Unisys SoftCAR+ delivers highest accuracy in the industry

Unisys Corporation today announced SoftCAR+, a third-generation Courtesy Amount Recognition (CAR), Windows NT-based software application that enables document processors to read checks with dramatic cost reductions and speed improvements for mission-critical banking services.

Unisys made the announcement at The Association for Work Process Improvement (TAWPI) conference and exhibition here.

The first installation of SoftCAR+ is planned for REMITCO, a leading high volume remittance processing company. "We have been using the Unisys VisualRemittance image-based payment solution and Unisys NDP500 transports at our New York site since 1997," said Scott Dickey, REMITCO`s Chief Operating Officer. "With the implementation of SoftCAR+, we expect to reduce some data entry functions by more than 60 percent. The improvements from SoftCAR+ will allow REMITCO to streamline workflow, enhance quality and increase remittance processing capacity."

"The first CAR Unisys offered in 1991 provided the highest recognition rates available at the time, processing up to 1800 items per minute," said Mike Thomas, vice president and general manager, Unisys Payment Systems. "Unisys has continued to lead in performance over competitors, and today Unisys is again setting a new industry performance standard with its unique cross-validation processing method utilized by SoftCAR+."

How does it work?

SoftCAR+ utilizes multiple CAR recognition engines, Legal Amount Recognition (LAR) engines and high-resolution gray scale images of the scanned item to provide industry-leading recognition performance. SoftCAR+ achieves unprecedented recognition rates of more than 90 percent with low substitution rates.

Unlike other CAR products, SoftCAR+ takes advantage of two images, including a high-resolution JPEG gray-level snippet image and a CCITT black-and-white image, captured on Unisys NDP transports in one document pass. The CAR engine reads the courtesy amount, or the number printed on the item. This number is then cross-validated with the scripted legal amount and read by a LAR engine to maximize SoftCAR+`s read rates and minimize substitution rates.

SoftCAR+ can be configured with further advanced features:

.         Check Information Reader - allows remittance processors to collect information from customer checks and deposit the information into a data warehouse for marketing purposes

.         Payee Line Recognition - enables positive pay verification, preventing check fraud

.         Scribble-detect Reader - identifies forms with change-of-address information

.         Foreign Check Processor - provides the capability to process international checks

Unisys recognition products have successfully processed more than five billion documents, making them the most widely installed technology of their type in the industry. Unisys SoftCAR+ can be configured as a LAN-centralized recognition station to receive images from multiple transports and scanners. SoftCAR+ can recognize handwriting styles from 28 different countries, and supports alphanumeric Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) and forms processing in 14 countries.