Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Automated electrical financial or business practice or... – Finance
Reexamination Certificate
1997-10-03
2001-10-16
Voeltz, Emanuel Todd (Department: 2761)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Finance
C705S040000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06304860
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
Numerous processes and devices exist for facilitating electronic payments. Today, virtually all domestic banking institutions offer customers the ability to conduct a limited number of electronic transactions either from an automated teller machine (ATM) located on-site at the institution, or from a remote ATM serving the institution. The remote services are made possible in part through the development of communications systems that provide for the interconnection of many clearing house or regional, national, or international electronic funds transfer (EFT) networks. These networks are specialized digital packet networks that communicate with various ATM transaction processors and service providers using standard message protocols developed by ANSI and others. A more-or-less standard, generic ATM interface has developed in the banking industry, making it relatively easy for a consumer to use any ATM on any ATM network once he has learned how to interact with this more-or-less standard interface. Of course, ATMs produced by different manufacturers may differ in key placement, number of keys, key legends, screen size, etc. However, there has been a trend toward standardization of these features so as to minimize user discomfort with using a “foreign bank” ATM.
FIG. 1
illustrates a block diagram of an existing prior art system used to process a typical ATM transaction, such as a cash withdrawal or balance inquiry, shown generally at
8
. As seen in
FIG. 1
, the ATM transaction system includes an ATM transaction processor
14
, an ATM network access device (such as an ATM terminal)
15
, an ATM banking institution
16
, a consumer banking institution
18
(where the ATM banking institution
16
and the consumer banking institution
18
can be one and the same), and an automated clearing house (ACH) network
20
. ATM network access device
15
is connected to ATM banking institution
16
through a suitable communications path
17
. ATM transaction processor
14
is connected with a host computer at ATM banking institution
16
through communications path
19
, with a host computer at consumer banking institution
18
through communications path
21
, and with ACH network
20
through communications path
23
. As is known to those of skill in the art, appropriate information is exchanged between ATM transaction processor
14
, ATM banking institution
16
, consumer banking institution
18
, and ACH network
20
to effect an ATM transaction.
ATM network access device
15
may be physically co-located with the ATM banking institution
16
, or may be remotely located with respect thereto. In operation, ATM network access device
15
serves as an interface between a user and the ATM network to receive input from the user and to provide necessary output (and funds, when necessary) to the user. ATM network access device
15
retrieves user information from an ATM card inserted by a user to initiate an ATM transaction, and receives appropriate associated PIN information and transaction information from the user. This information is passed through communication path
17
to the ATM banking institution
16
. As necessary, information is then transferred through communications path
19
to ATM transaction processor
14
. ATM transaction processor
14
identifies the consumer banking institution
18
from the information retrieved from the user's ATM card, and passes the necessary transaction information entered by the user to the appropriate consumer banking institution
18
through communications path
21
.
Consumer banking institution
18
verifies the user's account data and verifies that the user has sufficient funds available for the requested transaction. Consumer banking institution
18
then forwards an authorization message (either a deny transaction request message or a proceed with transaction message, for example) to the ATM transaction processor
14
through communications path
21
. ATM transaction processor
14
then forwards the authorization message back to the ATM banking institution
16
through communications path
19
. These messages serve to confirm that the transaction is to proceed or be prohibited. Upon receipt of the authorization message, the ATM banking institution
16
forwards the authorization to the ATM network access device
15
using communications path
17
. Based on the authorization received, the ATM network access device
15
provides suitable information and funds, if requested, to the user. The user then has the option of terminating the session, or initiating another transaction, which would proceed in a similar fashion.
Once the consumer has terminated the ATM banking session, the ATM transaction processor
14
forwards a confirmation record of the completed transaction to the ATM banking institution
16
using communications path
19
, and forwards an identical confirmation record to the consumer's banking institution
18
using communications path
21
. ATM transaction processor
14
also forwards a record of the transaction and information to facilitate the appropriate debiting and crediting of the necessary accounts to a designated ACH network
20
through communications path
23
. ACH network
20
then operates to debit (where the user has requested a withdrawal of funds, for example) the user's account at the consumer banking institution
18
using communications path
25
, and to issue a credit to the ATM banking institution
16
using communications path
27
. Finally, ATM transaction processor
14
creates a record of the transaction and writes that record to a back-up data and transactions log
13
for any future reference, if necessary.
Most ATMs, however, do not currently permit customers to pay bills, make debt payments or conduct other complex financial transactions, but instead typically limit the user to withdrawals, account inquiries, account transfers, and, if the ATM the user accesses is that of his own bank, deposits. There are some circumstances where ATMs have been used to conduct transactions, such as bill payment transactions, in addition to those described above. However, in the case of bill payment transactions, the consumer is usually limited to making bill payments only to certain entities specified in advance by the bank, and is required to complete a somewhat onerous registration process for establishing ATM-based bill payment authority or privileges. Other ATM terminals have been modified to accept almost any bill payment from consumers. In such instances, the ATM functions more like a mail box: the consumer initiates a bill payment, keys in the amount to be paid, and places the payment coupon and the payment amount, either as cash or a check, into an envelope and “deposits” the bill payment into the ATM. In both of the scenarios described above, the bank assumes the role of a payment processor, separating and forwarding consumer bill payments by vendor. Neither payment methodology involves an electronic funds transfer, and neither the bank nor the vendor realizes any noticeable improvement in processing efficiency.
While personal banking and home banking initiatives have become more prolific in the past several years, the costs associated with such efforts, both for the bank and the consumer, have proven prohibitive. Service providers incur very high communications costs in linking their central processors with personal computer (PC) users, banks, and payees (merchants). Many payees also do not accept electronic payments (for lack of substantial volume), forcing service providers to make costly paper-based payments. Settlement processing can be costly, as banks must install special purpose software and operating procedures. These and other costs have been passed along to consumers, thereby dampening the demand for home banking services.
These limitations are reflected in U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,501, Lawlor et al. The process for an electronic monetary system as described by Rosen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,601 addresses some of the problems associated with certain paye
Hinkle D. Allen
Martin, Jr. Joseph B.
Kalinowski Alexander
Kaufman Marc S.
Nixon & Peabody LLP
Studebaker. Donald R.
Todd Voeltz Emanuel
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