Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) involves the conversion of physical paper checks to electronic data, enabling them to be transported, cleared and deposited electronically.

The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21) which became effective in the US on October 28th, 2004 was a catalyst for the adoption of RDC. Check 21 authorizes the creation of substitute checks from images of the front and back of an original paper check. Check 21 also enables U.S. banks to unilaterally choose to convert all paper checks to electronic data and provide substitute checks or IRDs to those banks and customers who have not agreed to accept the electronic records or images of the original paper checks. Check 21 enables the elimination of many costly check processing steps and facilitates the development of improvements to back office check handling operations.