A few months ago, a bank teller at my local Chase (JPM) branch was chastising me for not having the Chase Mobile app on my iPhone. He told me that I’d better download it because an update was in the works to let customers deposit checks into their Chase accounts via a photo. The teller wasn’t pulling my leg; the financial giant just released an update for iPhone that includes mobile deposits.
I’m self-employed and most of my clients still use paper checks, which equals a couple of trips to the bank every month. Thursday was payday, so I was excited to give Chase Mobile a try Friday afternoon. After a few taps to authorize quick deposits for my account, I was able to select which account to deposit the funds and enter in the amount of the check.
You then need to take a photo of the front and back of the check by lining up the image with the provided blue box. The app provides some tips on how to take the best photo, however, it still took me a couple tries to check a business check to fit inside the box. Unfortunately, Chase Mobile rained on my parade when the app told me my deposit amount was too much to use the feature and that I would have to make the trip to the bank after all. Right now Chase quick deposit only allows users to deposit $1,000 a day and $3,000 a week. Bummer, but the ability to deposit smaller checks is one I’ll definitely be using in the future.
Another feature new to Chase Mobile is Person-to-Person QuickPay, which allows users to transfer funds to someone else using that person’s email address. You’ll have to register for this feature from a real computer first, but then you’ll be able to use the app to send or request funds, for free. Within seconds I was able to ask my boyfriend for his share of the rent through the app, and he was able to remit payment directly into my checking account from his iPhone — very cool.
