Skip the trip to the bank: Send your checks electronically

Lots of banks have added a new service to send your checks to them electronically. This can save time and gas money. I suspect you can also lose a little weight by not driving by the fast food establishment before breakfast each time too.

But, even if your bank doesn’t have a formal “Remote Check Deposit” you may still be in luck.

Our bank started offering Remote Check Deposit last year, but I could never get it to work. Turns out my browser wasn’t lame enough (it wants Internet Explorer and Microsoft stopped making it for Macintosh years ago). After a quick chat with my bank representative I was told a couple of things. First, they are working on the Remote Check Deposit to make it work for all browsers. Second, I didn’t need to use it to send them a check. All I needed to do was to send them the check through a secure email.

Here is how I did it for my bank:

• Sign into bank account
• Go to the “Support” link in the upper right
• Choose “Click here to send an email”
• Attach your check files and send

Here are some generic tips on sending checks electronically:

• Scan the front and back of your signed check.
• Color is the best for readability. Sending a color PDF is optimal. NOTE: We have a NeatDesk that makes all of this a snap
• Only send your checks through a secure email form through your bank. Do NOT send through your own email program!
• Make sure your message is clear and include instructions on which account number they should post to.
• Check to make sure your checks have posted after a couple of days.
• After you scan your checks, keep them for about a month and then you can destroy them.
• Consider keeping the electronic backups in a secure place for reference.

There is a good chance your bank has a similar alternative if they don’t have “Remote Check Deposit”. Give them a call and find out. You might be saving time and money!