You Can Now Deposit Your Paycheck with a Smartphone App

Wouldn’t it be great if you could use your cellphone to deposit your paycheck? Well, guess what. You can! According to USA Today, JP Morgan Chasehas launched a new smartphone application that eliminates the need to hit the ATM. All you do is endorse your paycheck, take a picture of the front and back of the paycheck with your phone's built-in camera, punch your PIN code, and transmit the image. Bam. Deposit completed! The app and the deposit are free, but data and messaging rates apply.

Interestingly enough, the United States Automobile Association or USAA is a financial services company for members of the military and their families. They released a similar application last summer. A lot of banks thought it was a silly idea at the time, but already, customers have deposited $900-million worth of checks via phone. Experts predict the app will cause a ripple effect, and other big banks will jump on the cell phone deposit bandwagon now that a giant bank like Chase offers it. Already, Bank of America has announced that they’re developing their own smart phone paycheck deposit app that lets their customers deposit checks by taking a cell phone picture of them.