Case Studies

Blue Ball National Bank
ID Verification Success Story

"We knew we needed to do something with the PATRIOT Act so we evaluated a number of services. In the end, we found that the comprehensive service offered by eFunds was easy to use, and returned information that enabled us to make accurate account opening decisions."

Linda Healy, Blue Ball National Bank's Senior Vice President and Regional Branch Administrator

Overview
With all of the rules that took effect following the PATRIOT Act, banks and credit unions were suddenly faced with requirements to have comprehensive know-your-customer policies in place. Documentary and nondocumentary became terms well-known by anyone connected with opening an account.

Identity verification can manifest in a variety of ways. In Central Pennsylvania, home to many Amish, the only option to verify an account applicant's identity may be driving to a farm in absence of a consumer report, explains Blue Ball National Bank's senior vice president and regional branch administrator Linda Healy. "For other customers, who have more records and use more bank products, there are options in addition to this." According to Linda, Blue Ball frequently turns to the ChexSystems ID Verification service when opening new deposit accounts. "We knew we needed to do something with the PATRIOT Act," explains Linda, "so we evaluated a number of services. In the end, we found that the comprehensive service offered by eFunds [now part of the ChexSystems Product Suite] was easy to use, and returned information that enabled us to make accurate account opening decisions."

In addition, Linda reports, the bank liked the fact that businesses as well as individuals could be verified through the same system. "The versatility is great: we can use one service to open a checking account, screen an identity when opening a loan, or complete a comprehensive ID check prior to cashing a check."

"The feedback from our front-line employees has been positive," reports Dennis Markley, Blue Ball's BSA and anti money laundering compliance officer. "People like that it is easy to use—this made for an easy install and training, too." Examiners have been pleased with Blue Ball's process, as well, according to Dennis.

"They wanted to know what our process is and commented favorably on the fact that we had a tool like this in place," adds Linda.

"I don't think I'd want to be in this environment without ID Verification," concludes Linda. "Initially, we made this decision based on a compliance need, but we have seen even bigger uses and benefits. The cost is reasonable, and it has made verifying identities easy."