By RICK OOTEN of Digital Check Corp.
Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) is a fast-growing trend in banking technology, offering customers deposit convenience and quicker access to funds, and the adoption of this user-friendly fintech platform has become increasingly widespread since 2009. However, in today’s RDC environment, many users desire to improve scanner driver management and reduce help desk workload.
Fortunately, Digital Check has a solution for this. “Driverless scanners” remove or replace the need for a traditional USB driver install, which positively impacts driver management support. This type of scanner is becoming commonplace in the RDC environment as it helps eliminate the number one help desk call.
Is a driverless scanner something that your financial institution could benefit from? Here are the types of driverless scanners available from Digital Check and an overview of how each scanner works.
Types of Driverless Scanners for RDC
Serial Embedded (SE) USB Scanners
A serial embedded (SE) check scanner is a scanner with an “embedded”/built-in processor and memory. The serial embedded integration eliminates the need for a separate API to be loaded onto a client host PC because the API is resident inside the scanner. Additionally, the scanner communicates to the workstation (Windows, Mac, Linux) using the standard serial interface via USB cable. This is what makes it “driverless”. The scanner is able to perform all necessary processing of the item inside the scanner, prior to transmitting data via the serial interface. What is required for SE scanners is a capture application running on the client/host PC to control the scanner and manage the results of the images created by the capture process.
In other words, an SE scanner connects to a host PC via a standard USB cable, but the API processes the image on the device itself, not on the computer, and then exports the compressed image files.
The onboard processing of a serial embedded USB scanner includes:
- MICR reading
- OCR and barcode reading
- Front and rear image capture
- Image cleanup
- Image compression (black and white and JPEG)
Network Scanners
A network scanner is similar to an SE model in that it also has an embedded processor and memory and handles its own API and image compression internally. Additionally, a network scanner has the capability to be network addressable, communicate via network protocols, and supports network-based security technology. Network scanners commonly support a physical connection via Ethernet but also offer other connection options such as Ethernet over USB (RNDIS) and Wireless technology – however all connections options are not offered on each scanner. Network scanners are also “driverless” because they do not use a typical USB device driver to communicate. Network scanners can be controlled by most web connected devices on the same network via common web browsers on most popular operating systems.
“SE scanners and network scanners are similar in that they both have their own processing power and are self-driving. The main difference is the way in which they communicate with the PC, workstation, or host to which they are attached.”
Network scanners feature embedded/onboard processing so the API and all image and MICR processing is performed “inside the scanner”. This type of scanner is ideal for networked virtual environments, where the teller’s computer is a “thin-client” that acts as a pass-through to a central server and has little to no software or processing power of its own. It also creates a simpler environment for the user as all control is via a network connected by browser-based devices.
Choosing Your RDC Hardware
Determining which driverless scanner is best for your financial institution can be difficult, but Teksetra, a partner and an authorized reseller of Digital Check, can help you navigate this process. Get in touch to learn more about serial embedded scanners and network enabled scanners for RDC.
