From a client perspective, it should be a pretty easy decision for them once we explain how RDC software will be the catalyst to improve check processing efficiency, reduce or eliminate courier fees, and extend deposit deadlines."

Tower Bank's initial RDC software evaluations led them to an ASP-hosted system, and the system was installed at a few client locations as a proof-of-concept. However, Tower Bank and the clients encountered challenges with the ASP system, including its inability to quickly process returned check items. Tower Bank also felt that an ASP system did not present them with a system they could fully control, and therefore, they could not ensure that such a system would meet the service levels demanded by their customers.

Tower Bank decided that Captovation Check Capture presented a better RDC system as it would satisfy the needs of their small, medium, and large corporate clients. Specifically, Tower Bank cited Check Capture's implementation flexibility, overall reliability, and product usability. In addition, Check Capture's architecture allows Tower Bank to rebrand and remarket accordingly - Tower Bank will offer Check Capture under the remarketed product name of iDeposit.

Most Tower clients will use Check Capture with Canon CR-55 check scanners, which are being sold and supported by Imaging Office Systems - also of Fort Wayne. During the imaging process, CAR/LAR (courtesy amount recognition/legal amount recognition) is performed to read check amounts. After scanning their checks, users verify that check amounts were read correctly, no MICR-read errors occurred, and that all images are viable. When finished, users "commit" their batch of checks at which time an image cash letter (ICL) is created. This ICL is then uploaded via secure file transfer protocol (FTPS) transmission to Tower Bank and is archived within their BankWare ImageCentre document image archive where it resides until final posting. After upload, clients can view previously sent deposits from their Check Capture workstations for as long as they like.

Remote Deposit Capture, also known as merchant capture, is made possible by the Check 21 law, which went into effect on October 28, 2004. Since that date, the adoption of RDC solutions by financial institutions has been rapidly growing. This is evidenced by a recent finding from Celent, a research and consulting firm for the financial services industry, in which they determined that over 4,000 financial institutions are expected to offer a RDC product by the end of 2007.

"With the advent of Check 21, bank to business relationships no longer have traditional borders," added Rice. "Now more than ever, business clients have more banking choices, and they are demanding that their bank offer deposit automation services. Check Capture will allow us to satisfy those needs as well as expand our customer base and increase our check deposit revenue."

Tower Bank has plans to deploy Check Capture to 50 client locations by the end of 2007. Their long-term goal is to have 200 clients using the system by the end of 2008.

"We have had many successes with Captovation Check Capture as a branch capture system for credit unions and banks," said Ken Peterka, Captovation's president and CEO. "Our success with the Tower Bank validates Check Capture as a remote deposit capture system that can be deployed at multiple client locations as well. I applaud Tower Bank for their efforts in finding a system that best suits their client base."