Electronic capture of check images, already a necessity, is still increasing in importance. Check 21 was intended to use that technology to eliminate transfer costs and speed check processing. Today, with continuing pressure on margins, image capture is part of the banking landscape. But the image capture systems require a substantial capital investment, which has to be amortized over a declining number of checks.
Of course, any mistakes during image capture require a skilled person to troubleshoot and correct, making them costly and time-consuming to fix. Doing the job right the first time is less expensive, and that means that quality assurance will save you money. Quality assurance requires testing, and you’ll need to test for many image variables. Testing in the capture process has usually been by either of two methods: hand inspection of actual customer’s checks, or manually preparing a series of test checks. Each of these is expensive, and the first raises privacy issues. These methods have probably reached the limit of their effectiveness.
A bank may be upgrading its existing document capture system or evaluating the purchase of a new system. Even if it is considering outsourcing the function completely, the bank is still ultimately responsible for results. In each case, you will need to be able to run reliable tests for quality and throughput. The tests need to be reproducible, so you can use the results for a fair comparison of your options.
The Next Generation of check image system testing will create test decks of checks with a broad range of image characteristics. It can include checks to test specific, known problems, or to verify such business rules as fraud detection. As each test check is created, its data will immediately be recorded electronically. The results of your image capture can be automatically compared to that record, providing the greatest possible speed and the least possible manual labor, resulting in overall reduced costs.
This new method of preparing test decks will reduce testing delays and minimize headcount. Since you are not using actual customer data, you can supply these decks to any third party vendor with no privacy concerns. Service level agreements can now be enforced with easily understood, quantifiable results. You can monitor day-to-day operations to ensure continued quality. You will be able to use proven, standard statistical process control tools to identify specific areas for improvement. This Next Generation testing system can speed up check imaging system implementation, reduce overhead, and maintain quality.