Lynette Bent, the cash manager for Employers Mutual Casualty (EMC) Co., had a dream: She could see the day when her company would have only one bank into which all the thousands of checks collected monthly by 16 branch offices could be deposited. "But until remote deposit came along," says Bent, "it just wasn't possible."

Once Check 21 legislation passed, Bent wasted no time sitting down with her company's multiple bankers to see who could give her the best deal on remote deposit technology. U.S. Bank, already a depository for several of the EMC branches, was well ahead of other banks Bent interviewed in fashioning a remote deposit product. This included EMC's concentration banks.

But Bent said that U.S. Bank went further and modified its remote deposit product to fit EMC's business patterns. Bent realized her vision: The 16 EMC branches now deposit directly and remotely into 16 depository accounts at U.S. Bank, and with the speed of electronic transmission and fewer interbank transfers, she reports that funds are available to invest a day sooner, on average. There are no couriers to pay, and no management time wasted carrying deposits to a branch.