The pilot project will involve 1,700 staff that will eliminate the need for customers to deliver a cheque in person.
The four-week trial will check for any security issues or performance problems in the IT system related to the initiative.
Before Lloyds, Barclays had launched a similar pilot project in June 2014. Following the positive response from the trial, the bank rolled out the facility for one million of its premier account holders in December.
More than 30,000 Barclays customers have opted for the service with their iPhone app. Currently, the system can only work on cheques paid from one Barclays account to another account with the same bank.
Barclays has already launched its Mobile Cheque Imaging service last year for iPhones and is planning to extend it to Android phone users in the next few months.
As per the current system, banks take a photo of each cheque but the physical paper form still has to be transferred to a central clearing system that required vans to deliver them. With the new technology, the bank will be able to eliminate this system and cut costs.
The move follows a study by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) that said the increase in the use of banking apps by customers had led to a 6% decrease in the use of bank branches.
Image: The bank will trial the technology for four weeks along with 1,700 staff. Photo: courtesy of Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net.
