Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DISTRIBUTED ON-LIN~ MONEY ACCESS CARD
TRANSACTION PROCESSING ~Y~TEM
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention pertains to the general field of
credit card cash advance systems and more particularly
to an improved and simplified client-operated system
that interfaces with any existing bank card
authorization system.
BACKGROUND ART
Computer system client-operated financial
transactions fall into two primary categories: 1) cash
withdrawals, such as those from an Automated Teller
Machine (ATM), and 2) credit card cash advances (CCCA).
In the first scenario, cash withdrawals are the method
for obtaining money~ and this transaction is debited
against the customer ' 9 bank account. If enough money
is available in the customer's account the transaction
will be approved, otherwise/ the transaction is
re~ected. Industry statistics indicate that most
customers have a limited amount of money on hand in
their account, and ATM's will only allow the withdrawal
of a certain money limit each day. Additionally, ATM's
require sizeable space for operation, restrictions
exist on the credit and debit cards used for operation,
the operation and maintenance o~ ATM's are expensive,
including "cash restocking" regularly, and ATM' 5 do not
provide any management information with regard to
direct marketing and other promotional activities.
Credit card cash advance (CCCA) operations,
however, allow the customer to advance, as opposed to
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withdrawl cash against their available line of aredit
on their credit aard. The number of transaction~ per
day are not limited and the money received i8 strictly
dependent on the austomers available line of credit and
the allowable limit by the location. CCCA primarily
use preprinted checks, as opposed to a receipt J printed
with the customer's credit card number, and signed by
the customer as receipt for the money received.
Both of the above described financial
transaction system are typically comprised of
centr~lized computer ~y~tems in one location that
control all the available locations. In other words,
when the central computer system is inoperative, it
affects all remote locations. This centralized
computer approach is not uncommon for transaction
oriented services; however~ its undesirable limitations
are solved by the instant invention. The Gredit Card
Cash Advance (CCCA) market i9 not widely understood by
either the conaumers who use credit cards for cMah
advances or the establishments which support these
transactions for their customers. Currently there are
two primary markets for CCCA 1) the gambling and
leisure industry~ and Z) the "over-the-counter" public
money. Additional markets that could be expanded
include; hotels~ government agencies~ airports~
universities! and any other high-traffic public
locations where people may need immediate cash. Market
research indicates that this expanded market could
~u~tain $100 million ~ year in fee revenue while the
two primary market areas in the United ~tates currently
sustain over ~Z00 million a year in fee revenue.
In the United ~tates~ the CCCA market place is
extremely limited and is primarily controlled by two
companies. The first and major company operates a
computerized check cashing system that includes check
authorization resources and telecommunication billing
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~ouraes; the second aompany is primarily concerned with
controlling the disbursing of "over-the-counter" public
money through electronic funds transfer.
b The major company services the gaming and
leisure industry where the principal form of money
exchange is cash. Therefore, the cash advance system
must be quick, convenient and accurate. The current
cash advance systems u9ed by the "casinos" appear to be
operated and controlled by more than one computer
system. HoweverJ in reality, all systems are owned by
the same company and use the same computer system.
Therefore, when one customer location becomes
inoperative 90 do all other customer locations. This
¢entralized aomputer approach is not uncommon for
transactions oriented services and its undesirable
limitations is one of the problems together with
logistics problems that are ~olved by the instant
invention.
The ATM has made it easier for banks and
financial in~titutions to satisfy their customer's
needs for fast and con~enient withdrawals. The ATM
service provider receives a percentage of the
transaction fee that is charged by the ATM device. When
comparing the utility of ATM's versus CCCA, it is well
to remember that ATM's facilitate a withdrawal
transaction and not a cash advance. Therefore! the
number of transactions are limited as well as the
amount of money recei~ed which in turns, limits the
benefits received by the customer.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any
patents or literature that read directly on the claims
of the instant in~ention. However, U.S. patent number
5,175,682 issued to Higashiyama, et al on 29 December
1992 is considered related. This patent discloses a
method and structure for processing and clearing checks
in a timely manner. A check recipient utilizes
~ . . .
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hardware and software to ~ather data ~rom a aheak and
then proaesa the cheak. The hardware include~ a reader
for reading the Magnetic Ink Charaater Recognition
(MICR) printed on the check7 and means for associating
this dat~ with information pert~inin~ to the
tr~nsaction. Thi~ information is combined in a data
record which i~ atored for ~uture batch data
tr~ln~3mission to ~ cle~ring hou~3e or the i:3suin~ bank.
The invention also provide means for determining if the
check information of a particular check is to be
communicated in real time or in the batch mode.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The distributed on-line money acceas card
transaction processing sy~tem is designed to provide a
multi-tasking stand-alone financial tran~action
processin~ system. The system consists of a customer
data-input station that ia in the form of a kiosk, a
customer service station, a credit and debit bank aard
processing center, a customer transaction booth and a
distributed on-line money access card transaction
procesain~ so~tware which oper~tea the system.
The customer data input station includeY a bank
card reader that reada various credit and debit bank
cards, a touchscreen unit that allows a customer to
enter transaction requests and receive instructiona
relatin~ to that request, and a printer that prints
customers transaction receipts. This station is
connected to the customer aervice station which
includea at least one workatation computer that
proce~es the customer transaction data and a laser
printer that prints the customer checka corresponding
to an approved request. The transaction request
processed by the customer service station is sent via a
modem to the credit and debit bankcard proaessing
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center.
The proaessing oenter will either approve or
di~approve the cu8tomer's transaction request. If a
transaotion i8 disapproved, the reasons for the
disapproval are displayed in the bank card reclder
and/or touchscreen unit located in the customer's data
input ~tation. ConverselYr if the transaction is
approved, the approval me9sage is displayed in both or
either o~ the cu5tomer's data input station, and a
check corre~ponding to the transaction amount is
printed on the laser printer located in the cu~tomer
service center. The customer then walks over to the
customer transaction booth where the check is converted
for a cash payment.
In view of the above disclosure it i~3 the
primary object of the invention to provide a
distributed on-line money access card transaction
processing system that is accurate, convenient and
customer friendly.
In addition to the primary object it is also an
object of the invention to produce an invention that:
o is reliable and easily maintained,
o can be located in various high pedestrian
traffic locations,
o can be easily exported to provide additional
financial services,
o is co~t effective from both a manufacturerr
and con~umer point~ of view~
o provides lower customer transaction fee~ with
direct marketing and promotional activites
for customer loyalty.
These and other objects and advantages of the
present invention will become apparent from the
sub~equent detailed description of the preferred
embodiment and the appended claim~ taken in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGURE 1 is an o~erall bloak dia~ram of the
di~tributed on-line money acaess aard traneaction
proce~eing system.
FIGURE 2 is a bloak dia~ram o~ the system
showing the interface between ~ cu~tomer data input
service ~tation which includes a cuatomer data input
station and ~ customer ~er~ice ~tation, a credit and
debit bank card processing center, and a cu~tomer
tr~n~ction booth~
FIGURE 3 is a block/functional diagram ~howing
the operation o~ an IPC trAnsport mechanism with eight
~o~tware module~.
FIGURE 4 is a block diagram showing the
di~i~ion~l aategorie~ o~ the IPC tr~nsport meahanism.
FIGURE 5 is a block dia~r~m o~ the ta~k mana~er
~howing multi-threaded task sequenaes that operates a
plurality of tasks.
FIGURES 6-22 are ~low dia~rams of the syetem
aoftware program.
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BEST MOD~ FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
The best mode ~or carrying out the invention i8
presented in terms Or a pre~erred embodiment that
~llowa the timely processing o~ consumer credit c~rds
~nd debit bank aards. The pre~erred embodiment a8 shown
in FIGUR}i;S 1-ZZ i8 compriaed of ~ distributed on-line
money acces~ card transaction processing ~ystem lO that
consiat~ of ~ cuatomer dat~-input/service station 12
that i~ further comprised of at least one customer
data-input station 14 ~nd a customer service station
16; a credit and debit bank card processing center 18;
and ~ customer trans~ction booth 20. The above
hardw~re element~ oper~te with ~ prim~ry distributed
on-line money ~cceas c~rd tr~naAction processing
~oftware 30 and two ~econdary programs entitled a point
of sale so~tw~re progr~m 3Z and ~ distributed on-line
money access card transaction sortw~re program 34.
The over~ll distributed on-line money acoe~
card trans~ction proaessing system lO is shown in
FIGURE l. The ~igure depicts broadly the inter~ace o~
the customer dat~-input service st~tion 12, which
includea the cuatomer d~t~-input at~tion 14 and the
cu~tomer ser~ice station 16, with the customer
tr~nsaction booth 20 ~nd the credit ~nd debit b~nk c~rd
processing center 18. As shown in FIGURE 2, the
cu~tomer d~t~ input station 14 inter~aces and
communicates with the customer service station 16 by
me~ns o~ ~ serial RSZ32 port 22. The interface ~nd
communication between the customer service st~tion 16
~nd the credit and debit bank card processing center 18
is by means of a conventional modem 24.
The cuatomer d~ta-input atation 14) i8
pre~erably conrigured in the ~orm o~ a kiosk 14A. The
aystem lO utilize~ aever~l kioak's ~a ahown in FIGURE
l~ that ~re located in an easily accessible location
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such as in shopping malls, airports and other
hi~h-traffic public locations. The kio~ks high-tech
units are designed and embellished to differ from other
non-related kiosk' 8 that may be located in the ~ame
area and are further designed to fit and compliment the
surroundings of the location environment.
The customer data-input station 14 consists of a
means for accepting and reading a variety of customer
credit cards i.e. r Visa , Mastercard , Discover M~
American Expre~s and debit bank aards i.e., ATM
cards. The means preferably consists of a bank card
reader 14B also known as a ma~netic card strip reader.
The station include~ a touchscreen unit 14C or a keypad
14D that functions in combination with an alpha-numeric
display 14~. These units function to receive and
di~play the customer'~ transaction request, to ~uery
the customer and to encrypt the customer transaction
data. The station 14 also includes a printer 14F that
provides the oustomer with ~ receipt listing the
transaction data.
All the functions of the customer d~ta-input
station 14 are operated by the local point of sale
~POS) software pro~ram 3~ that i~ located in the
station 14. The means for interfacing and
communic~tin~ with the customer service station 16 i5
by a cable connected to serial R~232 port located in
both the station 14 and 16 as shown best in FIGURE Z.
The customer service station 16 as shown in
FIGURE 2, includes at least one workstation computer
1~A. This computer~ which is operated by the
distributed on-line money access card transaction
software program 34, has means for receiving and
procesaing the customer d~ta recei~ed from the customer
data input station 14. The customer processed data is
~pplied via the modem 24 to the credit and debit bank
card proce sing center 18. If the transaction is not
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approved by the center 1~, the reasons for the
di 8 approval are pre 9 ented to the austomer on the
touchsareen unit 14C or the alpha-numeric displ~y 14~.
If an approval i3 received from the center 18, a
printer 16C connected to the workstation computer 16A
is activated. The printer has means for electroniaally
printinE~, on demandJ ~ cuatomer' 9 aheck that
corresponds to the accepted cu8tomer transaation. The
printer 16C ia preferably ~ l~aer printer that prints
the ohecks from electronic image3 stored in the laser
printer using blank check stockpaper and Magnetic Ink
Character Reaognition (MICR) toner. The reaeived aheak
is eiven to the customer at a conveniently located
customer transaction booth 20 where the customer's
check ia converted to cash or some other method of
payment. Before the cash is received, the customer
must pre~ent ~ proper identific~tion ~nd si~n the
check.
In summary, the distributed on-line money acceas
card transaction processing system 10 is designed to
provide ~n improved credit bank card and debit bank
card system. To utilize the systemJ the following
simple steps are taken:
a) The customer walks up to a customer
d~ta-input station 14 which preferably is in
the form of an attractive and functional
kiosk. Within the kioskJ is located a card
reader 14B and a touchscreen unit 14C or a
keyp~d 14~ with ~n ~lph~-numeric displ~y
14E.
b) Customer passes a credit c~rd or bank debit
card across the card reader 14B to initiate
a transactisn J
c) customer selects the amount of the
transaction by touchin~ appropriate sections
of the touchscreen unit 14C or the keys on
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the keypad 14D.
d) customer views touch9creen to determine if
the transaation ha~ been approved or
rejected. If a rejection is received, the
reason for the rejection i8 di~pl~ced on the
touchscreen 14C or alpha-numeric display
14~. If an approval is received, the
message is displaced and a check i~
electronically printed with the approved
transaction amount on a la~er printer 16C
located in the customer service station 16.
e) customer then proceeds to the customer
transaction booth 20. Where when proper
identification i9 presented, the oustomer
receives a cash payment or the like.
The sy3tem lO is operated by a di~tributed
on-line money access card transaction prooessing
so~tware 30 that con3i~ts of an inter-process
communication (IPC) transport mechani~m that operates
ei~ht modules as shown in FIGURE 3.
IPC TRANSPORT M~CHANISM
The IPC transport mechanism 30A functions as the
"logical data bus'l for the inter-process communications
between distributed system processes across various
physical or logical data links. This software design
enables dependent processes to communicate regardless
of whether the processes reside on the same platform.
Thus, processes are allowed to be distributed across
one or many operating platforms using varioua
communication topologies, allowing scaling of the
a~plication or takin~ advantage of the inherent
properties of a platform best suited to a particular
proces~. The IPC transport mech~nism 30A is divided
into the following categories as shown in FIGURE 4.
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11
IPC Admini 8 trator API - This i8 the interfaae
aeen by each process in the sy5tem. When Proces~ A
eatablishea ~ ae~sion with Process B, the inter~ace
seen by the processes i9 the same regardless of whether
the processes are executing on the same platform, and
regardless of the physical link and protocol used to
link the multiple pl~tforms in u distributed setting.
Transport Inter~ace - The transport interface
manAges connections between processes and provides a
mechanism for querying process status and availability.
This interface makes the distinction between local and
remote processes and assigns to a aonnection the
appropriate protocol and device interface.
Protocol Converter - the protoaol converter
frames data packets as required by the protocol
assigned by the transport interface for transmission
across the communications device linking the processes.
Packets are ~ramed by adding the necessary header,
trailer J routing and error detection/correction
information. This inter~ace also manages any receipt
verification, ~cknowled~mentJ and retransmission aa
required by the protocol. If a data packet i8 destined
for a local proceaa J no framing i9 neceaaary and the
p~cket i3 sent immediately to the process or posted to
the input queue deai~nated for the receipt of
interprocess data packets.
Device Interface - The device inter~ace performs
any initialization necessary for a physical device and
handles the low-level transmisaion and reception of
data to and from the device.
Device - The phyaic~l communications device.
KERNEL MODULE
The Kernel module 30B conaiats of the Taak
Manager and other low-level functions required on each
platform running the aystem 10 modules. The Kernel
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12
consists of the aate~ories described below.
Ta~k Mana~er - The Task Manager as shown in
FIGURE 3 u~es multi-threadèd non-preemptive
multi-tasking technology to provide a multi-proce~8ing
environment to the ~y9tem 10 modules re~ardle~s o~
whether the host environment or operating system are
capable of providing such aervice~. Tasks use
atate-sequencing logic to per~orm small part~ of an
operation with each thread invocation.
Queue Mana~er - The Queue Manager provides
functions to the sy~tem modules for creating, deleting
and mana~ing queues and queue entire (job~). Processes
that must proces~ requests in a serial manner use the
queue manager ~or storing pending request~ and service
re~ueats from the queue in the order received.
Exception Handler - When proces3es generate an
exception ~error~, a signal i~ sent to the exception
handler. Other processes may establish exception hook~
to allow them to perform the proces~ing for desi~nated
exceptions. If an exception of a critical nature
requires sy~tem shutdown, the exception handler will
notify running tasks to perform the shutdown in an
orderly mnnner.
Low-Level System Re30urces - Provides an
interface to various system-dependent resource3 such as
memory mana~ement~ file access, and display mapping.
USER INTERFACE
The User Interface module 30C present to an
operator v~rious options for performing tasks which ~re
carried out by other system modules. These options are
presented in the form of menus, message displays and
data entry screens. The user inter~ace module
tran~l~te~ the u~er option3 and coordin~tes invoc~tion
of other ~ystem proce33es to perform the selected task.
,
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13
SECURITY
The securitY module 30D protects the system 10
from unauthorized acce88, tamperin~ and ~raudulent
activities by performing the function3 described below.
,.
5 Pa~word Protection - Each aystem operator
requires a pa3sword to access the 9ystem~ and the
~dministrator o~ the 9y9tem determines what function3
may be performed by each operator.
Data Encryption - Provide~ a proprietary
10 encryption mechani3m ~or protecting 3en3itive data
stored in ~iles or transmitted between proce~sea.
Hot-Card File - The 3ystem maintain3 a local
database of credit or debit cards that are stolen or
otherwise thou~ht to be involved in ~raudulent
15 activitie~. This ~llow~ ~uch tran~action~ to be
3topped immediately without exposing the system
operator to fraud liabilities.
Current Tran~ction Reporting - To comply with
federal and state money-laundering proteation laws~ the
20 system track~ multiple tran3aation3 performed by an
individual ~nd automatically generates the neces3ary
regulatory report~ required when the aumulative amount
o~ transactions during the specified period meets or
exceeds the amount speaified by the regulation.
POS MANAGER
The POS manager module 30E proce33es tran3action
requests and coordinates the authorization and printing
of the electronic checks or other transaction-generated
documents. Several authorization sources may be
30 available to the POS manager depending on the type of
trans~ction and the current transaction volume. The
POS manager will 3elect the appropriate authorizer and
pass the transaction data to the Transaction
Authorization and Settlement Module for tran3mi3~ion to
35 the authorizer.
-
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TRANSACTION AUTHORIZATION AND SETTLEMENT MODULE
The Transaation Authorization and Settlement
(TA~) Module 30F manage~ conneation~ with the
authorization network(s). At the time an authorization
request is received, the TAS module will ~elect a
communications device for communicatin~ with the
authorizer. The TA~ module will ~irst try to utilize
an existing connection i~ one i8 already in place. I~
one i~ not in place, an alternate deviae may be
utilized to eatablish the connection, or i~ none is
available, the request will be queued until a device
becomes available. In the event of a failure to
establish communications with the authorizer or a
~ailure of an established link, the TAS module will
activate ~lternate routing logic to est~blish or
re-establish communications.
PRINT MANA~ER
The Print Manager module 30G proceases requests
from other system modules ~or printing electronic
checks and reports. These print requests are queued
~or printin~ a~ soon as the desi~nated printer is
available, or the Print Manager may be selected to
print the report on the first available printer or to
distribute the report to multiple designated printers.
The Print Mana~er tracks the inventory levels of
checks, toner and other printer related consummables.
Functions are also provided for querying the status of
print jobs, deleting print jobs ! su3pending print jobs
and querying printer availability and status.
DATABAS~ ENGINE
The D~taba~e En~ine module 30H providea a
mechanism for storing transaction data and other data
required throu~h the sy~tem. The database is desi~ned
around the relation model and processes commands in a
transaction oriented manner. Facilities are included
to ensure data inte~rity, includin~ file and record
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loaks~ integrity vertification and automatia index
regeneration.
The Dat~ba~e ~ngine al~o provides ~ile-level
mana~ement~ the ~hared File Sy9tem. Thi~ ~ystem makes
data file~ available to all 8y8tem modules re~ardle~
of location and manages and synchronizes aGcess to
the~e files. Any pl~tform runnin~ aystem modules may
have a file area de9ignated as a shared file area and
will be managed by the shared file system.
DEVICES COMMUNICATION MODULE
The devices communication module 30I allows a
~ariety of communicating devicea to be operated by the
IPC transport mechaniam without needing to be aware of
the apecific protocols required by the de~ices. The
major devices supported by the system are as follows.
Intelligent Workatation Adapter - The
intelligent work~3tation adapter (IW~) i8 comprised of
hardware and software which enables many transaction
terminala to be connected through ~erial RS-232
interfacea to a system running on a personal computer
which ia normally limited to only four serial interf~ce
ports. An IWA provides 16 ports~ and two IWA'a may be
connected to provide up to 32 porta.
Point of Sale (POS) Terminals - POS terminals
are utilized by system customers to process
tranaactions. The3e terminals contain a dual-track
ma~netic card reader for ac~uirin~ cardholder account
information, a keypad for selecting options~ entering
transaction amounts, a display to report the progress
of the transaction and request input and a receipt
printer. Transaction re~uests are forwarded through
the IPC to the POS ManagerJ and the reault of the
transaction ia relayed back to the terminal which then
instruct3 the customer of the completed transaction.
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16
ViewChek Touch Screen Terminal - ViewChek
terminals present to the customer the same options as
the POS terminals but include a color ~lat-~creen
graphics display to aommunicate transaction progress
and reque~t cu~tomer input. The ~raphic~ display
includes a touch-sensitive sur~ace which allow3 a
cuatomer to select option~ by pointing to them on the
display. In addition~ the screen may be programmed to
display advertising messa~es while the system is idle
or processing.
Slave Terminals - ~lave terminals provide a
simpleJ inexpen3ive interface to the sy~tem for use in
place~ where it i9 not practical to pl~ce an entire
computer system. These terminal3 are connected through
the IPC tran~port mechaniam and may be programmed to
perform any function a~ailable on the system. In
addition~ reports and electronic checks may be directed
to printers attached to slave terminals.
Credit Card and Drivers License Readers - these
devices are equipped with a device that is capable of
readine the ma~netic ~tripe on bank cards (debit and
credit), as well as the driver's licenses being
introduced in m~ny ~tates with magnetic encoding. This
automates data recording and prevents data entry
error~,
MICR Readers and Bar Code ~canner3 - All
electronic check~ printed by the ~ystem include account
in~ormation (known as MICR encodin~) required by the
Federal ~e~erve for clearin~. The system is equipped
with a MICR reader aapable of reading this information
and transmittin~ it a system module ~or processing.
This allow~ instant retrieval of transaction
information and also verification of the transaction.
Many documents ~enerated by the system also contain
identi~yin~ information encoded in a bar code. A bar
code scanner connected to a system allows all
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17
transactions assoaiated with a doaument to instantly be
retrieved for viewing or proaessing.
Modem~ - Modems are u~ed by the system ~or
authorizing and settling trans~ctions.
LAN/WAN Inter~ace - The systems may be
interaonnected with other systems or networks to give
other applications acaess to the system data and to
allow interoperability with other systems.
The aomputer software flow dia~ram~ for the
system 10 are shown in FIGURES 7-ZZ.
While the invention has been described in
complete detail and pictorially shown in the
accompanyin~ dr~win~ it i~ not to be limited to such
details~ since many changes and modifications may be
made to the invention without departing from the spirit
and the scope thereof. Hence. it i3 described to aover
any and all modifications and forms which may come
within the language and scope of the claims.
