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Techworld exhibitors emphasize imaging, security and payment
wares at ICBA’s National convention in March
By Julie Sturgeon
hen the doors to the Techworld tradeshow floor open in
W March during ICBA’s National Convention in Honolulu,
Hawaii, there’s little question the emphasis will be on
today’s technology trends. Community bankers expect to see and
Convention photographs by David Hathcox
discuss myriad angles on imaged-check clearing networks, multi-factor
authentication and data security. Middleware, remote deposit and
contactless payments will be well represented, too.
And then there are solutions like Vision Software Solution’s latest
commercial lending offering that will be on display at its booth.
“Commercial lending is one of the most profitable segments of banking,
so a product that helps lenders make better decisions helps the bank to
make money while ensuring compliance gets attention,” says Jeff Beall,
executive vice president for the Charleston, S.C.-based company.
01|2007 IndependentBanker 51
Buyer’s Market
Officials at iT1Source in Scottsdale, Ariz., also are solution around its version. This means the software
poised to make an impression. In addition to Sony system can determine if a check was actually
notebook technology that shows off biometric fin- cleared previously. It also flags potential problems:
gerprint readers and Bluetooth feats, company say the company owner rarely writes a check for
representatives will invite bankers to have some fun
with the digital signage products on hand and offer
up a special promotion for ICBA members.
So, consider Techworld an interactive article,
where bankers are allowed to explore top of mind
topics and write the ending. What follows is just a
slice of the possibilities.
Remotely Possible
Thirty-year core processor, Jack Henry & Associ-
ates, signs up 300 new merchants every month to
its remote deposit capture program. “It’s unbeliev-
able. That’s the hottest thing going on right now,”
assures Debbie Wood, general manager of market-
ing and industry research for the Monett,
Mo.-based vendor.
The advantages of remote capture functionality
are obvious, Wood says. Electronic images can
be cleared to Check 21 as soon as they arrive so
the bank enjoys faster float, and the customer is
capturing the payment at the point of sale with-
out waiting on a batch to file. “It’s the first time
we have seen a win for everyone in a long
Cutting-edge techn
ology
more than $100. A check for $1,500 would auto-
matically alert the banker that something may
be off—and that goes for a check written by a
new name at the account, too.
Wood likes the fact that the system catches
sequence numbers on check accounts. If she
has been writing checks with numbers in the
Industry Exper ts 1500 to 1525 range, but suddenly the bank re-
ceives one numbered 1800, alarms sound.
Naturally, the bank has the final say on the action to
time,” Wood says. “It provides so much more effi- assign such values; in the case of the sequence dis-
ciency and quickness from both sides of the house.” parity, for instance, it could issue a caution but
But Jack Henry doesn’t have a corner on remote process the check. Or, bank executives could pro-
deposit technology, of course. That’s why its repre- gram the system to hard stop any suspicious activity.
sentatives plan to tempt bankers by wrapping a fraud The remote capture system will be running and
52 IndependentBanker 01|2007
ICBA Annual Golf
Golf Tournament Tournament
Follow in the footsteps of Loren
Roberts, Gary Player and Fuzzy
available for licensing at the show. “We always Zoeller at the 12th Annual ICBA Golf
carry a contract in our pockets,” Wood laughs. Tournament on the Palmer Course
“We’re just at such an incredible point in tech- at the legendary Turtle Bay Resort,
nology today. It helps both the customer and the Saturday, March 3, 2007.
financial institution,” she adds. The format for the 12th Annual
ICBA Golf Tournament is a shot-
Station gun start, traditional team
Identification scramble. The $165 fee covers
New authentica- tournament and green fees, cart
tion guidelines rental, and transportation. Club
require communi- rental is available for an addi-
ty banks to solve tional $50.
more intense and
more complex au-
thentication
problems than institution. It’s still more real-dollar savings in main-
ever before. Bio- tenance and support costs, she assures.
metrics offers one The downside: Although the biometric products
Networking vehicle that will are available for sale and shipment, bankers will not
inflict the least amount of be able to pack the box of software in their luggage
pain to employees and customers. At least, that’s the and fly it home. They’ll need to place orders rather
opinion of Kelly Shoemaker, vice president of sales than ring it up on the spot.
and marketing at US Biometrics in Naperville, Ill.,
which is exhibiting at Techworld. The company of- Behind-the-Scenes Magic
fers individual biometric products to protect Looking for Advanced Financial Solutions? You’ll
software applications, door access, computers and find its latest and greatest technology answers at the
online transactions, and it has the data to prove the Metavante Corp. exhibit booth. That’s because
technology’s worth. Metavante recently purchased the Charlotte, N.C.-
For example, putting a biometric front-end on based item-image processing firm.
software (think teller platforms) allows banks to Now that the two companies are under the same
meet strict guidelines about password complexity,
but also keeps employees from writing down those
passwords. Shoemaker cites studies that
claim one in three employees commit
this faux pas, negating security system
backstops.
In March, the focus turns to house-
keeping via a product called
CentralQ—a central data repository to
hold credentials such as passwords, user
names, addresses and fingerprint profiles
for all those enrolled in the system. An
administrator can assign who has access to
what, ranging from doors to individual
computers to networks and specific soft-
ware applications, Shoemaker explains.
The value proposition for a community
bank: The IT staff needs to support just
one biometric infrastructure for the entire
services
Research products &
01|2007 IndependentBanker 53
Buyer’s Market
“ICBA
Helping Hands” umbrella, commu-
Participate in ICBA’s Habitat for Humanity build nity bankers can
day Saturday, March 3, 2007, and help construct an expect the in-
affordable home for others. house IT brains
Volunteers must be at least 16 years old. No construction to come up
skills are necessary and on-site training is provided. with little
We need your help Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit, worldwide
housing ministry.
touches that
add up to big
advant ages.
Take, for in-
st ance, the
latest product
spin from the
company that
not only captures
check deposits at
multiple locations, but
then decides if it makes
sense to route them as an
ACH transaction or Check 21
process. For instance, in a
market where interest rates are
rising, ACH batch network
style and the added float might
make more sense.
The imaging feature antici-
pates a problem most bankers
don’t realize they’ll have to
solve in the future, says Vijay
Balakishnan, vice president of
strategic marketing at Meta-
vante. “We’re talking about the
next game in town,” he notes.
Balakishnan says he will
gladly walk community
bankers attending Techworld
through a demonstration, but
he’s not hawking it as the star
of the show. “I’d suggest
bankers view the new capabili-
ty in the context of a very
broad range of offerings,” he
explains. “This is one piece of
an end-to-end solution. That’s
what is exciting.” ib
Julie Sturgeon is a free-lance
writer in Greenwood, Ind.
54 IndependentBanker 01|2007
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