REGISTER  |  SIGN IN
United States Patent5870724
Lawlor , ; et al.February 9, 1999
Title
Targeting advertising in a home retail banking delivery service
Abstract
A practical system and method for the remote distribution of financial services (e.g., home banking and bill-paying) involves distributing portable terminals to a user base. The terminals include a multi-line display, keys "pointing to" lines on the display, and additional keys. Contact is established between the terminals and a central computer operated by a service provider, preferably over a dial-up telephone line and a packet data network. Information exchange between the central computer and the terminal solicits information from the terminal user related to requested financial services (e.g., for billpaying, the user provides payee selection and amount and his bank account PIN number). The central computer then transmits a message over a conventional ATM network debiting the user's bank account in real time, and may pay the specified payees the specified amount electronically or in other ways as appropriate. Payments and transfers may be scheduled in advance or on a periodic basis. Because the central computer interacts with the user's bank as a standard POS or ATM network node, no significant software changes are required at the banks' computers. The terminal interface is extremely user-friendly and incorporates some features of standard ATM user interfaces so as to reduce new user anxiety.
Inventors:Lawlor; Matthew P. (Falls Church, VA), Carmody; Timothy E.  (McLean, VA)
Assignee:Online Resources & Communications Corporation (McLean, VA)
Appl. No.:08/469,354
Filed:June 6, 1995
Foreign Application Priority Data
Dec 10, 1990 [CA] 2069955-8
Dec 10, 1990 [EP] 91901390
Current U.S. Class:705/42 705/43 235/379 235/380 705/14 
Current International Class:G06Q 20/00 (20060101)
Field of Search:235/379,380 345/1,2 395/214,242,243 705/14,42,43 455/2 348/1
U.S. Patent Documents
3375500March 1968Fowler et al.
3573749April 1971Southard et al.
3639686February 1972Walker et al.
3643219February 1972Heimann
3648020March 1972Tateisi et al.
3652795March 1972Wolf et al.
3699531October 1972Heimann
3760375September 1973Irwin et al.
3769579October 1973Harney
3833885September 1974Gentile et al.
3845277October 1974Voss et al.
3852571December 1974Hall et al.
3865994February 1975Bender
3876864April 1975Clark et al.
3920926November 1975Lenaerts et al.
3931497January 1976Gentile et al.
3932709January 1976Hoff et al.
3938090February 1976Borison et al.
3941977March 1976Voss et al.
3943335March 1976Kinker
3956615May 1976Anderson et al.
3970992July 1976Boothroyd et al.
3987259October 1976Larson
3995123November 1976Wilson
3996448December 1976Anderson et al.
4017835April 1977Randolph
4023013May 1977Kinker
4025760May 1977Trenkamp
4032931June 1977Haker
4071697January 1978Bushnell et al.
4091448May 1978Clausing
4114027September 1978Slater et al.
4134537January 1979Glaser et al.
4186438January 1980Benson et al.
4224478September 1980Fahey et al.
4232199November 1980Boatwright et al.
4277837July 1981Stuckert
4291198September 1981Anderson et al.
4291199September 1981Densmore et al.
4301337November 1981Eventoff
4305059December 1981Benton
4306116December 1981McClure et al.
4313176January 1982Cecil
4321429March 1982Takatsuki et al.
4321672March 1982Braun
4331973May 1982Eskin et al.
4334126June 1982Slingsby
4341951July 1982Benton
4381427April 1983Cheal et al.
4390968June 1983Hennessy et al.
4392023July 1983Sears
4409450October 1983Blades
4423294December 1983Walser et al.
4425627January 1984Eibner
4427848January 1984Tsakanikas
4429385January 1984Cichelli
4431870February 1984May et al.
4454414June 1984Benton
4468529August 1984Samuel et al.
4476349October 1984Cottrell et al.
4481574November 1984DeFino et al.
4493021January 1985Agrawal et al.
4494194January 1985Harris et al.
4503288March 1985Kessler
4510351April 1985Costello et al.
4525712June 1985Okano et al.
4532378July 1985Nakayama
4533791August 1985Read et al.
4536647August 1985Atalla et al.
4545023October 1985Mizzi
4546382October 1985McKenna et al.
4562340December 1985Tateisi et al.
4575621March 1986Dreifus
4578174March 1986Kato et al.
4578530March 1986Zeidler
4578535March 1986Simmons
4578537March 1986Faggin et al.
4580011April 1986Glaser
4585908April 1986Smith
4594663June 1986Nagata
4598174July 1986Pommer
4602279July 1986Freeman
4604686August 1986Reiter et al.
4607144August 1986Carmon et al.
4625276November 1986Benton et al.
4629832December 1986Carson et al.
4630108December 1986Gomersall
4630201December 1986White
4634845January 1987Hale et al.
4639917January 1987Furuta
4646145February 1987Percy et al.
4652704March 1987Franklin
4653086March 1987Laube
4654482March 1987DeAngelis
4658290April 1987McKenna et al.
4659876April 1987Sullivan
4659879April 1987Hasegawa
4663766May 1987Bremer
4674115June 1987Kaleita et al.
4678895July 1987Tateisi et al.
4682014July 1987Iwama
4683360July 1987Maser
4683536July 1987Yamamoto
4688170August 1987Waite et al.
4689478August 1987Hale et al.
4694397September 1987Grant et al.
4701845October 1987Andreason et al.
4709387November 1987Masuda
4710955December 1987Kaufmann
4713761December 1987Sharpe et al.
4724521February 1988Carron et al.
4727243February 1988Savar
4734858March 1988Schlafly
4737980April 1988Curtin et al.
4744103May 1988Dahlquist et al.
4745468May 1988Von Kohorn
4748656May 1988Gibbs
4788657November 1988Douglas et al.
4791281December 1988Johnsen et al.
4799156January 1989Shavit et al.
4803347February 1989Sugahara et al.
4805020February 1989Greenberg
4823264April 1989Deming
4839919June 1989Borges et al.
4850007July 1989Marino et al.
4851994July 1989Toda et al.
4852151July 1989Dittakavi et al.
4858114August 1989Heath et al.
4860342August 1989Danner
4870677September 1989DiSanto et al.
4872113October 1989Dinerstein
4876592October 1989Von Kohorn
4885580December 1989Noto et al.
4885764December 1989Miwa
4885765December 1989Shirakawa
4926255May 1990Von Kohorn
4933971June 1990Bestock et al.
4935870June 1990Burk, Jr. et al.
4947028August 1990Gorog
4956852September 1990Hodge
4967273October 1990Greenberg
4970681November 1990Bennett
4972504November 1990Daniel, Jr. et al.
4982346January 1991Girouard et al.
4991199February 1991Parekh
4995074February 1991Goldman et al.
5008927April 1991Weiss et al.
5014190May 1991Johnson
5018189May 1991Kurosawa et al.
5020100May 1991Gardiner
5025372June 1991Burton et al.
5025373June 1991Keyser
5027315June 1991Agrawal et al.
5034807July 1991Von Kohorn
5036314July 1991Barillari
5038372August 1991Elms et al.
5050207September 1991Hitchcock
5057915October 1991Von Kohorn
5114128May 1992Harris, Jr. et al.
5127040June 1992D'Auello et al.
5128752July 1992Von Kohorn
5155591October 1992Wachob
5157717October 1992Hitchcock
5191410March 1993McCalley et al.
5195130March 1993Ahlin et al.
5201010April 1993Deaton et al.
5227874July 1993Von Kohorn
5265033November 1993Vajkf et al.
5283734February 1994Von Kohorn
5287181February 1994Holman
5305195April 1994Murphy
5321840June 1994Ahlin et al.
5347632September 1994Filepp et al.
5446919August 1995Wilkins
5502636March 1996Clarke
D224110July 1972Heimann
D250260November 1978Inatoml
D253315October 1979Berman et al.
D312457November 1990Inatomi
D337570July 1993Bevilacqua et al.
D341583November 1993Bevilacqua et al.
Re30773October 1981Glaser et al.
Foreign Patent Documents
0 265 232Apr., 1988EP
0014313May., 1983EP
0085482A1Aug., 1983EP
0181438A2May., 1986EP
1324616Sep., 1970GB
1523691Apr., 1975GB
1528691May., 1977GB
2128447Apr., 1984GB
2149946Jun., 1985GB
2309915Nov., 1976FR
2632106Jan., 1978DE
2709461Sep., 1978DE
3212554C1Oct., 1983DE
3405448C2Aug., 1985DE
3423090A1Jan., 1985DE
54-15606May., 1979JP
55-110368Aug., 1980JP
57-41723Mar., 1982JP
63-136758Aug., 1988JP
PCT/US90/07153., 0000WO
WO11195Nov., 1989WO
WO87/01256Feb., 1987WO
WO88/00371Jan., 1988WO
Other References
Lucky, R.W., "Guest Editorial, Experimental Telecommunications Services and Terminals," IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, vol. SAC-1, No. 2, p. 309, Feb. 1993. .
Hagelbarger, David W. et al., "Experiments with Teleterminals," IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, vol. SAC-1, No. 2, pp. 310-315, Feb. 1983. .
Thompson, Richard A., "Accessing Experimental Telecommunications Services," IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, vol. SAC-1, No. 2, pp. 316-321, Feb. 1983. .
Bergland, G.D., "An Experimental Telecommunications Test Bed," IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, vol. SAC-1, No. 2, pp. 322-326, Feb. 1983. .
Klapman, Richard N., "Enhanced Communications in an Executive Office," IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, vol. SAC-1, No. 2, pp. 327-332, Feb. 1983. .
Allen, Robert B., "Cognitive Factors in the Use of Menus and Trees: An Experiment," IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, vol. SAC-1, No. 2, pp. 333-336, Feb. 1983. .
Thompson, Richard A., "Users' Perceptions with Experimental Services and Terminals," IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, vol. SAC-1, No. 2, pp. 337-342, Feb. 1983. .
Caswell, Deborah L. et al., "An Editor for Hierarchically Organized Menus," IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, vol. SAC-1, No. 2, pp. 343-345, Feb. 1983. .
Schell, William M., "Control Software for an Experimental Teleterminal," IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, vol. SAC-1, No. 2, pp. 346-349, Feb. 1983. .
"Getting Started," Prodigy booklet, 2 pages (undated). .
37 Enhanced Telephone Fact Sheet" 2 pages (undated). .
Sales Literature, "NCR 770 Self Service Financial Terminal," NCR #. .
Sales Literature, "FDS/i Automated Modular Teller/875 System," FDS/i indentification 035012-010, FDS/i Financial Data Sciences, Inc. .
Sales Literature, "NCR 770 Self Service Financial Terminal," NCR #SP-13800774; SP-13810474. .
Rod Adkins et al., "Displayphone: telephone and terminal combine in a compact desk-top unit," Telesis, pp. 207. .
"Getting Around," Prodigy booklet, 2 pages. .
Martin, James, Design of Man-Computer Dialogues, pp. 380-384 (Prentice Hall 1973). .
NCR 770 Self Service Financial Terminal (Datapro Research Corp.Dec. 1978). .
Subhash Bal, "New Generation Microprocessor for Telecommunication Applications," Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Communications, pp. 11.5.1-4, Jun. 1980, Seattle, WA. .
C. H. Sederholm et al., "Intelligent Telephone," IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, vol. 23 No. 9., pp. 4006-4008 (Feb. 1981). .
Plessey Publication No. 79521/1, Sep. 1982, "Plessey Integrated Business Information System". .
Plessey Publication No. 7871/6, "Plessey Vutel," 4 pages, Jun. 1983. .
G.M. Durkin, "Qwertyphone--A low-Cost Integrated Voice/Data Terminal," British Telecommunications Engineering, vol. 5, Jan. 1987. .
Plessey Publication No. 8232, "Plessey Microphone, Linking the World," 6 pages, Apr. 1987. .
Cermetek, A New Generation of Information Terminals, Apr. 23, 1987. .
Shohei Nishida, "The Telephone Becomes an Information Terminal," Computopia, May 1987 (p. 41). .
Bellcore Technical Reference TR-TSY-000031, Issue 2, Jun. 1988, "Class.SM. Feature: Calling Number Delivery". .
Bellcore Technical Reference TR-TSY-000030, Issue 1, Nov. 1988, "SPCS Customer Premises Equipment Data Interface". .
Richard B.Ravel, Programable Gate Arrays and Self-Diagnosing Hardware, XILINX, (1989) pp. 6-38 to 6-40. .
John L. Fike, et al., "Microcomputer in the Telephone," Understanding Telephone Electronics, pp. 119-150, 1989, Howard W. Sams & Company, Indiana. .
Megatel Computer Corporation Publication, "The Megatel Quark/PC+, V-40-Based Single-Board Computer Technical Manual," Ontario Canada, Aug. 01, 1989. .
Richard B.Ravel, Programmable Gate Arrays and Self-Diagnosing Hardware, XILINX, (1989) pp. 6-54to 6-56. .
Subrata N. Chakravarty et al., "This thing has to change people's habits," Forbes, 2 pages, Jun. 26, 1989. .
U.S. Patent application S.N. 07/433,825 filed Nov. 9, 1989 entitled "Method for Providing Financial and Informational Services in a Home Environment". .
Data Sheets, A. Pargh Co., Inc., Telephone Accessories, Dialers, 2 pages. .
Northern Telecon Model NT6K90AB Display Phone. .
Programmable Terminal Model DC2.0 (National Data Computer, ??? MA. .
Telephone With Graphics Capabilities Model LU-1000-01 (Luma Telecom Inc., Santa Clara CA). .
American Banker, Aug. 12, 1985, p. 6, Tyson, "Viewtron Entering Pittsburgh in Deal with Dollar Bank". .
Economist, Mar. 27, 1982, pp. 83 and 841, "Over 100 shared automatic teller machines (ATM network) are operating in the US," abstract. .
American Banker, Jun. 28, 1984, pp. 2 and 181, Home Banking: MCI communications venture to be Delayed Until Next Year, abstract. .
American Banker, May 15, 1985, "Airline Credit Uion Ready for Takeoff With Electronic and Telephone Banking," abstract. .
American Banker, Jun. 9, 1987, "8 Banks and Thrifts in 3 States Launch video Banking Service," abstract. .
American Banker, Apr. 4, 1984, pp. 8 and 17, "Low Cost Computer Terminal Designed for Home Banking". .
EFT Report, Dec. 05, 1984, p. 8, "Australia gets its first home banking system". .
Marketing Communications, Dec. 1984, pp. 32-34, "The Electronic Wizard of Wall Street". .
Its Current, pp. 3-4, "Its Develops Shazam Bill Payer for Customer and Merchant Convenience". .
Information Disclosure Statement of U.S. 214,263 to Keyser, Jr. et al. .
Microsoft--Version 2.11, third ed. Apr. 1985, p. 3. .
Panasonic, Pocket size transactional terminal specifications. .
Hayes Microcomputer Products, 1984, p 1.3, "Introduction". .
Teleservices Report, Nov. 1986, pp. 1-8. .
Trading Systems Technology, Midwest Clearing Corp. Exports Software, Jun. 05, 1989, p. N/A ISSA: 0892-5542. .
EFT Sourcebook, 1988, pp. 717-775, Egner, "Not Quite Ready for Home Banking". .
American Banker, Mar. 16, 1989, Tyson, "Survival Kit: Pens and Stamps Instead of Video". .
American Banker, 1989, pp. 73-76, Kutler, "Marketing Effort is Needed to Swell Ranks of ATM Users," consumer survey. .
The Nilson Report, 1987 Ed., "Survey of ATM Networks and Debit Card Users". .
Bank Systems and Equipment, Sep. 1987, p. 38, "Three Quarters of Households to Use ATMs by Year 2000". .
International Banker, Jul. 28, 1982, p. 32, Anderson, "Electronic funds transfer is reaching the point-of-sale; banks, retailers look to EFT transactions to lessen processing costs". .
American Banker, Mar. 19, 1982, p. 2, "Electronic networks springing up all over: systems linking automated teller machines, point-of-sale devices are established or contemplated in several areas of the country". .
EFT Today, Jun. 1988, pp. 19-22, Golden, "An electronic delivery system translating design and philosophy into benefits". .
New Products & Services, 1988, "New Developments in automated teller machines," product fucus, Diebold Portable ATM. .
Service Description, 1989, "Bell Atlantic's Public Data Network (PDN) offering is overviewed". .
EFT Sourcebook, 1988, pp. 35-38, Levy, "The delicate balance of ATM industry standards". .
National Directory of Shared ATM/POS Networks, 1987 Ed. .
Interregional Sharing Model of the Shared Network Executives Association, 1988, pp. 467-470, TransData Corp. .
American Banker, Dec. 1, 1987, p. 13, vol. 152, No. 234, Zimmer, "A leading analyst investiages whether the ATM market has reached its saturation point or is poised for expansion". .
American Banker, Aug. 24, 1983, p. 10, Garsson, "NCR universal credit union claims a first with home banking services". .
ESCOM Executive/Secretary Communication System sales brochure, Itoh Communication Systems Inc., Elmsford, NY, May 1987. .
News Release, May 28, 1987, "NCR's new universal financial system designed to accommodae change". .
Abstracts of Japan, group No. F151, vol. 7, No. 4, Ogawa, abstract no. 57-162867. .
Abstracts of Japan, group no. P274, vol. 8, No. 105, abstract no. 59-16068. .
Abstracts of Japan, group, no. P358, vol. 9, No. 120, Sakamoto, abstract no. 60-5377. .
Abstracts of Japan, group no. E330, vol. 9, No. 178, Satou, abstract no. 60-47545. .
American Banker, pp. 2 and 25, Jun. 09, 1987, 8 Banks and Thrifts in 3 States Launch Video Banking Service, Newman Jr. .
American Banker, Apr. 04, 1984, pp. 8 and 17, Tyson, "Low-Cost Computor Terminal Designed for Home Banking". .
Economist, Mar. 27, 1984, pp. 83-84, "Banking on the Inhuman Factor". .
American Banker, Dec. 29, 1983, pp. 1 and 16 (abstract only) Chase Manhattan Bank will develop home banking services with Cox Cable . . . .
Bank Network News, "Dialing Up Networks: Bill's New Growth Plan," p. 6. .
John J. Keller, "Technology--AT&T Calls Smart Phone The Future," The Wall Street Journal, pp. B1, B4. .
Yvette D. Kantrow, "Visa to Test Home Device For Instant Bill Paying," pp. 1 and 5. .
Product Data Sheet, "Teleprocessing, Digital Information Display Systems, Rapid Data Entry and Recall Data -Select Display Terminal DIDS-401-M16," Raytheon Company, U.S., no date. .
Ad, "If we asked a banker to invent a telephone, this would be it," Transaction from the Bell System, Supplement to American Banker, no date. .
"Docutel Corporation Automated Tellers and Cash Dispensers," B21-297-101 Automated Tellers, Datapro Research Corporation, Feb. 1975, New Jersey. .
"User Ratings of Automated Teller Machines," Tellers, Datapro Research Corporation, Feb. 1976. .
"A Special Datapro Report, A Buyer's Guide to Automated Tellers and Cash Dispensers," B21-010-101 Automated Tellers, Datapro Research Corporation, Apr. 1976, Delran, NJ. .
Janice Castro, Time, "Economy & Business, Telephones Get Smart," pp. 50-51. .
Plessey Company plc Publications, Plessey ibis, Integrated Business. .
Information Systems, 6 pages, 1982, England. .
Ad, Forval Super Displayphone FP5, "A Telphone System that Allows You to See Your Information," 1 page. .
PTT Telemix 300, "De compacte informatie-terminal voor de manager," 7 pages. .
Keller, John J., The Wall Street Journal, AT&T Calls SmartPhone The Future. .
Tyson, David, American Banker, "Home Bank Customers Grow to About 44,000," 2 pages, Jan. 22, 1985. .
Friedman, Kenneth, PC Magazine, "Banking on Your Computer," pp. 277-279, May 14, 1985. .
Sullivan, Michael P., United States Banker, "The HBI Role in the Home Banking Revolution," pp. 46-48, Sep. 1983. .
Savings Institutions, "A Small British Institution Succeeds in Home Banking," pp. 96-97, Jan. 1984. .
Sietz, Rob, Phone Companies Join Their Rivals in the Facts, 1 page. .
"Shoppiing Via Light Pen," 1 page. .
Quittner, Joshua, Newsday, "Telephones Get Smart," 1 page. .
Harbatkin, Lisa, PC Magazine, "Home Based Banking," pp. 301-302, 308, 309, Nov. 1983. .
Canon Info Sheet, "Navigator, Multiform Integration," printed in Japan, 1989. .
Teleservices Report, published by Arien Communications, Inc., "Chase Offers Bank by Television to Non-PC Owners Using RCA Terminal," No. 49, Jul. 1986. .
Ad, "Luma: The Phone That's Not All Talk," Luma telecom, Inc. 1986. .
"Minitel 10, Mode D'Emploi," PTT Communications, Paris France. .
"Teletel, Le service annuaire electronique, Mode d'emploi," PTT Telecommunications, Paris, France. .
Myers, Edith, Datamation, "In Focus, Banking on PCs," 6 pages. .
Burck, Charles, Fortune, "Getting to Know the Smart Phone," 6 pages, Feb. 25, 1980. .
Quittner, Joshua, "Telephone Get smart, New technologies, new capabilities on way," 2 pages. .
Ramirez, Anthony "Teller in a Telephone, Bank to Help Customers Keep Fingers on Dollars," 1 page. .
United States Banker, "AT&T Copying Citicorp," page 54. .
Wilke, John R., The Wall Street Journal, "Lotus, Philips Plan to Develop Hybrid Phones," page B6. .
Info Sheet, "Now Your Touch Phone Has All the Answers," Dime Savings Bank, New York, 2 ages. .
Gullo, Karen, American Banker, "Banc One Revives PC Home Banking". .
"Rumor Central," 1 page, Aug. 12, 1986. .
Consumer Reports, "Untangling the Phone," pp. 289-301, May 1986. .
Manual, "Welcome to Direct Access, Direct Access" 1987. .
Ramirez, Anthony, The New York Times, "For the 90's, Screen-Based Phones," 1 page. .
Carnevale, Mary L. and John J. Keller, "Nynex, Philips Join to Develop Screen Phones," 1 page. .
Bank Network News, "Dialing Up Networks: Bill's New Growth Plan," p. 6. .
Kantrow, Yvette, "Home Device For Instant Bill Paying," 1 page. .
"Makes Paying Your Bills Less of a Chore" 1 page. .
Two (2) Pictures of data terminals. .
The Wall Street Journal, "Citicorp Skips Computer in New Home Banking Plan," Feb. 28, 1990. .
Citibank home-banking sales brochure ("in 1977 Citibank introduced . . . ", received Apr. 1990. .
Citibank home-banking user's manual, Apr. 1990. .
Washington Post, Maryland National BGank/American Security Bank home-banking sales brochure, May 27, 1992. .
Business Journal, "Citicorp test-markets device that simplifies home banking," abstract, p. 16, Oct. 29, 1990..~
Primary Examiner: Kuntz; Curtis
Assistant Examiner: Shankar; Vijay
Attorney, Agent or Firm:Nixon & Vanderhye P.C.
Parent Case Text


This is a continuing patent application of patent application Ser. No. 07/975,334 filed Nov. 16, 1992, entitled "SCREEN TERMINAL FOR REMOTE DELIERY OF RETAIL BANKING SERVICES AND OTHER INFORMATION," which is a continuation-in-part of patent application Ser. No. 07/448,170 filed Dec. 8, 1989, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,501 on Jun. 15, 1994.
Claims

What is claimed is:
1. A method of distributing advertising information remotely to users comprising the following steps:
providing an arrangement to said users that enables the users to access home banking services from user terminals;
communicating with said user terminals on demand using a central computer;
receiving requests with said central computer from said user terminals;
processing said received requests with said central computer;
storing indicia of said processed requests in a database;
obtaining, with said central computer, information advertising a product or service from an advertiser;
processing said database to target specific users who may be interested in said advertising information;
transmitting said advertising information from said central computer to the user terminals operated by said targeted specific users;
prompting said targeted specific users to select whether they want further information with respect to said product or service;
receiving and testing user responses to said prompting step; and
selecting users for delivery of further information relating to the product or service based at least in part on whether said users provide at least one predetermined response to said prompting step.

2. A method as in claim 1 wherein there is user identifying data corresponding to at least one of said users, the user identifying data representing the identity of said at least one user, and said selecting step comprises:
providing the user identifying data representing the identity of said at least one user to said advertiser in real-time response to receipt of a response from said at least one user; and
contacting said at least one user in real time response to receipt of said provided user identifying data.

3. A method as in claim 1 wherein said selecting step comprises:
initiating voice communications with at least one of said users in real-time response to receipt of a response from said at least one user.

4. A method as in claim 1 wherein the user selecting step includes the step, conditioned on the user responses to the prompting steps, of contacting said advertiser and providing said advertiser with the identity of at least some of said users providing responses.

5. A method as in claim 1 wherein the user selecting step includes the step, conditioned on the user responses to the prompting step, of contacting the users providing certain responses to provide additional advertising information.

6. A method of targeting information delivery comprising:
establishing connections with terminals associated with users;
conducting home banking transactions with said users via said connections;
generating a database at least in part in response to said home banking transactions; and
targeting information for delivery to said terminals via said connections based on the contents of said database,
wherein said method further includes:
prompting one of said users to provide an input;
transmitting a user response to said prompting step interactively in real time over at least one of said connections; and
conditionally releasing the identity of said user to a provider associated with said targeted information based on said transmitted response.

7. A method as in claim 6 further including interactively displaying, on displays of said terminals associated with said users, data transmitted to said terminals via said connections.

8. A method as in claim 6 wherein the conducting step comprises transmitting bill paying options to a user terminal and permitting the user to select between the bill paying options by actuating option selectors.

9. A method as in claim 6 wherein the conducting step comprises transmitting bill paying options to a user terminal for display on a display, and permitting the user to select between the bill paying options by actuating different option selectors disposed in proximity to the display, and wherein the generating step comprises recording the user's bill paying option selections in a confidential database.

10. A method of targeting users based at least in part on the users' remote access to financial services over a network via user terminals, the method comprising the following steps:
obtaining, with a remotely located computer, advertising information relating to at least one product or service;
communicating digital information between user terminals and the remotely located computer over a network that enables the users to remotely access financial services from their user terminals;
storing and processing user requests with said remotely located computer and targeting users who may be interested in said advertising information;
transmitting said advertising information from said remotely located computer to the user terminals operated by said targeted users;
prompting said targeted users to select whether they want further information with respect to said product or service;
receiving and testing user responses to said prompting step; and
selecting users based at least in part on the results of said testing step.

11. A method as in claim 10 wherein the selecting step includes selecting users for delivery of further information relating to the product or service if said users provide at least one predetermined response to said prompting step.

12. A method as in claim 10 further including the step of delivering, to the selected users, further information relating to the product or service.

13. A method as in claim 10 wherein the communicating step comprises facilitating the users to conduct bill paying transactions on the user terminals.

14. A method as in claim 10 wherein the communicating step comprises facilitating the users to conduct home banking transactions on the user terminals.

15. A method as in claim 10 wherein the prompting step includes the step of displaying a prompt message on a miniature multi-line liquid crystal display device included within at least one user terminal, and the method further includes the step of sensing user depression of at least one soft key disposed on the user terminal adjacent the liquid crystal display device.

16. A method as in claim 10 further including the step of providing a provider of said product or service with the identities of at least some users who respond to the prompt.

17. A method as in claim 10 wherein the storing and processing step includes the step of generating a database containing user financial transactions, and analyzing the database to determine user demographic information.

18. A method as in claim 10 wherein the processing step includes the step of storing user financial transaction data in at least one database.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and system for distributing financial and other services to remote locations, and more specifically, provides banking type financial transaction handling via remote data terminals located in users' homes, offices or other locations (i.e., "home banking" or "remote banking"). Still more specifically, one aspect of the present invention involves using the ATM (automatic teller machine) network (interchange) as a data communications network for conducting banking financial transactions from homes and offices.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Not long ago, "home banking" was thought to be just around the corner. With the advent of relatively inexpensive, powerful personal computers, the computer industry hoped (and predicted) that a personal computer with communications capability (e.g., modem) would soon find its way into every home.

It was generally believed by many that the home computer would become a central, integrated part of everyday life and would proliferate as have radio and television receivers in past decades. It was expected that people would prepare and file their income tax returns by computer, conduct most or all financial transactions (including billpaying) through software interfacing their personal computer and telecommunications lines with banks and other financial institutions, etc. The home personal computer was expected to largely replace the U.S. Postal Service as a means of communicating with and contacting the outside world. People would draft personal letters using word processing software on the personal computer and telecommunicate the letters electronically to the intended recipient over telecommunications networks. It was expected that shopping would be done electronically by perusing electronic merchandise and grocery catalogs "online" and placing orders electronically over a telecommunications data network; and that even newspapers would be read electronically "online" (thus obviating the need for delivery of hard copy).

A few banks and other financial institutions actually developed "home banking" systems designed to interface with home personal computers expected to soon be found in most households.

For a variety of reasons, the dream of a world-wide network of home computers providing a vast array of electronic services to a majority of the inhabitants of industrialized nations has simply not been realized.

Ordinary people are generally not used to computers and many avoid them whenever possible. While the next generation may be highly computer literate, many of their parents and grandparents have little or no computer experience and would much rather continue doing things "the old way." Even computer literates who own home personal computers find use of the computer to be relatively limited. As one example, it continues to be relatively expensive and impractical to send "mail" electronically. Telecommunicating over telephone lines is relatively expensive, and only just recently have regional telephone companies entered the public data network (PDN) business thereby increasing capacity and reducing user costs. Moreover, most intended electronic mail recipients do not even have computers, the necessary communications equipment and the knowledge and experience.

Perhaps more importantly, the "learning curve" associated with familiarizing oneself with new software is often so steep that even computer literate people look upon learning a new software package with great disdain and apprehension. Thousands upon thousands of different software packages are on the market, but the top sellers are typically the first packages to be introduced. This is because users tend to continue to use software they already know and resist learning new packages unless they are convinced the effort will be worthwhile. Even "user friendly" software may be very time consuming to learn. Many users would probably prefer to continue their banking transactions in "the old way" rather than spending even only a few hours learning a completely new home banking software package.

In addition, the cost of providing home banking services have been enormous. Service providers incur very high communications costs in linking their central processors with PC users, banks, and payees (merchants). Many payees also do not accept electronic payments (for lack of substantial volume), forcing service providers to make costly paper-based payments. Settlements processing can also be costly, as banks must install special purpose software and operating procedures. These and other costs have been passed along to consumers, thereby dampening the demand for home banking services.

Thus, although a small percentage of people have effectively come to utilize and rely upon some of the vast variety of services accessible through a home computer as an integral part of their daily lives, the vast majority continue to communicate by post and telephone, shop by visiting retail stores or leafing through hard copy catalogs received in the mail, and pay their bills by writing checks and sending them through the mails.

In part because of the problems discussed above, PC-based home banking is not yet a practical reality for most consumers. In fact, many home banking programs launched in the past have been declared failures and discontinued. See, for example,

Egner, "Not Quite Ready for Home Banking", The EFT Sourcebook, pp 171-175 (1988); and

Tyson, "`Survival` Kit: Pens and Stamps Instead of Video", American Banker (Mar. 16, 1989).

Few corporations continue to market cumbersome, hard-to-use, PC and modem-based home banking systems developed a few years ago. Covidea, a joint venture between Chemical Bank and AT&T, was the earliest, most notable PC-based home banking enterprise. After $70 million in investment and nearly 10 years of development and marketing, Covidea recently terminated its operations. Chemical and AT&T cited obsolete technology as the principal reason for closing operations. Knight-Ridder, AMR and others have ceased operating their PC-based home banking services. The following institutions, however, continue to operate home banking systems:

______________________________________ Operator Name of Service Est. Users ______________________________________ Bank of America Homebanking 37,000 Manufacturers Hanover Excel 7,000 Citibank Direct Access 15,000 Chase Manhattan Spectrum
5,000 Madison Bank Home Teller 2,000 Princeton Telecom licensed to banks 2,000 Harbinger Computer licensed to banks 2,000 Prodigy licensed to banks 10,000 ______________________________________ Source: Teleservices Report, Arlen Communications,
1987 Videotext Industr Association, 1988

Prodigy (a joint venture between IBM and Sears) is the primary major operator actively pursuing the national market. Much like the banks, Prodigy targets personal computer users (with modems) with extensive videotext service (e.g. airline reservations, and home shopping). Unlike the banks, however, bank services are secondary and Prodigy hopes to offset some of its high costs with advertising revenues. Even if Prodigy succeeds, its services are aimed at a high-end, technology-user--not the broader market comprising the majority of bank customers.

Telephone banking operators have recently begun to allow customers to pay bills from home. Some such telephone billpaying systems involve voice response technology to provide automatic handling of limited customer financial transactions (thus eliminating the requirement for human operators to answer and handle customer calls). Several independent telephone billpaying services have emerged (e.g. Checkfree and Merchants Network), but most billpaying services are offered by individual banks. Recent voice-response technology advances have enabled telephone banking and billpaying to become the banking industry's fastest growing retail product. Payments Systems, Inc., a leading electronic funds transfer consulting firm, estimates that 5-7
million U.S. households use telephone banking in 1988 versus approximately 2 million in 1985.

Nonetheless, telephone billpaying has serious limitations because of its lack of a visual interface (i.e., display). Telephone voice response systems only permit the presentation of very limited, simple alternatives. Sophisticated service offerings are not practical because of their reliance on complex branching alternatives which can not be easily remembered by users. As a consequence, telephone billpaying users easily lose track of their place; confirmation and review of payments is limited; users need to keep track of payee code numbers on separate paper lists; and user options such as scheduling payments become exceedingly complex and thus virtually impractical. Telephone billpaying service providers have high cost structures and, despite advances in voice-response technology, telephone billpaying has serious inherent service limitations.

Telephone banking is convenient but has inherent limitations which make billpaying and other complex financial services very hard-to-use. ATMs, on the other hand, are very easy-to-use, but lack the convenience of a telephone.

ATM usage has grown dramatically in the past decade. There are now approximately 140 million cardholders in the U.S. Japan has over 135 million ATM cardholders, and Europe has 122 million cardholders. Approximately 25% of U.S. households use an ATM cards or more times per month. These cardholders have demonstrated a high degree of comfort with electronic banking. These customers tend to be under 40, upwardly mobile, and convenience-oriented. See, for example,

Kutler, "Marketing Effort is Needed to Swell Ranks of ATM Users", Consumer Survey, American Banker pp 73-76;

"Survey of ATM Networks and Debit Card Users", The Nilson Report (1987 Ed.); and

"Three-Quarters of Households to Use ATMs by Year 2,000", Bank Systems and Equipment p 38 (September 1987).

While ATMs are very easy-to-use, they currently allow users to access only a limited number of bank teller services. A bank's own ATMs are typically connected by direct line to the bank's data processing system. The bank's data processing system, in turn, communicates with a regional (or national) "ATM Network"--a specialized digital packet network which communicates ATM and POS (point of sale) transactions among banks using standardized message protocols. These ATM networks and associated digital switches permit someone using the ATM of one bank to access an account in another bank, for example.

ANSI and others have established standards on ATM digital message protocols and other features of ATMs. A more-or-less standard, generic ATM interface has developed in the banking industry, making it relatively easy for a user to use any ATM on the ATM network once has he learned how to interact with this more-or-less standard interface. Of course, ATMs produced by different manufacturers may differ in key placement, number of keys, key legends, screen size, etc. However, there has been a trend toward standardization so as to minimize user discomfort with using a "foreign bank" ATM.

Of course, a bank customer wishing to use the ATM network to conduct a financial transaction typically has to travel to a nearby ATM (e.g., at a local bank branch). Moreover, most ATMs generally do not permit customers to pay bills or conduct other complex financial transactions--typically limiting the user to withdrawals, account inquiries, account transfers, and, if the ATM the user accesses is that of his own bank, deposits.

It is known to utilize the ATM network to conduct financial transactions other than in the manner discussed above. The following references are generally relevant to use of an ATM network/switch for processing various types of financial transactions:

ITS Develops SHAZAM Bill Payer For Consumer and Merchant Convenience", ITS Current, pp 3-5 (March 1988);

Levy, J., "The Delicate Balance of ATM Industry Standards", The EFT Sourcebook, pp 35-38 (1988)

National Directory of Shared ATM/POS Networks 1987 Edition, TransData Corp.;

Interregional Sharing Model of the Shared Network Executives Association, pp 467-70;

Zimmer, "A Leading Analyst Investigates Whether the ATM Market Has Reached Its Saturation Point or is Poised for Expansion", American Banker, p 13, Vol. 152, No. 234 (Dec. 1, 1987);

Garsson, "NCR Universal Credit Union Claims A First with Home Banking Services", International Banker, p 10 (Aug. 24, 1983);

Anderson, "Electronic Funds Transfer is Reaching the Point-of-Sale; Banks, Retailers Look to EFT Transactions to Lessen Processing Costs, Increase Market Share", American Banker, p 32 (Jul. 28, 1982); and

"Electronic Networks Springing Up All Over: Systems Linking Automated Teller Machines, Point of Sale Devices are Established or Contemplated in Several Areas of the Country", American Banker, p 2 (Mar. 19, 1982).

It appears from the articles referenced above that others in the past have explored the use of an ATM network/switch to route point-of-sale and/or billpaying data requests and transactions. For example, the National Directory reference (see above) claims that four ATM networks provide participants with home banking services (although this claim may actually be false). The "Shazam" system, under development in Iowa, permits a consumer to pay bills to prespecified accounts using a bank ATM or special purpose ATM type "billpaying terminal" located in a branch bank and communicating directly over the ITS ATM network. The MAC system permits a PC-based home banking service provider to use the network to perform limited functions such as balance inquiry and funds transfers. Aggregated bill payments are transmitted to banks using the MAC network as a simple data carrier at the close of the banking day in batch mode.

Some point-of-sale (POS) systems do exist which are capable of automatically generating debit requests and applying such debit requests to an ATM network (e.g., to result in immediately debiting a purchaser's account). Specifically, it appears that some such POS systems include a "concentrator" central computer connected to local modems. The local modems receive incoming calls over dialup telephone lines from remote POS stations located at retail sites. When a purchaser makes a purchase, he provides a magnetic stripe card which is encoded with identity and account information readable by the remote POS terminal. The purchaser also is required to input his PIN (personal identification number) for security reasons. The POS station automatically dials the central computer and transmits an identification of the retailer; purchaser bank and account information; and a dollar amount to be debited. The central computer reformats the POS request into a standardized POS debit request message which it transmits over the ATM network. The transmitted debit request causes the purchaser's bank account to be immediately debited, and may also provide a feedback message to the remote POS terminal indicating that the purchaser had an account balance exceeding the purchase amount and that the purchase amount has been successfully debited from the purchaser's bank account. Additional mechanisms cause the debited funds to eventually be paid to the retailer.

The following patents are generally relevant to prior dedicated home banking terminals and associated systems/networks:

U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,845 to Hale et al

U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,478 to Hale et al

U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,397 to Grant et al

U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,059 to Benton

U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,951 to Benton

U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,276 to Benton et al

U.S. Pat. No. 4,536,647 to Atalla et al

The two Hale patents relate to a specific dedicated home banking terminal and associated system. Grant et al broadly teaches a system which integrates banking and brokerage services via a data communications gateway between the two systems. The three Benton patents relate to details concerning personal banking/financial transaction terminals. Atalla et al teaches a portable banking terminal including data encryption capabilities and discusses communicating over data communications lines with a data switch (see FIG. 1 and associated text).

The following patents relate to banking terminal security considerations:

U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,968 to Hennessy et al

U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,712 to Okano et al

The following additional patents are of general interest as representing the state of the art:

U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,414 to Benton

U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,535 to Simmons

U.S. Pat. No. 3,920,926 to Lenaerts et al

U.S. Pat. No. 3,652,795 to Wolf et al

U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,761 to Sharpe et al

U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,536 to Yamamoto

U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,895 to Tateisi et al

U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,663 to Nagata et al

U.S. Pat. No. 3,375,500 to Fowler et al

U.S. Pat. No. 3,970,992 to Boothroyd et al

U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,020 to Tateisi et al

U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,482 to DeAngelis

Most banks believe that remote banking is a good idea waiting for an acceptable, cost-efficient, easy-to-use delivery system. Most bank customers dislike the time consuming drudgery they devote every month to paying bills and conducting other banking transactions, and wish a low cost, easier way existed to perform these transactions. Unfortunately, the prior art discussed above does not provide any practical architecture for providing comprehensive banking services (including paying plural bills to user selected payees) in the home or office over standard dialup telephone lines via an ATM network.

The present invention provides a solution to many of the problems discussed above. In particular, the present invention provides a practical, cost-effective, workable system and method for delivering banking and other financial services (including billpaying capabilities) to remote sites such as customer homes and offices while avoiding the pitfalls encountered by home banking experiments of the past.

The present invention capitalizes on the convenience of the telephone and the widespread familiarity with automatic teller machines. Previous "home banking" applications required a personal computer (PC), a modem, complicated software procedures and considerable training and/or computer knowledge. Home banking was thereby confined to the extremely small niche of sophisticated PC users. Now, with new technology and an established base of 140 million ATM cardholders, the present invention can reach a large market with low cost services:

The present invention serves this market by providing a low cost (possibly free) ATM-like terminal, which preferably uses low-cost Applications Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) and surface mount technology for low cost and high reliability;

The present invention targets remote banking service to 50 million U.S. households owning ATM cards, 21 million of whom show a high degree of comfort with electronic banking;

The present invention preferably utilizes ATM and telephone company digital communications networks, thus avoiding a large upfront fixed investment and ensuring low operating costs;

The present invention system costs are supported by sharing processing savings with banks, payees and advertisers (who target ads to users based on spending patterns).

Briefly, the present invention provides dedicated telephone-based banking terminals to users for home or office use ("home banking"). An asynchronous communications link is connected to a telephone company public data network (or other digital packet network) between the remote terminal and a central computer system operated by the service provider. A central computer system analyzes and processes the user payment instructions--typically processing a user's request for many discrete financial transactions at one time. The central computer stores information about these transactions in a database it maintains, and then generates electronic funds transfer (EFT) requests which it communicates to the user's bank via an ATM network/switch. For example, the central computer system may debit the user's account at his bank (e.g., via a POS debit message passed over the ATM network) and electronically transfer the funds to a holding account or bank. The central computer then distributes the funds (bill payments) to the payees requested by the user.

ATM networks have been used for ATM use and more recently for point-of-sale (POS) uses. When combined with new PDN service as in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, ATM networks permit development of a market at minimal upfront, fixed cost and very low variable operating costs. The system provided by the preferred embodiment of the present invention basically acts as a conduit connecting bank depositors with their bank through telephone company gateways and ATM networks. The service provider need not build its own network, and banks need not install new communication lines or software.

Since ATM networks have in the past usually provided only limited services (e.g., withdrawal, deposit and account inquiry, and more recently, point-of-sale transaction handling), the present invention offers a new use of the existing ATM networks to provide transactions not previously supported by the networks and also provides a new central computer/communications system performing new functions--in addition to providing a linkage never before existing between two networks (i.e., a digital packet network accessible through dialup telephone gateway, and an ATM network) for the purpose of home banking.

Payments can be processed immediately and made using EFT means (automated clearinghouse, direct deposit in concentrator accounts, point-to-point, etc.) through payment network. Certain EFTs are processed through the originating ATM network (or though another ATM network). Payments not made electronically are sent by post in the form of a check and payor invoice information list ("check and list"). In addition, the central computer system can transmit to the user's bank the names of payees and other Federal Reserve Regulation E information through the ATM network using POS formats. This permits the customer's bank to print a unified statement listing the billpaying transactions as well as normal bank transactions (e.g., deposits, debits, and ATM withdrawals).

Thus, once entered into the system a user terminal is linked in the preferred embodiment through a gateway to a public data network (PDN) service of a regional telephone company. Telenet and other PDN services have been available for years, and these services remain competitive to the regional telephone companies on an interstate basis. However, the data packet price of local PDN services is usually lower for regional telephone companies (because the cost of their networks is amortized over many users and alternative uses.)

The preferred embodiment preferably includes compact inexpensive remote user terminals capable of interfacing with standard dial-up telephone lines. One version of the preferred embodiment terminal is compact in size (3.75".times.8".times.1.75"), portable and simply connects to the user's telephone jack. A second version of the terminal has a telephone handset and associated electronics permitting the consumer to use the device as a terminal or as a conventional telephone. No hardware or installation expense is required. Users operate the terminal intuitively, and users need not have prior computer experience. Since the present invention targets ATM users, the terminal is designed to interact with users in a manner similar to ATM user interaction.

Users preferably activate the preferred embodiment terminal by simply turning it on. The terminal automatically dials a central processor system over dialup telephone lines. Users are preferably welcomed in the name of their own bank. They may gain access to services by identifying their account from a menu of authorized household users, then entering their bank ATM personal identification number (PIN). A built-in security device is preferably provided to afford high level security to the user, and the terminal has the capability to transmit encrypted data.

Users preferably receive and view messages through a four line (e.g., by 24 or 30 character) liquid crystal display (LCD). Instructions are communicated through a backlit display adjacent to the LCD. Messages are communicated at high speed (e.g., 1200 baud) over dialup lines. The terminal takes advantage of significant human factors research and development performed by the U.S. Department of Defense and adopted by major ATM producers. By positioning selection ("soft") keys next to options displayed on the screen, users can more easily understand and quickly respond to instructions. Users thereby communicate by single-stroke responses to choices displayed, and the service provider has much greater system flexibility with which to format screens and expand services.

Moreover, the preferred embodiment terminal and associated user interface to some extent mimics the terminal/interface provided by standard ATMs already in use by millions of bank customers. The preferred embodiment thus eliminates or reduces the level of apprehension many users might harbor toward learning a new terminal and interface. When a typical new user first uses the terminal provided by the present invention, he intuitively knows how to navigate through the user interface/menu structure because the user interface is (at least superficially) similar to that of ATMs he has used in the past. Of course, the user interface and terminal provided by the present invention offer far more functionality than is available through a standard ATM, and in fact are extremely different from the standard ATM terminal/interface. However, the user's initial impression is perhaps the most important and the typical user's first impression to the terminal provided by the present invention is that it is "like" an ATM and can be operated intuitively without reading a user manual and without any steep learning curve. The primary market for the services provided by the present invention is 21 million highly active ATM users who will view the invention as a convenient, comfortable extension of current ATM services. The services may also appeal to certain non-ATM users, who will be attracted to the expanded services (e.g., billpaying) provided by the present invention.

The major emphasis in designing the terminal and its support system is service and ease-of-use. This has been achieved by adopting a number of features contained in the popular ATM machines employed by banks, such as for example:

1) Keyboard and Screens: The latest ATM machines contain simple uncluttered keyboards usually consisting of an alpha/numeric keypad, a cancel key, enter key and a number of "soft" (i.e., programmable) selection keys adjacent to the screen which have no fixed function. The function of these soft keys is described on the screen and is related to service that is being provided. Older machines tend to have multiple dedicated function keys that perform one specific function. The user must push the proper function keys in the correct sequence to complete the transaction in which he is interested. These keyboards tend to be cluttered and confusing. The displays associated with this type of keyboard are usually limited to several lines of text. The dedicated key keyboard design approach is necessary because the limited size of the display precludes the presentation of multiple alternatives among which a user may select. Newer machines have larger video displays consisting of from four to eight lines and "soft" keys that fulfill different functions depending on information provided on the screen. Users are presented with multiple choices and asked to select the desired alternative. The user pushes the "soft" key that corresponds to the selection he wishes to make. Similar to the newer ATM machines, the terminal provided by the present invention contains a four line by, for example, 24-character LCD display (many ATMs use video displays), four "soft" keys, a cancel key and a numeric keypad. In addition, the terminal provided by the present invention contains a HELP key and two screen control keys labeled PRIOR and NEXT. Unlike ATM machines a user who needs assistance can obtain it regardless of "where he is" in the transaction process by pushing the HELP key. Contact sensitive help provides explanations regarding the transaction in which he is involved. The screen control keys permit the user to scroll forward and backward when reviewing lists. Using the NEXT key also permits movement from one screen to the next at the user's pace. The CANCEL key permits the user to correct erroneous input or back out of certain transactions when he has mistakenly chosen an alternative.

2) Security: The ATM establishes a user's identity by requiring a card and the use of a personal identification number (PIN). The terminal provided by the present invention uses a slightly different approach in that no card is required (although in at least one configuration a card may be used if desired). The terminal is generally in a more secure location than is an ATM machine. At SIGNON the terminal transmits a unique number that identifies a particular household. The individual selects his name from the authorized household list. He is then requested to enter his PIN in much the same manner as with an ATM machine. The data transmitted from the terminal is encrypted, providing security against line tapping or theft of the line. An ATM uses a bank card to determine who is signing on the machine; in contrast, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, terminal possession is used as an indication of one of several users in a household.

3) Look and Feel: The newer ATM machines are menu driven, the user is presented with a number of alternatives and he selects the one he wishes by using "soft" keys. This is preferable to the user having to follow a list of steps coordinating screen instructions with different dedicated function keys on a nearby keyboard. There is less distraction and confusion when the user is provided alternatives on the screen. He can be given assistance upon request when he is uncertain. There is no limited reading of keycaps or coordination of key colors or reading of sequential instruction lists posted on the machine. In a similar fashion the terminal provided by the present invention is menu oriented. The user can get to his desired service quickly (generally with selections from 1-2 levels of menus). The combination of "soft" keys and menu branching provides a look and feel very similar to an ATM with which he is comfortable and experienced although the terminal provided by the present invention also provides several additional important features which provide increased functionality.

4) Services: The ATM primarily provides balance inquiry, cash withdrawal and check deposit accompanied by a receipt. Some ATMs permit limited bill payment and last date of deposit and withdrawal. Instead of printing out a receipt like an ATM, a user of the terminal provided by the present invention receives a statement from his bank at the end of the month. In addition, it is unlike an ATM in that you generally cannot receive money or make deposits through the terminal (unless an additional interface to a debit card or "smart card" is provided). The terminal user is, however, able to pay all bills (present and future or pay periodically), transfer funds (today and in future), obtain balance information, look forward and backward at statement activity (payments, deposits and transfers) transfer funds among accounts and banks, obtain information on bank services and rates anywhere there is a standard telephone RJ-11 jack. With the addition of an alpha keyboard (which may be an expansion feature) the terminal can provide E-mail and other alpha-dominated services.

5) Personal Service: The terminal provided by the preferred embodiment of the present invention is compact and portable and is available for use twenty-four hours a day. The list of payees the user selects can be anyone, not a preselected list as with the few cases where users pay bills from an ATM. The services are available when the user wants, where the user wants. His billpaying time is reduced and he need not contend with stamps, check printing fees, envelopes, and postal delivery.

6) Network Configuration: The ATM machine is usually connected to a bank's computer via telephone or hard line. Accounting information is provided by the bank's computer. Transactions that must be passed to other banks are transmitted through the ATM network. Those ATMs that permit billpaying inventory the bills that are to be paid during the day at the ATM machine and are then posted after the close of the banking day by the bank. The ORL system passes bill payments directly through the ATM interchange (in the form of point-of-sale transactions) for debit and credit of accounts on a real-time basis.

To use billpaying features, customers provide the service provider in advance with a list of payees (names, account numbers, addresses). A typical household (owning an ATM card) writes 26 checks per month and the list might, for example include payments for:

utilities--telephone, gas, water, electricity, cable TV;

residential--rent, mortgage, home, insurance;

automotive--gas credit card, auto insurance, auto loan;

credit card--AMEX, Visa, Master Charge and others;

retail--major department stores;

financial--installment loan, taxes, stock broker fees;

medical--physician, dentist, health insurance;

business--office parking fee, newspapers, magazines; and

miscellaneous--child care, tuition, church, vacation home, domestic employees, etc.

Users may review past payments and schedule future payments (e.g., timed to meet anticipated funds availability such as a paycheck or check deposit). Users may also have the system provided by the present invention automatically pay fixed, recurring payments, such as rent, mortgages, and installment loans.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention processes information transmitted through the PDN using a fault-tolerant central processor to ensure system integrity. Once the system provided by the present invention processes user payment instructions, it communicates with the user's bank through a regional or national ATM network. Regional ATM networks (which are usually shared banking cooperatives) have been developed to permit bank customers to access any ATM in their local area. Users are no longer tied to their own bank's ATMs. The Cirrus and Plus ATM networks offer the same service on a national basis by linking required ATM networks. The ATM network application provided by the present invention preferably requires no new hardware or software modifications to ATM communication systems. And, very importantly, unlike other home banking systems (which require specialized software or automated clearing house capability), the present invention requires little or no new software or operating procedural changes at a user's bank.

Using an ATM network, the service provider pays customer bills by first debiting the user's account at his network bank--preferably by sending a POS debit message over the ATM network. Such standard POS messages not only permit the service provider to pass payee or other information over the network to the user's bank for use by the bank in generating a unified monthly statement, but also provide an automatic account inquiry/balance check function (so that the user does not overdraw his bank account inadvertently). Funds are transferred through the ATM network to the service provider's holding bank (or a clearing account maintained by the service provider in the user's bank). Payments are preferably processed immediately electronically, where feasible, either immediately or "warehoused" for a short time for transmittal with other user payments to a single payee. Otherwise bills are paid by paper check.

Electronic payments can be processed through an Automated Clearing House (ACH) system, (e.g., Federal Reserve) directly to a payee (point-to-point), or to the payee's bank (directly or indirectly through an ATM network or other remittance channel). In recent years, payees have become more receptive to working with electronic payments processors. Aside from minimizing a payee's processing costs and float, the present invention offers payees more predictable cash flow, lower returns (bad checks), and accounting and bookkeeping advantages related to consolidated payments.

The invention provides some additional benefits to payees. By processing customer bills as POS debits, liability for payment immediately shifts from the service provider to the ATM network (or bank). Thus, the service provider can advance funds to payees immediately with the comfort that the advance will be covered on the next business day by the customer's bank or the ATM network. This reduces the payee's float by 1-2 days versus conventional electronic billpaying systems. Secondly, payees may hold remittance accounts at banks who are members of the ATM network. Debited funds and billing information may be sent directly to these accounts. Payees who may not otherwise have the capability to accept electronic payments may gain that capability. This reduces the payee's remittance processing costs and permits the bill paying service provider to make fewer, costly paper-based payments.

The cost of processing payments is relatively low in terms of equipment and communication costs. Most costs are incurred in responding to user inquiries, correcting payee posting errors, maintenance of payee databases, and coordination between users, payees, and their banks. Higher costs are incurred by payments made by paper check, although these costs are mitigated by interest earned on float due to postal delivery time.

Other innovative features provided by the present invention include:

A new type of inexpensive ergonomically designed user-friendly dedicated home banking terminal including for example a four line LCD display with associated control buttons "pointing to" the display lines for selection of displayed options and auxiliary "Select One", "Or", "Change Screen", "Enter Number" LED illuminated command prompts that are turned on and off by the central computer system as needed.

Advanced "ATM-like" terminal layout:

Four line by 24 character liquid crystal display;

Four adjacent selection (i.e., "soft", programmable) keys directly referencing the display to be used for selecting alternatives;

Two function keys to provide on demand help and cancel functions;

Twelve alpha/numeric telephone-type keypad for numeric input and later for limited alpha input plus the "#" and "*" for later communications applications and compliant with present telephone equipment standards; and

Two screen control keys that permit scrolling of the screen forward and

backward when permitted by system software.

Two level access security consisting of a unique terminal identification ("signature") automatically transmitted upon establishment of the asynchronous communications link and an ATM type PIN number entered by the user for system verification.

Onboard PIN and data encryption (DES or other standard) provided by ROM resident random number generation algorithm activated by a seed maintained in RAM and a real-time clock.

LED backlit instruction panel adjacent to and working in conjunction with the active LCD display controlled main system software.

Dual purpose terminal operating as a data entry and display device and alternately, as a push button (tone/pulse) telephone communications set--including a common keypad used for tone generation for telephone communications and for data entry.

A dual isolated circuit keypad containing a double contact low cost switch to activate two unrelated circuits as input to the microprocessor and the telephone tone generator.

Data terminal that automatically transmits tone blocking signal to prevent intervention by call interrupt service.

The visual interface, flexibility and ability to recall information that permits the present invention to enjoy significant demand for automated billpaying without a telephone's limitations.

Look and feel of the software-user interface in coordination with a 4.times.24 LCD display and selection and control keys to provide rapid communications of financial transaction information to main computer system.

A terminal device that can act as a pass-through of analog voice signal to an externally attached on internally provided telephone or alternately transmit data (asynchronously).

A terminal device operating at low power levels permitting the trickle charge of internal storage batteries from a telephone line source.

A terminal device that can store numerical data and transmit from a memory buffer upon command from an internal microprocessor.

A terminal device employing a 96 (up to 120) character LCD displaying the amount of information capable of being contained in a single common 128 byte packet data network packet.

The terminal is able to transmit a periodic randomly generated code to the main system. The main system is able to verify that this numeric code is correct and assure that terminal communication link security is maintained.

The terminal is compact, 8 inches wide by 5.75 inches and 1.75 inches high with the telephone handset. The compact non-telephone model is 8 inches wide by 3.75 inches deep by 1.75 inches high. The compact model can easily slip into a pocket or briefcase, and is approximately 53 cubic inches and weighs less than one pound.

The compact portable terminal contains two RJ-11 jacks so that a telephone line can be connected to one and a telephone to the other thereby permitting use alternatively as a terminal or telephone.

A terminal with an internal data bus that will permit direct edge connect retrofitting of an alphabetic keyboard and/or card swipe device;.

A system architecture connecting asynchronous, remotely located (home or office) dedicated purpose terminals (telephone and/or data) passing through asynchronous gateway onto a packet data network to a fault-tolerant computer which is in turn linked to a single bank or group of banks using the bank's ATM interchange network for the purpose of bill payment and funds transfer and balance inquiry and activity statement.

A system architecture connected to a network of electronic switches and/or payees.

Use of an online computer which processes customer bill payments and passes payee names and account information through the ATM interchange network to a user's bank for posting to his monthly statement;

A system architecture that permits immediate credit of funds to the service provider (upon debit authorization against the user's account, liability for payment of funds passes immediately to bank and interchange network).

A system architecture that permits a combination of information access (account balances, account transactions) plus settlements (posting, reconciliation and clearing of funds).

Extraction of bill payer and payee information for demographic and marketing analysis and retention in a database.

Maintaining such a database of billpaying information and extracting demographic information from this database for use in targeting advertisements or messages (the advertisements can be sent electronically to each home banking user each time he "signs on" his terminal and/or distributed in other ways such as mass mailings which do not violate user confidentiality).

Analysis of bill payer payment patterns for the purpose of directing online advertisements or messages targeted to differentiated groups of users.

A terminal screen which permits targeted advertising (or messages) without disclosing the user's name or other confidential information to the advertiser (until the user requests disclosure or permits it).

A terminal oriented system that permits an immediate customer response to targeted, displayed advertisements (or messages), whose responses are then transmitted online or in batch mode to the advertisement sponsor.

A methodology of debits and credits for transferring of funds between banks using online remote terminals communicated through the ATM interchange network.

A methodology for debit of bill payments using online, remote terminals communicated through the ATM interchange network.

A methodology for use of an ATM interchange network for payee credits on bills.

A remote terminal oriented system directed at the ATM user population for home, office or other remote location bill payment, funds transfer and account review.

Deposit oriented financing for a remote terminal based system for bill payment, funds transfer and account review; and

A cash incentive program for bills paid through a remote terminal based system for bill payment, funds transfer and account review.

The present invention extends the convenience of popular automated teller machine (ATM) type service to user (alternatively referred to as customers or consumers) homes, offices and other locations. The present invention provides a highly efficient payments system that offers consumers the following advantages and features:

a low cost (possibly free), easy-to-use ATM-like communication terminal which is portable and simply connects to a telephone;

an incentive for every bill payment made through the terminal;

additional savings from postage, check printing, envelopes, and other costs for each payment made through the terminal;

convenience, privacy and estimated time savings of 75% from the drudgery of billpaying.

The added benefit of electronic funds transfer, banks and others gain as much as 40% processing cost savings and a new vehicle for remote distribution of services.

To attract volume, the service provider may price services to allow users to save money. The present invention provides the possibility of broad market distribution by providing users with a low cost (possibly free), familiar ATM-like terminal. In addition to being provided with a low cost or free terminal, users may save $0.30 in postage, check and other costs for each payment made electronically via the system. This totals to $7.30 per month savings for the average ATM household writing 26
checks a month. A service provider may therefore charge up to $7.80 per month and still permit the user to save money.

More important than cost savings, however, is the vast amount of time the invention saves its users. Unlike PC's, telephones and prior terminals, the design of the present invention enables the users to intuitively master the terminal without relying on written instructions. Furthermore, the operations and coordination of system components in the form of modems, communications protocols, new security codes, and operating software is obviated. The present invention relieves a common financial headache--the time-intensive drudgery of billpaying. The system provided by the present invention is a quick, extremely easy-to-use alternative to conventional payments. Initial testing indicates that users can pay bills in 25% of the time needed to pay bills conventionally. Users may preferably receive a unified monthly statement (from their bank) which consolidates and lists terminal-based transactions with conventional banking transactions (e.g., checks, ATM cash withdrawals, deposits, etc.).

Early home banking efforts discovered that users liked using the systems to pay bills. They had only limited interest in other bank and videotext services, so the present invention has reduced its delivery costs by specializing in billpaying. While the present invention provides billpaying services, customers may also use the system to better manage their money. More sophisticated active users may better manage their money by, for example, checking their account balances, viewing payment records, transferring funds between accounts, future dating of bills and funds transfers, and requesting other bank services. Future dating of bills minimizes users float, and users may future date funds transfers to maximize interest bearing balances. Transferring funds between banks is possible with immediate debit or credit within one day (depending upon the ATM network clearing procedures). The present invention thus provides a terminal designed to accommodate additional financial services in the event that users or banks demand (and are willing to pay for) more services. These may include comparative mortgage and CD quotes, tax deduction summaries, loan applications, electronic billing, third party billing, family budgeting tools, tax planning, and insurance services. Limited alphabet-based services (e.g. telephone directory) are also feasible with the terminal of the preferred embodiment and the terminal has the facility to add on an alphabetic keyboard.

By displacing paper checks and employing payee information for marketing purposes, the present invention offers significant benefits to the major participants in the payments system:

Banks (and other financial institutions) avoid the cost of processing and returning checks and funds transfers. Fully absorbed processing costs range from $0.50 to $1.00 per check (marginal costs vary with volume). The present invention can save banks a substantial amount per paper check displaced.

Payees (such as utilities, mortgagors, etc.) avoid paper processing costs and improve cash flow. Typical remittances take 5-8 days to arrive by mail and cost from $0.15 to $0.75 per payment. The present invention can provide a small charge to payees for each electronic payment and deliver payments in 2-3 days. This saves payees money per payment and compares favorably in cost to bank lockbox services.

Marketers (such as retailers and banks) can better advertise (or message) through the terminal. By analyzing users' payments, the present invention can target advertising or messages to users for 5-7 seconds after they SIGNON. Users may then respond if they want more information. Targeted (but low readership) direct mail costs advertisers $0.45-$1.00 per piece. Pricing for confirmed leads starts at $5 and increases with the products value. This aspect of the present invention will offer advertisers significant benefits in terms of flexibility and cost savings. The terminal's screen for advertisements permits the service provider to target advertisements to groups of users without disclosing the user's name (and confidential payment data) until the user so indicates his permission (by requesting more information from the advertiser).

Payments processors earn interest on user payment float. The present invention debits a user's bank account on the date of payment. The payment is processed immediately, but interest is earned on the funds (float) until cleared. When the system of the present invention cannot pay electronically, it earns interest on float for 5-8 days. A service provider will prefer to process payments by low-cost electronic means, however, providing better money management services for customers.

A major obstacle in building any volume-oriented business is the upfront investment required to reach a critical mass of customers. The present invention minimizes this investment by capitalizing on existing systems and customer bases. The present invention piggybacks on the evolving ATM and regional telephone company communications networks.

Most ATM networks are bank-owned cooperatives and have excess capacity. These networks are likely to welcome the additional business provided by a system in accordance with the present invention. By working with ATM networks, the system provided by present invention becomes a utility for banks--not a threat to banks. For example, once admitted on to the system, users can be welcomed in the name of their bank. Users also receive a single account statement from their bank, unifying terminal-based activity with conventional banking transactions and check payments. Back-office check processing and funds transfer economies can also be priced to provide costs savings to banks. Participating banks can be encouraged to advertise over the system provided by the present invention system at sharply reduced rates while back-office savings from reduced paper check volume develops. The advertising medium provided by the present invention offers banks an extremely powerful "cross-selling" tool (a critical key to success in retail banking which involves increasing profitability by increasing the number of services sold to a single customer).

The present invention thus provides a highly advantageous system which offers an attractive proposition to a variety of participants in the payments system. Users of the invention save time and money and can pay their bills and obtain other banking services wherever there is a telephone jack. Banks save back-office realize an efficient means to service their customers. Bank owned ATM networks generate volume and earn fees. Payees improve cash float and save on costly processing of paper checks. Advertisers gain a powerful, low-cost marketing tool.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages will become better understood by studying the following detailed description of presently preferred exemplary embodiments in conjunction with the attached APPENDIX (which is incorporated by reference herein) and the sheets of drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a presently preferred exemplary embodiment of a financial services distribution system in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 1A is a detailed schematic block diagram of the FIG. 1 CPU.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of revenue sources provided to the operator of the FIG. 1 system;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are elevated respective views of alternate embodiments of a presently preferred exemplary remote terminal in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 3A-3E schematically depict different prompt combinations provided by the FIG. 3 terminals.

FIGS. 5A and 5B together are a schematic block diagram of the FIG. 3 terminal;

FIGS. 6A-6C are different views of an exemplary keypad contact arrangement incorporated within the FIG. 3 terminal;

FIGS. 5C 7A-8B are schematic flow charts of exemplary program control steps performed by the terminals shown in FIGS. 3 and 4; and

FIGS. 9-22 are schematic flow charts of exemplary program control steps performed by the CPU shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a presently preferred exemplary embodiment of a financial services distribution system 50 in accordance with the present invention. System 50 includes a fault-tolerant central computer system 52 (hereafter referred to as "central computer"), a plurality of remote terminals 54, a digital packet network (e.g., "public data network") switch 56 ("PDN switch"), packet assembler/disassembler 58 and associated asynchronous communications interface 60, and a dialup telephone network 62 selectively connecting remote terminal 54 to the communications interface.

Data is communicated between remote terminal 54 and central computer 52 through the PDN switch 56, the packet assembler/disassembler 58, the communications interface 60, and dialup telephone lines 62.

In the preferred embodiment, PDN switch 56, packet assembler/disassembler 58, asynchronous communications interface 60 and dialup telephone network 62 are entirely conventional and are preferably operated and maintained by a local or regional telephone company. Switch 56 may comprise, for example, a conventional public data network of the type which communicates packets in CCITT X.25 protocol between central computer 52 and packet assembler/disassembler 58. Similarly, packet assembler/disassembler 58 and asynchronous communications interface 60 may comprise conventional telephone company operated subsystems which convert the X.25 packet protocol existing on the PDN network into conventional asynchronous data format (e.g., with seven or eight data bits, a start bit, a stop bit and conventional error checking fields).

Asynchronous communications interface 60 initiates and answers dialup telephone communications with remote terminals 54. Thus, remote terminals 54 interface with the remainder of system 50 using standard asynchronous protocol, central computer
52 interfaces with the remote terminals using standard X.25 protocol, and conversions between the two protocols (as well as distribution of the signals generated by the central computer to specific remote terminals) is handled by the conventional PDN switch 56, packet assembler/disassembler 58 and communications interface 60 provided by the telephone company in the preferred embodiment.

Central computer 52 also interfaces with banking institutions and with other financial institutions 64 through the existing conventional automatic teller machine (ATM) interchange switch 66 (referred to herein as the "ATM network"). The ATM network is capable of communicating ATM transaction messages as well as point-of-sale (POS) messages in a conventional manner using standard message formats. As explained above, ATM switches 66 communicate data in a specific, conventional interchange format between member banks or between automatic teller machines (ATMs) and member banks 64. In the preferred embodiment, central computer 52 is connected to ATM switch 66 (e.g., via one or more bisynchronous 9600 baud communications lines) and communicates digital signals to the ATM switch using standard bisynchronous (e.g., point-to-point, SNA, etc.) communications protocol. Thus, in the preferred embodiment, central computer 52 "looks like" an ATM or POS node connected to the ATM network and associated switch. Central computer 52 may generate account inquiry commands, commands to debit and credit accounts, and the like--just as would a bank's computer serving its ATMs or as would a stand-alone ATM or POS terminal. The ATM interchange switch 66 processes such ATM commands generated by central computer 52 in the same way that they process commands generated by ATMs. Although the ATM interchange is ATM oriented, it is able to serve other terminal devices. For example, the ATM interchange communicates with retail POS terminals which can directly debit and credit a customer's bank account in payment for purchases.

It is also possible to provide direct dialup lines for communicating data between member banks 64 and central computer 52 (e.g., using standard communications protocols agreed upon by the bank's data processing system and by central computer 52). Use of the ATM switch 66 and associated network to carry ATM/POS commands generated by central computer 52 avoids the need to provide any software modifications or other overheads within the member banks' data processing systems. Furthermore, use of the ATM switch 66 permits use of the network funds clearing process.

Central computer 52 also electronically communicates with additional remote data processing systems such as the Federal Reserve ACH 72 (e.g., via a Federal Reserve Bank data processing system 74), debit networks 76, wholesalers/remittance processors 78, direct payee computer systems 80, third party information providers 82 and advertisers 84. Such additional communications may be over dialup telephone lines if desired--or other special communications arrangements/protocols (e.g., magnetic tape transfer or the like) may be used depending upon particular applications. The link between cental computer 52 and the Federal Reserve ACH 72 permits payee commands to be electronically transferred to other banks using the existing Federal Reserve electronic funds transfer system. The link with wholesalers and remittance processors 78 permits the payment of bills to a remittance center who in turn pays payees. The direct computer payee link 80 allows central computer 52 to contact individual desired payee computer systems and directly effect download of payment related data (e.g., pursuant to a daily "clearing" process). The link to advertisers 84 may be used to transfer advertiser copy between the advertiser and the central computer system and to pass back to the advertiser the names of those customers who request information in response to advertisements.

FIG. 1A is a schematic block diagram showing central computer 52 in somewhat more detail and also schematically depicting exemplary software modules used by the central computer to perform financial transaction functions. Central processor 52 in the preferred embodiment is a fault-tolerant mainframe computer of conventional design including, for example, multiple redundant processors, a dual interprocessor interbus, a dual-ported controller, and multiple redundant power supplies to ensure against data loss. Through use of this conventional fault-tolerant architecture, the failure of one processor or component does not stop processing but rather merely decreases system throughput. Additional peripheral equipment (e.g., tape drive 88, check printer 86, conventional mass storage device 84, and conventional communications interface/multiplexer 82) facilitate communications and billpaying transactions.

Central computer 52 is programmed (i.e., with software modules stored on mass storage device 84) to perform various billpaying and other financial functions and to distribute billpaying and other services to remote terminals 54 on demand. In the preferred embodiment, the software modules executed by CPU 80 are in la