iPhone Banking App Automatically Deposits Checks Via Photos

USAA iPhone App

ATMs have done their part to keep us off long teller lines since the first one was installed in the U.K. circa 1967. Now we stand on ATM lines instead. An upcoming upgrade to USAA bank’s iPhone app could cut those off, too; the app will allow bankers to deposit checks from their iPhone by sending two images of the check (one front and one back).

The app, as you can see in USAA's demo here, walks you through how to frame the shots so that all the pertinent information is clear and visible.

The service will only be open to about 60 percent of USAA customers, an executive told the New York Times. To qualify, a customer must be eligible for credit and have insurance through USAA-–both measures taken to reduce the risk of fraud.

If you're still a little unsettled, it may also help to know mobile depositing can use the same character scanning processes as an in-bank teller to check routing and account information.

It’s also good to know that there are several tell-tale signs of fake checks that are very easily spotted. For example, the back of every check has a small padlock box with some sort of bank-specific graphic or repeated word. These, apparently, will be just as detectable in the iPhone's photos as they are in scans of actual checks.

USAA's mobile deposit app will roll out sometime this week.

[via The New York Times]