U.S. Bank To Launch Photo Bill Payment In 2013

From American Banker

U.S. Bank (USB) in Minneapolis has committed to becoming the first large U.S. bank to offer mobile bill payment in the manner of mobile check deposit — letting users pay a bill by simply taking a picture of it with the camera on their smartphone or tablet.

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US Bank's press release has more details:

Mobile Photo Bill Pay will allow U.S. Bank customers to set up bill payments by simply snapping a picture of their paper bill using their camera-enabled smartphone or tablet. The new feature eliminates the need to manually enter biller and payment information, and allows the customer to make bill payments directly from their mobile device.
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U.S. Bank will be the first leading financial institution to offer this innovative service to customers in early 2013.

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I would prefer to see banks spend less time on these types of innovations and more time on innovations that raise deposit rates.