Source: Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks
CYBG – the owner of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks and its digital banking service B – is spearheading the industry adoption of cheque imaging, currently processing a quarter of all clearing traffic.
The Cheque and Credit Clearing Company revolutionised the centuries old cheque clearing process when it launched the Image Clearing System (ICS) on 30th October 2017, providing banks and building societies with the option of providing their customers with a more convenient way to deposit cheques without needing to visit a branch and speeding up the time it takes for cheques to clear.
CYBG was one of the first banks to use the new feature via its mobile banking offer. It was launched on the B app in November 2017 and the capability has since been added to the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks banking apps. The service offers enhanced functionality and the convenience of depositing cheques, up to £500, in a few simple steps to more than one million registered users.
The new system is running in parallel with the paper system until the second half of 2018 when all cheques will be cleared via image only. At CYBG, its currently responsible for 25 per cent of all daily image clearing traffic across the whole industry, which is 10 times more than the 2.35 per cent of the paper items we are processing. The Bank is also aiming to stop paper clearing by July 2018.
Mark Curran, Director of Payments and Open Banking at CYBG, said: “Quick mobile cheque clearing is an excellent example of how we are making our customers’ lives easier - offering functionality that is smart, secure and simple to use.
“Cheques have been embedded in our society for more than 350 years, but advances in technology have given the product a new lease of life. Feedback from our customers has been extremely positive, with people commenting on the ease of use and the benefit of being able to deposit a cheque whenever is convenient for them.
“We are pleased to be leading the way in our industry and our volumes for image clearing are increasing daily, which is extremely encouraging.”
The app uses the latest security techniques, including industry-standard 128-bit SSL encryption, multiple firewalls and a real-time intrusion detection system that looks out for security breaches.