Barclays hopes to introduce 'cheque imaging' allowing customers to cash cheques using a smartphone
Barclays has revealed that it hopes to start offering customers a 'cheque imaging' service, allowing customers to cash cheques from home by scanning them with their mobile phone.
Already used in the US, France and Asia, customers use apps on their smartphones to pay in cheques with JP Morgan Chase introducing the service in 2010 followed by Citibank and Bank of America.
To cash a cheque using 'cheque imaging' customers need to take a picture of the front and back of the cheque and send the image to the bank. Instead of the details on the cheque being verified by hand, it would be verified by a computer system at the branch with the image sent electronically to the bank that issued the cheque to verify the details and signature.
Speaking to The Telegraph Barclays confirmed it was seeking to bring in 'cheque imaging' as part of its YourBank listening projects, which sees customers posting suggestions to make banking easier on a dedicated website.
Currently the bank would only be able to allow customers to cash cheques from other Barclays customer via a smartphone as the law states the bank has a legal right to demand to physically see the cheque before it decides to honour it.
The introduction of 'cheque imaging' hopes to speed up the time it takes for cheques to clear, cutting down the waiting time for earning interest from two days to within 24 hours, withdrawals would be cut from four days to two days.