TRANSFERRING FUNDS BETWEEN FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS OF TWO ACCOUNTHOLDERS
A facility for initiating a funds transfer operation is described. The facility displays on a mobile device identity verification information for other people each associated with another mobile device within a maximum distance. For example, the displayed identity verification information may be a picture of the person. The user may select one of these in order to initiate a funds transfer operation to the selected person.
This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/481,780 filed on Sep. 9, 2014, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/875,942 filed on Sep. 10, 2013, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe described technology is directed to the field of electronic banking.
BACKGROUNDThe easiest way to transfer funds between two individuals' financial accounts has traditionally been for a transferor accountholder to write a check to a transferee accountholder. The transferee accountholder then deposits the check in his or her account to effect the transfer.
The inventors have recognized that checks have the disadvantages that they can be slow to process and are insecure. In addition, the timeframe between a customer receiving a check and actually executing the transfer can span on the order of days. This can become a problem when the funds necessary to complete a check transfer are insufficient. Further, newer systems that transfer funds between accounts without using checks tend to be are slow, awkward to use, and insecure.
In view of these disadvantages of conventional approaches to funds transfer, the inventors have determined that a fund transfer mechanism that provides an easier, quicker, and safer process for customers of a financial institution would help prevent cases of fraud, and vastly improve the overall experience and convenience of transferring funds directly between financial accounts, and thus would have significant utility.
Accordingly, the inventors herein describe a software and/or hardware facility for initiating a funds transfer operation between the accounts of two accountholders that conditions performance of the transfer on the physical proximity of two devices each associated with one of the accountholders (“the facility”) that enables users of the facility to exchange money in a way that is fast, easy and relatively secure.
Client devices typically also include a wireless transceiver for performing wireless communication in accordance with a number of standards and protocols, including numerous common cellular data communication standards, wifi communication standards, Bluetooth communication standards including Bluetooth Low Energy, and near-field communication.
While various embodiments are described in terms of the environment described above, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the facility may be implemented in a variety of other environments including a single, monolithic computer system, as well as various other combinations of computer systems or similar devices connected in various ways.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the steps shown in
In step 503, on each client, the facility receives the tokens of the other nearby clients broadcast in step 502. In step 504, on each client, the facility requests from the server accountholder verification information for each of the tokens received by the client in step 503. In step 511, on the server, for each request received from a client, the facility determines accountholder verification information for the tokens specified in the received request. In some embodiments, the accountholder verification information determined in step 511 includes an image associated the accountholder, such as an image of the accountholder's face. In some embodiments, the determined accountholder verification information includes part or all of the accountholder's name. In various embodiments, a variety of other types of accountholder verification information is determined by the facility. In step 512, on the server, the facility returns the accountholder verification information determined in step 511 to the requesting client. In step 521, on each of the clients, the facility displays the accountholder verification information received from the server in order to permit the accountholder using the client to select the accountholder of a nearby client as the transferee for a transfer.
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It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above-described facility may be straightforwardly adapted or extended in various ways. While the foregoing description makes reference to particular embodiments, the scope of the invention is defined solely by the claims that follow and the elements recited therein.
Claims
1. A method for confirming a funds transfer operation, the method performed in a first computing device associated with a first person, the method comprising:
- receiving from a second computing device a communication specifying an amount of money and an identifier of a second person associated with the second computing device, the communication indicating the second person's proposal to transfer the specified amount of money from an account belonging to the second person to an account belonging to the first person;
- using the specified identifier of the second person to retrieve from a device other than the first and second computing devices information for verifying the identity of the second person;
- displaying at least a portion of the retrieved information for verifying the identity of the second person, together with the specified amount of money;
- receiving user input approving the proposed transfer; and
- only in response to receiving the user input, sending a communication to a device other than the first and second devices instructing performance of a transfer of the specified amount of money from an account belonging to the second person to the account belonging to the first person.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the sent communication includes the identifier of the second person, or an identifier of the first person, or a combination thereof.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the sending is performed via a secure connection.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the second computing device is physically located within a threshold distance of the first computing device.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising, before sending the communication instructing performance of the transfer of the specified amount, sending a communication to the second computing device seeking confirmation of the transfer.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the retrieved information comprises an image of the second person.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the retrieved information comprises at least a portion of a name of the second person.
8. The method of claim 4 wherein the threshold distance is based on a short-range data exchange mechanism.
9. A computer-readable medium having contents adapted to cause a first computing device to perform a method for confirming a funds transfer operation, the method performed in a first computing device associated with a first person, the method comprising:
- receiving from a second computing device a communication specifying an amount of money and an identifier of a second person proposing to transfer the specified amount of money to the first person;
- using the specified identifier to retrieve from a device other than the first and second devices information for verifying the identity of the second person;
- displaying at least a portion of the retrieved information for verifying the identity of the second person, together with the specified amount;
- receiving user input approving the proposed transfer; and
- sending a communication to a device other than the first and second devices instructing performance of a transfer of the specified amount from an account belonging to the second person to the account belonging to the first person.
10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein the sent communication includes the identifier of the second person, or an identifier of the first person, or a combination thereof.
11. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein the sending is performed via a secure connection.
12. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein the second computing device is physically located within a threshold distance of the first computing device.
13. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises, before sending the communication instructing performance of the transfer of the specified amount, sending a communication to the second computing device seeking confirmation of the transfer.
14. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein the retrieved information comprises an image of the second person.
15. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein the retrieved information comprises at least a portion of a name of the second person.
16. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 wherein the threshold distance is based on a short-range data exchange mechanism.
17. A first computing device adapted to confirm a funds transfer operation at a first computing device associated with a first person, the first computing device comprising:
- a processor; and
- a memory having contents configured to, when executed by a processor, perform a method comprising: broadcasting an identifier identifying the first person from the first computing device to one or more third devices; receiving from a second computing device among the one or more third devices, a communication specifying an amount of money and an identifier of a second person, associated with the second computing device, proposing to transfer the specified amount of money to the first person; using the identifier of the second person to access information about the second person from a server storing account information about accountholders; displaying at least a portion of the accessed information about the second person for verifying the identity of the second person, together with the specified amount; receiving user input approving the proposed transfer, and causing the specified amount to be transferred from an account belonging to the second person to the account belonging to the first person.
18. The first computing device of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises sending a communication to the server instructing performance of a transfer of the specified amount from an account belonging to the second person to the account belonging to the first person.
19. The first computing device of claim 17 wherein the second computing device is physically located within a threshold distance of the first computing device.
20. The first computing device of claim 17 wherein the accessed information comprises an image of the second person, and wherein the displayed information about the second person includes the image of the second person.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 30, 2017
Publication Date: Mar 29, 2018
Inventors: Thomas Wanielista (New York, NY), Tad Fisher (Portland, OR), Matthew Moyer (Portland, OR), Colin Ruffenach (Portland, OR), Tristan Waddington (Portland, OR), Jarred Ward (Portland, OR)
Application Number: 15/828,169