Checks are becoming a smaller part of the B2B payment mix, but they haven't disappeared. Checks represented 26% of B2B payments in 2025, down from 33% in 2022, according to the Association for Financial Professionals' 2025 Digital Payments Survey. For mid market and enterprise organizations that continue to receive checks across multiple locations, entities, and bank accounts, that declining share doesn't eliminate the operational work involved in processing them.

Remote deposit capture software addresses an important part of that process. It allows businesses to capture check images and transmit deposits electronically rather than physically transporting checks to the bank.

But depositing a check is not the same as processing the payment.

Banking guidance around remote deposit capture continues to address operational issues such as image quality, duplicate presentment, processing errors, and problem resolution.

For finance teams, the challenges can extend further downstream. A deposited check may still need to be connected with remittance information, matched against open invoices, routed through exceptions, reconciled, and posted to the ERP.

HighRadius' experience with check processing illustrates this gap. In one $55.3 billion wholesale organization operating across 72 business units, remote deposit capture was already part of the process, yet cash posting remained decentralized and the organization achieved only a 30% to 40% on invoice hit rate.

The question, then, isn't simply whether RDC can digitize a check. It's how much of the payment process it actually automates.

Remote Deposit Capture Challenges at a Glance

Challenge	What can remain unresolved
Remittance information	Payment details may remain disconnected from the check
Exception handling	Invalid, duplicate, or unclear payments may still require review
Payment matching	Checks may still need to be matched against invoices
Distributed operations	Multiple locations can create inconsistent processes
Payment visibility	Deposit confirmation does not always mean cash is posted
ERP posting	Deposit processing and accounting workflows may remain separate
Reconciliation	Teams may need to connect information across multiple systems
Scale	Manual downstream processes become harder to manage as volumes grow

1. Capturing the check doesn't mean capturing the payment information

A check contains more than an amount.

For an accounts receivable team, the important question is not only whether the check can be deposited. It is what the customer intended that payment to settle.

The information needed to answer that question may be contained in:

• A remittance document attached to the check
• An email
• A PDF
• A customer portal
• An EDI file
• A separate payment advice
• Information already stored in the ERP

When check information and remittance information are processed separately, the deposit can move forward while the cash application process waits for the explanation behind the payment.

This becomes particularly difficult for organizations processing payments across multiple business units and locations.

What finance teams should ask:

Can the RDC process capture and connect check information with the remittance required for cash application automation, or does that information still need to be collected separately?

2. Deposit automation doesn't eliminate exceptions

Automation can reduce the manual work involved in capturing and depositing checks. It does not mean every check will move through the process without review.

Finance teams can still encounter:

• Duplicate checks
• Invalid or incomplete MICR information
• Image quality issues
• Amount discrepancies
• Missing information
• Checks that cannot be confidently associated with a customer

The OCC has identified issues including image quality, duplicate presentment, processing errors, and problem resolution as areas that banks and RDC users need to address.

For finance teams, the operational question is simple:

What happens when a payment falls outside the normal process?

If the answer is "an analyst investigates it manually," the organization may have automated the deposit without automating the exception.

What finance teams should ask

How does the RDC process identify exceptions, route them for review, and prevent avoidable manual rework?

3. Depositing a check doesn't automatically match it to an invoice

A deposited check still needs to be applied to the right customer and open receivables.

That can become complicated when a payment:

• Covers multiple invoices
• Partially pays an invoice
• Covers invoices across business units
• Includes deductions
• Does not contain sufficient remittance information
• Comes from a customer with multiple accounts

HighRadius saw this issue in its work with a $55.3 billion wholesale organization operating across 72 business units. The company's existing matching process relied heavily on payment amounts because remittance information was not being used effectively. The result was a 30% to 40% on invoice hit rate.

The problem was not that the check could not be deposited.

The problem was that the organization still had to determine where the money belonged.

What finance teams should ask

Once a check is deposited, how much of the customer and invoice matching process happens automatically?

4. Distributed locations can create fragmented check processing

Mid market and enterprise organizations rarely operate from a single location.

Checks may arrive at:

• Manufacturing plants
• Distribution centers
• Branches
• Retail locations
• Service locations
• Regional offices
• Shared service centers

RDC can allow those locations to capture checks locally. But decentralized capture can still create downstream complexity if every location follows different processes for validation, remittance handling, exception resolution, and cash posting.

The challenge is therefore not simply centralized versus decentralized deposit capture.

It is finding a way to combine:

Decentralized check capture + centralized financial control

That distinction becomes particularly important as an organization adds locations, business units, or acquisitions.

What finance teams should ask

Can local teams capture checks while finance maintains a consistent, centralized process for validation, cash application, reconciliation, and reporting?

5. A confirmed deposit doesn't mean the cash is visible to AR

There is an important difference between knowing that a check was deposited and knowing how that payment affects accounts receivable.

Treasury may know:

The deposit was submitted.

AR may still need to know:

Who paid?

Which invoices were paid?

Was there a deduction?

Has the payment been applied?

What remains unapplied?

That gap can create delays between receiving the money and recognizing the payment correctly in the accounting system.

For organizations managing large payment volumes, that distinction matters. A faster deposit does not automatically create faster cash application.

What finance teams should ask

Does the process provide visibility from check capture through deposit, matching, application, and posting?

6. ERP posting can remain a separate process

The final destination of a payment is often the ERP.

But the RDC process and the accounting process may not always operate as one workflow.

A typical process can look like:

Every handoff creates an opportunity for delay, duplicate work, or missing information.

The objective should therefore go beyond getting the check into the bank. Finance teams should consider whether the information generated during check capture can continue through the downstream cash application and accounting process.

What finance teams should ask

How does payment information move from RDC into cash application and ultimately into the ERP?

7. Reconciliation still requires connecting information across systems

Enterprise payment processing rarely happens inside one system.

A finance team may need to reconcile information from:

• RDC
• Bank accounts
• Check images
• Remittance sources
• Cash application
• ERP
• Customer accounts
• Deposit records

If those sources are disconnected, analysts may have to search across systems to determine what happened to an individual payment.

This is particularly challenging when organizations operate multiple entities or bank accounts.

The goal should not simply be to create a digital record of the deposit.

It should be to create a connected record of the payment journey.

What finance teams should ask

Can the organization trace a payment from check capture through deposit, application, reconciliation, and ERP posting without manually piecing together information from multiple systems?

8. Scaling RDC can expose the limitations of downstream manual work

Manual work that seems manageable at one location can become significantly harder to manage across dozens of locations and business units.

Consider an organization with:

• Multiple operating companies
• Multiple deposit accounts
• Hundreds or thousands of checks
• Multiple ERPs or ERP instances
• Decentralized check capture
• Centralized cash application

The scanning process may be automated, but if analysts still have to manually identify payments, search for remittance, resolve exceptions, match invoices, and reconcile deposits, the operational burden simply moves downstream.

HighRadius' work with the $55.3 billion wholesale organization illustrates this at scale. The company had 72 operating companies and decentralized cash posting. After combining remote deposit capture with remittance capture and centralized cash application, it achieved more than 85% automation for remote deposit payments and same day cash application.

The lesson is not that RDC is insufficient.

It is that the value of RDC increases when the deposit is connected to the rest of the payment process.

Remote Deposit Capture vs. Lockbox: What's the Difference?

Remote deposit capture and lockbox services both help businesses process incoming checks, but they operate differently.

With remote deposit capture, the organization receives checks at its own locations and uses an RDC system to capture and transmit the deposit electronically. With lockbox, the bank or a third party receives the checks, processes the payments, and provides payment and remittance information to the business.

The difference matters because it determines where check handling takes place, how much of the process remains with the finance organization, and what happens to payment data afterward.

	Remote Deposit Capture	Lockbox
Check received by	Business location	Bank or lockbox provider
Physical check handling	Managed by the organization	Outsourced
Deposit processing	Captured and transmitted electronically	Processed by provider
Remittance processing	Depends on the RDC setup	Often included in the service
Downstream cash application	Typically a separate process	Typically a separate process
Operating model	More control remains in house	More processing is outsourced

Neither model eliminates the need for downstream payment processing. Finance teams still need to connect payment information with customers and invoices, handle exceptions, apply cash, and post transactions to the ERP.

7 Questions to Ask When Evaluating Remote Deposit Capture

If your organization is evaluating an RDC solution, don't stop at questions about scanners, deposit speed, or bank connectivity.

Ask:

1. How HighRadius Connects RDC With Downstream AR Processing?

HighRadius can connect with third party RDC systems and bring payment information into downstream AR workflows, helping finance teams connect payment data with remittance, matching, exception handling, cash application, and ERP posting.

2. Can it capture and connect remittance information?

A check deposit provides the payment, but the associated remittance information is what helps finance teams determine how that payment should be applied. Evaluate how the solution captures, processes, and connects remittance data with the payment.

3. How does it handle exceptions?

Ask what happens when check details, payment amounts, or other captured information cannot be processed automatically. The solution should provide a clear workflow for identifying, reviewing, and correcting exceptions.

4. Can payment information flow into the ERP?

RDC should not create another data silo for the finance team. Evaluate how payment information moves from the RDC system into the ERP and whether manual re-entry is required.

5. Can it connect the deposit with cash application?

Depositing a check is only one step in the payment lifecycle. Consider whether the solution can connect RDC data with remittance processing, payment matching, and cash application.

6. Can it support a multi location, multi entity environment?

For organizations processing checks across multiple locations, entities, or bank accounts, evaluate whether the solution can consolidate payment information and support consistent downstream processing across the organization.

7. What happens after the check is deposited?

This is perhaps the most important question. Evaluate what happens to the payment after the bank confirms the deposit. Can the process move from deposit to payment identification, exception handling, cash application, ERP posting, and reconciliation without creating additional manual work?

From Payment Capture to Cash Application: OTR Solutions Automates 85% of ACH Posting

Capturing a payment is only the first step. Finance teams still need to identify the payment, connect it with remittance information, match it to the right receivables, resolve exceptions, and post the cash.

OTR Solutions faced this challenge while processing thousands of ACH and check payments every day. 85% of its ACH payments required manual matching, while 20% of check payments required manual exception handling. Its team also spent approximately 1,920 analyst hours annually on manual cash application activities.

By automating payment processing, remittance capture, matching, and exception handling with HighRadius, OTR Solutions achieved:

• 85% automated ACH posting
• 99% of incoming payments processed through the system
• 1,920 analyst hours reclaimed annually
• Cash application cycle time reduced from a week or more to under 24 hours
• 76% straight-through cash application

For organizations using RDC to digitize incoming checks, the lesson is similar: getting the payment into a digital workflow is only the beginning. The downstream process determines how quickly that payment becomes applied cash and visible in the ERP.

[Read the full OTR Solutions case study]

The Next Step for Remote Deposit Capture

Remote deposit capture has changed how businesses handle incoming checks. Instead of physically transporting checks to the bank, organizations can capture and transmit them electronically from their own locations.

But for a mid market or enterprise finance organization, the opportunity extends beyond the deposit.

The bigger question is:

What happens after the check becomes digital?

Can the organization carry the check and payment information into its finance workflow? Can it connect the payment with remittance information, validate the transaction, identify the customer, match the payment to invoices, resolve exceptions, reconcile the deposit, and post the cash without creating another manual process?

For finance teams managing multiple locations, entities, bank accounts, and high payment volumes, connecting these steps can be the difference between digitizing check deposits and automating the journey from check to cash.

How HighRadius Connects RDC With Downstream AR Processing

HighRadius does not replace the RDC system used to capture and deposit checks. Instead, it can connect with third party RDC systems to bring check and payment information into the downstream finance workflow.

From there, the capabilities you gave me become relevant:

Continue into cash application: RDC data can become part of the broader payment workflow, connecting check deposits with remittance processing software, and cash application softwares.

Connect with existing RDC systems: Receive check and payment data from the organization's existing RDC environment.

Process remittance information: Additional remittance captured alongside checks can be brought into the payment processing workflow.

Validate payment data: Check and payment information can be validated against processing requirements.

Handle exceptions: Anomalies in MICR, payment amount, check number, or other captured information can be flagged for human review.

Connect payment data to the ERP: Processed payment information can flow into the ERP rather than requiring finance teams to manually re-enter it.

The takeaway: HighRadius RDC does more than digitize the act of depositing a check. It helps finance teams automate the steps around capture, validation, deposit, and exception handling while providing a path to connect those payments with the broader AR process.

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