Registers – Systems controlled by data bearing records – Banking systems
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-24
2002-05-28
Frech, Karl D. (Department: 2876)
Registers
Systems controlled by data bearing records
Banking systems
C235S380000, C380S029000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06394341
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for gathering financial transaction data.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Point of sale systems are in widespread use at which a purchaser of goods or services pays with cash or a smart, credit or debit card. Transactions involving cards focus upon obtaining authorization from the credit or debit financial institution from which the purchaser is extended credit or at which a debit account is maintained and do not provide the purchaser with a detailed analysis of purchases beyond the minimum amount of information to permit the identification of the financial transaction. The information in billing statements regarding the purchased goods or services is not the equivalent of the receipt obtained at the point of sale by the purchaser. Furthermore, the monthly statement provided from the credit or debit organization contains insufficient information to be a useful tool for business and personal accounting and financial management.
The large body of information which is contained in the paperwork or otherwise associated with financial transactions generated by a point of sale or a business providing financial transactions on the internet or otherwise is not readily available electronically to the consumer of financial services. Paper receipts are voluminous to maintain and the collection of meaningful financial information based on receipts is a time intensive task for individuals and companies.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,837 discloses a personal portable terminal for financial transactions which facilitates electronic commerce. A personal data and storage transfer card is used in association with a personal portable terminal for continually monitoring and recording individual financial records. Verification of transactions between the user of the personal portable terminal and the party providing the transaction is facilitated. Storage is provided in the personal portable terminal which may be read out at a later date by a bank for auditing fund transfer and statement printing purposes. However, the personal portable terminal does not operate in association with a user information system which stores verified information including electronic receipts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a system and method for collecting data pertaining to financial transactions provided by a transaction provider which may be any form of commercial establishment, such as a point of sale for the purchase of goods or services or an entity providing electronic commerce, such as the purchase of goods or services over an IP network. The information which is collected with the present invention is utilized for business and personal accounting and financial management. The collected information includes at least an electronic receipt of the financial transaction but may also contain additional information which is stored by a user information system for facilitating business and personal accounting and financial management functions to the user. The user device communicates with the transaction provider selections of financial transactions made by the user of the user device which are offered by the user provider and information permitting the transaction provider to verify that the electronic receipt has been accepted by the user of the user device. The user information system communicates with at least one of the transaction provider or the user device and stores at least the electronic receipt which is received from the user device or the transaction provider which is verified by the user information system to have been accepted by the user of the user device. As a result of storage of at least the verified electronic receipt, the user information system becomes either a personal or business database which stores detailed information about the contents of the transaction and the individual items included in the transaction such as that which is typically recorded on a paper receipt.
The invention provides diverse benefits to users of the user device, transaction providers and intermediate service providers for developing business associated with the financial transaction. Examples are: customer buying information management, product buying information management, customer profile management, loyalty management, user information marketing, personal financial management, professional financial management and price tracking as described below.
The user information system eliminates the laborious process of collecting financial information from analysis of paper receipts. The information, including the electronic receipt which is stored by the user information system after verification, is a complete description of the financial transaction and is unlike the limited summary of information provided with a smart, credit or debit card billing statement. Instead of what amounts to a summary of each purchase which is included in a monthly statement of a smart, credit or debit card which is centered upon only the total amount of the purchase, the present invention collects substantial information about the details of each financial transaction, including an electronic receipt, any involved intermediate service provider, such as a bank or other financial institution from which smart, credit or debit services were obtained, including the identification of any accounts used for the financial transactions, the location from which the goods or services was purchased and the individual who entered into a financial transaction in a situation in which the user information system is providing storage of organizational information.
The information stored by the user information system records communications between a user of the user device and the transaction provider. As part of a financial transaction agreed upon between a user of the user device and the transaction provider, information which is normally recorded on a paper receipt is transmitted from an information storage system associated with the transaction provider to the information system associated with the user device. The communication is typified by communications between a cash register at a point of sale and the user device which the user is carrying or electronic commerce involving transaction providers which use IP networks to offer their financial transactions. The user device may use diverse types of softwares, including without limitation a personal financial assistance program or a company's accounting or operation management system. The information relating to the financial transaction including the electronic receipt may contain information facilitating automatic processing of the collected information, such as universal product codes (bar codes) representative of the financial transactions. Additionally, a user of the user device may annotate the information which is collected pertaining to all financial transactions with additional comments or classifications either at the time of entry into the financial transaction or at a later time. The storing of the information by the user information system including the electronic receipt may be in any form which facilitates personal or business accounting requirements.
The communications between the user device and the user information system may be implemented in many ways. For example, communications between the transaction provider, such as a cash register located at a retail point of sale, and the user device may be based upon low power wireless communications such as, for example, the proposed Bluetooth standard or a physical interface, such as when the user device is a card, such as a smartcard, which is inserted into a smart card reader of the transaction provider to transmit data from the card to the transaction provider regarding selections or verifications of the financial transaction, e.g. an electronic signature. The user device may contain memory and communication capabilities which facilitate the storage by the user device of at least the electronic receipt which is sto
Immonen Olli
Mäkip{umlaut over (aa)} Mikko
Cyr Daniel St.
Frech Karl D.
Nokia Corporation
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