March 16, 2010

J&B Software Introduces New Software-as-a-Service Mobile Deposit Solution for Smartphones

SaaS Offering Lowers Barriers to Entry by Reducing Costs, Simplifying Technology Infrastructure and Accelerating Rollout

by James Wynn

Blue Bell, PA – J&B Software, a premier provider of enterprise-wide transaction and payment solutions, today announced the availability of its new software-as-a-service (SaaS) mobile deposit solution, which makes it faster and cheaper for users to make remote check deposits using mobile smartphones. J&B’s on-premise mobile deposit solution has offered exceptional convenience and quicker access to funds since its introduction in October 2008. Today’s addition of the SaaS delivery model eliminates barriers to entry, allowing organizations to quickly adopt mobile deposit with minimal up-front cost and setup requirements. J&B’s SaaS and on-premise mobile deposit solutions combine the industry’s leading Mobile Deposit® application, developed by Mitek Systems, with J&B’s robust workflow, risk management and Check 21 clearing solutions.

J&B’s SaaS mobile deposit offering allows banks, brokerages, retailers, insurers, transportation companies, consumers and others to begin conveniently and securely depositing paper checks from mobile phones much more rapidly than an on-premise solution. It dramatically lowers implementation and overhead costs while accelerating deployment, thereby extending mobile deposit to millions of new users.

The solution captures check images through a mobile smartphone and prepares them for transmission to the financial institution as Check 21-compliant images using Mitek's mobile IMagePROVE™ technology. For security purposes, a complete audit trail of where, when and how each check was captured is logged. No data or images are stored on the smartphone, and all communication is 128-bit encrypted.  Business rules, such as exception management and fraud monitoring, can be easily customized.

“With a large and growing camera phone user base, mobile deposit technology is demonstrably ready for broad adoption,” said Bob Meara, a senior analyst at Celent, a prominent international strategy consultancy that tracks mobile deposit trends. “Plus, the significant majority of U.S. financial institutions are already processing checks electronically.”

Mercatus LLC, a leading strategic consulting and investing firm, reports that 59% of today’s mobile banking customers are likely to adopt mobile deposit if the technology is offered by their banks.

“SaaS mobile deposit is ideally suited for financial institutions with limited brick-and-mortar branches, such as regional banks, community banks and credit unions. It’s also a great fit for organizations that deposit fewer than 20 checks per user per day,” said Jim McShea, the chief revenue officer of J&B’s parent company, 3i Infotech North America.

J&B is the service provider for its new SaaS offering. It provides the service through the global payment processing network of Regulus Group, a fellow 3i Infotech subsidiary. Regulus is the largest outsourced remittance processor and the second-largest biller in the United States.

J&B’s mobile deposit solution supports approximately 30 different mobile phones, including all major platforms such as Blackberry, iPhone and Windows Mobile.