Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Automated electrical financial or business practice or... – Finance
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-04
2001-09-11
Millin, Vincent (Department: 2164)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Finance
C235S375000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06289324
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the field of smart cards for conducting financial transactions. More particularly, the present invention relates to a smart card that can acquire information regarding a customer's transactions and establish a system automated task for assisting in such financial transactions.
2. Description of Related Art
Credit cards, debit cards, and automatic teller machine cards are widely used by consumers around the world to access, transfer and spend money. These cards make use of a magnetic strip disposed on the back of the card which is encoded with information about the cardholder and the account or accounts accessed by the card. Terminals, which may be automatic teller machines (ATMs) or merchant terminals at a place of business or point of sale, are used to read the coded information on the card and access the cardholder's account to complete a financial transaction.
Besides the well known credit and debit cards, stored value cards are becoming increasingly popular. A stored value card is a card that is purchased or established for a specific monetary amount. That monetary amount is stored as the value of the card. When the cardholder desires to use the stored value card to purchase goods or services, the card is presented at the point of sale and the cost of the goods or services purchased is deducted from the value of the card.
The cardholder may continue to use the stored value card in this manner until all the value has been removed from the card. The card may then be discarded user of the care may provide a method for replenishing the value of the card. Such cards are commonly used today as a means for paying subway fare and making phone calls.
The development of such convenient financial instruments has also produced “smart cards.” Rather than employing information encoded on a magnetic strip, smart cards incorporate a microprocessor which is embedded in the card and can interact with the ATM or merchant terminal to provide information about the cardholder or the cardholder's account, transaction authorization, or other information. Various smart card designs and applications are described in the following U.S. Patents which are incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,766,293 (Boston); U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,376 (Lessin et al.); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,935 (Younger).
Advanced smart cards, called very smart cards, may even include a battery, a keypad and an LCD display on the face of the card. However, due to the expense of such advanced cards, typical smart cards have no keypad or display and look like other plastic credit cards.
Smart cards can be designed to operate as stored value cards, credit cards, debit cards, ATM cards, calling cards, etc. A smart card may also be designed to perform any combination of these various functions. However, the multiplicity of capabilities offered by smart cards could result in customer frustration resulting from the vast array of choices available each time a smart card is placed in a smart card reader. For example, use of a smart card at a Citibank ATM machine might permit a customer to deposit money, to withdraw money, to exchange currency, to view a customer's balance, to transfer money between the customer's checking and savings accounts, to purchase and/or sell stocks, etc. A customer wishing to transact only a single type of transaction might encounter a series of menus offering the various financial transaction options available to the customer. A transaction, initially perceived by the consumer to be seemingly a quick and efficient exchange, becomes a test of endurance between the customer and the machine as the customer windows down the choice available by selecting an option at each of several menus.
Thus, there is a need for a smart card that offers enhanced convenience when assisting a customer in executing a transaction. There is also a need for a smart card that can acquire information regarding a consumer's transactions and establish a system automated task for carrying out such financial transactions. Such a smart card has not been available in the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to meet the abovestated needs and others. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a smart card which can acquire information regarding a consumer's transactions and establish a system automated task for carrying out such financial transactions.
These objects, among others, have been obtained by means of a financial information and transaction system comprising a host financial computer system, which host system maintains records of user account information; at least one terminal providing a user interface for accessing the host financial computer system, the at least one terminal including a means for transmitting and receiving data corresponding to the user account information, and a smart card interface device; wherein access to the records of user account information are organized in a hierarchy of three or more levels, which hierarchy comprises an initial level, a final level, and one or more intervening levels; wherein the records of user account information are accessed by passing through the hierarchy of three or more levels; and wherein means are provided for allowing access to the final level in the hierarchy by an automated task without passing through the one or more intervening levels.
These objects, among others, have also been obtained by means of a financial information and transaction system comprising a host financial computer system, said host system maintaining records of user account information; at least one terminal providing a user interface for accessing said host financial computer system, said at least one terminal including a means for conducting a transaction based on the user account information, a smart card interface device; and a smart card; wherein conducting said transaction based on said records of user account information is organized in a hierarchy of three or more levels, said hierarchy of three or more levels comprising an initial level, a final level, and one or more intervening levels; wherein said transaction is conducted by passing through said hierarchy of three or more levels; and wherein means are provided for allowing access to the final level in the hierarchy by an automated task without passing through said one or more intervening levels.
These transactions can include, but are not limited to, a deposit of funds; a withdrawal of funds; an exchange of currency; a transfer of funds between said user's checking account and said user's savings account; a purchase of stock; and a sale of stock.
It will be appreciated that the means for allowing access to the final level in the hierarchy by an automated task can, in one preferred embodiment, be provided on the smart card; in another preferred embodiment, can be provided in the smart card interface device; and, in still another preferred embodiment, can be provided on the host financial computer system.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows or may be learned by those skilled in the art through reading these materials or practicing the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be achieved through the means recited in the attached claims.
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Akers Geoffrey
Citicorp Development Center Inc.
Kilpatrick & Stockton LLP
Marcou George T.
Millin Vincent
LandOfFree
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