Nobody likes making a trip to the bank, with its long lines, stacks of forms and slips, and blandly innocuous Top 40 playlists. For customers of the Texas bank USAA, though, avoiding a visit to the bank is about to get a whole lot easier.The New York Times reports that USAA bank will allow its customers to deposit checks using the bank's own iPhone app starting some time this week (The bank hopes to bring the service to other phones within the next year.) It's a quick and easy process: Just photograph both sides of the check and send the images to the bank. There's no mailing the check on a later date, either -- it goes directly into the bank's system, as if you'd visited the bank's physical location.
USAA, a private bank and insurance company in San Antonio, Texas, does recommend voiding the check after depositing, either filing it or discarding it to prevent fraud. With only one branch, USAA wanted to make it easier for its customers (many of whom serve in the military around the world) to manage their money.
However, not just anyone with an iPhone can take advantage of this particular part of USAA's mobile banking service. According to the Times, customers must have approved credit and hold an insurance policy with USAA in order to deposit checks via cell phone. This is a real banking breakthrough, and it'll be interesting to see if any of the big-boy banks catch on soon. With features like this, long bank lines might go the way of the dinosaur (or, for that matter, the way of the bank). [From: The New York Times via TUAW]
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