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When the clock struck midnight on Dec. 31, 1999, we entered the new millennium still using traditional payment methods. Contrary to many analysts' predictions, check and cash transactions did not virtually disappear by the Year 2000. Although the nation is definitely making progress toward becoming a checkless society, we are still years away from eliminating paper transactions as payment options.

Even though many Americans are not ready to give up the check, there are several ways to cut back on paper. For example, many businesses must keep boxes of cleared checks for audit purposes--some dating back as many as seven years. Your institution can provide an alternative to this tedious process by offering the Fed's image-enhanced corporate cash management service.

Put the Fed to Work for You

How does image-enhanced corporate cash management work? At the end of a corporate customer's statement cycle, an institution sends the customer's checks to the Fed. We capture an image of each item and store these images on a CD-ROM. The corporate customer then receives a CD containing digitized images of its checks, which can be viewed on any PC loaded with an image-viewing software program, at least 16 megabytes of RAM, a Windows® operating system and a CD-ROM drive.

Image-enhanced cash management can benefit any of your customers, especially those who receive large statements. These organizations devote substantial resources to storing, filing and retrieving checks--processes that can be cumbersome, time-consuming and expensive.

The greatest advantage of image-enhanced cash management is the storage space it saves. One CD can hold between 15,000 and 20,000 check images. It takes between six to nine standard check boxes to retain this many items. Furthermore, check imaging can prove to be a cost-saving alternative for businesses that currently contract with off-site storage facilities to transport and store their checks.

Image-enhanced cash management also makes it easier for corporate customers to retrieve individual items. Instead of rummaging through boxes of checks or reels of microfilm to find a particular check, they can simply look up the item on a CD using image-viewing software. Each CD comes with a customized label that enables the user to identify its contents.

Finally, corporate customers will find that image-enhanced cash management is helpful when it comes time to reconcile their bank statements. Because the service stores check information electronically, customers can easily organize the data to meet their needs. For example, if your account statement lists items in order by check number, customers can view items in this manner on screen, rather than sorting the checks by hand.

Tip the Scale in Your Favor

Image-enhanced cash management is more than just a great service for your customers--it can also serve as an additional source of revenue for your institution. The product can also be used to strengthen customer relationships. By offering services that help customers conserve resources, you earn their trust and encourage them to try other services. The more services your customers use, the less likely they are to switch financial institutions. Offering image-enhanced cash management can also show customers that your financial institution is progressive and a technology leader.

Even if you do not choose to offer image-enhanced cash management to your corporate customers, your institution can use it to save storage space and improve the item retrieval process for your own official checks. To learn more about image-enhanced corporate cash management, contact your local account executive.

 

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