Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONFIGURING RECURRING DATA TRANSFERS
FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates to electronic data transfer systems and,
more particularly, to
systems and methods for configuring recurring electronic data transfers.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Recurring bills are often paid using a pre-authorized debit. For
example, a payer may
authorize a biller to debit the payer's bank account whenever a bill is due.
[0003] Setting up the pre-authorization of a debit traditionally requires the
payer to send a void
cheque to the biller in the mail. The biller and/or the biller's financial
institution may have to
electronically scan information on the void cheque in order to obtain the
payer's bank account
information and feed it into a computer system operated by the biller's
financial institution. When
a bill is due, the biller's financial institution can electronically debit the
payer's bank account. The
payer may access their financial institution's computer system to view debits
made to their bank
account.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying
drawings which
show example embodiments of the present application, and in which:
[0005] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an operating environment
of an example
embodiment according to the subject matter of the present application;
[0006] FIG. 2 shows a high-level schematic diagram of the remote device of
FIG. 1;
[0007] FIG. 3 shows a simplified organization of software components stored in
a memory of the
remote device of FIG. 2;
[0008] FIG. 4 shows a high-level schematic diagram of an example embodiment of
the source,
target and overlay computing systems of FIG. 1;
1
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
[0009] FIG. 5 shows a simplified organization of software components stored in
the example
computing systems of FIG. 4;
[0010] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing operations performed in configuring a
recurring data
transfer;
[0011] FIG. 7 is an example interface including a notification;
[0012] FIG. 8 is an example interface prompting for the selection of a logical
storage area;
[0013] FIG. 9 is an example interface for selecting rule definitions; and
[0014] FIG. 10 is an example interface for providing consent to an immediate
data transfer and
consent to pre-authorization of a recurring data transfer.
[0015] Similar reference numerals may have been used in different figures to
denote similar
components.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS
[0016] In one embodiment, the present application describes a computer system.
The computer
system may include a communications module; a processor coupled to the
communications
module; and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory may store
instructions that, when
executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to: receive, from a
first computing
system, a request to configure a recurring data transfer to a recipient, the
request provided as a
request for an immediate data transfer, the request for the immediate data
transfer indicating a
requested transfer amount and an intended transferor, the intended transferor
indicated using an
alias; receive user input from a computing device engaged using the alias, the
user input including
an indication of authorization of the immediate data transfer from a logical
storage area associated
with the intended transferor, the indication further including an indication
of consent to pre-
authorization of the recurring data transfer from the logical storage area
associated with the
intended transferor; and in response to receiving the user input, transmit a
message to a system
associated with the recipient, the message transferring data indicating the
requested transfer
amount from the logical storage area associated with the intended transferor,
and wherein the
message further includes an indication to the system associated with the
recipient of consent to
pre-authorization of the recurring data transfer.
2
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
[0017] In this way, by transferring data indicating the requested transfer
amount in response to the
request for the immediate data transfer, the target system validates that the
target and source
systems are configured to process the recurring data transfer. Conveniently,
this may avoid errors
that may arise in traditional computing systems that do not validate that the
payer's banking
information is correctly entered into the computing systems operated by the
biller' s financial
institution and only discover an error at the time a debit is made. Validating
the configuration
through an immediate data transfer may avoid the related usage of computing
resources in creating,
identifying and reversing errors that may otherwise arise. Additionally or
alternatively, the
configuration may be more secure than in earlier computing systems that might
not require any
user input from the transferor that indicates authorization. Additionally or
alternatively,
configuring the recurring data transfer in this way may be more efficient than
setting up a pre-
authorized transfer in other manners such as, for example, by a void cheque.
For example, the
biller and their financial institution may avoid scanning the void cheque to
feed the payer's banking
information into a computer system operated by the biller' s financial
institution. Additionally or
alternatively, the user interface provided by the source system may be made
more intuitive than in
earlier system that allow a transferor to view debits made to their bank
account but do not facilitate
configuring a recurring data transfer and providing consent to pre-authorize a
recurring data
transfer. In other words, the source system may provide an improved user
interface for managing
recurring data transfers.
[0018] In some implementations, the instructions may further cause the
computer system to
configure a data transfer to occur on a date specified in metadata included in
the request to
configure the recurring data transfer and for a recurring transfer amount
specified in the metadata.
[0019] In some implementations, the requested transfer amount may be different
from the
recurring transfer amount.
[0020] In some implementations, the instructions may further cause the
computer system to, in
response to receiving the user input from the computing device, transmit, to
the system associated
with the recipient, a logical storage area identifier to be used to conduct
the recurring data transfer.
[0021] In some implementations, the instructions may further cause the
computer system to
receive user input from the computing device indicating rule definitions;
transmit the rule
definitions to the system associated with the recipient; and enforce the rule
definitions.
3
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
[0022] In some implementations, the first computing system may map the alias
to a financial
institution.
[0023] In some implementations, the request to configure the recurring data
transfer may be
received in response to user activation of an email or text message that
prompts the computer
system to retrieve the request for the immediate data transfer from the first
computing system.
[0024] In some implementations, the instructions may further cause the
computer system to
receive, on the date specified in the metadata, a request to transfer data,
the request to transfer data
indicating an overage transfer amount associated with an actual usage amount
exceeding an
expected usage amount.
[0025] In some implementations, the requested transfer amount is nominal or
zero.
[0026] In some implementations, the indication of authorization of the
immediate data transfer
from the logical storage area associated with the intended transferor further
may include an
indication of authorization of the immediate data transfer from the logical
storage area associated
with the intended transferor to a logical storage area associated with the
recipient.
[0027] In another aspect, present application describes a method. The method
may include
receiving, via a communications module and from a first computing system, a
request to configure
a recurring data transfer to a recipient, the request provided as a request
for an immediate data
transfer, the request for the immediate data transfer indicating a requested
transfer amount and an
intended transferor, the intended transferor indicated using an alias;
receiving, via the
communications module, user input from a computing device engaged using the
alias, the user
input including an indication of authorization of the immediate data transfer
from a logical storage
area associated with the intended transferor, the indication further including
an indication of
consent to pre-authorization of the recurring data transfer from the logical
storage area associated
with the intended transferor; and in response to receiving the user input,
transmitting a message to
a system associated with the recipient, the message transferring data
indicating the requested
transfer amount from the logical storage area associated with the intended
transferor, and wherein
the message further includes an indication to the system associated with the
recipient of consent
to pre-authorization of the recurring data transfer.
4
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
[0028] In some implementations, the method may further include configuring a
data transfer to
occur on a date specified in metadata included in the request to configure the
recurring data transfer
and for a recurring transfer amount specified in the metadata.
[0029] In some implementations, the method may further include, in response to
receiving the user
input from the computing device, transmitting, to the system associated with
the recipient, a logical
storage area identifier to be used to conduct the recurring data transfer.
[0030] In some implementations, the method my further include receiving user
input from the
computing device indicating rule definitions; transmitting the rule
definitions to the system
associated with the recipient; and enforcing the rule definitions.
[0031] In some implementations, the method my further include receiving, on
the date specified
in the metadata, a request to transfer data, the request to transfer data
indicating an overage transfer
amount associated with an actual usage amount exceeding an expected usage
amount.
[0032] In yet another aspect, present application describes a non-transitory
computer-readable
storage medium comprising processor-executable instructions which, when
executed, configure a
processor to: receive, from a first computing system, a request to configure a
recurring data transfer
to a recipient, the request provided as a request for an immediate data
transfer, the request for the
immediate data transfer indicating a requested transfer amount and an intended
transferor, the
intended transferor indicated using an alias; receive user input from a
computing device engaged
using the alias, the user input including an indication of authorization of
the immediate data
transfer from a logical storage area associated with the intended transferor,
the indication further
including an indication of consent to pre-authorization of the recurring data
transfer from the
logical storage area associated with the intended transferor; and in response
to receiving the user
input, transmit a message to a system associated with the recipient, the
message transferring data
indicating the requested transfer amount from the logical storage area
associated with the intended
transferor, and wherein the message further includes an indication to the
system associated with
the recipient of consent to pre-authorization of the recurring data transfer.
[0033] In yet another aspect, the present application discloses a non-
transitory, computer-readable
medium storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by one or
more processors,
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
are to cause the one or more processors to carry out at least some of the
operations of a method
described herein.
[0034] Other example embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent to
those of ordinary
skill in the art from a review of the following detailed descriptions in
conjunction with the
drawings.
[0035] In the present application, the term "and/or" is intended to cover all
possible combinations
and sub-combinations of the listed elements, including any one of the listed
elements alone, any
sub-combination, or all of the elements, and without necessarily excluding
additional elements.
[0036] In the present application, the phrase "at least one of ...or..." is
intended to cover any one
or more of the listed elements, including any one of the listed elements
alone, any subcombination,
or all of the elements, without necessarily excluding any additional elements,
and without
necessarily requiring all of the elements.
[0037] Example embodiments of the present application are not limited to any
particular operating
system, system architecture, mobile device architecture, server architecture,
or computer
programming language.
[0001] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an operating environment
of an example
embodiment. The operating environment in this example includes a remote device
102, a source
system 104, a target system 106, and an overlay system 108.
[0038] As illustrated, the source system 104 may provide a front-end interface
which allows the
remote device 102 to interact with the source system 104. For example, the
source system 104
may provide one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to the remote device
102. By way of
example, the source system 104 may provide, to the remote device 102, a user
interface. The user
interface may be an interface for configuring and authorizing a recurring data
transfer from the
source system 104 to the target system 106. That is, the user interface, when
displayed on the
remote device 102, provides a selectable option to indicate consent to pre-
authorization of the
recurring data transfer from the source system 104 to the target system 106
via the network 110.
[0039] The source system 104 may be managed, operated, or controlled by an
entity that is
responsible for receiving the request to configure a recurring data transfer
and for receiving user
6
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
input from the remote device 102 for consenting to the request. The entity may
be an agent of a
transferor and may be a financial institution, such as a bank. The transferor
may be a customer
(e.g. a corporate/business customer) or client of the entity or otherwise
associated with the entity.
[0040] The source system 104 may store data regarding one or more requests to
configure a
recurring data transfer in a plurality of respective configuration objects. A
configuration object
may be a data structure and may include details regarding a request for an
immediate data transfer
received and a request to configure a recurring data transfer to a recipient.
Example details include
identification information of the recipient, identification information of an
entity associated with
the recipient, a user account identifier of the recipient, a description of a
service provided by the
recipient, and an intended transferor, the intended transferor indicated using
an alias. Example
details regarding the request for the immediate data transfer include an
invoice identifier and a
requested transfer amount. Example details regarding the request to configure
a recurring data
transfer include an expected recurring transfer amount and a frequency of the
recurring data
transfer.
[0041] The configuration object may also include details regarding one or more
rules for the
recurring data transfer in a plurality of respective rule definitions. A rule
definition may be defined
for specifying handling actions for automatically processing data transfers
from the source system
104 to the target system 106. Upon receiving a pre-authorized data transfer
request from the target
system 106, the source system 104 may access the corresponding configuration
object to obtain
rule definitions that are relevant to the data transfer request and determine
a suitable handling
action based on the rule definitions.
[0042] In some embodiments, the configuration object may be implemented as an
ISO 20022
Request for Payment Message that represents a request for an immediate data
transfer. The request
for the immediate data transfer may include details regarding a request to
configure a recurring
data transfer and rule definitions.
[0043] The source system 104 may store data regarding users or customers
associated with the
source system 104 in a plurality of respective user account objects
representing respective user
accounts. A user account object may be a data structure and may include
details regarding a user.
Example details include a user account identifier, identification information
(e.g. first and last
name), an alias (e.g. email address, phone number), contact information (e.g.
home address), sign
7
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
in or authentication credentials (e.g. user name, password), and one or more
identifiers that may
link to one or more configuration objects. A user account may be associated
with a logical storage
area and a user account object may include one or more identifiers that may
link to one or more
logical storage areas.
[0044] The source system 104 may be used to transmit a message to a system
associated with the
recipient, for example, the target system 106. The message may transfer data
indicating the
requested transfer amount from a local storage area associated with the
intended transferor to a
local storage area associated with the recipient. The message may further
include an indication to
the system associated with the recipient of consent to pre-authorization of
the recurring data
transfer from the local storage area associated with the intended transferor
to the local storage area
associated with the recipient.
[0045] As illustrated, a target system 106 is in communication with the
overlay system 108 and
the source system 104 via the network 110. The target system 106 may be
configured to transmit
to the overlay system 108 a request to configure a recurring data transfer to
a recipient. The target
system 106 may be further configured to receive a message and the recurring
data transfer from
the source system 104.
[0046] The target system 106 may be managed, operated, or controlled by an
entity that is
responsible for receiving the recurring data transfer. The entity may be an
agent of the recipient
and may be a financial institution, such as a bank. The recipient may be a
customer (e.g. a
corporate/business customer) or client of the entity or otherwise associated
with the entity.
[0047] The target system 106 may store data regarding one or more requests for
data transfers in
a plurality of respective configuration objects. The target system 106 may
further store data
regarding users or customers associated with the target system 106 in a
plurality of respective user
account objects representing respective user accounts.
[0048] The source system 104 may store the configuration objects and user
account objects in a
data store 114. A logical storage area that is associated with the transferor
may be or include an
area of the data store 114.
8
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
[0049] The target system 106 may store the configuration objects and user
account objects in a
data store 116. A logical storage area that is associated with the recipient
may be or include an
area of the data store 116.
[0050] A logical storage area may be or represent a bank account. Each of the
data stores 114 and
116 may be a database of customer accounts and bank accounts at a particular
financial institution.
[0051] The overlay system 108 may be configured to ingest data from the target
system 106 and
may transmit alerts, notifications, configuration objects, or other data to
the remote device 102
and/or the source system 104. More particularly, the overlay system 108 may
include infrastructure
that receives a request from the target system 106, transmits a notification
to the remote device
and/or the source system 104 in response to receiving the request, and passes
the request to the
source system 104.
[0052] The overlay system 108 may store data regarding a mapping of an alias
to the source system
104 and/or an entity associated with the source system 104 (e.g. a financial
institution). For
example, the alias may be mapped to an identifier of the source system 104
(e.g. a financial
institution identifier). The mapping data may be stored in a data store 118.
[0053] As illustrated, the remote device 102 is in communication with a source
system 104 via a
network 110. The remote device 102 may be managed, operated or controlled by
the transferor.
The remote device 102 may be associated with an alias associated with the
transferor and a user
account associated with the transferor and the source system 104. The remote
device 102 may be
engaged using the alias.
[0054] The remote device 102 may be used, for example, to receive user input
that includes an
indication of authorization of an immediate data transfer from a logical
storage area associated
with the intended transferor to a logical storage area associated with the
recipient. The indication
may further include an indication of consent to pre-authorization of a
recurring data transfer from
the logical storage area associated with the intended transferor and to the
logical storage area
associated with the recipient.
[0055] The remote device 102 is a computing device. It may, as illustrated, be
a desktop computer.
However, the remote device 102 may be a computing device of another type such
as, for example,
a smart phone, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a
hand-held computer,
9
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
a personal digital assistant, a portable navigation device, a mobile phone, a
wearable computing
device (e.g., a smart watch, a wearable activity monitor, wearable smart
jewelry, and glasses and
other optical devices that include optical head-mounted displays), an embedded
computing device
(e.g., in communication with a smart textile or electronic fabric), and any
other type of computing
device that may be configured to store data and software instructions, and
execute software
instructions to perform operations consistent with disclosed embodiments.
[0056] The source system 104, target system 106, and overlay system 108 are or
include a
computer system such as a computer server systems. A computer server system
may, for example,
be a mainframe computer, a minicomputer, or the like. In some implementations
thereof, a
computer server system may be formed of or may include one or more computing
devices. A
computer server system may include and/or may communicate with multiple
computing devices
such as, for example, database servers, web servers, email servers, file
transfer protocol (HP)
servers, compute servers, and the like. Multiple computing devices such as
these may be in
communication using a computer network and may communicate to act in
cooperation as a
computer server system. For example, such computing devices may communicate
using a local-
area network (LAN). In some embodiments, a computer server system may include
multiple
computing devices organized in a tiered arrangement. For example, a computer
server system may
include middle tier and back-end computing devices. In some embodiments, a
computer server
system may be a cluster formed of a plurality of interoperating computing
devices.
[0057] The remote device 102, source system 104, target system 106, and
overlay system 108 may
be in geographically disparate locations.
[0058] The network 110 is a computer network. The network 110 may be an
internetwork such as
may be formed of one or more interconnected computer networks. For example,
such a network
may be or may include an Ethernet network, an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)
network, a
wireless network, or the like. In some implementations, the network 110 may be
the Internet. The
network 110 allows the remote device 102, source system 104, target system
106, and overlay
system 108 to communicate with one another.
[0059] As further described below, the remote device 102, the source system
104, target system
106 and overlay system 108 may be configured with software to perform
associated functions such
as those described herein.
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
[0060] FIG. 1 illustrates the source system 104, target system 106, overlay
system 108, and data
stores 114, 116 and 118 as separate computing devices. However, these systems
may not be
separate physical systems. For example, the source system 104 and the overlay
system 108 may
be implemented on a common physical device. As another example, the target
system 106 and the
overlay system 108 may be implemented on a common physical device. As yet
another example,
two or more of the source system 104, target system 106, and overlay system
108 may be
implemented in software associated with a common processor. As yet a further
example, the data
stores 114, 116 and 118 may be included in the source system 104, target
system 106 and overlay
system 108, respectively, or may be external to those systems.
[0061] An example embodiment of the remote device 102 will now be discussed
with reference
to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a high-level schematic diagram of the remote device 100.
The remote device
102 may, in some embodiments, be a personal computer as shown in FIG. 1.
[0062] The remote device 102 includes a variety of modules. For example, as
illustrated, the
remote device 102 may include a processor 210, a memory 220, a communications
module 230,
an I/0 module 240, and/or a storage module 250. As illustrated, the foregoing
example modules
of the remote device 102 are in communication over a bus 370. As such, the bus
370 may be
considered to couple the various modules of the remote device 102 to each
other, including, for
example, to the processor 210.
[0063] The processor 210 is a hardware processor. The processor 210 may, for
example, be one
or more ARM, Intel x86, PowerPC processors or the like.
[0064] The memory 220 allows data to be stored and retrieved. The memory 220
may include, for
example, random access memory, read-only memory, and persistent storage.
Persistent storage
may be, for example, flash memory, a solid-state drive or the like. Read-only
memory and
persistent storage are a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. A
computer-readable
medium may be organized using a file system such as may be administered by an
operating system
governing overall operation of the remote device 102.
[0065] The communications module 230 allows the remote device 102 to
communicate with other
computing devices and/or various communications networks such as, for example,
the network
110. For example, the communications module 230 may allow the remote device
102 to send or
11
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
receive communications signals. Communications signals may be sent or received
according to
one or more protocols or according to one or more standards. The
communications module 230
may allow the remote device 102 to communicate via a cellular data network,
such as for example,
according to one or more standards such as, for example, Global System for
Mobile
Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Evolution Data
Optimized
(EVDO), Long-term Evolution (LTE), 5G or the like. Additionally or
alternatively, the
communications module 230 may allow the remote device 102 to communicate using
near-field
communication (NFC), via Wi-Fi (TM), using Bluetooth (TM) or via some
combination of one or
more networks or protocols. In some embodiments, all or a portion of the
communications module
230 may be integrated into a component of the remote device 102. For example,
the
communications module 230 may be integrated into a communications chipset.
[0066] The I/0 module 240 is an input/output module. The I/0 module 240 allows
the remote
device 102 to receive input from and/or to provide input to components of the
remote device 102
such as, for example, various input modules and output modules. For example,
the I/0 module 240
may, as shown, allow the remote device 102 to receive input from and/or
provide output to the
display 260.
[0067] The storage module 250 allows data to be stored and retrieved. In some
embodiments, the
storage module 250 may be formed as a part of the memory 220 and/or may be
used to access all
or a portion of the memory 220. Additionally or alternatively, the storage
module 250 may be used
to store and retrieve data from persisted storage other than the persisted
storage (if any) accessible
via the memory 220. In some embodiments, the storage module 250 may be used to
store and
retrieve data in/from a database. A database may be stored in persisted
storage. Additionally or
alternatively, the storage module 250 may access data stored remotely such as,
for example, as
may be accessed using a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN),
personal area
network (PAN), and/or a storage area network (SAN). In some embodiments, the
storage module
250 may access data stored remotely using the communications module 230. In
some
embodiments, the storage module 250 may be omitted and its function may be
performed by the
memory 220 and/or by the processor 210 in concert with the communications
module 230 such as,
for example, if data is stored remotely.
12
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
[0068] The remote device 102 may include or be connected to a display 260. The
display 260 is
a module of the remote device 102. The display 260 is for presenting graphics.
The display 260
may be, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD). In addition to being an
output device, the
display 260 may also be an input device. For example, the display 260 may
allow touch input to
be provided to the remote device 102. In other words, the display 260 may be a
touch sensitive
display module. In a particular example, the display 260 may be a capacitive
touch screen.
[0069] Software comprising instructions is executed by the processor 210 from
a computer-
readable medium. For example, software may be loaded into random-access memory
from
persistent storage of the memory 220. Additionally or alternatively,
instructions may be executed
by the processor 210 directly from read-only memory of the memory 220.
[0070] FIG. 3 depicts a simplified organization of software components stored
in the memory 220
of the remote device 102. As illustrated, these software components include an
operating system
300 and an application software 310.
[0071] The operating system 300 is software. The operating system 300 allows
the application
software 310 to access the processor 210 (FIG. 3), the memory 220, the
communications module
230, the I/0 module 240, and the storage module 250 of the remote device 100.
The operating
system 300 may be, for example, Google (TM) Android (TM), Apple (TM) iOS (TM),
UNIX
(TM), Linux (TM), Microsoft (TM) Windows (TM), Apple OSX (TM) or the like.
[0072] The application software 310 adapts the remote device 102, in
combination with the
operating system 300, to operate as a device for facilitating recurring data
transfers.
[0073] As noted above, the source system 104, target system 106, and overlay
system 108 are or
include a computer system. An example computer system 400 will now be
discussed with
reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. Suitably-configured instances of the example
computer system 400
may, in some embodiments, serve as and/or be a part of the source system 104,
target system 106,
and/or overlay system 108.
[0074] FIG. 4 is a high-level schematic diagram of an example computer system
400.
[0075] The example computer system 400 includes a variety of modules. For
example, as
illustrated, the example computer system 400 may include a processor 410, a
memory 420, a
13
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
communications module 430, and/or a storage module 440. As illustrated, the
foregoing example
modules of the example computer system 400 are in communication over a bus
450. As such, the
bus 450 may be considered to couple the various modules of the example
computer system 400 to
each other, including, for example, to the processor 410.
[0076] The processor 410 is a hardware processor. The processor 410 may, for
example, be one
or more ARM, Intel x86, PowerPC processors or the like.
[0077] The memory 420 allows data to be stored and retrieved. The memory 420
may include, for
example, random access memory, read-only memory, and persistent storage.
Persistent storage
may be, for example, flash memory, a solid-state drive or the like. Read-only
memory and
persistent storage are a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. A
computer-readable
medium may be organized using a file system such as may be administered by an
operating system
governing overall operation of the example computer system 400.
[0078] The communications module 430 allows the example computer system 400 to
communicate with other computing devices and/or various communications
networks such as, for
example, the network 120. The communications module 430 may allow the example
computer
system 400 to send or receive communications signals. Communications signals
may be sent or
received according to one or more protocols or according to one or more
standards. For example,
the communications module 430 may allow the example computer system 400 to
communicate
via a cellular data network, such as for example, according to one or more
standards such as, for
example, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple
Access
(CDMA), Evolution Data Optimized (EVDO), Long-term Evolution (LTE), 5G or the
like.
Additionally or alternatively, the communications module 430 may allow the
example computer
system 400 to communicate via Wi-Fi (TM), using Bluetooth (TM) or via some
combination of
one or more networks or protocols. In some embodiments, all or a portion of
the communications
module 430 may be integrated into a component of the example computer system
400. For
example, the communications module may be integrated into a communications
chipset.
[0079] The storage module 440 allows the example computer system 400 to store
and retrieve
data. In some embodiments, the storage module 440 may be formed as a part of
the memory 420
and/or may be used to access all or a portion of the memory 420. Additionally
or alternatively, the
storage module 440 may be used to store and retrieve data from persisted
storage other than the
14
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
persisted storage (if any) accessible via the memory 420. In some embodiments,
the storage
module 440 may be used to store and retrieve data in a database. A database
may be stored in
persisted storage. Additionally or alternatively, the storage module 440 may
access data stored
remotely such as, for example, as may be accessed using a local area network
(LAN), wide area
network (WAN), personal area network (PAN), and/or a storage area network
(SAN). In some
embodiments, the storage module 440 may access data stored remotely using the
communications
module 430. In some embodiments, the storage module 440 may be omitted and its
function may
be performed by the memory 420 and/or by the processor 410 in concert with the
communications
module 430 such as, for example, if data is stored remotely.
[0080] Software comprising instructions is executed by the processor 410 from
a computer-
readable medium. For example, software may be loaded into random-access memory
from
persistent storage of the memory 420. Additionally or alternatively,
instructions may be executed
by the processor 410 directly from read-only memory of the memory 420.
[0081] FIG. 5 depicts a simplified organization of software components stored
in the memory 420
of the example computer system 400. As illustrated, these software components
include an
operating system 500 and an application software 510.
[0082] The operating system 500 is software. The operating system 500 allows
the application
software 510 to access the processor 410, the memory 420, the communications
module 430, and
the storage module 440 of the example computer system 400. The operating
system 500 may be,
for example, UNIX (TM), Linux (TM), Microsoft (TM) Windows (TM), Apple OSX
(TM) or the
like.
[0083] The application software 510, when executed, co-operates with the
operating system 500
to adapt the example computer system 400 for some purpose and to provide some
defined
functionality. For example, the application software 510 may cooperate with
the operating system
500 to adapt a suitable embodiment of the example computer system 400 to serve
as the source
system 104, target system 106, and/or overlay system 108.
[0084] Reference will now be made to FIG. 6 which illustrates an example
method 600. The
operations of method 600 may be performed by a target system 106, an overlay
system 108, and a
source system 104 which may be of the type described herein. In particular,
the operation 602 may
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
be performed by the target system 106, the operation 604 may be performed by
the overlay system
108, the operation 606 may be performed by the remote device 102, and the
operations 608 to 612
may be performed by the source system 104.
[0085] In operation 602, the target system may transmit to the overlay system
a request to
configure a recurring data transfer to a recipient. The request may be
provided as a request for an
immediate data transfer. In some embodiments, the request is implemented as an
ISO 20022
Request for Payment Message that represents a request for an immediate data
transfer and includes
as metadata a request to configure a recurring data transfer. In particular,
the request may include,
for example: a request identifier; identification information of the recipient
(e.g. full name, address,
contact details); identification information of an intended transferor (e.g.
full name, address,
contact details); an alias indicating the intended transferor; identification
information of the target
system and the entity associated with, operating or managing the target system
(e.g. a financial
institution identifier, routing number, branch transit number); identification
information of a user
account associated with the recipient (e.g. user account identifier); a
requested transfer amount
associated with the immediate data transfer; and a description of the
requested transfer amount
(e.g. account setup fee, enrollment or initiation fee, intemet activation fee,
modem purchase, utility
connection fee, account transfer fee); identification information of a logical
storage area (e.g. a
logical storage area identifier) associated with, managed or controlled by the
recipient to which
the requested transfer amount and/or the expected recurring transfer amount is
to be transferred to
(e.g. bank account number); and an invoice identifier associated with the
requested transfer
amount. The metadata of the request may include, for example: an expected
recurring transfer
amount associated with the recurring data transfer; a description of the
expected recurring transfer
amount (e.g. Internet fees, phone fees, utility services, gym membership
fees); and a frequency of
the recurring data transfer (e.g. weekly, monthly, semi-monthly (1' and 15th),
bi-weekly).
[0086] The requested transfer amount may be a substantial amount (e.g. more
than a nominal
amount), a nominal amount (e.g. one dollar, one cent), or zero (e.g. zero
dollars). The requested
transfer amount may be the same as from the expected recurring transfer amount
or it may be
different.
[0087] In operation 604, upon receiving the request transmitted by the target
system, the overlay
system may use the alias included in the request to engage a remote device.
Engaging the remote
16
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
device may involve using the alias to transmit a notification to the remote
device, which is
associated with the alias. The notification may include a request identifier
or other indication of
the request. In some embodiments, the notification may be an email or text
message that prompts
the source system to retrieve the request for the immediate data transfer from
the overlay system.
[0088] In operation 606, upon receiving the notification, the remote device
may present the
notification to a user of the remote device via a user interface. The user
interface may be that of a
messaging application, such as an email application, text and/or voice message
application, instant
message application, or an application relating to the alias, an application
relating to the source
system, or an application for providing alerts. In some embodiments, the user
interface may be a
graphical user interface that presents the notification via pop-up, alert, or
in any other suitable
manner. The notification may include one or more, or a plurality of,
selectable options associated
with respective source systems. The notification may prompt for user input
selecting an option.
[0089] The notification may be actionable, such as through a selectable link
or other actionable
user interface element, to either directly indicate a user selection or to
navigate to a website,
webpage, application interface, or other user interface through which the user
is prompted to
indicate a user selection. In some embodiments, the notification includes a
link to navigate to a
website or a webpage, hosted on the overlay system or the target system,
through which the user
is prompted to indicate a user selection.
[0090] In some embodiments, the user interface may provide one or more user
selectable options
for responding to the notification. The selectable options may be presented as
a link, button or
other actionable user interface element and may include text. The text may
include the name of an
entity associated with a source system.
[0091] The selection offered through the notification, website, webpage,
and/or user interface may
be to select an entity associated with, operating or managing a source system
to be used to accept
and process the request to configure the recurring data transfer. In
particular, the selection offered
may be to select a source system that includes a logical storage area
associated with the transferor
from which the requested transfer amount and the expected recurring transfer
amount specified in
the request are to be transferred from.
17
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
[0092] Referring briefly to FIG. 7, an example notification interface 700 is
illustrated. The
notification interface 700 includes first selectable option 702 for selecting
an entity associated with
a source system and launching an interface provided by the selected source
system. For example,
the first selectable option 702 may be displayed and used for identifying an
entity associated with
a source system. The first selectable option 702 may be activated in order to
trigger the associated
source system to process the request for an immediate data transfer and the
request to configure a
recurring data transfer.
[0093] The first selectable option 702 may be associated with a reference or
uniform resource
identifier (URI) that links to a specific source system. In other words, the
first selectable option
702 may be a link for launching a user interface provided by a particular
source system. For
example, the first selectable option 702 may be invoked to launch an
authentication interface for
accepting user authentication.
[0094] When invoked, the first selectable option 702 may also pass to the
source system associated
with the URI a request identifier associated with the request to configure the
recurring data transfer.
[0095] The notification interface 700 includes second selectable option 704
for selecting a
different entity from that associated with the first selectable option 702.
The second selectable
option 704 may be associated with a reference or uniform resource identifier
(URI) that links to a
user interface provided by the overlay system 108. When invoked, the second
selectable option
704 may also pass to the overlay system the request identifier.
[0096] For example, the second selectable option 704 may be invoked to launch
a user interface
that displays a list of selectable options for selecting an entity that is
associated with, manages, or
operates a source system from which the requested transfer amount and the
expected recurring
transfer amount are to be transferred from. The list of selectable options may
be a list of links to
respective authentication interfaces operated by respective financial
institutions. For example, a
link may be invoked to launch an authentication interface for accepting user
authentication at a
source system operated by the associated financial institution. When invoked,
the link may also
pass to the selected source system the request identifier.
[0097] The notification interface 700 may, in at least some embodiments, be
provided to and
received by the remote device 102 after the remote device 102 has successfully
authenticated itself
18
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
as being associated with the alias using a credential (e.g.,
username/password, biometric data, etc.).
That is, the remote device uses a credential to confirm that it is associated
with a particular alias.
For example, when the alias is an email address, the remote device may
authenticate itself with a
third-party email server.
[0098] Referring back to FIG. 6, in operation 608, the source system may
establish an
authenticated session with the remote device. An authenticated session may
include a session in
which the identity of the user is verified by the source system through
receiving and authenticating
user account credentials. The user account credentials may include a user name
and password
combination, biometric information, or other credential data. In some
embodiments, establishing
an authenticated session may involve the source system providing to the remote
device an
authentication interface that prompts the user to sign in to the source system
with credentials. The
source system may receive credentials via the authentication user interface to
establish an
authenticated session with the remote device. In some embodiments, the remote
device may
authenticate itself as being associated with a user account that is associated
with the transferor and
the source system by providing a credential to the source system via an
authentication interface
launched through the notification interface.
[0099] In operation 610, the source system obtains from the overlay system the
request for the
immediate data transfer. The request may be obtained by providing to the
overlay system the
request identifier received by the source system from the remote device. In
response, the overlay
system may forward to the source system the particular request that is
associated with the request
identifier.
[0100] In this way, the request to configure the recurring data transfer may
be received by the
source system in response to user activation of an email or text message that
prompts the source
system to retrieve the request for the immediate data transfer from the
overlay system.
[0101] In operation 612, upon obtaining the request for the immediate data
transfer, the source
system may provide to the remote device a user interface for prompting a user
to select a logical
storage area from which to make the immediate data transfer and the recurring
data transfer. In
response, the source system may receive from the remote device user input
indicating a selection
of a logical storage area that is associated with the source system, the
authenticated user account,
and is also controlled by, managed by, or otherwise associated with the
intended transferor. The
19
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
selection indicates the logical storage area from which the requested transfer
amount and the
recurring transfer amount are to be transferred from.
[0102] Referring briefly to FIG. 8, an example logical storage area selection
interface 800 is
illustrated. The logical storage area selection interface 800 includes a first
selectable option 802
for selecting a logical storage area from which the immediate and recurring
data transfers are to
occur. In this example, the first selectable option 802 provides a dropdown
list for selecting a bank
account. The dropdown list may, for example, include an option for selecting a
savings account
and an option for selecting a chequing account. As illustrated, the logical
storage area selection
interface 800 may also display various details from the request for the
immediate data transfer,
including a request identifier in the form of a request number, an expiration
date by which the
request can be accepted and consented to, details of the recipient, details of
the immediate data
transfer and details of the recurring data transfer. The logical storage area
selection interface 800
may further include a second selectable option 804 for indicating whether the
intended transferor
wishes to establish controls on the recurring data transfer. The remote device
may transmit to the
source system user input indicating the identification information of the
logical storage area (e.g.
a corresponding logical storage area identifier) that is selected.
[0103] Referring back to FIG. 6, in operation 614, upon receiving the user
input from the remote
device indicating the selection of a logical storage area and that the user
wants to establish controls
on the recurring data transfer, the source server may provide to the remote
device a user interface
for establishing one or more rule definitions. Specifically, a user of the
remote device may input,
configure or select a rule definition that is associated with the request for
the immediate transfer,
using the remote device. The rule definitions may be transmitted to the source
system to be
enforced against or imposed on the recurring data transfer specified in the
request for the
immediate data transfer. In other words, the rule definitions may specify
criteria that should be
satisfied by the recurring data transfer. If any of the rule definitions
associated with the recurring
data transfer are not satisfied, the source system may refuse the particular
data transfer that violates
the rule definitions.
[0104] Referring briefly to FIG. 9, an example rule definitions interface 900
is illustrated.
[0105] The expected recurring amount that is specified in the request for the
immediate data
transfer may be the same as or different from an amount that is actually
requested by the target
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
system in the future. The rule definitions interface 900 provides a selectable
option 902 for
indicating the selection of a rule definition that requires that the actual
amount requested match
the expected recurring transfer amount specified in the request for the
immediate data transfer.
[0106] The rule definitions interface 900 also provides a selectable option
904 for indicating the
selection of a rule definition that requires the actual amount requested to be
within a tolerance of
the expected recurring transfer amount. As illustrated, the tolerance may be a
percentage of the
expected recurring transfer amount, but in at least some embodiments, the
tolerance may be an
absolute value. The rules definitions interface 900 includes a textbox 912
that may receive user
input indicating a percentage value with which to configure the associated
rule definition.
[0107] In some embodiments, a future request for a data transfer indicates a
full amount, and a
base amount and/or an overage amount. The full amount may be the sum of the
base amount and
the overage amount. In some cases, base amount is a fixed recurring amount and
the overage
amount is a variable amount and may be an unexpected amount. The base amount
may represent
a fixed portion of the full amount. The rule definitions interface 900
provides a selectable option
906 for indicating the selection of a rule definition that configures the
source system to transfer
the full amount requested. The rule definitions interface 900 also provides a
selectable option 908
for indicating the selection of a rule definition that configures the source
system to transfer only
the base amount specified in the request. This may trigger the source system
to transmit a
notification to the remote device indicating the request for the overage
amount. In response, the
source system may receive user input from the remote device indicating
authorization of a data
transfer indicating the overage amount from the logical storage area
associated with the transferor
to the logical storage area associated with the recipient.
[0108] As illustrated, the selection of at least some of the selectable
options 902, 904, 906 and 908
may be mutually exclusive. For instance, the selection of the selectable
options 902 and 904 may
be mutually exclusive.
[0109] It will be appreciated that any number of rule definitions may be
provided for selection.
The rule definitions may, for example, involve limits on the total amount
transferred over a period
of time (e.g. daily limits, weekly limits, monthly limits), constraints on a
date a future data
transaction may occur on (e.g. a recurring data transfer must always fall on a
particular date),
define a start and/or end date for the recurring data transfer, define the
frequency of the recurring
21
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
data transfer, and require the actual amount that is requested (e.g. an
invoiced amount) is the same
as the expected amount or within a tolerance (e.g. percentage) of the expected
amount.
[0110] The rule definitions interface 900 also provides a selectable option
910 that may be invoked
to transmit, to the source system for storage, the user input indicating the
selection and
configuration of one or more rule definitions.
[0111] Referring back to FIG. 6, in operation 616, the source server may
provide to the remote
device a user interface prompting the user to indicate their authorization of
the immediate data
transfer from the selected logical storage area associated with the intended
transferor to the logical
storage area associated with the recipient as specified in the request. The
indication may further
include an indication of consent of pre-authorization of the recurring data
transfer from the logical
storage area associated with the intended transferor to the logical storage
area associated with the
recipient as specified in the request and in accordance with any rule
definitions established by the
user of the remote device.
[0112] Referring briefly to FIG. 10, an example authorization interface 1000
is illustrated. The
authorization interface 1000 prompts the user to provide their consent and
includes a selectable
option 1002 that may be activated to trigger the remote device to transmit to
the source system
user input indicating that the user consents.
[0113] Referring back to FIG. 6, in operation 618, in response to receiving
the user input indicating
authorization and consent, the source system may immediately transmit a
message to the target
system associated with the recipient. The message may transfer data indicating
the requested
transfer amount from the logical storage area associated with the intended
transferor to the logical
storage area associated with the recipient. The message may further include:
the request identifier;
an indication to the target system associated with the recipient of consent to
pre-authorization of
the recurring data transfer; and the rule definitions.
[0114] Once the target system receives this message, the configuration of the
pre-authorization of
the recurring data transfer may be considered to be complete and the recurring
data transfer may
be conducted.
[0115] In some cases, the source system is configured to initiate the
recurring data transfer. In
other words, the source system may configure a data transfer to occur on a
date specified in
22
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
metadata included in the request to configure the recurring data transfer and
for a recurring transfer
amount specified in the metadata. In some embodiments, the rule definitions
and/or the metadata
may indicate to the source system: the transfer amount to be pushed to the
target system in each
cycle (i.e. particular data transfer) of the recurring data transfer; the
start date for the recurring data
transfer; and the frequency of the recurring data transfer. In this way, the
recurring transfer amount
may be pushed from the logical storage area associated with the transferor to
the logical storage
area associated with the recipient without the transferor sharing
identification information or
details of their logical storage area with the target system (e.g. a logical
storage area identifier).
[0116] If the transfer amount that is pushed to target system is insufficient,
then the target system
may transmit to the source system a request for an overage data transfer. The
request for an overage
data transfer may include an overage transfer amount that is associated with
an actual usage
amount exceeding an expected usage amount. For example, the overage transfer
amount may be
based on a monthly usage of an intemet service exceeding a threshold for a
particular month.
[0117] In response to the request for the overage data transfer, the source
system may transmit a
notification to the remote device indicating the receipt of the request for
the overage data transfer
the request indicating a requested overage transfer amount. In response, the
source system may
receive user input from the remote device indicating authorization of the
requested overage data
transfer. In this way, the source system may receive, on a date specified in
the metadata or the rule
definitions, a request to transfer data, the request to transfer data
indicating an overage transfer
amount associated with an actual usage amount exceeding an expected usage
amount.
[0118] In some cases, the target system is configured to initiate the
recurring data transfer. In this
case, the message in operation 618 of FIG. 6 may include: a logical storage
area identifier
associated with the transferor and to be used by the target system associated
with the recipient to
conduct the recurring data transfer; and identification information of the
source system and the
entity operating, managing or otherwise associated with the target system
(e.g. a financial
institution identifier, routing number, branch transit number). The rule
definitions and/or the
details of the request to configure the recurring data transfer may indicate
to the target system: the
transfer amount to be pulled from the source system in each cycle of the
recurring data transfer;
the start date for the recurring data transfer; and the frequency of the
recurring data transfer. In this
way, the recurring transfer amount may be pulled from the logical storage area
associated with the
23
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
transferor to the logical storage area associated with the recipient. The
target system may also use
the rule definitions to validate each cycle of the recurring data transfer to
ensure that the target
system does not violate the rule definitions. If the target system determines
that a particular data
transfer would violate rule definitions, then the target system may suppress
the data transfer and
use an alternative technique for requesting a data transfer. When the source
system receives a data
transfer in a cycle of the recurring data transfer, the source system may
enforce the rules definitions
to ensure that the data transfer complies with the rule definitions.
[0119] In some embodiments, the request for the immediate data transfer and
the rule definitions
may contain valuable information regarding future data transfers. In the case
where the data
transfers relate to financial instruments and monetary amounts, the request
and rule definitions
may be useful in enhancing the accuracy of cash flow tools provided by the
source system and
target system. For example, the source system may analyze the request and rule
definitions to
generate a prediction the cash flow of the transferor, including cash inflows
and outflows, over a
specific period of time. Similarly, the target system may analyze the request
and rule definitions
to generate a prediction the cash flow of the recipient, including cash
inflows and outflows, over
a specific period of time.
[0120] It will be appreciated that the method 600 of FIG. 6 as described may
be modified. In
particular, the overlay system may, in at least some embodiments and some
cases, transmit the
notification to the source system rather than to the remote device. In this
case, the overlay system
may store a directory of aliases that map to respective entities associated
with respective source
systems, and in some embodiments, may also map to respective default logical
storage area
identifiers. The directory may be used by the overlay system to send the
notification to the entity
associated with the transferor. For instance, an alias may be an email address
associated with the
transferor that maps to an identifier of a financial institution at which the
transferor is a customer.
When the overlay system receives a request for an immediate data transfer from
a target system,
the overlay system may retrieve the intended transferor's email address from
the request and use
that alias to lookup the transferor's financial institution in the directory
and, in some embodiments,
the default logical storage area identifier associated with the alias. The
overlay system may then
transmit the request for the immediate data transfer to the source system
associated with that
financial institution. The transmission may include the identification
information of the default
24
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
logical storage area. In other words, the overlay system may transmit the
request and default logical
storage area identifier to the source system that is associated with the
entity that is identified
through the directory.
[0121] Upon receiving the request from the overlay system, the source system
may engage the
remote device using the alias that is specified in the request for the
immediate data transfer. In
some embodiments, the source system may send a notification of the request to
a remote device
that is associated with the alias that is specified in the request (for
example, via an email or text
message), or to a remote device that is associated with the user account
associated with the alias.
[0122] In some embodiments, the remote device may present the notification in
a notification
interface provided by the source system. In some embodiments, the notification
may be transmitted
to an application installed on the remote device. The application may be
associated with the source
system and may be provided by the entity associated with the source system.
The notification may
be presented in a notification interface of the application.
[0123] The notification interface may, in at least some embodiments, be
presented by the remote
device after the remote device has successfully authenticated itself as being
associated with a
particular user account in the source system using a credential (e.g.,
usemame/password, biometric
data, etc.). That is, the remote device uses a credential to confirm that it
is associated with a
particular account-holder.
[0124] In some embodiments, the source system may use the default logical
storage area identifier
to preselect the default logical storage area in the logical storage area
selection interface. Those
skilled in the art will recognize that other variations may be necessary.
[0125] It will be further appreciated that in some embodiments the overlay
system may not be
separate from the target system and at least some aspects of the overlay
system may be integrated
into the target system. In such embodiments, the methods and operations
described herein may be
modified. For example, the target system may not transmit the request to the
overlay system in
operation 602 in the method 600 of FIG.6, but may perform at least some
aspects of the operation
604 in the method 600 of FIG. 6. In particular, the target system may transmit
the notification to
the remote device. As another example, the target system may transmit the
notification or the
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
request to the source system. Those skilled in the art will recognize that
other variations may be
necessary.
[0126] It will be further appreciated that it may be that some or all of the
above-described
operations of the various above-described example methods may be performed in
orders other than
those illustrated and/or may be performed concurrently without varying the
overall operation of
those methods.
[0127] Although many of the above examples refer to an "object" when
discussing a data structure,
it will be appreciated that this does not necessarily restrict the present
application to
implementation using object-oriented programming languages, and does not
necessarily imply that
the data structure is of a particular type or format. Data structures may have
different names in
different software paradigms.
[0128] It will be understood that the applications, modules, routines,
processes, threads, or other
software components implementing the described method/process may be realized
using standard
computer programming techniques and languages. The present application is not
limited to
particular processors, computer languages, computer programming conventions,
data structures,
or other such implementation details. Those skilled in the art will recognize
that the described
processes may be implemented as a part of computer-executable code stored in
volatile or non-
volatile memory, as part of an application-specific integrated chip (ASIC),
etc.
[0129] As noted, certain adaptations and modifications of the described
embodiments can be
made. Therefore, the above discussed embodiments are considered to be
illustrative and not
restrictive.
26
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-12-04
