“It's a horrible experience, applying for a checking account on a mobile device,” he added. “There's a lot of abandonment – at least 25%, some institutions report over 50%.”

The problem is that inputting lots of data on a phone is tough, between the small keys on glass and the tiny screen size.

Thus the Mitek idea of using the phone's camera for data entry. “A picture is worth a thousand keystrokes,” said Carter. “Snap a picture of a driver's license and that can populate a lot of the application.”

“We can bring in other types of forms such as a W2,” said Carter.

He added that the cherry on this sundae is that “the consumer can fund the account by snapping a picture of the front and back of a check.”

Carter estimated that applying for an account this way will typically “take under one minute.”

As with other Mitek products, Mobile Photo Account Opening will primarily be sold through the company's channel partners, with Mitek handling direct sales to a select group of institutions.

Carter explained the product's pricing this way: “We will have an annual license fee, but the majority of the pricing will be per transaction. That will be important to small credit unions.”