Patents Assigned to The Western Union Company
  • Publication number: 20180374092
    Abstract: A system and method for conducting money transfer transactions using mobile devices includes a money transfer host computer that facilitates the collection of fingerprint data for the mobile devices and personal data for users of the mobile devices. The personal data can include a user photo. In order to enable the mobile devices, both the fingerprint data and the personal data are collected, and at least the personal data is verified. To authorize transactions at an enabled mobile device, the fingerprint data and personal data are compared to reference data, and based on the comparison and on a threshold established for the comparison, a transaction is authorized or rejected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2018
    Publication date: December 27, 2018
    Applicant: The Western Union Company
    Inventors: Evans Mehew, Kimberly Dunwoody, Dianna Lyons
  • Patent number: 10146760
    Abstract: Systems and methods for collecting biometrically secured financial form data from a user are described. A user input device may receive biometric data from the user. The user may be presented with a visual medium. The visual medium may contain a plurality of fields for information necessary to conduct a financial transaction. Handwriting data may be received from the user. At least a portion of the handwriting may represent information corresponding to the plurality of fields for information necessary to conduct the financial transaction. At least a portion of the information corresponding to the plurality of fields for information necessary to conduct the financial transaction may be transmitted from the user input device to a computer system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2018
    Assignee: THE WESTERN UNION COMPANY
    Inventors: Evans Mehew, Scott Paintin, Dianna Lyons, Julene M. Robbins
  • Patent number: 10102571
    Abstract: The present invention provides systems and methods for tracking obligations incurred between individuals. The method may include receiving a request from a first party, where the request includes an expense incurred by the first party for the benefit of a second party. The method may also include providing a notice of the request to the second party and receiving an acceptance from the second party to assume an obligation associated with the expense. The method may further include associating the obligation with the second party and associating a benefit with the first party. The obligation and/or benefit may be substantially equal in value to the expense. The method may additionally include interfacing with a social network service to provide the social network service with information about the obligation and/or the benefit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2018
    Assignee: THE WESTERN UNION COMPANY
    Inventors: Michele Demark, Michael Michelsen, Diane Scott, Chris Cochran
  • Patent number: 10096006
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for conducting transactions and financial transfers utilizing a mobile device communicatively coupled with a mobile communications network and executing a mobile point-of-sale application. According to some embodiments, the mobile point-of-sale application is adapted to conduct money transfer transactions by communicating transaction information through the mobile communications network to a money transfer provider system that processes the money transfer and communicates receipt information to the mobile point-of-sale application. Additionally, according to some embodiments, an account associated with an agent of the money transfer provider can be used in money transfer transactions conducted by the mobile point-of-sale application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: The Western Union Company
    Inventors: Rebecca Loevenguth, Sanjay Challani
  • Patent number: 10083482
    Abstract: According to the invention, a system for performing a money transfer between a sender an a recipient through the use of an augmented reality enabled device is disclosed. The system may include a first mobile device associated with a first entity. The first mobile device may be configured to detect an indicator via an augmented reality subsystem. The indicator may include a characteristic and be associated with a second entity, as well as be configured to associate meta-information with the indicator. The first mobile device may further be configured to receive an input comprising an amount to be transferred from the first entity to the second entity and transmit a set of instructions to a money transfer network. The set of instructions may be based in part on the indicator and the input, and include instructions to perform a money transfer between the first entity and the second entity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: The Western Union Company
    Inventors: Evans Mehew, Linda DeBerardinis
  • Patent number: 10083485
    Abstract: This disclosure describes, generally, methods and systems for exchanging alternative currencies. The method includes creating, at an alternative currency platform, a plurality of user accounts and receiving, from a first user in the plurality of user accounts, an alternative currency exchange offer. The alternative currency exchange offer includes one or more offer terms and associated assets. Furthermore, the method includes extending the alternative currency exchange offer from the first user to the second user, in response to receiving acceptance of the offer from the second user, verifying the associated assets of the first user and the second user, and in response to verification of the assets of the first user and second user, providing settlement of the alternative currency exchange offer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: The Western Union Company
    Inventors: Evans Mehew, Gail Galuppo
  • Publication number: 20180253721
    Abstract: A method for coordinating data with a mobile wallet application on a mobile device is provided. The method may include receiving an instruction to add a digital card to a digital wallet, where the instruction includes an identifier of a transaction between a sending entity and a receiving entity facilitated by an intermediate entity. The method may also include receiving from the intermediate entity, status information associated with the digital card, which includes information associated with the transaction. The method may further include providing at least a portion of the status information to a secondary application. The method may additionally include receiving a selection of the digital card. The method may moreover include causing a tertiary application to execute based at least in part on the selection. The method may furthermore include sending to the tertiary application the identifier or at least some portion of the status information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 3, 2017
    Publication date: September 6, 2018
    Applicant: The Western Union Company
    Inventor: Abhinav Gupta
  • Publication number: 20180234667
    Abstract: Methods for capturing an image for identity verification and recordation are provided. The methods may include receiving, at a specialized processing device, transfer data from a remote terminal. The methods may include determining, based on the transfer data, that an identity verification process is required to execute the transfer data. The methods may include sending, based on a determination that the identity verification process is required, a first image file to the terminal for display. The methods may include receiving from a mobile device, information derived from the first image file which identifies the transfer data and a second image file. The methods may include determining, whether the second image file meets a predefined criteria associated with the transfer data identified by the information derived from the first image file. The methods may include sending an authorization signal upon determining that the second image file meets the criteria.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2017
    Publication date: August 16, 2018
    Applicant: The Western Union Company
    Inventor: Ranobroto Dutta
  • Publication number: 20180232837
    Abstract: The invention provides various systems and methods for establishing an identity confidence scoring system. The method includes gathering identity information about the customers from physical locations and from remote locations. The method updates the identity profiles with the gathered identity information, and based on the gathered identity information, generates an identity confidence score associated with each identity profile.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 4, 2018
    Publication date: August 16, 2018
    Applicant: The Western Union Company
    Inventor: Matthew Leland Dill
  • Patent number: 10043180
    Abstract: A system and method for conducting money transfer transactions using mobile devices includes a money transfer host computer that facilitates the collection of fingerprint data for the mobile devices and personal data for users of the mobile devices. The personal data can include a user photo. In order to enable the mobile devices, both the fingerprint data and the personal data are collected, and at least the personal data is verified. To authorize transactions at an enabled mobile device, the fingerprint data and personal data are compared to reference data, and based on the comparison and on a threshold established for the comparison, a transaction is authorized or rejected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: The Western Union Company
    Inventors: Evans Mehew, Kimberly Dunwoody, Dianna Lyons
  • Publication number: 20180210682
    Abstract: Systems and methods for bypassing a print dialog box that indicates a print confirmation, a prompt message, or a page preview, by employing a background print applet. The systems and methods may include detecting a print content to be printed by a printer, identifying one or more features of the print content, and determining one or more print settings based on the identified one or more features. The systems and methods may further include initiating the print content to be printed by the printer based on the determined print settings, whereby initiating the print content includes bypassing the print dialog box.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2018
    Publication date: July 26, 2018
    Applicant: The Western Union Company
    Inventors: Anthony Scillieri, Venkateshwarlu Kotagiri, Denis McCarthy
  • Publication number: 20180205474
    Abstract: Systems and methods for accepting payments for goods and services provided by a merchant. In one embodiment a method can be implemented by obtaining digital content; offering said digital content to a wireless telephone user; receiving payment information from said user for purchase of said digital content; processing said payment information so as to confirm payment for said digital content; and then downloading said digital content to said wireless telephone of said wireless telephone user. Optionally, the transaction may be staged by the consumer, or others.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 14, 2018
    Publication date: July 19, 2018
    Applicants: First Data Corporation, The Western Union Company
    Inventors: Peter Rae, Nancy Loomis, Ken Algiene, Kurt L. Hansen, Keith W. Dively
  • Publication number: 20180196694
    Abstract: Techniques described herein relate to generating graph-oriented data structures based on cross-channel multi-user transaction and/or interaction data from one or more data sources, Additional techniques relate to analyzing and processing transactions using the graph-oriented data structures. Transaction data may be received from various data sources, and analyzed to determine subsets of the transaction data relating to interactions between specific pairs of users. Graph-oriented data structures may be generated based on the subsets of transaction data relating to the specific pairs of users, and may be used to analyze and process transaction requests.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 11, 2017
    Publication date: July 12, 2018
    Applicant: The Western Union Company
    Inventors: Abhishek Banerjee, Daniel Goldstein, Roberto Arnetoli, Pravin Darbare, Kevin Lai, Sanjay Saraf
  • Publication number: 20180191685
    Abstract: Requests for secure transfers may be received and processed between devices at different domains within electronic transfer networks. Various properties and recurrence parameters may be received and stored based on a first secure transfer request initiated at a transferor device. At future recurrence notification times, a secure transfer server may generate customized notifications to request/initiate a recurring transfer based on the first secure transfer request. Customized notifications may include the properties associated with the first secure transfer request, and may be customized based on a particular transferor device. Customized recurrence notifications may further include data objects configured to invoke a process within the secure transfer server to initiate secure transfers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 31, 2016
    Publication date: July 5, 2018
    Applicant: The Western Union Company
    Inventor: Anand Bajoria
  • Publication number: 20180160306
    Abstract: A method for authenticating a mobile device in real-time. The method includes detecting the mobile device, sending a text message containing a unique uniform resource locator (“URL”) to the mobile device, and detecting an access of the unique URL by the mobile device through a first communication path. In response to detecting the access of the unique URL, requesting and subsequently receiving, by the host system in real-time, a phone number and a subscriber identification ID associated with the mobile device through a second communication path distinct from the first communication path, and a device fingerprint of the mobile device through the first communication path. The method further includes initiating a risk analysis based on the phone number, the subscriber ID, and the device fingerprint and determining an authentication status of the mobile device based on the risk analysis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2017
    Publication date: June 7, 2018
    Applicant: The Western Union Company
    Inventors: Abhinav Gupta, Bernard McManus, Don McNelley
  • Publication number: 20180139000
    Abstract: Systems and methods for accepting payments for goods and services provided by a merchant. In one embodiment a method can be implemented by obtaining digital content; offering said digital content to a wireless telephone user; receiving payment information from said user for purchase of said digital content; processing said payment information so as to confirm payment for said digital content; and then downloading said digital content to said wireless telephone of said wireless telephone user. Optionally, the transaction may be staged by the consumer, or others.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 14, 2017
    Publication date: May 17, 2018
    Applicants: First Data Corporation, The Western Union Company
    Inventors: Peter Rae, Nancy Loomis, Ken Algiene, Kurt L. Hansen, Keith W. Dively
  • Patent number: 9959535
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices are described for a refundable prepaid transaction cards. The methods and systems include a prepaid transaction card funded with funds by a purchaser. Also included is an issuer. The issuer receives the funds a distributes a prepaid transaction card associated with the funds. The methods and systems also include a prepaid transaction card identifier, wherein the prepaid transaction card identifier identifies the prepaid transaction card. The issuer maintains a central computer system that stores at least one parameter entitling the purchaser to a refund of at least a portion of the funds. The methods and systems also include a cash pool, the cash pool holding at least a portion of the funds funded by the purchaser.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: The Western Union Company
    Inventor: Robert Enzaldo
  • Patent number: 9953387
    Abstract: The invention provides various systems and methods for establishing an identity confidence scoring system. The method includes gathering identity information about the customers from physical locations and from remote locations. The method updates the identity profiles with the gathered identity information, and based on the gathered identity information, generates an identity confidence score associated with each identity profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: The Western Union Company
    Inventor: Matthew Leland Dill
  • Patent number: 9928011
    Abstract: Systems and methods for bypassing a print dialog box that indicates a print confirmation, a prompt message, or a page preview, by employing a background print applet. The systems and methods may include detecting a print content to be printed by a printer, identifying one or more features of the print content, and determining one or more print settings based on the identified one or more features. The systems and methods may further include initiating the print content to be printed by the printer based on the determined print settings, whereby initiating the print content includes bypassing the print dialog box.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: The Western Union Company
    Inventors: Anthony Scillieri, Venkateshwarlu Kotagiri, Denis McCarthy
  • Publication number: 20180060927
    Abstract: According to the invention, a method for initiating a similar transaction to one previously initiated by a user is disclosed. The method may include sending a digital receipt for a first transaction to a user. The method may also include determining reminder information, where the reminder information indicates a future time or frequency. The method may further include sending to the user, upon occurrence of the future time or frequency, a digital reminder which includes an interactive element. The method may additionally include receiving an indication that the user has interacted with the interactive element, and initiating a second transaction having a characteristic in common with the first transaction based on the indication.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2016
    Publication date: March 1, 2018
    Applicant: The Western Union Company
    Inventor: Abhinav Gupta