BACKGROUND

Check usage has undergone global decline as a result of faster, cheaper, and more secure electronic payment systems. Checks have not disappeared entirely however. In several major economies including the United States, checks remain widely used. The Check Clearing for the 21stCentury Act (“Check 21”) was enacted by the United States federal government on Oct. 28, 2003 and took effect exactly one year later. The law allows a recipient of a check to create a digital version, thereby eliminating any need for further handling of the physical document.

A check made and cleared in the United States typically follows the following cycle: the maker of the check first writes the check, signs the front of the check, and gives it to the payee. The payee then endorses the check by signing the back side of the check, and gives the check to a receiving bank, e.g. a bank at which the payee may have a deposit account. The receiving bank stamps the check on the back side with a bank endorsement, and presents the check to the drawee. The drawee is a financial institution at which the maker holds an account, and the drawee is therefore legally obliged to honor the check.

The portion of the above described cycle occurring after receipt of the check by the receiving bank is referred to herein as clearing the check. After Check 21, the receiving bank may convert the front and back sides of the check into digital images. The images thus acquired may be presented to the drawee instead of the physical check.

Because check processing has become increasingly mechanized, and to further reduce check processing costs and improve check clearing speed under Check 21, there is a need in the industry to provide effective technologies for digital signature detection on checks.

SUMMARY

The described embodiments contemplate systems, methods and computer-readable media with computer-executable instructions for digital signature detection on checks. In one embodiment, a method for detecting a signature on a check is contemplated. The method includes loading a check image into a computer memory, then determining a signature window location on the check image. A process counts a number of pixels in the signature window to acquire a signature window pixel count. The signature window pixel count can then be compared to a minimum pixel threshold and a maximum pixel threshold. If the count is below the minimum threshold, the presence of a signature is unlikely. Similarly, if the count is above the maximum threshold, the presence of a signature is unlikely. Additional comparisons and analysis may be performed in some embodiments. Finally, a detection flag may be set to true when the signature window pixel count is, for example, greater than the minimum pixel threshold and less than the maximum pixel threshold.

In another exemplary embodiment, a method for detecting a signature on a check comprises determining whether a check image is a business check image or a personal check image, using common characteristics that can be used to distinguish such images. When the check is a business check, a business check signature detection process is applied. Alternatively, when the check is a personal check, a personal check signature detection process is applied.

In a third exemplary embodiment, a method for detecting a signature on a check comprises loading a check image and determining signature window locations for a first signature window on a first end of said check image, and for a second signature window on a second end of said check image, said second end being opposite from said first end. The method may next count a number of pixels in said first and second signature windows to acquire first and second signature window pixel counts. The first signature window pixel count can be compared to said second signature window count, and a detection flag may be set to true when the first signature window pixel count differs from said second signature window pixel count.

Additional advantages and features of the invention are described below.

