This week, USAA, a small bank that serves mostly military personnel, has updated its iPhone application to allow customers the ability to deposit checks remotely.

The feature will work by having customers photograph both sides of the check using the iPhone’s camera.

Revealed in a story in Monday’s New York Times, the new feature highlights the company’s efforts to reach its customers all over the world. Currently, USAA has only one branch in San Antonio, Tex., and is just shy of the top 20 sized banks in the U.S.

“We’re essentially taking an image of the check, and once you hit the send button, that image is going into our deposit-taking system as any other check would,” USAA Executive Vice President Wayne Peacock said.

The bank has 7.2 million customers, and estimates that about 1 million use their cell phones to access their account. The Times cites a report from comScore that states more than 15 million people in the U.S. use their smartphone to access their bank account. The firm’s senior director credits the iPhone with the explosive popularity of mobile banking.

“It’s the iPhone that really propelled things to the forefront,” he said.

For more details visit https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_utils/McStaticPages?key=usaa_mobile_iphone