Patent ID: 8768836

Claim:
A system for depositing value associated with a financial instrument into a bank account of a banking customer payee comprising: a customer terminal, located remote from a bank, the customer terminal comprising, a cell phone, a wireless handheld device, a personal digital assistant, or any combination thereof, the customer terminal further comprising at least an electronic processor and digital imaging capabilities; an automated banking system comprising an electronic processor and connected to the customer terminal via a communication link; and a check clearing system comprising an electronic processor, the check clearing system connected to the automated banking system via a communication link, the check clearing system being located remote from the automated banking system, wherein the automated banking system is configured such that information from the financial instrument is received from the customer terminal, the information originating from a digital image of the financial instrument, the digital image having been electronically received by the banking customer payee from a digital camera interfaced with the customer terminal as part of the digital imaging capabilities and the digital image is directly sent to the automated banking system without requiring the banking customer payee to produce a physical copy of the digital image and the information is used to determine whether the automated banking system is associated with a paying bank of the financial instrument, wherein the information comprises a routing number, an account number, a date written, and an amount of the financial instrument, as well as the digital image of the financial instrument, and wherein the automated banking system and check clearing system are configured to effectuate deposit of the value of the financial instrument into the bank account of the banking customer payee without physical receipt of the financial instrument by the automated banking system.