Item processing: state of the industry report: processing paper in the technological revolution

Abstract

Currently over 32 billion checks pass through the check processing system, an average of 22 checks per household. Issues to consider in evaluating check processing operations include: 1) institutional positioning in the check processing network (using services, providing services, or processing checks in-house); 2) degree of centralization; 3) configuration of basic operations, such as proof and transit; data capture and posting; and interfiling, storage and retrieval; 4) equipment selection; 5) check truncation; and 6) customer relations. Many check processing options are available; each offers particular strengths and weaknesses.