Q&A with John Leekley on the Success of RemoteDepositCapture.com and the Future of RDC
John Leekley, founder and CEO of RemoteDepositCapture.com (@RDCTweet) recently stopped by the agency to discuss the site’s enormous success, as well as the future of the RDC market. John was such an 
engaging guest, that we asked him to sit down with WMA senior vice president Kelly Williams to answer a few more questions:
WILLIAMS: What led you to create RemoteDepositCapture.com?
LEEKLEY: This is a classic entrepreneurial tale. Leading up to the official start of “Check 21” in October 2004, and while spearheading Remote Deposit Capture development initiatives at HSBC Bank USA and Deutsche Bank, we discovered there was no easy way to find and exchange information on vendors, best practices, risk, pricing, and more. In 2005, believing that RDC was going to change the very way banking is done, we decided to leave our jobs in New York City and founded RemoteDepositCaptire.com. We were fortunate to be at the right place at the right time as this new industry which would impact thousands of financial institutions, millions of end-users, and process trillions (yes, with a “T”) in payments was just in its infancy.
WILLIAMS: How far has Remote Deposit Capture come since you launched the site in ‘05?
LEEKLEY: Remote Deposit Capture has been called “The most important development the (U.S.) banking industry has seen in years” by the Federal Reserve. In fact, RDC has become the fastest-adopted technology the Financial Services Industry has ever seen, reaching 50 percent of all FIs in less than 4 years (compared to 9 years for 50 percent adoption of online banking). Today, there are close to 1 Million users / locations in operation. We estimate (as do Celent, Tower and the Aite Group) there will be at least 3 million users / locations by the end of 2012.
WILLIAMS: What were the most significant developments in RDC in 2009?
LEEKLEY: The top 5 developments include:
i. The rise of “mobile” and “consumer” capture.
ii. The issuance of the FFIEC’s RDC Risk Management Guidance.
iii. The incorporation of RDC into QuickBooks 2010.
iv. Mass-market coverage of RDC in mainstream media including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA Today.
v. The introduction of sub-$250 scanners and the ability to use flatbed scanners.
WILLIAMS: When did you realize that the site was finally taking off?
LEEKLEY: Within just a few short months, thousands of visitors were visiting the site on a monthly basis. At the same time, potential advertisers and site sponsors were contacting us. Given our independent and unique business model where the vast majority on our site is available free of change and without the need to register, it was critical to gain the support of industry-leading organizations to advertise on the site. We were fortunate to have quickly attracted premier site sponsors who today include RDM, WAUSAU, Panini, NCR and EPSON. With the support from the industry in terms of both visitors and sponsorships, we were able to hire our first employee within our first 8 months. However, we didn’t take a paycheck for ourselves for over a year as we were reinvesting 100% of cash flow back into the business. When we finally did take that first paycheck in late 2006, it truly was an indication we had made it to that “next level”.
WILLIAMS: Name three things that would increase the impact of RDC immediately
LEEKLEY:
a. A better understanding of RDC’s complete value proposition. Most people focus only upon fee income (for FIs) and the elimination of the trip to the bank (for end-users) and overlook the value of deposits / balances, cash flow acceleration and the automation of data associated with payments.
b. A better understanding of what the unique risks of RDC are (and are not), and how RDC can actually be a safer payments processing platform than has been available previously.
c. An easier and less costly way for end-users to get up and running with RDC.
WILLIAMS: What do you think the future for remote deposit capture looks like?
LEEKLEY: Watching the future of this industry develop will be fascinating. RDC has evolved from a convenient way to deposit checks into a payments platform with the ability to process multiple payment types (Checks, Credit & Debit, ACH and even Cash), capture the payment data and integrate into account receivable, customer billing, ERP, risk management and other systems. At the same time, I can think of no other industry where there can literally be thousands of service providers competing for my business. In its first five years, RDC has radically altered the very way banking and payments are done. The next five years will prove to be even more transformative and exciting.
WILLIAMS: One a personal note, describe what the transition from banking executive to entrepreneur has been like for you.
LEEKLEY: The transition from banking executive to entrepreneur has been amazing. Working in New York City, yet living in New Jersey with my family was invigorating, exhausting and challenging. While my career was flourishing, it was almost impossible to spend the time I wanted to with my family. While I now work more hours per week than I did while I was a banking executive, I have far more control over which hours those are. Being an entrepreneur has afforded me a wonderful work / life balance where I can continue to enjoy the challenges of a career, but I can now also focus much more on my family – which is the most important part of my life. I can now be my son’s soccer coach, my daughter’s softball coach, and spend more quality time with my wonderful wife. I have found being an entrepreneur is still invigorating, exhausting and challenging, but I have also found it to be much more rewarding as well.
About John Leekley
John has over 19 years banking experience, the majority of which focused specifically upon cash management product management, strategy and development. Prior to starting RemoteDepositCapture.com, John held positions at HSBC Bank USA, Deutsche Bank, PriceWaterhouseCoopers Consulting, and has conducted independent consulting engagements for numerous Financial Institutions. John holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Since founding RemoteDepositCapture.com, Mr. Leekley has been a featured speaker at numerous industry & user conferences, annual meetings and industry gatherings. In addition to hosting the industry’s first RDC Conference, Mr. Leekley is a primary resource to, and has been a featured speaker with the FFIEC, FDIC, US Treasury, Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union Administration. John was a key resource to the FFIEC and assisted in the development of the FFIEC’s RDC risk Management Guidelines and trained over 1,200 auditors. In November 2009, John was a featured speaker to the Federal Reserve at their annual Fraud Information Network Conference.
