From the July 27, 2007 edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Jerri Stroud
http://www.stltoday.com

With Commerce Bank's newest teller machines, customers don't need an envelope or deposit slip to add cash or checks to their accounts.

The machines count cash — up to 99 bills at a time — and scan images of checks presented for deposit. Customers can feed in up to three stacks of cash — or 297 bills — for each trip to the ATM.

The machines dispense receipts that show the number of bills of each denomination that were deposited or display an image of the check along with the amount. The new technology speeds transaction times and gives customers quicker access to their money.

The Commerce ATM asks customers to key in the amount of the check first, but the machines read the numbers and the written amount on the check electronically to verify the deposit. Customers can view the check image and either accept the machine's reading or correct it.

Visually impaired customers can use the machine by plugging in headphones for audible directions. The machines meet other guidelines for height and reach developed under the Americans With Disabilities Act, said Jim Clark, ATM business technology manager. The National Federation of the Blind endorsed them, too.

Other banks are beginning to adopt machines like the models Commerce is buying from North Canton, Ohio-based Diebold Inc., but Commerce is the first to deploy them throughout its network, said David Bucci, Diebold's senior vice president of customer business solutions.

"Commerce is the only bank I know that will have their entire network fully deposit-image enabled," Bucci said. "It will help them provide a greater level of convenience to consumers."

Commerce is buying 300 of the machines to replace most of the 406 ATMs it has in Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado. The bank has replaced 210 machines, including 28 of the 100 ATMs in the St. Louis area. All will be installed before the end of the year.

Commerce's headquarters is in Kansas City, but most of its top executives are in Clayton.

Clark said Commerce began looking into "no-envelope" technology in the middle of 2003.

"We thought it was something that customers would really like," he said. The bank had surveyed customers to find out what they wanted in ATMs, then began working with Diebold.

"It has been a long process to get it exactly where we'd like it," Clark said. The project required a multimillion-dollar investment.

Clark said the feedback on the new ATMs has been positive so far. Customers have said they're easy to use, and they like the color screens, the check image and the cash listing on the receipts. In branches where the new machines are installed, customers are making more ATM deposits.

The machines have a standard interface, so customers won't have to navigate a different arrangement of slots, screens and keypads when they visit other branches, Clark said.

Commerce also will be able to use standard software and hardware throughout its network, giving its ATM staff a break. Clark said the newer machines also should break down less frequently.

Noncustomers can use Commerce ATMs to withdraw cash but not to make deposits. Although the machines are reserved for personal accounts now, Clark said the new capabilities could make them suitable for use by small businesses.

©St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2007
This article has been republished with the permission of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.