January 26, 2010                                                           

 

Fed Print Sites Closing,

Image Deposit Returns Can Help

 

In just five months, more than 200 credit unions have chosen Southwest Corporate’s Image Deposit Return Service

 

 

Dallas--As part of the Federal Reserve Bank’s restructuring of paper check processing operations, two regional print sites will close in coming weeks.

The Denver site is set to close Feb. 5, and after that, financial institutions in Denver and Salt Lake City zones will receive paper forward and return items from the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank (FRB). The Seattle print site will close March 5, and financial institutions in Seattle and Portland zones will begin receiving their paper items from the Los Angeles FRB.

Following the site closures, paper items will have to travel longer distances from FRB facilities to credit unions, potentially delaying the receipt of returned items. An alternative that automates the delivery of return items and provides credit unions earlier access to images and value-added reporting is Southwest Corporate’s Image Deposit Return Service.

“In the five months since the new service was introduced, 206 credit unions have signed up for Image Deposit Returns,” said Bill Brennan, Southwest Corporate’s Vice President of Item Processing Services.

With the service, deposit return items are routed electronically from the paying financial institution to Southwest Corporate, instead of being delivered by courier to the credit union. Final settlement occurs between Southwest Corporate and the credit union.

Southwest Corporate can automate the re-deposit of insufficient funds (NSF) items using credit union-established thresholds, report maker and/or payee information, identify potential late returns and notify credit unions of large-dollar returns.

“Detailed reports, available through Southwest Corporate’s online account management system, provide an image and MICR-line detail for each returned item, as well as totals used to reconcile settlement and re-deposits. Credit unions link to a downloadable file for printing returned item substitute checks for members,” Brennan said.

“This service is easy to implement, and training is minimal. A credit union can sign the necessary forms, purchase a low-cost MICR printer and start receiving deposit returns within a couple of weeks.”

Southwest Corporate, in partnership with Rosetta Technologies, also offers credit unions an off-the-shelf solution for printing return substitute checks (IRDs). The IRD Express Pack includes a MICR IRD printer, software and basic supplies—everything a credit union needs to print return IRDs in-house.

For more information on Image Deposit Returns, visit www.swcorp.org or contact an account executive at 800.442.5763.