Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02612509 2007-11-27
ELECTRONIC MONEY TRANSFER
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to the field of money
transfers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
To transfer money from bank account to bank account,
the services of a bank may be used. Alternatively, money
can be electronically transferred via the Internet using
credit cards. Another alternative is the use of the
services of companies such as Western Union. These methods
have a common point, namely that individual transactions
are required for each money transfer.
As numerous money transfers are made by individuals
from a same starting point to a same destination, each
individual transferring money has to pay complete transfer
fees.
Therefore, there is a need to reduce the costs related
to money transfers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a broad aspect of the present invention,
there is provided a method of transferring money to
beneficiaries in a remote location, the method comprising:
creating user accounts by registering remitters and at
least one corresponding beneficiary, each of the user
accounts having at least one debit card associated thereto
and provided to the at least one corresponding beneficiary;
receiving multiple monetary transaction requests from the
remitters, the transaction requests being made via an
electronic system accessible by the user accounts;
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regrouping the multiple monetary transaction requests;
effecting a single electronic transaction for a monetary
amount corresponding to the multiple monetary transaction
requests, the single electronic transaction comprising
information related to a repartition of the monetary amount
among the beneficiaries; depositing the monetary amount in
a common remote account; collecting money for the multiple
monetary transaction requests from the remitters; and
allowing the beneficiaries access to the common remote
account via the debit card in accordance with the
repartition.
It should be understood that the term "company" is
used to refer to any entity which uses a method of
transferring money according to the invention.
It should be understood that the term "remitter" is
used to refer to any entity which uses the services of the
company to transfer money.
It should understood that the term "associate" is used
to designate any entity which receives the money from the
company. This entity may be a banking institution or a non-
banking institution.
It should be understood that the term "beneficiary" is
used to designate any person which is associated to a
remitter and receives money from the remitter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Further features and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent from the following detailed
description, taken in combination with the appended
drawings, in which:
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Fig. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a generic method
of transferring money according to an embodiment of the
present invention;
Fig. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a more specific
method of transferring money, according to an embodiment of
the present invention;
Fig. 3 illustrates a screen-shot of pre-registration
webpage according to an embodiment;
Fig. 4 illustrates a screen-shot of webpage displaying
a confirmation of a beneficiary pre-registration according
to an embodiment;
Fig. 5 is a membership form according to an
embodiment;
Fig. 6 illustrates a screen-shot of webpage displaying
a pre-registration confirmation message according to an
embodiment;
Fig. 7 illustrates a screen-shot of webpage displaying
a list of awaiting and processing prospects according to an
embodiment;
Fig. 8 illustrates a screen-shot of webpage informing
an agent about awaiting prospects according to an
embodiment;
Fig. 9 illustrates a screen-shot of user account
access webpage according to an embodiment;
Fig. 10 illustrates a screen-shot of funds transfer
webpage according to an embodiment;
Fig. 11 illustrates a screen-shot of password
modification webpage according to an embodiment;
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Fig. 12 illustrates a screen-shot of transfers status
webpage according to an embodiment;
Fig. 13 illustrates a screen-shot of transaction
statement webpage according to an embodiment;
Fig. 14 illustrates a screen-shot of completed
transfers summary webpage according to an embodiment;
Fig. 15 is a statement of fund transfers according to
an embodiment;
Fig. 16 is a schematic illustrating a method of
collecting money according to an embodiment
Fig. 17 illustrates a screen-shot of new administrator
creation webpage according to an embodiment;
Fig. 18 illustrates a screen-shot of new agent
creation webpage according to an embodiment;
Fig. 19 illustrates a screen-shot of member search
webpage according to an embodiment;
Fig. 20 illustrates a screen-shot of scheduled
transfers webpage according to an embodiment;
Fig. 21 illustrates a screen-shot of funds transfer
cancellation webpage according to an embodiment;
Fig. 22 illustrates a screen-shot of webpage
displaying a list of all awaiting transfers according to an
embodiment;
Fig. 23 illustrates a screen-shot of webpage
displaying opened rejected bank transfers according to an
embodiment; and
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Fig. 24 illustrates a screen-shot of webpage
displaying global statistics according to an embodiment;
It will be noted that throughout the appended
drawings, like features are identified by like reference
numerals.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Figure 1 illustrates one embodiment of a method of
transferring money. A company collects money from remitters
who want to transfer money to identified beneficiaries. The
collection of money is achieved via electronic money
transfers. The company regroups the collected money into a
single account and transfers the total collected amount of
money by a single transaction to a remote account managed
by an associate. The transfer of funds is accompanied by a
transfer of data relative to the beneficiaries and their
intended amount of money. With this data, the repartition
of the money between the beneficiaries is known. Each
beneficiary is provided with a debit card which allows the
withdrawal of money. The transferred money is kept in a
single account to which each beneficiary has access and can
withdraw money according to an available amount of money
transferred by a corresponding remitter. More than one
beneficiary can be associated to a single remitter. The
remitter can then identify which beneficiaries should
receive money and the corresponding amounts. Each
beneficiary can be associated with more than one remitter.
A beneficiary can receive money from different remitters.
Alternatively, several beneficiaries can be associated with
a single debit card.
In one embodiment, a beneficiary is associated with
different remitters and is provided with a single debit
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card. With this single debit card, he can access the money
transferred by any one of the remitters associated with
him. Alternatively, the beneficiary can be provided with as
many cards as the number of remitters with whom he is
associated.
In one embodiment, a remitter is associated to several
remitters and has a single user account by which he
transfers money to all of his corresponding beneficiaries.
Alternatively, the remitter is provided with a user account
per beneficiary.
In one embodiment, the company uses a computer system
to perform the money transfers and at least one
administrator of the company manages the computer system.
Fig. 2 illustrates another embodiment of the method of
transferring money. The first step of the method is the
registration of remitters.
In one embodiment, a person who wants to transfer
money has to register a user account before transferring
money. The person accesses a web-site of the company and
completes a request for registration form. During
registration, the person has to provide personal
information, banking information, contact information and
information about beneficiaries to whom he wants to
transfer money. Alternatively, registration can be made by
phone or any electronic data transferring methods such as
short message service (SMS) message and email.
In one embodiment, registration of new clients is made
in two steps, namely pre-registration and a confirmation of
registration. A person who wants to become a remitter has
to pre-register on the website of the company. During the
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pre-registration step, the person has to provide personal
information.
Figure 3 illustrates one embodiment of a pre-
registration web page containing a questionnaire to be
completed by a person who wants to pre-register. The person
is asked to provide names, address, birthdate, phone
numbers, email address, profession, yearly estimated number
of transfers, driver's license number, health insurance
number, banking information (such as financial institution
name, transit number, bank number and account number) and a
password. It should be understood that the above list of
information is exemplary only and that any other
information pertinent to pre-registration can be asked.
During pre-registration, the person is also asked to
identify beneficiaries to whom he wants to transfer money
and to provide information about them. This required
information can include the name, address, contact
information and the relation to the beneficiaries (such as
parent, sister, brother, niece, etc).
In one embodiment of pre-registration, the person has
to pre-register one beneficiary at a time. After each pre-
registration of a beneficiary, a confirmation message is
displayed on the person's computer screen. Figure 4
illustrates one embodiment of a message for a beneficiary
pre-registration confirmation. The person can pre-register
a predefined number of beneficiaries. Alternatively, there
can be no limit to the number of beneficiaries that a
person can pre-register.
In one embodiment of pre-registration, the person has
to print a membership form before completing pre-
registration. Figure 5 illustrates one embodiment of the
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membership form which summarizes the provided information.
The membership form also contains legal statements and may
also be indicative of registration fees.
Pre-registration ends with a message informing the
pre-registered person that an agent will contact him.
Figure 6 illustrates an example of the web page displaying
this message. A person who has pre-registered on the
company website is called a prospect.
In one embodiment of the method, an administrator of
the company computer system accesses a web page displaying
a list of prospects awaiting confirmation of their
registration and a list of processing prospects, as
illustrated in figure 7. The administrator accesses the
list of awaiting prospects and processing prospects per
country and per province. The list of awaiting prospects
includes the name, the number of associated beneficiaries
(number of cards) and the city of the awaiting prospects.
By clicking on their name, the administrator accesses all
information registered by the awaiting prospects during
pre-registration. The administrator assigns a chief agent
and an agent to complete registration of prospects. The
list of processing prospects displays a list of prospects
who have already been contacted by an agent but whose
registration is not completed. The list of processing
prospects displays the name of the processing prospects,
their number of associated beneficiaries (number of cards),
the names of their assigned chief agent and second agent in
addition to the date at which the agents have contacted the
corresponding prospect. It should be understood that the
web page illustrated in figure 7 is exemplary only and
additional or fewer information about the prospects could
be displayed.
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In one embodiment, the computer system periodically
and automatically verifies if new prospects have registered
via the website and informs administrators.
In one embodiment, the computer system informs an
agent that a new prospect has been assigned to him. Figure
8 illustrates one embodiment of the web page informing the
agent about a new prospect. The agent is also informed
about his chief agent. The agent accesses information about
awaiting prospects assigned to him via the computer system.
The assigned agent of the company contacts the
awaiting prospect in order to confirm registration. The
agent can contact the prospect by phone or email.
Alternatively, the agent can visit the awaiting prospect at
the address that he registered. The verification by the
agent of the awaiting prospect home address, phone number
and all other information provided by the prospect is
intended to reduce the risks of money laundering and
terrorism activities financing. After the agent contacted
the awaiting prospect, the prospect is registered as a
processing prospect in the computer system.
The agent verifies the different information provided
by the prospect before officializing registration. After
completion of registration, the prospect becomes a remitter
who can transfer money via the services of the company. The
remitter is provided with a user account number and a
remitter password. The remitter can also receive a remitter
card with his user account number thereon.
In one embodiment, the prospect provides to the
company a member form duly signed, a payor's Portable
Application Description (PAD) agreement duly signed, PAD
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terms and conditions duly signed, a void cheque and a valid
photography in order to complete registration.
In one embodiment, the remitter has to pay a one time
flat registration fee. Alternatively, the registration fees
can be periodical or can be dependant on the location of
the beneficiaries and/or the remitters. The registration
fees can be dependant on the number of registered
beneficiaries.
In one embodiment, after registering, the remitter
receives a user account number per registered beneficiary
and both the remitter and the beneficiary share the same
user account number. Alternatively, the remitter can
receive a single user account number and his corresponding
beneficiaries receives a different account number.
When new remitters and/or beneficiaries are
registered, the company informs an associate in a remote
location about it. In one embodiment, an electronic data
file containing information about the new remitters and/or
beneficiaries is created and sent to the associate.
In one embodiment, the task of transferring
information to the remote location is automated and
performed by the computer system. Registration of new
remitters and/or beneficiaries is made in the computer
system. At regular intervals in time, the computer system
checks if new registrations of remitters and/or
beneficiaries have been made. If new registrations have
been entered, the computer system automatically creates a
file containing all information about new registrations and
sends it to the associate. For example, every night, the
computer system checks if new registrations have been
entered. If so, it creates an electronic file containing
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information about the new registrations and sends it
automatically to the associate.
In one embodiment, a beneficiary designated by a
remitter has to register with the associate. The associate
contacts the beneficiary by phone, mail, SMS message or
email that he has to register in order to receive a debit
card. The beneficiary has to provide the associate with the
same information provided by the remitter. The associate
verifies both sets of information and if both sets of
information correspond, the associate confirms the identity
of the beneficiary and provides him with the debit card to
which is associated a beneficiary account number and/or a
beneficiary password. The associate informs the company
that the new beneficiary has been registered. This
confirmation can be sent to the company via an electronic
file.
In one embodiment, the company periodically verifies
if the associate has registered new beneficiaries. This
task can be performed automatically by the computer system.
For example, every night, the computer system checks if a
new beneficiary registration file has been received from
the associate and updates the database.
Once a new remitter has been registered, he accesses
his electronic transactions account manager on the web-site
of the company via the web page illustrated in figure 9. By
entering this user account number (card number) and his
password, the remitter accesses his account manager.
Through his electronic transaction account, a remitter can
register money transfer requests, access money transfer
history, be informed about the status of a beneficiary
(registered, processing registration) and about the
withdrawals made by the beneficiaries. If all of the
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remitter's beneficiaries are associated with a single
remitter user account number, the remitter can access all
information about transfers for each beneficiaries via a
single electronic account manager. Alternatively, if a
single beneficiary is associated to a single remitter user
account number, the remitter can only access information
about transfer to this beneficiary through the electronic
account manager.
Figure 10 illustrates one embodiment of a web page
that the remitter accesses to submit a money transfer
request. After selecting the beneficiary to whom the
remitter wants to transfer money, if more than one
beneficiary is associated with the user account, the
remitter enters the amount of money to be transferred and
the date at which he wants the transfer to be processed.
The remitter can register periodical money transfers.
Through this web page, he can register money transfers to
be processed every month at a predefined date or every two
weeks, for example. If more than one bank account are
registered in the remitter's user account, the remitter
also chooses the bank account to be debited.
In one embodiment, a flat transfer fee is associated
with the money transfer. The transfer fee can be dependent
on the location of the beneficiary and/or the remitter.
In one embodiment, the electronic account manager
gives the remitter access to his profile. The remitter can
change information such as his contact information or bank
account information, for example. When a remitter changes
information about his profile, the computer system may
inform an agent or an administrator and verification of the
new information can be done.
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Figure 11 illustrates one embodiment of a password
modification web page. The remitter accesses this web page
in his electronic account manager in order to change his
password.
Figure 12 illustrates an example of a web page of a
remitter's electronic account manager displaying
information about transfer status and rejected transfers.
This page displays the date at which a transfer request has
been submitted by the remitter, the name of the
beneficiary, the amount to be transferred, the creation
date and the status of the transfer such as completed or in
process. This page also informs the remitter if transfers
have been rejected and the occurrences of the rejections.
The amount of money is displayed in the local currency of
the remitter. If more than one bank account is registered
in the remitter's account manager, the web page displays
information about the bank account to be debited. It should
be understood that the web page illustrated in figure 12 is
exemplary only and that additional information or fewer
information can be provided to the remitter on his account
manager.
Figure 13 illustrates an embodiment of a statement of
transactions made by a beneficiary. The remitter accesses
this web page to see the withdrawals made by his
corresponding beneficiary. This page displays the
withdrawals made by the beneficiary and their corresponding
dates, the money remittances made by the remitter and their
corresponding dates, and the balance of the account.
Figure 14 illustrates an embodiment of a summary of
the completed transfers made by the remitter. The web page
displays the number of transfers per year and the total
amount of transferred money. By clicking on the "Details"
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icon, the remitter accesses a statement of fund transfers
completed during the corresponding year as illustrated in
figure 15. This statement informs the remitter about the
date and amount of all transfers made for a beneficiary.
It should be understood that all figures illustrating
web pages of a remitter's account manager are exemplary
only. The web pages can display additional information
and/or different information without departing from the
scope of the present invention.
In one embodiment, the remitter can call the company
to register a request of money transfer, add/remove
beneficiaries, modify information, etc. The information
given by the remitter is entered into the computer system
of the company by an employee. Alternatively, SMS messages
or emails can be used to perform any operation that can be
made through the website. SMS messages or emails are
received by the computer system which registers the
information and/or money transfer requests. Any adequate
security means known by a person skilled in the art can be
provided to protect the confidentiality of the
transactions.
Referring back to figure 2, the company receives
requests for monetary transactions from remitters. The
requests identify beneficiaries to whom the remitters want
to send money and the corresponding monetary amounts. In
addition, the requests can also include particular
conditions such as maximum amount per withdrawal for
example.
The computer system of the company regroups the
transaction requests coming from the remitters. Regrouping
the transaction requests can be automated and periodically
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performed. For example, at the end of every day, the
computer system checks if transaction requests have been
registered, regroups them and calculates the total monetary
amount to be sent to an associate in a remote location. The
total monetary amount corresponds to the sum of all of the
transaction requests registered by the remitters.
In one embodiment, the company makes a single
electronic transaction to the remote account once the
remitters' money has been transferred to the company
account. The electronic transaction includes the transfer
of the total monetary amount and information relative to
the repartition of the amount among the beneficiaries. This
information can also include specific conditions on
beneficiary debits such as a maximum amount to be withdrawn
per week or per month for example.
In one embodiment, an electronic data file containing
the repartition of money between the different
beneficiaries is sent in parallel to the electronic money
transfer by the company, or accompanying the money
transfer.
In another embodiment, the company makes a single
electronic transaction to the remote account before
collecting the remitters' money. The electronic transaction
includes the transfer of the total monetary amount and
information relative to the repartition of the amount among
the beneficiaries. If a remitter's bank refuses to transfer
money from the remitter account to the company account, the
remitter will have to reimburse the funds advanced by the
company.
The company can establish different security plans to
ensure to get reimbursed by remitters. The company can
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limit the transferable amount of money per transaction
and/or the number of transactions per week, for example. In
the case where a remitter does not reimburse the company,
this particular remitter can no longer use the funds
transaction services of the company. The company also
verifies if the beneficiaries associated to the remitter
have already withdrawn the money. If not, the company asks
the associate to prevent the beneficiaries to access the
money which is transferred back to the company, immediately
or after a delay. If the remitter reimburses the company
before the end of the delay, the beneficiaries can access
the money.
In addition, the company can adjust the maximum
transferable amount of money per transaction and/or the
number of transactions per time period. For example, after
a predefined number of transactions or a predefined
transferred amount of money without any reimbursement
trouble from a remitter, the company can increase the
remitter's maximum transferable amount of money and/or the
maximum number of transaction per time period.
In one embodiment, late reimbursement penalties are
imposed to remitters who failed to reimburse the company.
The remitters have to pay the penalties before using again
the money transfer services of the company.
In one embodiment, during registration, a remitter is
asked for a deposit. This deposit can be a check. For
example, the check amount can equal to the maximum
transferable amount per transaction. If the remitter fails
to reimburse the company, the company cashes-in the check.
Before using the services of the company again, the
remitter will have to provide the company with another
deposit.
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Figure 16 illustrates one embodiment of the collection
of money by the company. The computer system registers
money transfer requests submitted by remitters via their
user accounts. Using remitters' banking information
registered in, the user accounts, the computer system
requests to the remitters' bank that monetary amounts
equivalent to remitters' transfer requests plus fees
associated with transfers be deposited in the company's
bank account. Once the money has been received in the
company bank account, a confirmation massage is sent to the
computer system. The money is collected in a single company
account. The bank accounts of the remitters can be located
in different locations or in a same location.
Referring back to figure 2, the money collected in a
single company bank account from remitters is sent in a
single transaction to a single remote account managed by
the associate. The associate deposits the transferred money
in a single bank account.
In one embodiment, the computer system periodically
and automatically regroups the money transfer requests,
collects the money and transfers it to the remote account
in a single transaction. A remitter can stop a transaction
at any time before a beneficiary debits its intended amount
of money and be refunded.
Referring back to figure 2, once the associate
receives the money from the company, the associate deposits
the money in a single account and allows the beneficiaries
access to their intended amount of money. The associate
also confirms the money transfer transaction to the
company.
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In one embodiment, fees are charged to the
beneficiary. These fees include withdrawal fees,
information fees and/or currency exchange fees. Additional
fees can be charged to beneficiaries. Alternatively, no
fees are charged to beneficiaries.
In one embodiment, the associate sends an electronic
transfer confirmation file to the computer system of the
company. The computer system periodically and automatically
checks if transfer confirmation files have been received
and updates the database.
In one embodiment, the computer system is managed by
more than one administrator. The company adds a new
administrator by accessing the new administrator creation
webpage of which an example is illustrated in figure 17.
Information such as administrator code, first and last
names, account type and access code can be required in
order to create a new administrator profile in the computer
system.
In one embodiment, an administrator registers a new
agent and creates a corresponding profile in the computer
system by accessing the new agent creation webpage of which
an example is illustrated in figure 18. Information such as
first and last name, contact information, country,
province, city, user code and password can be required to
register a new agent and create his profile. The
administrator is also asked whether the agent is a chief
agent or on the contrary, to designate the chief agent
responsible for the agent.
An administrator displays a remitter's profile by
accessing the search by member webpage of which an example
is illustrated in figure 19. The administrator can find a
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remitter's profile using a card number, a home phone or the
first and last names of the remitter. Once the
administrator accesses a remitter's profile, he can modify
the profile and he has access to all information about the
remitter such as the beneficiaries corresponding to the
remitter, the transfer requests made by the remitter, the
rejected transfers, the beneficiaries transactions
statement, etc. -
Figure 20 illustrates an embodiment of a webpage
informing an administrator about scheduled transfers
registered by a remitter. Information such as the name and
card number of the remitter, the date of the request
registration, the number of days before the transfer and
the amount of the transfer to be done can be displayed.
Figure 21 illustrates an embodiment of a webpage
informing an administrator of transfer cancellations made
by a remitter. This page displays the name of the remitter
and his account number, the name of the corresponding
beneficiary, the date of the transfer request registration,
the transfer type, the amount of the request transfer and
the date at which the transfer is to be made.
In addition, the administrator has access to a list of
all awaiting transfers as illustrated in figure 22. For
example, the list contains the name, the account number and
the amount to be transferred for each remitters of which
the transfers have not been completed yet. In addition, the
list can include the transaction date and the total amount
of money awaiting to be transferred.
The administrator has also access to a list of
transfers that have been rejected by remitters' banks, such
as illustrated by figure 23. This list informs the
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administrator about the name, the account number and phone
number of remitters of which the corresponding banks have
rejected the money transfers. In addition, the lists can
include the transfer date, the rejection date, the amount
of the transfer and occurrence of the rejections.
It should be understood that the web pages that can be
accessed by an administrator and/or an agent illustrated by
the present figures are exemplary only.
In one embodiment, the computer system is adapted to
analyze the profile of the remitters and the money
transfers and withdrawals. The computer system is adapted
to perform global statistics about transfers and profiles
of all of the remitters. The computer system is also
adapted to perform statistics relative to a single remitter
or beneficiary. Figure 24 illustrates an example of global
statistics performed by the computer system. Information
about the number of accounts for each type and the amounts
transferred per period of time can be displayed. The
computer system can also inform an administrator about the
available number of remitter cards, the number of remitters
(active or not), the number of cards (active or not), etc.
In one embodiment, the method of transferring money is
adapted to avoid money laundering and terrorist activities
financing. The registration method comprising pre-
registration and verification by an agent of the
information provided by a prospect is intended to avoid
money laundering. Providing information about beneficiaries
during pre-registration presents an increased security
against money laundering. Once pre-registration and/or the
visit of the agent have been made, the computer system
and/or the agent in charge of prospect registration verify
if information about the new prospect meets warning
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indicators. Those indicators can include, but are not
limited to,:
- Home address of a new prospect corresponds to the
home address of a registered remitter;
- Prospect does not want correspondence sent to home
address;
- Prospect does not want to meet in person an agent;
- Prospect's home or business phone number have been
disconnected;
- Driver license number and/or health insurance
number corresponds to that of a registered remitter;
- Prospect uses a post office box or General Delivery
address instead of a street address;
- Opening accounts with names very close to other
established entities;
- Designated beneficiaries are non-profit or
charitable organizations, etc.
In one embodiment, if the computer systems detects
that information provided by a prospect meets a predefined
number of indicators, the computer system informs an agent
or an administrator about the potential risk of money
laundering.
In one embodiment, the computer system is adapted to
detect suspicious remitter and/or beneficiary behaviors.
Analyzing statistics with respect to indicators, the
computer system detects potential money laundering and/or
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terrorist activity financing behaviors and informs
automatically an administrator. Alternatively, the tasks of
detecting suspicious behaviors can be performed by an
administrator or an agent.
The statistics used by the computer system and/or an
administrator comprises, but are not limited to:
- The number of beneficiaries associated to a single
remitter;
- The number of remitters associated to a single
beneficiary;
- The occurrence of transactions made by a remitter;
- The occurrence of transfers received by a
beneficiary;
- The total amount of money transferred by a remitter
per period of time;
- The total amount of money received by a beneficiary
per period of time, etc.
The indicators used by the computer system and/or an
administrator comprises, but are not limited to:
- Remitter starts conducting frequent transactions in
large amount when this has not been a normal activity
for the remitter in the past;
- Remitter makes transactions of consistently
rounded-off amounts (e.g., $990, $850, etc.);
- Remitter makes transactions that are just under the
reporting threshold amount in an apparent attempt to
avoid the reporting threshold;
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- Remitter conducts a transaction for an amount that
is unusual compared to amounts of past transactions;
- Stated occupation of the remitter is not in keeping
with the level or type of activity (for example, a
student or an employed individual makes monthly
maximum remittance);
- Remitter is associated with a high number of
beneficiaries;
- Beneficiary receives money from a high number of
remitters;
- Account that was reactivated from inactive or
dormant status suddenly sees significant activity,
etc.
In one embodiment, the computer system only informs an
administrator about a potential suspicious behavior when a
remitter or beneficiary behavior encounters a predefined
number of indicators.
In one embodiment, the amount that a remitter can
transfer to all of his associated beneficiaries is limited
to a maximum per period of time, for example it can be
limited to 1000 dollars per month. This limit represents
another security against money laundering and terrorist
activities financing.
In one embodiment, the associate is a bank and the
beneficiaries can withdraw their intended amount of money
at a branch using a debit card. Alternatively, they can
access the money via Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). The
associate can give the beneficiaries access to all of its
branches and ATMs in order to withdraw the money.
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Alternatively, the associate can restrict the beneficiaries
to some of its branches and ATMs.
In one embodiment, the beneficiaries are informed
about their available amount of money and of any particular
conditions such as a maximum amount per debit. They are
also informed of whom the money is coming from.
It should be understood that a beneficiary cannot
withdraw more money than the total amount transferred by
his corresponding remitters.
The present method is of particular interest when
remitters from one location want to transfer money to their
relatives located in a remote location. As a single
transaction occurs to transfer the money of several
remitters to several beneficiaries, the fees related to the
transfer are reduced.
In one embodiment, remitters are located in different
cities of a first country and beneficiaries are in a
different country. The company collects the money to be
transferred from the remitters in a single account and
transfers it to an associate located in the beneficiaries'
country via a single transaction. The associate deposits
the money in a single bank account from which the
beneficiaries access their intended money.
The present method also gives beneficiaries who do not
have bank accounts access to a joint account and the
possibility of withdrawing money via debit cards.
In one embodiment, the remitter and the beneficiary
associated to the remitter are the same person. For
example, a person regularly traveling to a same destination
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can transfer money for himself and have access to his money
via the debit card at the remote location.
In one embodiment, the remitter and the beneficiary
associated to the remitter are the same person and the
associate is a retail store. The debit card acts as a
credit card. The remitter credits his debit card with an
amount of money in prediction of upcoming purchases. The
remitter uses the debit card to pay the purchases made at
the retail store. If the amount of the remitter's purchases
is inferior to the amount previously transferred to his
debit card, the difference is refunded to the remitter.
In one embodiment, the remitter and the beneficiary
associated to the remitter are the same person and the
associate is a phone company. In this case, the debit cards
are calling cards and the money allotted to each debit card
is consumed by using the minutes on the debit card at a
given $/minutes rate.In one embodiment, a remitter
registers a credit card in his user account and the money
that the remitter transfers to a beneficiary is debited
from his credit card.
It should be understood that any information required
to allow a money transfer and/or to improve the security
can be entered into the computer system and accessed by the
remitter and the company.
It should be noted that all confidential information
is encrypted with bank level security.
It should be understood that the company to which the
money is transferred can be a manufacturing company, a
retail company, a bank, a services company, or any other
type of entity that will manage the remote account.
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The embodiments of the invention described above are
intended to be exemplary only. The scope of the invention
is therefore intended to be limited solely by the scope of
the appended claims.
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