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Surge in paying banks now receiving check images 5/7 DTN Some statistics indicate banks are making headway in their ability to receive & clear electronic check images. PaymentsNation, a clearinghouse for checks & check images, reported that the number of R/Ts receiving check images reached 5,275 at the end of March, an increase of 20% in 3 months. PaymentsNation, formerly known as NCHA/Pro, indicates the jump in receiving R/Ts bodes well for future image volume. ‘We expect to see our image volumes ramp up proportionately in April & the following months as additional R/Ts are added to the mix,’ said Tom D’Aquisto, NCHA. 13,345 routing & transit numbers were clearing check images as of February. That represents 9,363 financial institutions, 57% of all institutions in the country. In 2/07, 7,500 R/Ts nationally were receiving images. Electronic-payments experts watch the number of receiving financial institutions because it indicates paying banks’ technical ability to clear images rather than substitute checks, the paper printouts of images authorized in 2004 under Check 21. Banks that have not geared up their back offices to receive images require the printouts instead, which drives up costs for collecting banks. ECCHO data show progress in check electronification. 74% of imaged check volume was cleared as images rather than as substitute checks in February, up from 62% a year earlier, according to Eccho. Altogether, image volume came to 1.071b items, or 44% of all paid check volume in the US, PaymentsNation reports volume settled as images came to 49.8% of the 742.4m image items it handled in IQ, a growth of 16 % points since the end of 2007. SVPCo reported IQ volume reached 1.113b items, up 141% over IQ 2007. SVPCO now processes for 25 financial institutions & has links to the Fed & Endpoint.