ThePaymentsReview continues a new feature that occasionally highlights regulatory topics important to credit unions.

A major change to Remote Deposit Capture is coming this July, which may have an impact on whether financial institutions want to continue offering this service.

Mobile Remote Deposit Capture, or mRDC, is one of the shortest adoption curves of any aspect of online and mobile banking. Despite the slight decline in the number of checks written, recipients overwhelmingly prefer to deposit checks from the comfort of their phone, rather than going to a branch or ATM.  RDC was initially developed as a convenience for a business that received checks to deposit the checks electronically (typically using a scanner provided by its bank), and was made possible by Regulation CC, which implements the Expedited Funds Availability Act of 1987 (“EFA Act”) and the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act of 2003 (“Check 21 Act”). Mobile remote deposit capture, and specifically, the ability for a fraudster or forgetful person to deposit a check by taking a picture using their smart phone, and then depositing the paper copy at a different financial institution or check-cashing business, was not taken into consideration by these two pieces of regulation. How often does this happen? 3.5 of every 10,000 checks deposited to banks and credit unions are duplicates according to the 2017 Mobile Remote Deposit Capture Industry Report.

Faster payments mean a vendor getting paid by its customer quicker, or getting a P2P transfer into the recipient’s bank account the same day. Automated Clearinghouse (ACH), the network that connects every financial institution, and makes payroll deposits, bill pay and business settlements possible, has been undergoing changes in phases. The phases represent incremental steps in the process to shorten the length of time it takes to make payments, from days to hours. The third phase of this transition went into effect March 16, 2018, and credit unions and their members, especially business owners, need to be aware of the impact. 

In keeping with the tradition started last year, where we scored how well we did on the previous year’s predictions, here is a look at what we thought was going to happen in 2017, versus what really did.

ThePaymentsReview introduces a new feature, which will occasionally highlight regulatory topics important to credit unions.

[Editor's Note: This article was previously published on CU Insight, and has been modified.] 

Credit unions typically incorporate minimal fees, deriving most of their non-interest income from interchange on credit and debit portfolios. As the income from interchange declines, some credit unions look to fees to replace that revenue. What fees can be charged is, in part, limited by “Reg Z”.

Thanks to recent NCUA changes to open up and simplify member business lending.