First Union said last week it is piloting the technology to clear checks at the point of sale, a long-sought holy grail in banking. However, the initiative drew yawns from analysts, who noted that the advance, while nice, won’t lure customers away from other bank competitors.

"The consumer in this country has learned to love his float. That has been traditionally the resistance in the U.S. to the acceptance of cash card, debit cards. We have an entire credit culture here," said John B. Moore, Jr., bank analyst at Interstate/Johnson Lane. He said, however, that merchants will love the innovation that allows the check to be turned into debits that clear electronically through the automated clearing house network. He added, "The real impetus here is to get rid of float, but we’ve yet to see a clear set of enticements to get the consumer to give up his float."

"It will reduce costs to the commercial customers and the bank. The retail customer gets nothing," said Larry Cohn, head of research at Ryan Beck.

Sandra Flannigan, bank analyst at Merrill Lynch, was one of several who had not made it a point to focus on the new program, but said the additional channels of delivery certainly couldn’t hurt. "It’s something that’s interesting and it shows once again their innovation. Is it something that’s going to make or break the bank? No. But the more options that customers have as far as product and delivery channels, the more likely they are able to retain customers."

The Charlotte, N.C.-based giant’s pilot program will begin in about two months with a Virginia-based hairdressing chain.