US Bank readies smartphone bill paying

Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank has reached an agreement that will allow its customers to set up bill payments by taking a picture of paper bills with their mobile phone.

U.S. Bank says it has entered into a partnership with California-based Mitek Systems to offer Mitek's Mobile Photo Bill Pay product to U.S. Bank customers.

The bank's vice president and mobile channel manager, Chris Peper, said the new service will save customers several steps.

"What's the payment address? What's my account number at this merchant? We can now essentially turn the phone into a keyboard for the customers, take a picture of that payment coupon and get all that information into Bill Pay without them having to do data entry on their mobile phones," Peper said.

Both U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo allow customers to deposit checks using their smartphones.