Bob,
I have always thought the same about check orders and statements in an unsecured/unlocked box at the side of the road waiting for our customers to check it. A few years ago we started printing our checks and debit cards in-house for this primary reason ... it also allows us to control quality delivered to our customer and drastically improve wait times. I am a "stick to core-competencies person" and had rejected in-house check printing many times until the money and added personnel time requirement were made irrelevant by security and quality issues. We charge our customers a shipping & handling fee if we mail them, but allow customers to avoid this fee by picking them up at our main bank office on a next day basis after ordering – checks for new accounts are usually printed while the customer opens the account and they leave with their new checks and debit card ready to transact business. Nearly 100% of customers who live in the county pick their checks up at the bank (most are picked up at the drive-up). A few customers don't get in a hurry and trust that we are keeping their checks safe – after 10 days we call and remind them that their checks are ready to pick up.
I hope this helps!
Dan Thompson
President & CEO
------Original Message------
Are any bankers out there using a secure (signature-based) delivery method for printed checks? It's astonishing to me that customer-sensitive information is wrapped up tight inside the bank...but when the check printer spits out that generic blue "flat-pack", it rides unprotected through the streets and lands in a box at the end of our customers' driveway--or worse. I ordered checks earlier this month...and my neighbor brought them over to me--because the mailman left them in the wrong box. In this age of data pirates, this seems absurd (BTW, that's the first time I've ordered checks in years). Especially absurd since NEITHER the check printer nor the customer bears ANY risk of loss should those checks be stolen by pirates. It's only my bank that's vulnerable. The check vendors I've queried so far only offer a $30+ arrangement via FedEx. Gee, thanks. We sent commercial checks once via Fed Ex...and those were left in an unprotected area...and stolen. In search of an economical solution for customers who still desire paper checks.
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Bob Koncerak
CFO & COO
American Commerce Bank, National Association
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