Wachovia Opens Remote Check Image Capture Site In Korea

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Wachovia today announced the opening of a remote check image capture site in Korea.


Clients can now deliver their U.S. dollar check deposits to the local site, where Wachovia scans the checks and transmits the images to the U.S. for clearing.

“The launch of our Korea processing site demonstrates Wachovia’s commitment to expand our suite of image services and build our global capabilities,” said Jim Ho, managing director and head of Greater China and OECD Asia. “Placement of this capability in our Korean branch allows us to reduce the transportation costs associated with this important product line, while enhancing our position as a major player in the global market.”

A leader in U.S. dollar check processing, Wachovia has been at the forefront of the U.S. banking industry’s move toward image exchange, building its own image-exchange platform and applying image technology to gain processing efficiencies throughout its check operations.

The Korean image capture site complements Wachovia’s Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) and Remote Image Cash Letter (RICL) solutions. These services use image-based technology to enable clients to electronically capture and transmit their U.S. dollar check deposits, allowing the client to truncate the original checks at the point of capture. With RDC, clients use a desktop scanner and Wachovia software to scan and transmit their check deposits to the United States for clearing. Clients with in-house image capture technology can opt to create x9.37 image clearing files for direct transmission to Wachovia through the RICL service. Clients across 33 countries now use Wachovia’s RDC and RICL solutions.

As part of its comprehensive image strategy, Wachovia is interested in the judicious deployment of image sites where they can best serve clients. “This site is an important step forward in our efforts to extend the cost savings and efficiencies associated with Check 21 to clients everywhere in the world,” said Jennifer O’Keefe, vice president, Wachovia Treasury Services. “The thrust behind Check 21, and the image solutions it generated, was to eliminate transportation cost and streamline processing for efficiency and accelerated funds availability to the client.”


Following The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act of 2004, popularly known as Check 21, Wachovia rapidly introduced a series of image-based services-including RDC and RICL-to extend associated benefits to its clients. Wachovia also was among the first to receive an RICL file via SWIFTNet FileAct, successfully piloting the service with a bank client in Spain in 2005. In August 2007, Wachovia’s Treasury Services division announced it had reached the $1 billion mark in Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) volumes processed in one day.

“We can’t ask for anything better than RDC,” said Anne Doobarry-Clement, senior manager of Operations, Treasury/International Trade Centre for First Citizens Bank Limited, based in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies. Doobarry-Clement has used Wachovia’s RDC solution since 2006.

According to Doobarry-Clement, the bank’s U.S. dollar check processing costs have decreased by at least 60% in the first year of implementation, and Doobarry-Clement expects savings to reach 80% by next year.

Additional benefits to First Citizens Bank include the elimination of courier expense, time savings on deposit preparation, and accelerated funds availability. An unexpected benefit has been a reduction in deposit errors related to multicurrency checks. Before RDC, these items might inadvertently have been included in a paper U.S. dollar check deposit sent to the United States for clearing. This would result in a loss of funds of three to four days until the errant items were returned to Trinidad by courier for reprocessing. With RDC, a multicurrency check is rejected immediately from the deposit batch in Trinidad.

“Wachovia has an unwavering commitment to staying close to our clients, which is reflected in the continued expansion of our global capabilities,” explains Christine Jenkins, director of Global Payment Services in Wachovia’s Global Financial Institutions and Trade division. “Our clients continue to seek cost-effective and efficient solutions for their US dollar payment needs and we want to ensure we are where they need us to be, when they need us to be there. As our clients’ needs evolve, our goal is to continually look for new ways to leverage our services to facilitate their success.”