Large and small institutions have taken increasingly different paths in their approaches to RDC, Celent said. Many credit unions with $1 billion or less in assets have no plans to offer commercial RDC, while large banks are more likely than smaller institutions to offer multiple RDC solutions from multiple vendors and launch mobile RDC.

Compared to smaller institutions, large banks are also more satisfied with their compliance and risk procedures than with their vendors' capabilities. They're also focusing more on product launches than compliance, are more likely to charge for RDC scanners and are less capable of detecting duplicate deposits across channels, Celent said.

"There have always been significant differences between how smaller financial institutions and large banks approached RDC," Meara said. "But, Celent observes a widening gap in both attitudes and action as it relates to RDC."

Celent found most RDC client growth has taken place at institutions with average scanner deployment numbers that grew from 97 to 106. Additionally, vendors are integrating RDC solutions into existing applications, bringing more benefits to users and growing interest from institutions.

The firm also saw a movement into the small business market this year, driven by RDC solutions that allow small business owners to use existing scanning equipment and specialized check scanners, and foresees increased activity in this realm over the next two years.

About half of financial institutions are considering utilizing TWAIN-compliant RDC scanners, Celent said, which will "allow a step change downward in solution cost (and in turn, pricing) that will, finally, make RDC broadly viable for small/microbusiness and consumer segments."

But mobile RDC's popularity will be the true driving factor in small business customer adoption.