Abstract: In some examples, a transaction instrument includes a body that defines a first face and a second face, a chip assembly comprising an integrated circuit chip, an aperture in a portion of the body that provides access to a portion of the transaction instrument, and an attachment mechanism configured to secure the chip assembly at least partially within the body and hold the chip assembly substantially flush with the first face of the body. At least one of the body, the attachment mechanism, or a portion of the chip assembly is designed to fail in response to a force applied via the aperture in the body, and wherein the failure of the at least one of the body, the attachment mechanism, or the portion of the chip assembly, destroys the integrated circuit chip of the transaction instrument.

Abstract: Disclosed are approaches for computationally-efficient data promulgation among devices in a network. Structured databases may comprise standardized and immutable bytes, each byte linked to a unique data field, a mutable state element, and a mutable activation element. The state element may indicate that there has been a mutation as well as a recency of the mutation. The activation element may indicate whether data pushes and/or data pulls are enabled. The state elements are configured to automatically mutate if there is a mutation in a corresponding unique data field. Each device in the network may transmit API calls as state-element requests to other entity devices in a network. The API call includes at least one byte, without any values in corresponding data fields. State elements are promulgated among devices, without sharing the data fields themselves. An optional central system maintains a record of state elements without storing data field values.

Abstract: A method for managing a budget includes determining, by a budget management system, funds of a project management account that are to be routed to a task manager for a project. The determining comprises: determining a current progress of a task managed by the task manager, the task included in a budget for the project that identifies the task manager and that includes payment information for the task manager that specifies a financial account, determining an amount owed to the task manager, and setting the amount owed to the task manager as the amount of the funds to be routed to the task manager. The method further comprises transmitting, by the budget management system to a financial computing system, a request to transfer the determined funds to the financial account specified by the payment information.

Abstract: In some examples, a transaction instrument includes a body that defines a first face and a second face, a chip assembly comprising an integrated circuit chip, an aperture in a portion of the body that provides access to a portion of the transaction instrument, and an attachment mechanism configured to secure the chip assembly at least partially within the body and hold the chip assembly substantially flush with the first face of the body. At least one of the body, the attachment mechanism, or a portion of the chip assembly is designed to fail in response to a force applied via the aperture in the body, and wherein the failure of the at least one of the body, the attachment mechanism, or the portion of the chip assembly, destroys the integrated circuit chip of the transaction instrument.

Abstract: A method includes generating an alias that obscures identity information of a user by a remote provider computing system and receiving information relating to a prospective transaction via a digital funding group client application associated with a user computing device and communicatively coupled to the remote provider computing system via a network. The method further includes monitoring a system idle timer of the user computing device and resetting the system idle timer at predetermined time intervals, thereby maintaining the user computing device in active mode. The method further includes, while maintaining the user computing device in active mode, performing an electronic search for a sponsorship opportunity via the network, receiving a search result dataset via the network, generating a displayable result set based on the search result dataset, and rendering the displayable result set on a display. The displayable result set includes at least one prospective sponsor.

Abstract: This disclosure describes techniques for performing cross-institution analysis of data, including analysis of transaction data occurring across multiple financial institutions. In one example, this disclosure describes a method that includes receiving a first set of transaction data associated with accounts at the first entity; receiving a second set of transaction data associated with accounts at the second entity; identifying transaction data associated with an account holder having a first account at the first entity and a second account at the second entity, wherein the transaction data associated with the account holder includes information about transactions occurring on the first account and information about transactions occurring on the second account; assessing a likelihood of fraud having occurred on at least one of the first account or the second account; and performing an action.

Abstract: Disclosed are approaches for computationally-efficient data promulgation among devices in a network. Structured databases may comprise standardized and immutable bytes, each byte linked to a unique data field, a mutable state element, and a mutable activation element. The state element may indicate that there has been a mutation as well as a recency of the mutation. The activation element may indicate whether data pushes and/or data pulls are enabled. The state elements are configured to automatically mutate if there is a mutation in a corresponding unique data field. Each device in the network may transmit API calls as state-element requests to other entity devices in a network. The API call includes at least one byte, without any values in corresponding data fields. State elements are promulgated among devices, without sharing the data fields themselves. An optional central system maintains a record of state elements without storing data field values.

Abstract: A method for managing a budget includes determining, by a budget management system, funds of a project management account that are to be routed to a task manager for a project. The determining comprises: determining a current progress of a task managed by the task manager, the task included in a budget for the project that identifies the task manager and that includes payment information for the task manager that specifies a financial account, determining an amount owed to the task manager, and setting the amount owed to the task manager as the amount of the funds to be routed to the task manager. The method further comprises transmitting, by the budget management system to a financial computing system, a request to transfer the determined funds to the financial account specified by the payment information.

Abstract: A method includes generating an alias that obscures identity information of a user by a remote provider computing system and receiving information relating to a prospective transaction via a digital funding group client application associated with a user computing device and communicatively coupled to the remote provider computing system via a network. The method further includes monitoring a system idle timer of the user computing device and resetting the system idle timer at predetermined time intervals, thereby maintaining the user computing device in active mode. The method further includes, while maintaining the user computing device in active mode, performing an electronic search for a sponsorship opportunity via the network, receiving a search result dataset via the network, generating a displayable result set based on the search result dataset, and rendering the displayable result set on a display. The displayable result set includes at least one prospective sponsor.

Abstract: A system for collecting property status information from a property for a virtual appraisal receives the property status information from a plurality of devices positioned about the property, stores the property status information in a database, and assesses the property status information to create the virtual appraisal for the property.

Abstract: A computer system is described that is configured to make automated decisions to perform financial affair management on behalf of a user who is unable or unwilling to manage their financial affairs. The computer system accepts user-defined rules regarding how to manage the financial affairs of the user and, in some cases, when to assume control of the user's financial accounts. The computer system also generates computer-learned rules based on historical financial behavior patterns of the user. In certain scenarios, the computer system assumes control of the user's financial accounts and continues management and decision making responsibilities on the user's behalf based on the user-defined rules and the computer-learned rules. The computer system may assume control temporarily for an unavailable user or assume control indefinitely for an incompetent user. The computer system may alert the user prior to assuming control of the financial accounts.

Abstract: A method may include receiving a request to transfer a personal virtual assistant to a computing device, the personal virtual assistant including response preferences of a user; accessing a virtual assistant transfer protocol associated with the user; the virtual assistant transfer protocol including a sensitivity preference; applying the sensitivity preference to data associated with the personal virtual assistant to generate a virtual assistant transfer package; and transmitting the virtual assistant transfer package to the computing device.

Abstract: Disclosed are approaches for computationally-efficient data promulgation among devices in a network. Structured databases may comprise standardized and immutable bytes, each byte linked to a unique data field, a mutable state element, and a mutable activation element. The state element may indicate that there has been a mutation as well as a recency of the mutation. The activation element may indicate whether data pushes and/or data pulls are enabled. The state elements are configured to automatically mutate if there is a mutation in a corresponding unique data field. Each device in the network may transmit API calls as state-element requests to other entity devices in a network. The API call includes at least one byte, without any values in corresponding data fields. State elements are promulgated among devices, without sharing the data fields themselves. An optional central system maintains a record of state elements without storing data field values.

Abstract: Disclosed are approaches for computationally-efficient data promulgation among devices in a network. Structured databases may comprise standardized and immutable bytes, each byte linked to a unique data field, a mutable state element, and a mutable activation element. The state element may indicate that there has been a mutation as well as a recency of the mutation. The activation element may indicate whether data pushes and/or data pulls are enabled. The state elements are configured to automatically mutate if there is a mutation in a corresponding unique data field. Each device in the network may transmit API calls as state-element requests to other entity devices in a network. The API call includes at least one byte, without any values in corresponding data fields. State elements are promulgated among devices, without sharing the data fields themselves. An optional central system maintains a record of state elements without storing data field values.

Abstract: A method may include receiving a request to transfer a personal virtual assistant to a computing device, the personal virtual assistant including response preferences of a user; accessing a virtual assistant transfer protocol associated with the user; the virtual assistant transfer protocol including a sensitivity preference; applying the sensitivity preference to data associated with the personal virtual assistant to generate a virtual assistant transfer package; and transmitting the virtual assistant transfer package to the computing device.

Abstract: Examples described herein relate to media, apparatuses and methods. In an embodiment, a digital funding group for transactions initiated by a user via a user computing device is established. Information relating to a prospective transaction is received via a client application. The client application monitors a system idle timer of the user computing device and resets the system idle timer at predetermined time intervals, thereby maintaining the user computing device in active mode. The client application performs an electronic search for a sponsorship opportunity related to the at least one prospective transaction, generates a displayable result set comprising at least one prospective sponsor; renders the displayable result set, and responsive to a user selection of a particular sponsor from the displayable result set, causes the particular sponsor to be added to the digital funding group.

Abstract: A method includes collecting account data for an account from an authentication server. The method also includes receiving a request for the account data from an owner of the account or from a custodial entity. The method further includes determining a portion of the account data that may be accessed based on a permissions grid. The permissions grid includes a list of authorized entities including at least one of the owner or the custodial entity. The permissions grid also includes a list of permissions associated with each entity from the list of authorized entities. The method includes transmitting the portion of the account data in response to the request.

Abstract: Disclosed are approaches for computationally-efficient data promulgation among devices in a network. Structured databases may comprise standardized and immutable bytes, each byte linked to a unique data field, a mutable state element, and a mutable activation element. The state element may indicate that there has been a mutation as well as a recency of the mutation. The activation element may indicate whether data pushes and/or data pulls are enabled. The state elements are configured to automatically mutate if there is a mutation in a corresponding unique data field. Each device in the network may transmit API calls as state-element requests to other entity devices in a network. The API call includes at least one byte, without any values in corresponding data fields. State elements are promulgated among devices, without sharing the data fields themselves. An optional central system maintains a record of state elements without storing data field values.

Abstract: This disclosure describes computer-based techniques for administering a spoken patterned passphrase. A passphrase processing unit running on an administrator computer generates passphrase data for a secure system using acoustic data and video data representing a spoken phrase by a speaker. This passphrase includes a pattern of words or speech segments that are audible and words or speech segments that are inaudible. During authentication, a passphrase administration unit on the administrator computer receives acoustic and visual data of a spoken phrase by a person attempting to access the secure system and evaluates whether the spoken phrase includes the pattern of audible and inaudible words or speech segments associated with the account. In this way, the techniques discussed herein may enable the administrator computer to administer spoken passphrases with an additional degree of protection than a system that is limited to using linguistic or biometric content in passwords or passphrases.

Abstract: A method implemented on an electronic computing device for viewing and adjusting cash flows related to a building purchase includes receiving information regarding origination points and destination points for the cash flows. An icon is rendered on a display screen of the electronic computing device for each of the origination points and destination points. Connection lines are rendered between a plurality of the origination points and destination points. Each of the connection lines represents a cash flow between one of the origination points and one of the destination points. A change is detected in a connection of one of the connection lines to a different one of the origination points or to a different one of the destination points. As a result of the change in the connection, a cash flow between end points of the one of the connection lines is updated and displayed on the display screen.