Sharing Images Bank-To-Bank

Now that many of the nation's banks are involved in imaging at some level, they are looking at ways those images can be shared among themselves. A partnership by two leaders in the field will help a number of them to be compatible. Viewpointe Archive Services, LLC, a major archiving company, and Small Value Payment Company LLC, a group of 20 banks that runs the nation's largest electronic check presentment service, announced an alliance to push standardization of plans for imaging exchange among banks.

The companies said that "image exchange" or "interchange" will expedite banks' operational efficiencies and reduce payment costs by about $2 billion annually by eliminating paper flow. Viewpointe's Chief Administrative Officer Jerry Chambers explained that the companies are aligning strategies to make sure it happens smoothly. He said that while image exchange has generated a lot of excitement in the banking industry "there is also a lot of work to be done by financial institutions before we reach the end game."

Copyright © 2003 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 13, No. 4, 6/24