Finally: 'direct deposit' for any check

SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. -- Earth Class Mail solves the problem of how to get your paper snail-mail while traveling the world. They receive your mail, scan it and put it online. You can chose to have it forwarded, scanned or shredded. But now, the service will even deposit your paper checks!

This blog is all about how to live the digital nomad lifestyle, how to "work from home" without staying home. That's why I've covered Earth Class Mail here, here, here and here.

How does it all work? You set up your account, and do a "change of address" with the post office and the companies you do business with as if you were moving to a new house. The address is given to you by Earth Class Mail, and it guides your mail into their processing facility. You get to choose from any of any of five city locations for your address: Beaverton, OR, Seattle, New York City, San Francisco or Los Angeles, plus 18 PO boxes in other locations across the U.S.

Earth Class Mail staff scans the physical envelopes they receive, and puts those scans online in a secure area. You browse the scans, and choose whether they shred, open-and-scan or forward the mail. If you ask them to forward it, you can have them send it anywhere. If you choose open-and-scan, you can come back later and read the contents online.

You can see how this solves an enormous problem for anyone who travels.

Some of us frequent fliers work regular jobs and can choose "direct deposit" of paychecks. But many of us digital nomads are freelancers. No direct deposit for us. We need to figure something else out. And it can be a real problem.

On my recent two-month trip to Greece, I had to ask someone to come pick up my mail, go through it, and physically carry the checks to the bank for me.

Earth Class Mail has now solved that problem, too.

The company will announce tomorrow a new paper-check deposit service. Your paper paycheck arrives at Earth Class Mail along with your other mail, and the company will scan the check and post an electronic version online. You click a "Deposit" button, and fillout out what is essentially an online deposit slip. Earth Class Mail deposits the check for you, and stores the paper check in its secure storage facility until the banks recommended check-holding period is up (at which point they shred it).

The service works only with Wells Fargo business accounts, but Earth Class Mail claims they'll support other banks in the near future.

This is great news, and represents the elimination of yet another barrier to living and working wherever you choose.

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