Big banks continue to recreate the branch experience through their mobile apps. Barry Baird, head of payments capability and delivery at TD Bank, told Bank Innovation the Cherry Hill, N.J.-based bank has increased the limit for mobile check deposit, a move consistent with changes at other big U.S. banks.

“We knew we were going to start seeing larger dollar amounts go through [remote check deposit],” Baird said. “We used to have a lot of access through the stores going across the counter, or even deposited within the ATM.” 

In addition to TD Bank, which has more than $395 billion in assets, KeyBank and Citibank both told Bank Innovation they have increased their limits for mobile check deposits as consumers avoid brick-and-mortar locations. 

Baird said that while overall check deposit volume is down slightly, he estimated digital check deposits are up around 25%. TD Bank, the U.S. subsidiary of the Toronto-based TD, also increased its ATM limits, and upped its server capacity to handle increased digital volume.

Jamie Warder, head of digital banking at Cleveland-based KeyBank, recently told Bank Innovation the bank increased its mobile check deposit volume during the pandemic. KeyBank has $156 billion in assets. And Citi’s digital team has worked with the bank’s fraud team since the start of the pandemic to increase the mobile check deposit limit for its new customers. According to Citi, mobile check deposit volume grew 37% in May. 

“We’ve accelerated a lot of the things that we identified weren’t working or that we wanted to tweak,” Mike Naggar, chief digital officer for Citi’s U.S. consumer bank, told Bank Innovation. “How we’re handling it internally is looking at what our customers are dealing with and struggling with the most, and adapting accordingly.” 

Baird said TD Bank is also looking into real-time payments to improve customer experience, especially in the small business space. The bank currently offers the ability to receive real-time payments and is working on send capabilities. With real-time payments, the bank could offer better insights for small business clients, Baird said. For example, TD could inform a landscaping business when other landscapers begin to buy for mulching season, or how much competitors charge for a mow, based on bank data.

See also: TD Bank: Digital growth drives results

“When we talk about real-time payments, obviously by the title everybody jumps to the time windows of the payment,” Baird said. “That’s certainly a part of it, but it’s really more about the certainty of when you are going to get the payment as well as the information that comes along with that payment.”

Ron Shevlin, director of research at Cornerstone Advisors, detailed the firm’s 2020 Mobile Deposit Benchmark Report in a Forbes post earlier this year. “Two policy-related functions—deposit limits and recommended paper check hold times—vary widely across banks and therefore have a strong impact on the banks’ overall ranking,” he wrote.

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