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This report provides a primer on Remote Deposit Capture (RDC). It reviews the state of the industry, the impact of RDC on check processing trends, & provides an overview for 10 RDC service suppliers. This report finds that Remote Deposit Capture continues to experience growing pains even as it has been evaluated by a majority of financial institutions in the US. RDC accounts for 13.5b items processed on an annualized basis & as a result, Mercator estimates that 44% of all check volume is now cleared through imaging. This means that the check processing tipping point, when the number of imaged checks exceeds the number of paper checks, is approaching very fast. When selecting an RDC supplier, Mercator Advisory Group finds that it is critical the financial institution know exactly which target market it will focus on, since suppliers have created RDC solutions that are very target specific. Requirements for RDC services range from the very basic to the fairly complex, from retail stores to corporate venues to bank branches. While each processing requirement has at least one vendor that can satisfy its needs, selecting the most sophisticated solution with an expectation that it can address all market needs would be a mistake. RDC market suppliers have created a jargon all their own & Mercator Advisory Group has found that even the same term, used by 2different suppliers, may mean something totally different. The definition of a ‘thin-client’ can very from supplier to supplier. The incredible pace of consolidation in the financial services industry has impacted RDC, as witnessed by the broad product portfolio deployed by Certegy/Checkfree/Carreker. Tim Sloane, Mercator indicates that this consolidation is unlikely to be over; ‘Financial institutions should select a vendor that fits their requirements now & for the future, while recognizing that there will almost certainly be continued consolidation in the market since there are too many small suppliers in the market with too little differentiation. In RDC, as in all payments infrastructures, scale matters & it matters a lot.’ While still in its infancy, Remote Deposit Capture is being seriously considered by a majority of banks in the US. On an annualized basis, approximately 13.5b items, or 44% of all check volume are cleared through imaging. The tipping point of the number of paper checks & the number of imaged checks has almost been reached. RDS service requirements range from the basic to the quite complex, mirroring the demands of their originating users. However the requirements of retailers, corporations & banks are met by at least one vendor currently in the marketplace. There are too many players in the RDC space with duplicative offerings of commoditized services. Look for extensive consolidation in the space as vendors try to wring efficiencies from their services & generate additional profits by eliminating margin-squeezing competitors. With that inevitable consolidation in mind, financial institutions & merchants can only select RDC providers best addressing their current & anticipated future needs knowing that a new, larger & more expensive provider may be in their future.