In-House or Outsourced processing? Ahhh, the age-old question. There are lucid, compelling arguments and staunch proponents for each (although it’s not unusual that an avid supporter of one type of processing was equally enamored with the other just a few years back). As a result, each solution has had more than one “heyday,” only to see an eventual decline as momentum swings the other way. Which approach is better? Fortunately, time and technology have conspired to make this question obsolete. There is now a new class of provider offering a “continuum” of processing solutions that incorporate both in-house and outsourced components. By leveraging the technologies of our parent company, CMS, Image Remit offers lockbox solutions comprising a customized mix of tools to fit the exact, current needs of our clients.

Let’s look at some examples of these “hybridized” solutions to see how they make the “in-house vs. outsourced” debate a thing of the past. We’ll start with solutions that are “primarily in-house,” and work our way along the continuum toward those solutions that are “primarily outsourced.”

This could be considered an “arm’s length” outsourcing arrangement, whereby a bank that is processing their lockbox work entirely in-house contracts with Image Remit for disaster recovery/business continuity services. In most cases, beyond the initial set-up and periodic testing processes, the outsourcing services are not used unless/until the bank’s lockbox processing center is affected by an external event that renders it inoperable.

A variation on this theme might see an in-house processor contract with Image Remit to process a portion of their work on a weekend shift. This provides an excellent disaster recovery scenario, with continuous testing.




This solution would see a bank, processing in an in-house environment, export images and data to an Image Remit (hosted) web-server for delivery of lockbox outputs via the web. Again, this would be considered a “hybrid” solution that contains primarily in-house components with a critical outsourced capability.

An outsourcing arrangement can be an excellent, “low impact” method of entering a new geography for a bank who has existing in-house lockbox processing centers in one or more areas of the country and wants to expand to another (or others). Building, equipping, and staffing a lockbox center can be an expensive and demanding project. Surely, it is not something a bank wants to do on a speculative basis. However, market conditions, or a group of nationwide customers who require your bank to provide nationwide lockbox, may compel you to expand your footprint.

The critical success factor here is the ability of the outsourcing provider to produce customer outputs that are highly consistent with those your bank already provides at its in-house sites, OR to have the ability to import and consolidate the images and data that result from the outsourced process.

This approach allows a bank to minimize the IT investment in software and hardware while building a lockbox customer base. In a solution that could be considered “primarily in-house” from an operations perspective, yet “primarily outsourced” from an IT perspective, a bank could contract the use of Image Remit’s systems via an ASP implementation.

Here, the bank would receive and capture lockbox payments for their customers in-house. The images from those payments would be sent to Image Remit’s servers, and, through a secure VPN connection, bank personnel would then utilize Image Remit’s systems to finish processing the work. This would include data entry, balancing, deposits and creation of customer outputs.

In many cases, especially in Wholesale Lockbox, a bank’s customers have a strong preference for a local lockbox. One of the primary reasons that banks choose an in-house solution is that there are simply no suitable outsourcing providers in their market area. Remote Capture is an excellent way of providing a local lockbox presence without all of the investment of an in-house solution. The bank can receive and capture lockbox payments and send the images to Image Remit, who can then finish the process, up to, and including, all of the customer outputs.

This is especially useful for customers who accept a “no paper returned” lockbox product, but, can also work well for those customers requiring a physical lockbox package. Image Remit can easily direct printing of reports, as well as check images, to local printers, where the bank can prepare and send the lockbox packages. What’s pleasantly surprising, though, is that this flexible solution can also work in reverse. If a bank has in-house lockbox facilities in a given location, but would like to do business in another area, Image Remit can serve as the “Remote Capture agent.” We can receive and scan the mail and send the images to the bank’s in-house system for completion of processing.

Of course, sometimes it makes more sense for an organization to invest as little as possible while building their lockbox clientele. Which brings us to the other end of the continuum - a completely outsourced solution, where Image Remit owns and maintains all of the brick and mortar, IT components, logistics and necessary infrastructure for a lockbox processing center. Your customers get the lockbox services they require, under your bank’s private label, while you enjoy the benefit of knowing those customers are in experienced and capable hands.