Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INCLUDING A DATA ACCEPTANCE CONDITION
IN A DATA TRANSFER PROPOSAL
FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates to electronic data transfer systems and,
more particularly, to
systems and methods for including a data acceptance condition in a data
transfer proposal.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Data is often electronically transferred between computer systems.
Unfortunately, some
users may unintentionally make errors when entering data into computer
systems, while others
may use such computer systems to deliberately cause fraud. As a result, data
may not be transferred
as desired.
[0003] It would be advantageous to provide for enhanced security for data
transfers and increased
usability of these systems.
[0004] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying
drawings which
show example embodiments of the present application, and in which:
[0006] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an operating environment
of an example
embodiment according to the subject matter of the present application;
[0007] FIG. 2 shows a high-level schematic diagram of the remote device of
FIG. 1;
[0008] FIG. 3 shows a simplified organization of software components stored in
a memory of the
remote device of FIG. 2;
[0009] FIG. 4 shows a high-level schematic diagram of an example embodiment of
the transferor
and recipient computing systems of FIG. 1;
[0010] FIG. 5 shows a simplified organization of software components stored in
the example
computing systems of FIG. 4;
[0011] FIG. 6 shows, in block diagram form, an example embodiment of a data
store of FIG. 1;
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[0012] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing operations performed in processing a data
transfer proposal
including a data transfer condition;
[0013] FIG. 8 is a simplified example of a payment user interface including a
data acceptance
condition;
[0014] FIG. 9 is simplified example of another payment user interface
including a data acceptance
condition; and
[0015] FIG. 10 is a simplified example of a request for payment user interface
including a data
acceptance condition.
[0016] Similar reference numerals may have been used in different figures to
denote similar
components.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS
[0017] In one embodiment, the present application describes a first computer
system. The first
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 first computer system, cause the first
computer system to:
receive, from a second computing system, a transfer message for a transfer
between the first
account associated with the first computing system and a second account
associated with the
second computing system, the transfer message including routing data, an
amount of resources to
be transferred, and a condition associated with the transfer; evaluate the
condition associated with
the data transfer based on a comparison between data included in the transfer
message and one or
more parameters associated with the first account; and when the condition is
determined to be
satisfied, complete the transfer.
[0018] In this way, by providing a data acceptance condition in a data
transfer proposal, a
transferor or recipient system may provide increased security for processing
data transfers.
[0019] In some implementations, the comparison between data included in the
transfer message
and one or more parameters associated with the first account may include a
comparison between
a value specified by the condition and one or more parameters associated with
the first account.
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[0020] In some implementations, the condition may include a value to be used
in the comparison.
[0021] In some implementations, the one or more parameters associated with the
first account may
include an age of the first account or a type of the first account.
[0022] In some implementations, the one or more parameters associated with the
first account may
include contact information of an account holder.
[0023] In some implementations, the one or more parameters associated with the
first account may
include an age of an account holder.
[0024] In some implementations, the transfer message may be provided as a
request for payment.
[0025] In some implementations, the instructions may further cause the first
computer system to,
when the condition is determined to not be satisfied, stop the transfer from
being completed.
[0026] In some implementations, the instructions may further cause the first
computer system to
send, in real time or near real time upon receipt of the transfer message, a
reply to the second
computing system indicating the result of the evaluation.
[0027] In some implementations, receiving the transfer message indicating the
condition
associated with the transfer may include receiving user input from a client
device via the second
system indicating the condition associated with the transfer.
[0028] In another aspect, present application describes a method. The method
may include
receiving, from a second computing system, a transfer message for a transfer
between the first
account associated with the first computing system and a second account
associated with the
second computing system, the transfer message including routing data, an
amount of resources to
be transferred, and a condition associated with the transfer; evaluating the
condition associated
with the data transfer based on a comparison between data included in the
transfer message and
one or more parameters associated with the first account; and when the
condition is determined to
be satisfied, completing the transfer.
[0029] In some embodiments, the method may further include, when the condition
is determined
to not be satisfied, stopping the transfer from being completed.
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[0030] In some embodiments, the method may further include sending, in real
time or near real
time upon receipt of the transfer message, a reply to the second computing
system indicating the
result of the evaluation.
[0031] 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 second computing system, a transfer message for
a transfer between
the first account associated with the first computing system and a second
account associated with
the second computing system, the transfer message including routing data, an
amount of resources
to be transferred, and a condition associated with the transfer; evaluate the
condition associated
with the data transfer based on a comparison between data included in the
transfer message and
one or more parameters associated with the first account; and when the
condition is determined to
be satisfied, complete the transfer.
[0032] 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,
are to cause the one or more processors to carry out at least some of the
operations of a method
described herein.
[0033] 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.
[0034] 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.
[0035] 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.
[0036] The present application makes reference to a "transfer message", which
is a computer-
readable message configured for transmission over one or more computer
networks between a
sending device and a receiving device. The transfer message may be a
structured message having
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a defined schema or set of predefined fields to contain data. The transfer
message may be used to
transfer resources from one entity to another entity. In particular, the
transfer message may be used
to effect a change in recorded ownership of resources. The resources may be
currency, physical
assets, credits, tokenized items like non-fungible tokens, computing resources
such as memory
allocated or processor time, access rights, or any other resource that may be
owned or credited to
an account associated with an account holder. In many of the examples below,
monetary resources
may be referenced to illustrate concepts, but the present application is not
necessarily solely
applicable to financial or monetary instruments or resources.
[0037] A transfer message may be or include a request to transfer. A request
to transfer may be a
specially formatted message that is sent from a first database management
system to a second
database management system. The request to transfer may be sent from the first
database
management system to the second database management system over a transfer
rail that is used
for facilitating transfers between databases associated with different
database management
systems. For example, the first database management system may be associated
with a first
database and the second database management system may be associated with a
second database.
The databases may store account data. That is, the databases may store data
that is associated with
various accounts. In at least some implementations, each record in the
database may be associated
with a particular one of these accounts.
[0038] A request to transfer is a message that is sent on behalf of a
recipient to initiate a transfer
from a sender to the recipient. That is, the request to transfer is sent, on
behalf of the recipient,
from the database management system associated with the recipient to the
database management
system associated with the sender. The request to transfer requests a transfer
from a record in the
database that is associated with the sender to a record in the database that
is associated with the
recipient. The request to transfer includes one or more identifiers that
identify the record
associated with the sender and/or the record associated with the recipient.
The identifier(s) may
be or include an account number. The request to transfer may also include one
or more identifiers
that identify the database management system associated with the sender and/or
that identify the
database management system associated with the recipient. Such identifiers may
be or include
one or more of: a transit number and an institution number.
Date Recue/Date Received 2021-09-02
[0039] The request to transfer is a transfer initiation message. That is, the
request to transfer is an
initial message that may be used to cause a transfer to occur. Since the
request to transfer is
initiated by a recipient rather than a sender, the request to transfer may be
considered to a pull-
style transfer, which may be contrasted with typical push-style transfers. In
at least some
implementations, the request to transfer may be formatted as an IS020022
message.
[0040] The request to transfer message is specially formatted to include
parameters of a transfer
that is requested to be made from a sender. The parameters may be included as
metadata in the
transfer message. Where the request to transfer is an IS020022 message, the
parameters may be
included in an IS020022 format. The parameters may include resource definition
data. The
resource definition data defines what is requested to be transferred. By way
of example, the
resource definition data may define a resource that is stored in or otherwise
associated with a
record associated with the sender. The resource may be, for example, a
computing resource. In
another implementation, the resource may be data. In some implementations, the
resource may
represent an amount of value, such as a quantity of a currency.
[0041] The parameters that are included in the request to transfer may include
data of another type.
For example, in some implementations, the parameters may be or include
transfer scheduling data.
The transfer scheduling data may represent a time when the requested transfer
is to be made. This
time may be, for example, a due date or deadline. The due date or deadline
represents a latest time
at which the transfer is to be made.
[0042] The request to transfer message may, in some implementations, be or
represent a request
for payment. Such a message may be referred to as a request for payment (RIP)
message or a
request to pay (RTP) message. In such implementations, the transfer rail may
be a payment rail
such as a real time payment rail and the database management systems may be a
financial
institution systems. In at least some such implementations, the records may
represent bank
accounts and a transfer may be a request to transfer value from a sender bank
account to the
recipient bank account. The request to transfer message may be sent from a
first financial
institution system, which is associated with a first financial institution, to
a second financial
institution system, which is associated with a second financial institution.
[0043] The request to transfer message is a special transfer message which is
not formatted as an
email or short message service (SMS) message. Rather, it is a computer-to-
computer message that
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is formatted to be specially processed by the database management system that
receives it. In at
least some implementations, the computer-to-computer message may be formatted
according to
the IS020022 standard. For example, the database management system that
receives the request
to transfer message may be configured to execute a process for obtaining
authorization to complete
a transfer in response to receiving the request to transfer. More
particularly, the database
management systems may be configured to only permit authorized transfers. For
example, in one
implementation, the database stores account data for a plurality of accounts
and a database
management system will only allow a transfer out of an account if the transfer
is authorized by an
authorization entity for that account, such as an account holder.
Authorization may, for example,
require authenticated approval using a credential such as one or more of a
usemame, password,
biometric authentication data or other credential.
[0044] In one implementation, in response to receiving the transfer message, a
database
management system may identify an affected account using an identifier defined
by the transfer
message. Then, the database management system may send an electronic
notification to a client
device associated with the identified account. This notification may be
provided as an in-
application notification or operating system level notification. The
notification may include a
selectable option to authorize the transfer.
[0045] The notification may allow the transfer to be made without requiring
input of one or more
parameters that are typically required when a transfer is initiated by the
sender rather than the
recipient. By way of example, one or more parameters that are included in the
request to transfer
may be used to pre-stage or pre-populate parameters of the transfer so that
the sender does not
have to input such parameters. In some implementations, the resource
definition data included in
the request to transfer may be used to allow the transfer to be made without
having the sender
define what is to be transferred. For example, where the transfer is a
transfer of a computing
resource or data, the sender may perform the transfer without having to input
any information
defining the computing resource or data involved. Or, where the transfer is a
transfer of an amount
of value, the amount of value defined in the request for transfer message may
be used so that the
sender does not have to define the amount of value.
[0046] In some implementations, transfer scheduling data included in the
request to transfer
message may be used to schedule the transfer without requiring the sender to
define such a
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schedule. For example, where the transfer scheduling data is a due date or
deadline, the database
management system associated with the sender may automatically define a time
for a transfer
based on the transfer scheduling data without requiring the sender to input
such a time.
[0047] In this way, the sender may cause a database management system that is
associated with
the sender's record in a database to perform the transfer without having to
input any parameters
for the transfer.
[0048] The present application further makes reference to a "data transfer
proposal", which may
refer to a transfer message that includes a condition that must be satisfied
before a data transfer
indicated by the transfer message may occur.
[0049] In the present application, the terms "transferor" and "transferee" may
be used
interchangeably with "sender" and "recipient", respectively, in the context of
describing transfers
of resources. In some cases, the terms "payor" or "payee" may be used in the
example of monetary
resources.
[0050] Many of the embodiments described herein focus on a transfer message
that is provided as
either a payment or request for payment. However, it is understood that the
present application is
not limited to any such embodiments and that the embodiments described with
respect to a
particular type of transfer generally may be extended to other types of
transfers.
[0051] In the present application, the term "real-time" may be used
interchangeably with "near
real-time" or "substantially in real-time". In at least some embodiments, real-
time is defined as
being within seconds. Certain factors, such as network traffic, may limit the
immediacy of real-
time transfers and/or processing of transfer messages.
[0052] 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.
[0053] 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 first
system 104 and a second system 106.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2021-09-02
[0054] As illustrated, the first system 104 may provide a front-end interface
which allows the
remote device 102 to interact with the first system 104. For example, the
first system 104 may
provide one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to the remote device 102.
By way of
example, the first system 104 may provide, to the remote device 102, a user
interface. The user
interface provided to the remote device 102 may be an interface for
configuring a data transfer
proposal.
[0055] The first system 104 may be managed, operated, or controlled by an
entity that is
responsible for preparing the data transfer proposal and for receiving user
input from the remote
device 102 indicating details of data transfer proposal. The entity may be an
agent of a first account
holder and may be a financial institution, such as a bank. The first account
holder may be a
customer (e.g. a corporate/business customer) or client of the entity or
otherwise associated with
the entity.
[0056] The first system 104 may store data regarding one or more data transfer
proposals in a
plurality of respective data transfer proposal objects. The first system 104
may further store data
regarding users or customers associated with the first system 104 in a
plurality of respective user
account objects representing respective user accounts.
[0057] The first system 104 may be used to transmit a message to a system
associated with a
second account holder, for example, the second system 106.
[0058] As illustrated, the first system 104 is in communication with the
second system 106 via the
network 110. The first system 104 may be configured to transmit to the second
system 106 a
message and a data transfer proposal. The second system 106 may be further
configured to receive
a message and a data transfer proposal from the first system 104.
[0059] The second system 106 may be managed, operated, or controlled by an
entity that is
responsible for receiving the data transfer proposal. The entity may be an
agent of a second account
holder and may be a financial institution, such as a bank. The second account
holder may be a
customer (e.g. a corporate/business customer) or client of the entity or
otherwise associated with
the entity.
[0060] The second system 106 may store data regarding one or more data
transfer proposals in a
plurality of respective data transfer proposal objects. The second system 106
may further store
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data regarding users or customers associated with the second system 106 in a
plurality of respective
user account objects representing respective user accounts.
[0061] The first system 104 and the second system 106 may be configured to
ingest data from
each other and may transmit alerts, notifications, configuration objects, or
other data to each other
and/or the remote device 102. More particularly, the first system 104 may
include infrastructure
configured to receive a message from the second system 106 and transmit a
notification to the
remote device 102 and/or the second system 106 in response to receiving the
message.
[0062] The first system 104 and the second system 106 may store data in
respective data stores
114 and 116. The data stores 114 and 116 are illustrated as single units for
ease of illustration, but
may include a plurality of storage units and, in some cases, storage media
connected via the
network 110.
[0063] As illustrated, the remote device 102 is in communication with a first
system 104 via a
network 110. The remote device 102 may be managed, operated or controlled by
the first account
holder. The remote device 102 may be associated with an alias associated with
the first account
holder and a user account associated with the first account holder and the
first system 104. The
remote device 102 may be engaged using the alias.
[0064] The remote device 102 may be used, for example, to receive user input
that includes an
indication of a data acceptance condition in a data transfer proposal. The
user input may further
include an indication of routing data, intended transferor, recipient, an
account associated with the
intended transferor, an account associated with the recipient, and other
information to be included
in or used to construct the data transfer proposal.
[0065] 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,
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
Date Recue/Date Received 2021-09-02
device that may be configured to store data and software instructions, and
execute software
instructions to perform operations consistent with disclosed embodiments.
[0066] The first system 104 and second system 106 are or include a computer
system such as a
computer server system or a database management system. 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 (FTP)
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.
[0067] The remote device 102, first system 104 and second system 106 may be in
geographically
disparate locations.
[0068] 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, first system 104 and second system
106 to
communicate with one another.
[0069] As further described below, the remote device 102, the first system 104
and second system
106 may be configured with software to perform associated functions such as
those described
herein.
[0070] FIG. 1 illustrates the first system 104, second system 106, and data
stores 114 and 116 as
separate computing devices. However, these systems may not be separate
physical systems. For
example, the first system 104 and the data store 114 may be implemented on a
common physical
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device. As another example, the second system 106 and the data store 116 may
be implemented
on a common physical device. As yet another example, the first system 104 and
second system
106 may be implemented in software associated with a common processor. As yet
a further
example, the data stores 114 and 116 may be included in the first system 104
and second system
106, respectively, or may be external to those systems.
[0071] 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.
[0072] The remote device 102 includes a variety of modules. For example, as
illustrated, the
example computing device 200 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 example computing device 200 are in communication over
a bus 270. As
such, the bus 270 may be considered to couple the various modules of the
remote device 102 to
each other, including, for example, to the processor 210.
[0073] 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.
[0074] 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.
[0075] 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
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
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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.
[0076] 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.
[0077] 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.
[0078] 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
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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.
[0079] 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.
[0080] 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.
[0081] 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.
[0082] The application software 310 adapts the remote device 102, in
combination with the
operating system 300, to operate as a device for facilitating data transfers
and data transfer
proposals.
[0083] As noted above, the first system 104 and second system 106 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 first system 104 and/or second system 106.
[0084] FIG. 4 is a high-level schematic diagram of an example computer system
400.
[0085] 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
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.
14
Date Recue/Date Received 2021-09-02
[0086] 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.
[0087] 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.
[0088] 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 110. 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.
[0089] 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
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
Date Recue/Date Received 2021-09-02
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.
[0090] 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.
[0091] 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.
[0092] 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.
[0093] 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 first
system 104 and/or second system 106.
[0094] Reference is now made to FIG. 6, which partially illustrates an example
data store 600 in
block diagram form. The data store may be a data store 114 of the example
first system 104 of
FIG. 1 and/or a data store 116 of the example second system 106 of FIG. 1. Not
all components of
the data store 600 are illustrated. The data store 600 may include one or more
data storage units.
In some cases, the stored data may be in a database format and may include one
or more databases.
The databases may be relational databases in some examples.
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[0095] The data store 600 may store data regarding a data transfer proposal in
a data transfer
proposal object 602. The data transfer proposal object 602 may be a data
structure and may contain
details or parameters regarding a data transfer proposal.
[0096] Example parameters that may be included in a data transfer proposal
include:
= a proposal identifier identifying the particular data transfer proposal;
= identification information of the type of data transfer proposal (e.g.
payment, or request for
payment);
= identification information of the first and/or second account holders
(e.g. full name, postal
address, contact details, telephone number, email address, alias);
= an amount of resources to be transferred;
= routing data, which may include:
o identification information of the first and/or second system and/or the
entity
associated with, operating or managing the first and/or second system (e.g. a
routing
number, financial institution identifier, and/or branch transit number
associated
with the first and/or second system); and/or
o identification information of a first and/or second logical storage area,
for example,
a logical storage area identifier (e.g. bank account number), associated with,
managed or controlled by a respective first and/or second account holder to or
from
which the amount of resources is to be transferred; and
= a condition for the transfer including, for example, a variable or data
type for an account
holder, a comparator, and a value that is to be used in the comparison.
[0097] The data store 600 may further store data regarding an account holder
in a user account
object 604. A user account object 604 may be a data structure and may include
details regarding
an individual or entity holding an account or other logical storage area.
Example details include a
user account identifier indicating a particular person or entity,
identification information (e.g. first
and last name), an alias (e.g. email address, phone number), contact
information (e.g. home
address), date of birth, date of incorporation, and sign in or authentication
credentials (e.g. user
17
Date Recue/Date Received 2021-09-02
name, password, access card number). The account holder may be or represent a
transferor,
recipient, payor, payee, customer or user.
[0098] A user account object 604 may be associated with a logical storage
area. A logical storage
area may be or include an area of the data store 600. A logical storage area
may further be or
represent a bank account or other logical storage area for storing a quantity
of a resource. In some
embodiments, the data store 600 may include a database of customer accounts
and bank accounts
at a particular financial institution.
[0099] A user account object 604 may include one or more identifiers that may
link to one or more
respective logical storage areas. For example, a user account object 604 may
include a logical
storage area identifier indicating a logical storage area that is associated
with an account holder.
[0100] The data store 600 may further store data regarding possible comparison
operators in an
operators object 608. The operators object 608 may include a plurality of
defined operators that
may be used by the first system 104 to provide a customized data transfer
experience. The plurality
of defined operators may include at least one of the following operators:
"equal to", "not equal to",
"greater than", "less than", "greater than or equal to", "less than or equal
to", and "contains".
[0101] The data store 600 may further store a directory of aliases that may be
used to map an alias
to routing data for a data transfer proposal. For instance, an alias may be an
email address
associated with the second account holder that maps to an identifier of a
financial institution at
which the second account holder is a customer and default account associated
with that financial
institution. In other words, the alias can be used to lookup the second
account holder's financial
institution in the directory and a default logical storage area identifier
associated with the second
account.
[0102] The first system 104 and second system 106 illustrated in FIG. 1 may
store one or more
data transfer proposal objects 602, user account objects 604, logical storage
area objects 606, and
operators objects 608 in a data stores 114 and/or 116.
[0103] Reference will now be made to FIG. 7 which illustrates an example
method 700. The
operations of method 700 may be performed by a second system 106 which may be
of the type
described herein.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2021-09-02
[0104] In operation 702, a first system may receive, via a communications
module and from a
second system, a transfer message for a data transfer between a first account
associated with the
first system and a second account associated with a second system. The
transfer message may be
provided as a payment or a request for payment and may include routing data,
an amount of
resources to be transferred, and a condition associated with the transfer. In
some instances, the
transfer message may include multiple conditions.
[0105] In some embodiments, the transfer message may also be populated with a
flag that flags
the transfer message as one that includes a condition. This may be done, for
example, by including
a predetermined code or string in a predetermined field or, if the payment
message includes a field
that is specifically used for adding a flag categorizing the message as one
that includes a condition,
by setting the flag in such a field. In some instances, a second system may
auto-decline certain
transfer messages if they do not include a transfer condition.
[0106] In operation 704, upon receiving the transfer message, the second
system may identify a
category or type of the transfer message. The category or type may be, for
example, one or more
of the following: payment; or request for payment. When the transfer message
is received, the
contents of the transfer message may be analyzed to determine the category or
type associated with
the transfer message. For example, the transfer message may include a category
identifier or type
identifier representing a category or type of the transfer message. The
category or type identifier
may specify a "payment" or a "request for payment" category or type. The
identifier may be a
category specified in a standard set of possible category identifiers.
[0107] In operation 706, upon receiving the transfer message and analyzing the
contents of the
transfer message in order to determine the condition associated with the data
transfer, the second
system may evaluate the condition associated with the transfer based on a
comparison between
data included in the transfer message and one or more parameters associated
with the second
account. The one or more parameters associated with the second account may
include data stored
in a user account object. In other words, the condition may be evaluated based
on account data for
an account referenced by the transfer message. In some embodiments, the
evaluation involves a
comparison between data included in the transfer message and data not included
in the transfer
message. The comparison data that is not included in the transfer message may
be account data
associated with the second system.
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[0108] In some embodiments, the transfer message may be provided as a payment
message and
the condition may be a deposit condition. The deposit condition may be a
condition related to the
age, or other biographic data associated with the intended recipient of the
payment. For example,
in some implementations, the deposit condition may require that the account
holder of the account
into which a payment is being made is over the age of majority. Such a deposit
condition may be
useful when a regulated gaming operator is making a payment for a win that
occurred at a casino,
racetrack, or lottery. The operator of such an establishment may be required
to ensure that the
recipient is sufficiently old to comply with regulations and the age may be
evaluated using a
deposit condition inserted into a payment message.
[0109] Various other conditions may be specified instead of or in addition to
an age-based
condition. For example, a condition may be based on a location of the
recipient. More particularly,
the condition may require the recipient to have an address is a certain city,
state, or country. By
way of further example, a condition may be based on the age of the recipient's
account. For
example, the payment message may require that the recipient's account be at
least 1 month, 2
months, 1 year old, etc. This may, for example, help to guard against fraud
that is conducted
through the opening of new account that receives funds that are quickly
withdrawn.
[0110] By way of further example, a deposit condition may be based on a
recipient's birthday.
For example, the deposit may be a promotion that is payable on an individual's
birthday and it
may require that the current day be the recipient's birthday.
[0111] By way of further example, the deposit condition may be based on a
balance associated
with an account. For example, the condition may specify that the deposit will
only occur if the
recipient has a balance that is less than a threshold. By way of example, a
parent may send such a
transfer to a child.
[0112] By way of further example, a deposit condition may require that a name
associated with an
account matches a specified name. Such a condition may be used to guard
against fraud, for
example.
[0113] By way of further example, a deposit condition may require that an
account be a personal
account and not a business account, or vice versa.
Date Recue/Date Received 2021-09-02
[0114] The deposit condition may specify a variable or data type for a
recipient that is to be
compared (e.g. age, name, birthday, account age, etc.), a comparator (e.g.,
equals, greater than or
equal to, etc.), and a value that is to be used in the comparison (e.g., 67,
"John Smith", etc.). The
variable or data type may correspond to a parameter value associated with an
account associated
with the recipient. In this case, the second system use the parameter value in
the comparison.
[0115] In operation 708, if the condition is satisfied, the second system may
in operation 710
complete the transfer. Otherwise, the second system may in operation 712 stop
the transfer from
being completed.
[0116] In operation 714, the second system may send, in send, in real time or
near real time upon
receipt of the transfer message, a reply to the first computing system
indicating the result of the
evaluation. For example, if the condition is not satisfied, the second system
may return an error
message to the first system. The reply may further include an indication of
the transfer message,
and the one or more of the parameters associated with the second account.
[0117] The first system may present the reply to a user of a 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 a transferor
identifier or recipient identifier included in the transfer message. 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.
[0118] Examples of user interfaces for generating and sending transfer
messages will now be
described. The user interfaces may include one or more features. A feature may
be pre-populated
with data or parameters. A feature may also solicit input and facilitate one
or more selections from
one or more options. In some cases, a feature may require active selection of
an option, field, or
setting. A feature may be implemented using one or more user interface
elements, including
menus, buttons, icons, radio buttons or option buttons, checkboxes, or other
selectable graphical
elements for initiating various operations in connection with the data
transfer. A feature may
include text boxes or other graphical elements for receiving input of text
information, including
numbers, for example, an amount of money, for use in various operations in
connection with the
data transfer. A feature may also include text, labels, images or other
graphical elements for
displaying information in the user interface.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2021-09-02
[0119] In at least some embodiments, a user interface element may be invoked,
actuated or
otherwise selected by a user. Selection of a user interface element can
include conventional user
input operation on the user interface element so as to provide a signal or
instruction to a browser
application or other executing application that a selection of the user
interface element has been
made by the user and/or that a particular action represented by the user
interface element is to be
carried out. Different forms of selection, for example, by a touch, gesture,
pointing device, or voice
command, will be known to those skilled in the art. In some cases, a command,
action, or operation
associated with the user interface element can be invoked as a result of user
input selecting or
otherwise acting on a user interface element.
[0120] Reference will now be made to FIG. 8 which illustrates an example of a
money transfer or
payment interface 800. The money transfer interface 800 may be provided by a
transferor system
to a remote device. The transferor system may correspond to a first system 104
of FIG. 1.
[0121] The money transfer interface 800 prompts the user to provide details
for a data transfer and
displays user selectable options for the data transfer.
[0122] The example money transfer interface interface 800 includes a
transferor feature 802 for
receiving user input indicating details of the transferor. The transferor
feature 802 includes a
logical storage area or account element 804 for receiving user input
indicating a logical storage
area identifier associated with the transferor, in this example a bank account
associated with the
user, from which the indicated amount is to be transferred from. In other
words, the account
element 804 may prompt a user to select a logical storage area from which to
make the data
transfer. As illustrated, the account element 804 may include a drop-down list
that displays the
available logical storage areas from which the selected amount may be
transferred. The available
logical storage areas may include logical storage areas associated with the
authenticated user. In
some embodiments, the transferor system may use a default logical storage area
identifier to
preselect the default logical storage area in the account element 804.
[0123] The transferor feature 802 further includes an amount element 806 that
provides an input
area to receive data indicating the amount to be transferred.
[0124] The example money transfer interface interface 800 includes a routing
data feature 808 for
receiving user input indicating routing data associated with the intended
recipient of the payment.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2021-09-02
The routing data feature 808 includes a bank identifier element 810, transit
number element 812
and account number element 814 that provide input areas to receive data
indicating a bank
identifier, transit number and account number, respectively.
[0125] The example money transfer interface 800 includes a deposit or
acceptance condition
feature 816. As illustrated, the acceptance condition feature 816 includes a
first operand element
818, a comparison operator element 820, and a second operand element 822. The
deposit or
acceptance condition may define a condition that must be satisfied by a
recipient of the transfer
message in order for the transfer of the indicated amount to be completed
successfully.
[0126] The first operand element 818 provides user selectable options to
receive data indicating a
first operand. As illustrated, the first operand element 818 offers selection
of a first operand from
a list of operands. The first operand may be, include or indicate a variable,
data type, or
placeholder. The placeholder may be a placeholder for a property of the
recipient or recipient
account. The list of operands may include, for example, a "recipient age",
"recipient name",
"recipient address", "account age", "account type" and "account value"
operand. As illustrated, no
first operand has been selected.
[0127] The comparison operator element 820 provides user selectable options to
receive data
indicating the comparison operation. In some embodiments, a comparison
operator may be
provided for selection as well as the possibility of specifying a different
operator with additional
input.
[0128] The comparison operator element 820 offers selection of an operator
from a list of
comparison operators. The list of comparison operators may include, for
example, an "equal to",
"not equal to", "greater than", "less than", "greater than or equal to", "less
than or equal to",
"contains" operator. As illustrated, the "is equal to" operator is pre-
selected.
[0129] The comparison operator may be or include a "matches" operator to test
whether a field is
an exact match for a pattern. One operand may be a pattern and the other may
be treated as a string
value. The operator may return true if the pattern matches the string. If the
pattern matches only
part of the string or doesn't match at all, the result of the match operator
is false.
[0130] The second operand element 822 provides an input area to receive data
indicating the
second operand.
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[0131] By way of example, the deposit or acceptance condition feature 816 may
be used to indicate
an acceptance condition whereby the first operand is "recipient name", the
operand is "matches",
and the second operand is "John Doe", which may be evaluated by a second
system to confirm
that "John Doe" is the account holder of the account specified in the routing
data.
[0132] The remote device transmits to the transferor system a payment
instruction with respect to
the payment. The instruction is received by the transferor system via the
money transfer interface
800, through the selection of a confirmation element 824. The payment message
may include the
selection and configuration details of one or more options or features,
including the transferor's
account, transfer amount, routing data, and acceptance condition.
[0133] The deposit condition may be included in the metadata of the payment
message. It may be
inserted by the transferor system. In some instances, it may be inserted based
on an instruction
received from a client device associated with the sender, namely the remote
device. That is, the
deposit condition may be a user-input condition.
[0134] In some instances, the money transfer interface 800 may not include a
deposit or acceptance
condition feature 816. The deposit condition may be automatically included
when the payment is
sent from a particular sender account. For example, a sender may require that
all recipients of
payments from its account be over the age of majority. Or, a sender may
require that a deposit
condition requiring a comparison of a name be included in all outgoing
payments. Further, the
inclusion of the deposit condition may be automatically done when the amount
of the payment
exceeds a threshold. For example, the name comparator may not be included if
the payment is
less than $20 but it may be included if the payment is greater than $20.
[0135] When the payment instruction is received by the transferor system, the
transferor system
may transmit a payment message including the payment details to the recipient
system. The
recipient system may then process the payment message according to the method
700 of FIG. 7.
If the condition is satisfied, the indicated amount may be transferred from
the transferor's account
to the account specified in the routing data.
[0136] Reference will now be made to FIG. 9 which illustrates another example
money transfer
interface 900. The money transfer interface 900 may include one or more
features 802, 816 and
824 and corresponding user interface elements as shown in FIG. 8.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2021-09-02
[0137] The money transfer interface 900 may further include a recipient alias
feature 902 for
providing an input area to receive an alias of the recipient (e.g. email
address or phone number).
The recipient alias feature 902 includes an email element 904 and a phone
number element 906
that provide input areas to data indicating an email address and phone number
that each identify
and are associated with the recipient.
[0138] When the transferor system receives the payment instruction from the
remote device, the
transferor system may use the recipient alias to lookup routing data
associated with the recipient
and send the payment message to the recipient system, or the transferor system
may send the
recipient alias in a payment message to a separate system that can replace the
recipient alias with
routing data in order to forward the payment message to the recipient system.
[0139] Reference will now be made to FIG. 10 which illustrates a money
transfer interface 1000.
The money transfer interface 1000 may include one or more features 802, 808,
816, 824 and 902
and corresponding user interface elements as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.
[0140] Whereas FIGS. 8 and 9 are directed at payment interfaces, the money
transfer interface
1000 shown in FIG. 10 is a request for payment interface. In particular, the
role of the user of the
remote device is reversed, as they are now the recipient rather than the
sender of the payment. It
will be appreciated that some or all of the features 802, 808, 816, 824 and
902 and corresponding
user interface elements may be modified as a result.
[0141] The remote device transmits to the recipient system a request for
payment instruction with
respect to the request for payment. The instruction is received by the
recipient system via the
request for payment interface 1000, through the selection of a confirmation
element 824. The
request for payment message may include the selection and configuration
details of one or more
options or features, including the transferee's account, transfer amount,
routing data, and
acceptance condition.
[0142] When the request for payment instruction is received by the recipient
system, the recipient
system may transmit a request for payment message including the request for
payment details to
the transferor system. The transferor system may then process the request for
payment message
according to the method 700 of FIG. 7. If the condition is satisfied, the
indicated amount may be
transferred from the transferor's account to the recipient's account. In this
way, the deposit
Date Recue/Date Received 2021-09-02
condition may be included in a request for payment rather than a payment
message to ensure that
the sender satisfies certain criteria. For example, a lottery company may send
a request for
payment to an individual purchasing a lottery ticket and the request for
payment may include a
condition that the sender be of the age of majority.
[0143] 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.
[0144] 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.
[0145] 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.
[0146] 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.
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