New, Leading Edge Image-Delivery Alternatives
Offer Multiple Advantages in Treasury Management

Emerging image-delivery technologies are enhancing the value and performance of treasury management services such as lockbox, positive pay and controlled disbursement.

CD-ROM is the most traditional and familiar of the image-delivery technologies. Many treasury managers use CD-ROM to obtain daily, weekly or monthly access to images of paid checks, remittance checks and related invoices and correspondence.

More recently, banks have enabled treasury managers to access images of controlled disbursement, positive pay and lockbox documents over the Internet. In addition, some banks are now sending image files directly to their clients using secure data transmissions.

Treasury managers can load these indexed image files directly into their back office systems and use them to perform faster and more accurate payment verification, stop payment requests and research. The end result is a more seamless, integrated back office.

"The variety of image-delivery options ensures that treasury professionals have convenient, expedited access to check and lockbox document images," says John Smith, Vice President, Corporate Product Management, for Commercial Bank of America. "These image-delivery technologies enhance the entire client payment and collection cycle by giving treasury managers more information faster, which expedites decision-making and ultimately improves cash management."

Complementary technology
The value of image-delivery technologies can be enhanced when they are used in conjunction with other innovative applications. For example, a few banks have employed new software that allows treasury managers to "interrogate" or request individual pieces of information from a check image.

One such application is payee positive pay. Character recognition software enables banks to interrogate the payee name from a check image and use it as another criterion—along with dollar amount, account number and serial number—in the positive pay matching process. Commercial Bank of America will introduce payee positive pay later this year.

Payables and receivables
"From a disbursements perspective, image-delivery technology gives treasury managers faster access to check, invoice and correspondence data, which allows them to validate and authorize payments more quickly and accurately," Smith says. "Same-day image delivery through the Internet also enables them to minimize fraud by verifying in a more timely manner whether a particular check should be returned or paid."

From a lockbox/receivables perspective, it’s critical that treasury managers post outstanding collections to their accounts receivable systems as soon as possible. However, issues such as partial invoice payment can hamper that effort.

Image-delivery technology enables treasury managers to view lockbox document images the same day they are deposited, which contributes to more prompt reconcilement of outstanding receivables. Same-day access to lockbox images and data allows treasury managers to make more accurate and timely decisions about whether or not to ship goods to clients or maintain credit holds when receivables remain outstanding. 

"Image access contributes to more efficient and timely treasury operations, and a treasury service with enhanced capabilities will do a better job of maximizing the client’s cash resources," Smith says.

A leader in image delivery
Commercial Bank of America has been among the leading institutions in terms of developing and implementing image-delivery technologies. When it began offering disbursement images over the Internet in 1999, it was one of only a handful of banks with that capability. Also, while some banks provide long-term image archives through an outsourcing partner, Commercial Bank of America owns and operates its own archive.

What’s more, Commercial Bank of America is committed to maintaining its leadership role in image delivery. The bank has begun development of a lockbox image-transmission delivery capability and plans to have the service available by 2004. That service will facilitate more seamless back-office integration.

Going forward, Commercial Bank of America is committed to providing the full range of image delivery technologies and giving treasury management clients the operational edge they need.

To learn more about Commercial Bank of America products and services, you can also visit our website at www.fpsc.com/cba.