Web Enabled Bank Teller Machine
A system and method is provided for an ATM having a display, a logic server coupled to the display, and a memory coupled to the logic server. The logic server dynamically controls the content of screens to be displayed on the display. The memory, which is accessible to the logic server, contains a profile of at least one user. In operation, the ATM detects the swipe of a user's card and requests the profile of the user whose card was swiped from a host. The ATM then receives the user's profile and stores the user's profile in the ATM.
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This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/327,517, filed on Oct. 5, 2001, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention generally relates to automated banking machines and more particularly relates to an automated banking machine that is dynamically updated from a host system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONAutomated banking machines are well known. A common type of automated banking machine used by consumers is an Automated Teller Machine (hereinafter “ATM”). ATMs enable customers to carry out a variety of banking transactions by interacting with the machine rather than a human teller. Examples of banking transactions that are commonly carried out using ATMs include withdrawals, deposits, transfer of funds between accounts, payment of bills, and account balance inquiries. The types of transactions that a customer may carry out at a particular ATM are determined by hardware and software configuration of that particular ATM as well as the hardware and software configuration of the institution to which the particular ATM is connected. Other types of automated banking machines may allow customers to charge against accounts, or print or dispense items of value such as statements, coupons, tickets, wagering slips, vouchers, checks, food stamps, money orders, scrip or travelers checks.
The architecture of prior art ATMs renders these machines extremely inflexible. Current ATM architecture is based on traditional hierarchical software and a closed system. Most significantly, the functionality offer through an ATM is fixed at the time the ATM is physically installed or physically visited for purposes of upgrading the machine. The software used for the operation of the ATM is typically contained in firmware installed in the machine, which is fixed and difficult to upgrade. Furthermore, when in operation, the ATM acts primarily as a “dumb” terminal to the remote host (i.e., the financial institution). Little if any logic related to a customer's session with the ATM is contained within the ATM, but is rather stored and executed at the host site. This traditional approach to ATM design and operation results in long development time, increased time to market, inflexible and expensive upgrades, inflexible user functionality, inflexible user interfaces and inordinate dependency on hardware and software developers.
Prior art ATMs are typically connected to proprietary communications networks in order to allow customers to use ATMs provided by those other than its own financial institution. These networks interconnect the ATMs operated by financial institutions and other entities. Some examples of these networks include the NYCE™ and STAR™ systems. The interconnection capability of these networks enables a user to access his accounts at his own financial institution while using a banking machine operated by different institution. This interconnection capability is available so long as the foreign institution's banking machine is connected to a network (e.g., NYCE™ to which the user's home financial institution is also connected. When using such a “foreign” ATM, the user is limited to the transaction options provided by the foreign institution and the options available at the specific ATM being used.
A customer may encounter difficulties when using a foreign institution's ATM. Such difficulties may occur because the user is not familiar with the type of machine operated by the institution. Customer confusion may result because the customer does not know which buttons or other physical mechanisms are required to be actuated to accomplish the desired transactions. Furthermore, the transaction flow (e.g., the series of menu options) presented to a customer at a foreign institution's machine may be significantly different from the machines with which the customer is familiar at the user's institution. This is a problem particularly when the user is from another country and is not familiar with the type of banking machine or the language of the interface provided by the (truly) “foreign” institution. Likewise, the documents, that are generated by the ATM printer, are generally limited to a limited group of defined formats in a single language (e.g., English). Further, the user may be presented with options that are inappropriate for the user's accounts.
A foreign institution's ATMs may also provide more, less, or a different type of transaction than the user is familiar with at their home institutions ATMs. For example, the ATMs at the user's home institution may enable the transfer of funds between the user's accounts. This particular transaction enables the user to maintain funds in higher interest bearing accounts until they are needed. If the foreign institution does not provide this capability, the user will be unable to perform this familiar (and sometimes necessary) function when operating the foreign ATM machine. The inability of a user at a foreign machine to conduct the transactions to which they are accustomed may present problems (e.g., transferring funds into a checking account prior to a scheduled automatic withdrawal.
Communication over wide area networks enables messages to be communicated between distant locations. The best known wide area network is the Internet, which can be used to provide communication between computers throughout the world. In the past, the Internet has not been widely used for financial transaction messages, as it is not inherently a secure system. Messages intended for receipt at a particular computer address may be intercepted at other addresses without detection. Because the messages may be intercepted at locations that are distant in the world from the intended recipient, there is potential for theft and fraud.
Approaches are being developed for more secure transmission of messages on the Internet. Encryption techniques are also being applied to Internet messages. However, the openness of the Internet has limited its usefulness for purposes of financial messages, particularly financial messages associated with the operation of automated banking machines.
Messages in wide area networks may be communicated using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet protocol (“TCP/IP”). U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,422 illustrates an example of a system in which financial information stored in databases is accessed through a private wide area network using TCP/IP messages. The messages transmitted in such networks, which use TCP/IP, may include “documents” (also called “pages”). Such documents are produced in Hypertext Markup Language (“HTML”) which is a reference to a type of programming language used to produce documents with commands or “tags” therein. The tags are codes, which define features and/or operations of the document such as fonts, layout, imbedded graphics, and hypertext links. HTML documents are processed or read through use of a computer program referred to as a “browser.” The tags tell the browser how to process and control what is seen on a screen and/or is heard on speakers connected to the computer running the browser when the document is processed. HTML documents may be transmitted over a network through the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (“HTTP”). The term “Hypertext” is a reference to the ability to embed links into the text of a document that allow communication to other documents, which can be accessed in the network.
As shown in
To use the system shown in
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a system and method is provided for an automated teller machine (ATM). In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a system and method is provided for an ATM having a display, a logic server coupled to the display, and a memory coupled to the logic server. The logic server dynamically controls the content of screens to be displayed on the display. The memory, which is accessible to the logic server, contains a profile of at least one user.
In use, the ATM detects the swipe of a user's card. After the swipe is detected, the ATM requests a profile of the user whose card was swiped. The
ATM then receives the user's profile and stores the user's profile in the ATM. The profile is stored in a memory accessible to the logic server.
The ATM is part of a larger banking system. The system includes a host, an ATM unit, and a network coupled to the host and ATM. The ATM has a display, a logic server coupled to the display and a memory. The logic server controls the content of screens to be displayed on the display, and the memory contains a profile of at least one user. The ATM and the host communicate with each other over the network. The ATM requests user profiles from the host. The host provides the profiles to the ATM over the network. The profiles are then stored at the ATM in a memory.
For the purposes of illustrating the present invention, there is shown in the drawings a form which is presently preferred, it being understood however, that the invention is not limited to the precise form shown by the drawing in which:
Web enabled ATM 10 is a fully functional ATM in that it can accept deposits, dispense withdrawals, print receipts and statements, and provides a headphone jack for use by sight impaired users. In one embodiment of the present invention, ATM 10 is regulated by fraud and compliance systems operating in a client server environment. In a preferred embodiment, the ATM 10 utilizes an Ethernet TCP/IP telecommunications network 14 between the ATM 10 and Tandem host 12. ATM 10 can also utilize a wireless telecommunications network or any other communication system where messages can be transferred in a secure fashion.
The user interface 100 is the portion of the ATM 10 which enables a user to conduct various transactions at an ATM both by displaying information to the user as well as responding to the user instructions. Screen 102 displays the transaction options available to a user, displays the user's account information such as balances, displays instructions and in general, displays all of the information required by the user to interact with the ATM 10. As an alternative to the display screen 100, the system of the present invention may interact with the user through aural communication.
The logic server 104 determines the options made available to the user. Logic server 104 utilizes inputs from screen object section 106, multi-language engine 108, event handler 110, and ATM interface 150 to determine the options to display to the user.
Initially, when a user swipes a bank card through the card reader of the ATM 10, a message is sent to the host 120. The host 120 retrieves the customer's profile data (through elements 18, 16, 20, 22, and 24 in
In the transmission from host 120, logic server 104 receives other attributes including account types and rights associated with a given bank card. For example, a bank card for a business may be allowed access to deposits only, so that employees using the card cannot make withdrawals or view balances. The logic server 104 modifies the display and the options available to the user based on the business rules contained therein and the customer specific attributes transmitted from host 120.
The ability of the ATM 10 of the present invention to receive a user's profile is an extremely valuable tool for offering additional services to a user. A user's profile can contain more than an account listing, rights, and balances. The profile can contain a credit rating, recent purchases, i.e., a home, outstanding loans, and the like. Logic server 104 can be programmed with a series of business rules to analyze the user's profile and offer additional services. For example, if the user has an overdraft balance and a mortgage, an offer for a second mortgage or refinancing may appear. Similarly, if the user has a large balance in a savings or checking account brokerage or other investment services may be offered.
Logic server 104 interacts with event handler 110 to process hardware events from the physical portions of the ATM 10. The event handler 110 passes messages to the logic server 104 that relate to the functioning of the ATM. ATM interface 120, and specifically core services portion 122 passes these messages to event handler 110 to provide notification of hardware events to logic server 104. Core services portion 122 constantly monitors the operation of the physical portions ATM 10 (e.g., the cash dispenser, the deposit receiver, the printer). If a portion of the unit malfunctions or the ATM 10 is unable to perform a task, such as dispense cash, a hardware event occurs. This hardware event is provided to the logic server 104, which in conjunction with screen object 106, will remove the “withdrawal” button from the display (for this particular hardware event). In one embodiment of the invention, the display screen will also be modified by logic server 104 to notify users that the ATM 10 is unable to perform a function, such as dispense cash, prior to the user swiping the bank card.
All of the actions taken by logic server 104 are governed by various business rules. Business rules are implemented as programming logic contained within the logic server 104 in the ATM 10. These business rules, in one function, streamline the user's session by eliminating transactions not available to the user. This is a significant departure from prior art ATMs where the same transactions options are displayed at the ATM to every user, and are then denied by the host when it is determined that the requested transaction is not available to the user. With web-enabled ATM 10 of the present invention, the “intelligence” is available within the ATM 10 itself, to logically control the menu options, such as the buttons and accounts, using business rules logic. As previously described, the pre-defined business rules interact with the user's unique profile (transmitted to ATM 10) to control the screen and options available to the user. For example, if the user's received profile indicates that card being employed by the user is only authorized to make deposits and not withdrawals, the options for making withdrawals is never presented to the user.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, business rules are implemented at a high level control in an Institution Definition File (IDF). In this embodiment of the invention, an IDF is defined for each proprietary card type and is contained in the user's profile associated with the card. In this IDF, there are two attributes or flags available, one to allow PIN Change and one to allow Profile Changes. These parameters are set to a “Yes” or “No” as to whether or not to allow these Pin and Profile change operations.
In general, all customers using the web-enabled ATM 10 of the present invention have the ability to perform the same transactions that they can perform with the prior art ATMs. In a significant departure from the prior art, however, if a customer was unable to perform a transaction in a prior art ATM (e.g., transfers between accounts because the user only had one account) the ATM 10 of the present invention does not even present that option to the user. For example, if the customers cannot perform account transfers, the ATM 10 never displays the transaction button associated with that function to the user. As previously described, the modification of the selection menus is performed locally by the logic server 104 operating on the pre-defined business rules and the customer profile.
In another embodiment of the present invention, there are also business rules that determine when the “Get Cash” button is or is not displayed. The “Get Cash” button is not displayed when: a customer is using a business limited function card (deposit only) or when the ATM is unable to dispense cash. Additionally, the accounts that can be displayed are determined by logic server 104 according to predefined rules and the customer's profile. For example, checking accounts are not displayed when a customer is using a proprietary credit card, a customer is using a business limited function card (deposit only), or customer profile returns an account indicator of “deposit only allowed.” Similar rules also exist regarding the display of saving accounts and credit accounts.
To streamline ATM use, the “Transfer Funds” button is not displayed when the user does not have more than one account or if the user is utilizing a business limited card. Additionally, the display of accounts available for “transfer from” and “transfer to” change in response to the selections that are made by the customer as well as in response to the attributes (i.e., the customer's actual accounts) contained in the user's profile. For example, credit accounts are not displayed as a transfer destination when a user elects to transfer funds from a credit account and a selected account will not appear in both the “transfer from” and “transfer to” categories.
Business rules also exist for the “Make Deposit” and “Get Statement” buttons. The business rules arc based on account types, card functionality, card rights, availability of banking institution records, ATM functionality, or status, and the like. As discussed above, if logic server 104 receives a hardware event that a printer is malfunctioning or out of paper, the display items associated with the malfunctioning equipment are not displayed (e.g., Print a Statement).
The ATM 10 of the present invention allows users to customize the ATM 10 features and functionality through their profiles. For example, users can change their PIN, customize the fast cash amount, change the language preference, establish defaults for fund transfers, and the like. Additionally, users can schedule one time and recurring payments through the ATM 10.
When a user customizes a feature of the ATM 10, this data is transferred from the host interface 130 (
IFX is an XML-based communication protocol that enables the exchange of information between financial institutions and their customers, their service providers, and other financial institutions. IFX was initially developed for Internet banking, not for ATM applications. IFX commands are used for PIN change, profile request, and profile preference change. No corresponding commands exist for these functions in the NDC format. Additionally, IFX can be used for withdrawal, balance inquiry, statement, deposit, payment, and transfer commands.
As shown in
The ATM 10 of the present invention is also capable of operating in a mode for disabled persons, particularly those that are sight impaired (“ADA mode”). A Braille keypad is used for navigation. The ATM 10 enters the ADA mode when a headset is plugged into a headset port of the ATM. The ATM interface 120 (
When the ATM is in ADA mode, logic server 104 manages the voice commands in a manner similar to the manner in which screen objects are managed. The logic server 104 selects screen objects using the same business rules as the non-ADA mode. These screen objects are then speech synthesized and presented to the user. In this manner, the messages the user hears are dynamically changed, similar to the way the screen objects are modified in the non-ADA mode.
Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.
Claims
1-11. (canceled)
12. A method of operating an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) in order to display customized information on an ATM display, the customized information including account transaction options, the method comprising:
- storing, in at least one computer memory, user profiles for ATM users; and
- accessing the at least one computer memory using at least one computer processor and executing instructions to perform steps including:
- detecting a user's card;
- requesting a profile of the user from a host system;
- receiving the user profile including account types and rights associated with the card;
- storing the profile in the ATM;
- customizing information for the user based on the user profile, wherein the information includes account transaction options available to the user determined by applying business rules to the user profile; and
- displaying the account transaction options available to the user on the ATM display.
13. (canceled)
14. (canceled)
15. The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising: detecting a status of hardware devices in the ATM; and dynamically modifying the information in response to the status.
16. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the step of requesting the user profile and the step of receiving the user profile further comprise requesting and receiving the user profile from the host.
17. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein messages to and from the host are in IFX format.
18. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein messages to and from the host are in NDC format.
19. The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising:
- translating the information into a different language prior to the displaying step.
20. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein the translating step is in response to the user profile.
21. The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising:
- detecting a headset in an audio port of the ATM; and
- prompting the user with audio prompts containing operating instructions.
22. The method as recited in claim 21, further comprising: speech synthesizing audio prompts.
23-49. (canceled)
50. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the requesting and receiving steps are effectuated over a network.
51. The method as recited in claim 50, wherein the network is the Internet.
52. The method as recited in claim 50, wherein the network is a virtual private network.
53. The method as recited in claim 50, wherein the network is an intranet.
54. The method as recited in claim 50, wherein the network is a telephone system.
55. The method as recited in claim 50, wherein communication over the telephone system is accomplished using asymmetric transfer mode.
56. The method of claim 12, wherein the user profile further comprises at least one of fast cash preferences, a language preference, credit rating, outstanding loan, recent purchases, and account balances.
57. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor comprises a delivery processor for interfacing with the host and an additional processor controlling access to user profile data.
58. The method of claim 12, further comprising implementing a logic server within the ATM, the logic server programmed with the businesses rules, wherein the logic server applies the business rules to the user profile to modify the display.
59. The method of claim 58, wherein the logic server interacts with an event handler for processing hardware events, wherein hardware events occur when the ATM is unable to perform a task.
60. The method of claim 58, wherein the logic server applies the business rules to eliminate transactions not available to the user.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 22, 2013
Publication Date: Aug 22, 2013
Applicant: JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (New York, NY)
Inventor: JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
Application Number: 13/848,763
International Classification: G06Q 20/10 (20120101);