Wachovia Surpasses $1 Billion in Daily Remote Deposit Capture Transactions

Wachovia’s Treasury Services division today announced it has reached the $1 billion mark in Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) volumes processed in one day.


“Achieving this $1 billion milestone in RDC transactions processed in one day reflects the phenomenal growth rate for this solution. Businesses are demanding solutions to more efficiently manage payments made by paper check – from deposit preparation and transportation to record-keeping and reporting,” said Lee Madden, senior vice president and team manager of Image Services for Wachovia’s Treasury Services division. “Wachovia’s RDC customer base has grown 40 percent domestically and 42 percent internationally across 25 countries since the beginning of the year, and volume of items processed has grown 30 percent over the same period.”

Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina is an example of one organization using RDC to optimize its management of paper check payments.

“We run a tight ship, so the efficiencies we have gained from Remote Deposit Capture have made a real difference to our organization,” said Akil Boston, Community Development coordinator for Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina, which is a not-for-profit organization striving to eliminate hunger across 19 North Carolina and South Carolina counties by collecting and distributing food. Approximately 80 percent of the organization’s income comes from fundraising – including special events, grants, corporate donations, direct mail campaigns and other sources.

Boston added, “During peak periods, we used to spend many hours fully dedicated to processing check donations – from scanning on a flatbed scanner to input to our financial system and preparing for bank deposit and transport to bank. With RDC, we have experienced a 60 percent reduction in the amount of hours dedicated to processing checks during holiday periods. I now can manage the volumes of checks more efficiently and still get my day job done - really adding value to our organization.”

RDC services allow businesses to make deposits from a desktop computer, accelerating cash flow by enabling deposits 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Customers receive same-day ledger credit for deposits made until 8 p.m. US Eastern time each banking business day. Customers no longer have to physically transport checks to the bank. Instead, they can now scan paper checks at their place of business and electronically send the images to Wachovia over the Internet.

Wachovia’s RDC solution is offered in both PC-installed and Internet-hosted (RDC Online) configurations. Both options offer benefits such as duplicate detection to display any previously-deposited items and patented technology that automatically re-orients the displayed image of any check that is scanned upside down or backward. In addition, RDC Online offers enhanced reporting of deposits, including image statements and multiple output options for reports, including XML, delimited files, PDF, and MS Excel. RDC Online also offers the additional advantage of automatic product enhancements.

“RDC has great momentum now for adoption by businesses of all sizes as they look to digital solutions to improve their internal efficiency and profitability. After three years, we are getting beyond the ‘early adopter’ phenomenon and are seeing mass market for this product,” Madden said.

As one of the earliest innovators to develop and introduce RDC, Wachovia is a leader in this space. According to a recent study, “The State of Remote Deposit Capture: Entering the Mainstream,” by industry analysts at Celent, Wachovia is among the top five U.S. banks to introduce this solution and which today collectively deploy the majority of installed clients.

The same study indicates that “checks will continue to be the prevailing method of B2B payments through 2010,” creating an enormous market demand for RDC to enable businesses to more efficiently manage paper checks. The study points out that “the significant bulk of the RDC market opportunity still lies ahead.”

Bob Meara, senior banking analyst for Celent said, “We estimate that nearly a quarter of a million business locations will adopt remote deposit capture by year-end 2007, an annual growth of 125 percent. And 2008 will see even stronger adoption as more deployers enter the market.”

“Wachovia has long been committed to research and development and has led progress across image products and capabilities, including the RDC platform and technologies such as Image Cash Letter, Image Exchange, image delivery and image archival,” Madden said. “We look at our customer’s cash management needs holistically and advise on approaches that will benefit their unique environment. RDC is an example of one solution that can be used alone or in combination with complementary products such as Deposit Item Image for check depositing customers. Each customer’s environment will demand a tailored approach to meet their needs.”


About Wachovia Treasury Services
Wachovia’s Treasury Services, the third-largest U.S. cash management provider, tailors solutions for businesses of all sizes, geographies and industries. The company offers liquidity management solutions and a comprehensive suite of global integrated payables and receivables solutions, including electronic check conversion, accounts receivable conversion, ACH services, image solutions, a national wholesale and retail lockbox network, as well as commercial card services. Greenwich Associates’ 2006 Middle Market Survey ranks the bank No. 1 in Customer Service and Operations Accuracy among cash management banks. Phoenix-Hecht’s bi-annual surveys consistently give Wachovia’s Treasury Services products top grades across mid-market and large corporate markets for quality and customer satisfaction. Ernst and Young’s 2006 U.S. Cash Management Survey ranks the bank number 3 in market share, and ranks the bank’s information and access product, Wachovia Connection(r), No. 1 for the highest number of Information Reporting Internet Accounts.

About Wachovia
Wachovia Corporation (NYSE:WB) is one of the nation’s largest diversified financial services companies, with assets of $719.9 billion and market capitalization of $97.5 billion at June 30, 2007. Wachovia provides a broad range of retail banking and brokerage, asset and wealth management, and corporate and investment banking products and services to 13 million household and business customers. Wachovia has 3,400 retail financial centers in 21 states from Connecticut to Florida and west to Texas and California, and nationwide retail brokerage, mortgage lending and auto finance businesses. Globally, clients are served in selected corporate and institutional sectors and through more than 40 international offices. Our retail brokerage operations under the Wachovia Securities brand name manage more than $795 billion in client assets through approximately 10,800 registered representatives in 774 offices in 48 states and through service affiliate offices in Latin America. Online banking is available at wachovia.com; online brokerage products and services at wachoviasec.com; and investment products and services at evergreeninvestments.com. In May 2007, Wachovia announced an agreement to acquire A.G. Edwards, Inc., a financial services holding company whose primary subsidiary is the national investment firm of A.G. Edward & Sons, Inc. A.G. Edwards and its affiliates employ 6,623 financial consultants in 741 offices nationwide and two European locations in London and Geneva. This proposed acquisition is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2007, pending the approval of A.G. Edwards shareholders and applicable regulatory approvals.