Yes, you read that correctly. USAA Federal Savings Bank will soon be allowing many of its customers to deposit checks into their accounts using the iPhone and its camera, according to an article published in the New York Times. For at least a year, the same bank has been allowing their customers, like myself, to deposit checks using a scanner to image the check – front and back – and deposit it online, instantly. Its a service they brand as ‘Deposit @ Home’. That process has proved very successful for USAA and highly effective by my determination. It is the only way that my wife and I deposit checks now.
But it begs the question, why do this? To answer that, you have to understand that USAA is not your standard bank. USAA caters mostly to military families and their dependants. Its members are widespread and not concentrated in any one area (except maybe military bases). It also has members all around the globe. USAA doesn’t have physical branches. Everything is done over the phone or via the internet.