Local banks take step toward paperless transactions

Check 21, a new federal banking law, goes into effect Thursday, aiming to reduce the cost and time of check processing by allowing the use of electronic images.

But local bankers say consumers probably won't notice that much change, despite receiving information in banking state-ments and posted in branches and on websites.

Check 21 -- short for Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act -- doesn't require banks to create electronic images of checks, but says they must accept them.

Instead of returning canceled paper checks to consumers, banks will have the option of supplying an electronic copy, or substitute check.

''It's a paper change that should be fairly transparent to customers," said Larry Harrington, senior vice president of community banking at North Shore Bank in Peabody. ''It's really a first step toward a paperless banking system."

Ken Smith, chief executive of Pentucket Bank in Haverhill, said, ''We're sitting back and watching this. . . . I'm not sure, really, how much it will affect our customers. We don't do electronic imaging."

For banks, using the electronic copies means less time and paper to process checks.

For consumers, it means less time to make sure there's enough money in an account to cover a check. Checks transferred electronically clear faster, eliminating the float time, people have between the time they send a check and it is cashed.

''People will lose that float period," said Annmarie Wixon, vice president at BankMalden, a single-office bank. ''So, I guess people could bounce more checks, but returned checks here really aren't a problem."

Assets top $400m at Pentucket Bank
Pentucket Bank touts itself as ''The Little Bank That Could." And now it has surpassed $400 million in assets for the first time in its 113-year-history, the bank reported.

The mutual bank, which is owned by depositors, has seen deposits increase 6 percent from a year ago, to $343 million. Total loans grew 9 percent to $212 million. Net income for the first nine months of the year rose 18 percent, to more than $3 million, the bank said.

''We've been very aggressive," said Ken Smith, the chief executive. ''Much of our growth has been in Haverhill. We are the bank of this community."

In addition to its main office on Merrimack Street, the bank has two branches in Haverhill.

Businesses to helpfight breast cancer
Local businesses are helping to observe October as Breast Cancer Awareness month.

In Swampscott, Infinity Boutique has teamed with designer jean maker French Dressing Jeanswear for ''Pink Ribbon Days." For every pair of jeans a customer tries on, the store and jeans maker each will donate $1 to breast cancer research.

''The more pants that are tried on, the more money we will raise," said Pauline Spirito, the boutique owner.

Meanwhile, Panera Bread in Danvers is selling ''Pink Ribbon Bagels for the Cure," to benefit the Breast Health Center at the Hunt Center in Danvers. The special bagel has white chocolate and cherry chips that give the bread a pink glow. For every bagel sold, 25 cents is donated to the Breast Health Center, which is run by Beverly Hospital.

Datebook
Area chambers of commerce will host the fourth annual North of Boston Businesswomen of the Year Awards Luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at North Shore Community College's Lynn campus. The guest speaker is Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole.

Awards will be presented to women nominated by chambers in Lynn, Everett, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem, Saugus, and Winthrop, as well as the North Shore Chamber of Commerce in Danvers. The Lydia Pinkham Award will be given to the outstanding businesswoman of the year.

The North Shore Technology Council will meet from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Peabody Marriott, 8A Centennial Drive. The topic is middleware, a type of software that links several applications and computer databases.

Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com