Suncoast replacing machines with models that read individual checks when deposited

By Tim Engstrom
tengstrom@news-press.com

The credit union is replacing its automated teller machines with new models that do not use deposit envelopes.

Instead, the user inserts checks for deposit one at a time into a slot and the ATM creates a digital image of the check, which is also printed — in miniature — on the receipt.

That electronic image can then be sent electronically to the bank on which the check was drawn for payment.

A stack of cash can also be deposited without an envelope, although no image is created.

"This makes processing deposits so much more efficient," said Maria Garcia, Suncoast's senior vice president for automated services.

Garcia said the credit union is among the first in the nation to adopt the new technology, along with Wells Fargo in California.

The credit union, Florida's largest with more than $5 billion in assets, has about 127,000 members in Lee and Collier counties and 403,000 members in all....for more of the story