Chase Mobile iPhone app update: picture your paycheck deposited, and it's there

While JPMorgan Chase & Co. certainly isn't the first bank to do this -- USAA has allowed its members to deposit checks by snapspot for just under a year now -- it's definitely the first major public bank to bring this stuff to the mainstream. A recent update to the Chase Mobile iPhone app enables customers to photograph the front and back of checks made out to them and then have it deposited directly into whatever Chase account (with their name on it, obviously) they choose. Better still, the service is completely free of charge, though it's limited to Apple's platform at the moment. Too bad you can't just cut checks to yourself and live the life those goofy TV ads push so hard, but hey, at least you're one step closer to pretending.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[Stratus41298 Posted Jul 2nd 2010 3:45PM]

Whatever. If apple news is the popular thing, ill read that. I dont descriminate. I just wish the dell streak would hurry the hell up.

[d0ug Posted Jul 2nd 2010 4:27PM]

@Stratus41298 Im guessing if your bank/credit union hasn't yet adopted the ATMs that you can deposit cash and checks into, then you're not going to be seeing this tech for quite some time!

[d0ug Posted Jul 2nd 2010 4:34PM]

@d0ug oopsie, must have hit the wrong reply. this went with a post a few down by @JClay Posted Jul 2nd 2010 3:48PM

[adamgetzendanner Posted Jul 3rd 2010 7:56AM]

@d0ug I'm meant, they don't have ATMs where I live. I think they have em around Ft Hood.

[Romv19 Posted Jul 2nd 2010 3:46PM]

Now I need Citibank to bring this to the iphone.

[Funke Tobias Dr Posted Jul 2nd 2010 4:34PM]

@Romv19
Citibank is a much better bank anyway. Chase seems to be run by assholes bent on jacking up credit card rates.

[MisterSquared Posted Jul 2nd 2010 4:39PM]

@Funke Tobias Dr
It's all about the Credit Unions!

[cdf74dc9 Posted Jul 3rd 2010 1:27AM]

@Romv19

Instead of waiting, you can just go straight to your banks website and login that way... No need for an apps. Unless your iphone can't login but it should work.

[Spensar Posted Jul 3rd 2010 11:01AM]

@Funke Tobias Dr
Dude you are so right, my house flooded and we have flood insurance right, but they wouldnt give us any money! This is our first claim and we have been paying flood insurance for 20 years! Then they say "we are waiting till you are 90% finished with the repair" Seeing as my Dad is a professional carpenter we had to pay all expenses out of pocket! That was over 23,000 bucks! Now were broke. Chase is a bunch of damn thieves who need to all go to hell.

[macslut Posted Jul 3rd 2010 4:19PM]

@cdf74dc9
Citibank does have an iPhone and the website also works with the iPhone, but what the OP wants, as do I, is for the taking a picture of a check and have it be automatically deposited. I would love this. I hate going to a bank/ATM to deposit checks.

[sharms Posted Jul 3rd 2010 7:12PM]

@Romv19

If memory serves me right, my credit union - DCU - has had check scanning on the PC for more than a couple years now and they were even one of the first ones to release this iphone app too. I always wondered how/why big banks haven't already adopted it too... good to see them moving in on it... slowly but surely!!

[JClay Posted Jul 2nd 2010 3:48PM]

This is good news the only time I have to physically go inside of a bank was to deposit a check I received.

[natey1 Posted Jul 2nd 2010 4:22PM]

@JClay Yes because ATMs can't take checks yet....someday...

[lljigarll Posted Jul 2nd 2010 4:23PM]

@JClay
Me too. Also, I live in a college town where the nearest Chase bank location is 35 miles away. This will totally save me a trip every two weeks to deposit checks. ps, there's an ATM at local walgreens so withdrawl's not an issue.

[jonbrewer Posted Jul 2nd 2010 4:26PM]

@natey1

Actually, going to an ATM would still require getting out and driving out of the way to deposit the check....usually to the ATM outside of your bank anyways. This way, you can receive said check, snap picture, and have the funds, all without leaving your desk/house.

[irfan Posted Jul 2nd 2010 7:54PM]

@jonbrewer im pretty sure he understands what this is. he made a sarcastic remark regarding the OP's comment that he goes INSIDE a bank to deposit a check and not just up to their ATM

[DiscoStick Posted Jul 2nd 2010 3:49PM]

@Kanga
But you just commented on an Apple post -.-

[Kevin6432 Posted Jul 2nd 2010 3:49PM]

That's awesome... I'm really getting sick of bank of america and their iPhone app is totally useless.. I've always heard of this but never seen it.. I really wanna try it...

[HektikLyfe Posted Jul 2nd 2010 3:49PM]

What if your iPhone 4 cameras take some distorted red and green pictures like mine do, will this affect verification?

[d0ug Posted Jul 2nd 2010 4:43PM]

@HektikLyfe If your IP4 is taking distorted pics, why havent you taken it back?

[HektikLyfe Posted Jul 2nd 2010 6:08PM]

@d0ug The nearest Apple store is miles away and taking it back will only result in a very long wait and a refurbished phone. SO my choices are limited. I keep my new...malfunctioning phone or get a shoddy "fixed" one. Not an easy decision.

I have yet to experience that great customer service other Apple customers rave about.

[ThreeDee912 Posted Jul 2nd 2010 6:22PM]

@HektikLyfe

My iPod Touch had a dead pixel when I first got it, so I brought it back and they gave me a new one. Not a refurb. You're supposed to return it within the first 2 weeks of purchase and they'll trade you for a new one with no questions asked, as long as it hasn't been dropped in water or something.

[HektikLyfe Posted Jul 2nd 2010 7:23PM]

@ThreeDee912 That's what I had heard but when I took my iPhone 3G back for a "smooshed" for lack of a better word, sleep button, they said that all they had in stock was a "good as new" refurb. It was a plain white box. The button was only slightly better but still obviously affected by the same thing. It wasn't until I put it in silent mode weeks later that I noticed the thing would rattle when it vibrated. So for almost 2 years I dealt with that burn and I am now faced with the same decision.

Do I replace my lemon with lime?

[Lothar Posted Jul 2nd 2010 9:21PM]

@HektikLyfe
They had the plain white box replacement units for the IP4 at launch and we're only a week out from that. There's no way those are refurbs yet. Just bare iPhones without any accessories. You can't have refurbs of a unit not yet sold. I'm sure they will start being refurbs at some point but it will take some time to process them. I'd take it back soon if I was you.

[Mikeserena Posted Jul 2nd 2010 10:41PM]

@HektikLyfe Trust me, at this time you wouldn't get a refurb because the hasn't been enough time for a refurb make it through the system yet.

[HektikLyfe Posted Jul 9th 2010 7:20PM]

@Mikeserena I took mine back. They swapped them both out for new ones in plain block boxes. (They looked like hard cases) They still take green photos. The Apple Genius pulled out his iPhone 4 and took a picture next to mine and he saw the same results on his.

He appeared dismayed at this fact and apologized. He told me that was all he could do. I thanked him for his honesty which was refreshing and had no choice but to leave the store.

It looks like its all of them. Look at the images indoors. It is VERY noticeable in thumbnail view.

[rhimbu Posted Jul 2nd 2010 3:49PM]

I see this ending badly...

[cdf74dc9 Posted Jul 3rd 2010 1:32AM]

@rhimbu

Hacker rejoice for more password info.

[fdtech Posted Jul 2nd 2010 3:50PM]

Bring this to Android please!

[Shlooky Posted Jul 2nd 2010 3:50PM]

I never trust mobile or online banking, just too many risks.

[a2bucks Posted Jul 2nd 2010 3:55PM]

@Shlooky You are worried about online banking and you are reading stuff on Engadget?

[Shlooky Posted Jul 2nd 2010 4:04PM]

@a2bucks

Hmmm I fail to see the resemblance or the link between the two! Of course I read about stuff on Engadget, it's an awesome site.

[MrMichael Posted Jul 2nd 2010 4:17PM]

@Shlooky Do you give your bank card or credit card to a waiter at a restaurant? You do know that your accounts are FDIC insured right?

[Kamokazi Posted Jul 2nd 2010 4:22PM]

@Shlooky

You do realize the overwhelming majority of identity theft comes from traditional, physical means, right? Sorting through trash, looking over your shoulder at a checkout, etc? You're quite literally nine times safer by eliminating all physical traces of your banking info.

Any idiot can read your account number off a check or discarded statement and rob you blind. You'd be surprised at how few safeguards are in place to stop that sort of thing...most people are so paranoid about electronic security, that the overlook the basics that thieves have been exploiting since well before the internet.

On the other hand, intercepting and decrypting a 128-bit SSL connection is a challenge for an organization like the FBI. You can imagine how rarely it happens to average Joes.

Now, this is all assuming you aren't dumb enough to fall for a phishing scam...

[Jouva Posted Jul 4th 2010 2:58PM]

@MrMichael FDIC insurance has nothing to do with FRAUD. FDIC insurance has to do with the potential of a bank going out of business and saying "lolol we don't have money now sorry". Think S&L crisis of 1980s.

That being said, online banking is (with a bank that knows what they're doing) pretty darn safe and trustable. Sometimes more so than doing banking in person as there's LESS chance of somebody recording down info as you make a request (deposit, widthdraw, balance inquiry, etc)

THAT being said, I wouldn't trust OTHERS to find some flaw in this system and start taking money out of MY account.

[Proverb Posted Jul 2nd 2010 3:51PM]

Chase needs an awesome android app likes this,I would definitely use the hell out of it. Right now I'm stuck using Mint to check on my bank status.

[scoobydooby Posted Jul 2nd 2010 4:20PM]

@Proverb - Agreed. We don't even have a basic Android app from them.

[kaliac Posted Aug 8th 2010 11:37AM]

@Proverb Well I work for Chase and when they told us about the iphone check deposit feature they also put at the bottom of the letter that we would be getting a android app this fall. I can't wait because I have an Evo. They didn't say if we would have the same features as the iphone app though. I hope it does.

[Kevin6432 Posted Jul 2nd 2010 3:51PM]

@Kanga

Dude go for it.. I'm totally down for reading an apple article and not seeing a bunch of douche bags talk about how much better android phones are.. Please.. Boycott the articles!!

[mgrochowalski Posted Jul 2nd 2010 3:51PM]

Why only on the iPhone? The person to person payment is only for the iPhone too, right? They usually charge for account transfers.

[ryanulsh Posted Jul 2nd 2010 11:57PM]

@mgrochowalski

You can do quickpay (person to person) using chase.com or the mobile site too. You can transfer to any person. They don't even have to have a chase bank account. The fee you are talking about is for wires. This is an ACH. It is totally free.

[tai376 Posted Jul 2nd 2010 3:51PM]

@ Kanga, go away

Related, the only reason I use Chase is because they have a mobile app that works in WA. Now if only I could draw money from the app...

[CalebSW Posted Jul 2nd 2010 3:51PM]

USAA has been doing this for ages. And they're a better bank anyways.

[STEVER Posted Jul 2nd 2010 4:14PM]

@CalebSW

Yes they have, but if you're like the millions of us that do not have a relative in the Military you can not have an account with USAA. So the fact that this technology is coming to the main stream financial players is a big deal. If only my iPad has a camera, I myself am waiting for the Android app (or January for the iPhone on Verizon).

[bfdhud Posted Jul 2nd 2010 4:45PM]

@CalebSW I love USAA. Best bank I've ever had.

[CalebSW Posted Jul 2nd 2010 5:06PM]

There's a USAA android app, I don't know if it has deposit@home though. Unless you were waiting for another bank's app...

[djlsa Posted Jul 2nd 2010 5:57PM]

@CalebSW

Actually, USAA has the invention patents on this technology starting with scanning from home then transitioning to the iphone and andriod apps.

Cool company!

[HurricaneDC Posted Jul 2nd 2010 6:57PM]

@STEVER you can have a checking account at USAA without being in the military. However, you can't use the Deposit@Home or the iPhone deposit apps unless you're in the military (or have a parent/spouse in it). Sucks :(

[cpurious Posted Jul 3rd 2010 12:14AM]

@djlsa

USAA does seem cool, but I wouldn't say that they are cool for having check scanning patents. No wonder this isn't a common feature for all banks :P

[landlocked Posted Jul 3rd 2010 1:25AM]

@CalebSW
USAA is the best bank around. I've been depositing checks via my iPhone for a couple of months now. They were the first to offer deposit at home using your scanner. They also offer the best insurance, investments, and customer service. USAA really knows what it means to serve. The great thing is, you don't have to be military to be a member of the bank, anyone can call them for banking and investments.
Her of their bank or investments.