Patent Application
20200005279
The invention relates generally to a system and method for proximity based notifications, and more particularly to a system and method for providing proximity based electronic wallet notifications for interaction with a nearby financial services machine, such as an ATM.
Mobile banking technology allows customers to conduct numerous financial transactions through a mobile device. For instance, customers can use a mobile device to check account balances, pay third parties, and perform funds transfer. Because of the convenience, more and more customers are moving their physical cards to digital wallet applications on their mobile devices. Along with this convenience, consumers experience the hassle of identifying the right card to use at the right time. In particular, ATMs, banking kiosks, tellers, point of sale devices and other similar devices do not offer a convenient process to interact with digital wallet applications executing on mobile devices.
These and other drawbacks currently exist.
According to one embodiment, the invention relates to a mobile device comprising: a memory component that stores customer data; an application that executes on the mobile device that accesses a digital wallet application; a display interface that receives customer input and generates display data; and a microprocessor, coupled to the memory component, the display and the application. The microprocessor of the mobile device is configured to perform the steps of: identifying a signal transmitted from a beacon associated with an ATM, the signal indicating that the mobile device is within a predetermined proximity to the ATM; responsive to the signal, providing a notification to a customer that an ATM is within the predetermined proximity; requesting one or more card instruments from the digital wallet application; receiving at least one card instrument that is eligible to interact with the ATM; automatically presenting the at least one card instrument on the display interface; and activating of the at least one card instrument for interaction with the ATM.
The method may be conducted on a specially programmed computer system comprising one or more computer processors, mobile devices, electronic storage devices, and networks.
The invention also relates to method for implementing a mobile device application executing on a mobile device for proximity based digital wallet notifications. The method comprises the steps of: identifying a signal transmitted from a beacon associated with an ATM, the signal indicating that the mobile device is within a predetermined proximity to the ATM; responsive to the signal, providing a notification to a customer that an ATM is within the predetermined proximity; requesting one or more card instruments from the digital wallet application; receiving at least one card instrument that is eligible to interact with the ATM; automatically presenting the at least one card instrument on a display interface; and activating of the at least one card instrument for interaction with the ATM.
The computer implemented system, method and medium described herein can provide the advantage of realizing a convenient solution to customers interacting with financial services machines, such as ATM devices. For customers with multiple cards loaded in a digital wallet, an embodiment of the present invention automatically identifies an appropriate debit card as the customer approaches an ATM device. With the innovative technology, the customer's mobile device may present a notification so that when the customer interacts with the notification, a corresponding debit card is ready for ATM interaction. This provides a timely launch and display of the debit card for immediate interaction with the ATM. The present invention will avoid the situation where customers experience an error message when attempting to use an ineligible card stored in the customer's digital wallet. The innovation achieves customer loyalty and retention due to the increased satisfaction of the account holder. The system provides convenience, time efficiencies, and security for customers as they interact with various financial devices. These and other advantages will be described more fully in the following detailed description.
In order to facilitate a fuller understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the attached drawings. The drawings should not be construed as limiting the present invention, but are intended only to illustrate different aspects and embodiments of the invention.
The following description is intended to convey an understanding of the present invention by providing specific embodiments and details. It is understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments and details, which are exemplary only. It is further understood that one possessing ordinary skill in the art, in light of known systems and methods, would appreciate the use of the invention for its intended purposes and benefits in any number of alternative embodiments, depending upon specific design and other needs.
An embodiment of the present invention is directed to proximity based technology that notifies a customer when the customer is near an ATM (or other financial services machine) and further prompts a launch of the customer's digital wallet with an appropriate debit card activated and ready to interact with the ATM. According to an exemplary embodiment, an ATM may be outfitted with a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon which transmits certain parameters, values, etc. Parameters may include universally unique identifier (UUID) and Major and Minor values that represent numbers assigned to a particular beacon to facilitate beacon identification with greater accuracy. A target application executing on a mobile device may listen for beacons with specific UUID, Major, Minor and in response, trigger actions when in range of a matching signal.
An embodiment of the present invention is directed to providing customer notification using wireless, contactless, near field, radio and other communication technology. For example, an ATM with a reader (that supports wireless communication including NFC (near field communication), BLE (Bluetooth low energy) WiFi, LTE, etc.) can interact with a customer using a mobile phone or other device. Other technologies may include geofencing and other location-based solutions.
The following descriptions provide different configurations and features according to exemplary embodiments. These configurations and features may relate to providing financial services through financial services machines. While certain nomenclature and types of applications/hardware are described, other names and application/hardware usage is possible and the nomenclature provided is done so by way of non-limiting examples only. Further, while particular embodiments are described, it should be appreciated that the features and functions of each embodiment may be combined in any combination as is within the capability of one of ordinary skill in the art. The figures provide additional exemplary details regarding the present invention. It should also be appreciated that these exemplary embodiments are provided as non-limiting examples only.
Various exemplary methods are provided by way of example herein. These methods are exemplary as there are a variety of ways to carry out methods according to the present disclosure. The methods depicted and described can be executed or otherwise performed by one or a combination of various systems and modules. Each block shown in the methods represents one or more processes, decisions, methods or subroutines carried out in the exemplary method, and these processes, decisions, methods or subroutines are not necessarily carried out in the specific order outlined in the methods, nor is each of them required.
“Financial transaction machine” or “financial transaction device” as used herein, may include machines, devices, kiosks, and stations, each of which may be fixed or portable, for performing financial transactions with a financial institution. For example, financial transaction machines may include, but are not limited to, express banking kiosks (“EBKs”), automated teller machines (“ATMs”), personal teller machines (“PTMs”), financial self-service devices, financial services kiosks, financial transaction devices, portable electronic devices, money machines, cash machines, bank machines, and bancomats. Financial transaction machines may be located within or near a branch of a financial institution, a retailer, a merchant, or other public location. It should be appreciated that, while various exemplary embodiments are described herein in terms of an EBK, these descriptions are meant to be non-limiting and equally applicable to other forms of financial transaction machines. The financial transaction machine may be operated by a financial institution.
The term “financial institution,” as used herein, may include institutions that provide financial services to their members or customers. Financial institutions may include, but are not limited to banks, credit unions, trust companies, mortgage loan companies, insurance companies, investment banks, underwriters, and brokerage firms. The use of the term “bank” and “financial institution” herein is meant to be exemplary and non-limiting.
The term “customer,” as used herein, may refer to an individual who holds at least one account with the financial institution.
Exemplary embodiments provide methods and systems for conducting financial transactions with a financial transaction machine. A mobile application, such as one provided by a financial institution with which the customer has an account, may be used. The mobile application may be installed on a portable electronic device, such as a tablet, smartphone, wearable, etc. According to an exemplary embodiment, the customer may perform various banking and other functions using the mobile application.
As illustrated, Network 140 may be communicatively coupled with one or more data devices including, for example, ATM 120, and indirectly with a customer mobile device 110. Network 140 may communicate with various other devices including other financial services machines, mobile devices, smart devices, servers, databases and point of sale devices. The system 100 of
The Network 140 may be a wireless network, a wired network or any combination of wireless network and wired network. Although the Network 140 is depicted as one network for simplicity, it should be appreciated that according to one or more embodiments, the Network 140 may comprise a plurality of interconnected networks, such as, for example, a service provider network, the Internet, a cellular network, corporate networks, or even home networks, or any of the types of networks mentioned above. Data may be transmitted and received via Network 140 utilizing a standard networking protocol or a standard telecommunications protocol.
While
ATM 120 may comprise, for example, a display, which may be touch-sensitive or otherwise; an alpha-numeric and/or QWERTY keyboard, either physical or virtual, for receiving input; a pointing device, such as a trackball, track wheel, or mouse, for example; a scanning camera to scan items displayed or presented by customers; a cash dispenser; a check and/or cash receiver; a printer, such as for printing receipts, for example; a biometric scanner, such as a fingerprint or retinal scanner; and communication chipsets for communicating with other devices, such as Mobile Device 110, directly or via Network 140, for example.
ATM 120 may also include a reader (e.g., NFC, BLE, WiFi, LTE, etc.) to establish wireless communication with mobile devices. Other forms of wireless, contactless and radio communications may be supported.
Mobile Device 110 may be associated with a customer. The customer may have one or more accounts with the financial institution that operates the ATM 120 or other financial transaction machine. Mobile Device 110 may alternatively represent various user devices, such as a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant, a smartphone, a smartwatch, smart glasses, other wearables or other computing devices capable of sending or receiving network signals. Mobile Device 110 may have an application installed that is associated with the financial institution or a third party service provider.
Business Services may be executed on various computer components, such as a server that performs operations associated with processing information and data associated with ATM 120 and other financial transaction devices and/or Mobile Device 110. Business Services 130 may execute on one or more servers and/or computers, each having one or more computer processors associated therewith. In various exemplary embodiments, the server may be a specific computing device to support exemplary embodiments as described herein. Business Services 130 may be communicatively coupled with various memory components, such as databases, data stores, data centers, cloud storage, etc. The memory components may include any suitable data structure to maintain the information and allow access and retrieval of the information.
Having described an example of the hardware, software, and data that can be used to run the system, an example of the method and customer experience will now be described. The method will be described primarily as an example in which a customer downloads a software application (sometimes referred to as an “app”) and uses it to perform banking transactions and/or other functionality, including making purchases. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the principles of the invention can be applied to related circumstances, such as where the entity providing the app is a business other than a merchant, or where the merchant app functionality is provided through a browser on the customer's mobile device rather than through a software application (app) downloaded to the customer's mobile device, and with purchases from various providers.
At step 212, a customer may approach an ATM at a distance that indicates that it is likely the customer plans to interact with the ATM. At step 214, the ATM may be identified by a Mobile Device. The Mobile Device may display a notification to the customer. The ATM may continuously broadcast a Bluetooth Low Energy signal (Beacon) announcing it is active and supports NFC based login. The customer's mobile device may pick up the signal and trigger an application to activate. At step 216, the application on the mobile device may make a request to a Digital Wallet software on the device requesting one or more stored cards. At step 218, the Wallet may return one or more card tokens and related information. At step 220, the application may send the card tokens to a business service platform where the token may be matched with the card data. At step 222, the service may return the card type and a graphic associated with each specific card. At step 224, the application may send a request to the Digital Wallet software on the mobile device to present the appropriate card for an NFC payment. At step 226, the mobile device may be held against the NFC reader on the ATM and transmit the appropriate tokens. Other forms of interaction and proximity technology may be implemented. At step 228, the ATM may transmit the token to the business service requesting authorization. At step 230, the business service may send a message to the ATM to authorize the ATM for the card that was presented. The order illustrated in
An embodiment of the present invention is directed to detecting a customer device's proximity to financial services device (e.g., ATM, terminal, point of sale device, etc.), by establishing a communication channel based on close proximity between the customer device and the financial services device. The communication channel may involve near field communication, low energy proximity sensing, beacons, sensors, wireless technology, etc. For example, mobile devices may broadcast a signal, an identifier and/or other information to a nearby receiving device. This enables mobile devices, tablets, wearables, etc. to perform actions and/or communicate when in close proximity to a receiving device or terminal. The connectivity may be established by various technologies, including proximity sensing, wireless and/or other communication technologies. For example, an ATM device may communicate with a customer's mobile device for proximity detection and then enable the customer to perform a set of functions.
At step 310, a signal may be detected by an application running on a mobile device associated with a customer. The signal may be detected from a beacon associated with an ATM device. Other signal detecting technology may be implemented.
At step 312, the application may determine whether a debit card exists. By interacting with the notification, the application may then launch a debit card in the digital wallet.
If a debit card does not exist, the application may initiate a set-up process at 314 where the customer may add a debit card at 316. For example, the customer may select a set-up process where a customer may add cards to the customer's digital wallet. This may involve taking an image of a physical card or accessing/retrieving card information from another source.
Once the debit card is active, the customer may activate the card via a customer identifier or other type of authentication, at step 318. For example, the customer may provide a touch ID, facial recognition, password and/or other forms of authentication. Moreover, additional security parameters may be implemented. If the ATM is recognized as a new ATM (e.g., the customer has not interacted with this particular ATM before), additional authentication may be requested. Also, if the customer is in a new location (e.g., travel; outside of home and work zones), additional security may be applied. For example, the customer may be requested to provide an additional form of authentication, which may include a biometric, a PIN, password, alias, zip code, last four digits of a social security number, security question, and/or other information. A biometric may be provided in various ways, including the customer placing his or her finger on the mobile phone's fingerprint reader, for example. Other forms of biometric or other methods of verifying identification or authentication may be implemented. In contrast, if the ATM is recognized as one that the customer frequently uses (and further fits within the customer's history or pattern), additional security may not be requested.
If a debit card exists, the application may determine whether there are multiple cards, at step 312. If not, the single debit card may be displayed on the mobile device at 320. The customer may then activate the debit card for interaction with the ATM device, at step 322. As described in connection with step 318, additional authentication may be requested.
If multiple cards exists, the application may display a menu of cards for customer selection at step 324.
The customer may provide a selection or allow the application to proceed with a default or preferred card, at step 326. According to an exemplary illustration, the system may recognize a customer's preference of cards at a specific ATM, location, region, etc. The system may also recognize a customer's preference and historical data based on time of day, day of the week, and/or other schedule. The customer may be part of a household where one member prefers a first debit card and another member prefers an different card. Other customer preferences, usage patterns and/or other historical data may be recognized. In these examples, the application may automatically present a preferred (or likely preferred or even suggested) card for use with a specific ATM.
The customer may activate the selected card at step 328. As described in connection with step 318, additional authentication may be requested. The customer may then interact with the ATM or other financial services machine.
Although the foregoing description has focused primarily on a financial institution assembling relevant data sets, processing the data, and sending the relevant data at appropriate times to its customer, the system may be operated and maintained by other types of commercial entities who may configure the system to provide similar advantages to their customers. In additional, while the foregoing description has focused primarily on the customer spend, the principles of the invention can be applied to other vendors and entities where the operating entity can assemble and provide relevant, timely information to enhance the customer's experience.
The foregoing examples show the various embodiments of the invention in one physical configuration; however, it is to be appreciated that the various components may be located at distant portions of a distributed network, such as a local area network, a wide area network, a telecommunications network, an intranet and/or the Internet. Thus, it should be appreciated that the components of the various embodiments may be combined into one or more devices, collocated on a particular node of a distributed network, or distributed at various locations in a network, for example. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the components of the various embodiments may be arranged at any location or locations within a distributed network without affecting the operation of the respective system.
Data and information maintained by the servers may be stored and cataloged in one or more databases, which may comprise or interface with a searchable database and/or a cloud database. The databases may comprise, include or interface to a relational database. Other databases, such as a query format database, a Standard Query Language (SQL) format database, a storage area network (SAN), or another similar data storage device, query format, platform or resource may be used. The databases may comprise a single database or a collection of databases. In some embodiments, the databases may comprise a file management system, program or application for storing and maintaining data and information used or generated by the various features and functions of the systems and methods described herein.
Communications network, e.g., 140 in
Communications network, e.g., 140 in
In some embodiments, communication network, e.g., 140, may comprise a satellite communications network, such as a direct broadcast communication system (DBS) having the requisite number of dishes, satellites and transmitter/receiver boxes, for example. The communications network may also comprise a telephone communications network, such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). In another embodiment, communication network 110 may comprise a Personal Branch Exchange (PBX), which may further connect to the PSTN.
Although examples of a mobile device 110 are shown in
As described above,
It is appreciated that in order to practice the methods of the embodiments as described above, it is not necessary that the processors and/or the memories be physically located in the same geographical place. That is, each of the processors and the memories used in exemplary embodiments of the invention may be located in geographically distinct locations and connected so as to communicate in any suitable manner. Additionally, it is appreciated that each of the processor and/or the memory may be composed of different physical pieces of equipment. Accordingly, it is not necessary that the processor be one single piece of equipment in one location and that the memory be another single piece of equipment in another location. That is, it is contemplated that the processor may be two or more pieces of equipment in two or more different physical locations. The two distinct pieces of equipment may be connected in any suitable manner. Additionally, the memory may include two or more portions of memory in two or more physical locations.
As described above, a set of instructions is used in the processing of various embodiments of the invention. The servers in
Further, it is appreciated that the instructions or set of instructions used in the implementation and operation of the invention may be in a suitable form such that the processor may read the instructions. For example, the instructions that form a program may be in the form of a suitable programming language, which is converted to machine language or object code to allow the processor or processors to read the instructions. That is, written lines of programming code or source code, in a particular programming language, are converted to machine language using a compiler, assembler or interpreter. The machine language is binary coded machine instructions that are specific to a particular type of processor, i.e., to a particular type of computer, for example. Any suitable programming language may be used in accordance with the various embodiments of the invention. For example, the programming language used may include assembly language, Ada, APL, Basic, C, C++, COBOL, dBase, Forth, Fortran, Java, Modula-2, Pascal, Prolog, REXX, Visual Basic, and/or JavaScript. Further, it is not necessary that a single type of instructions or single programming language be utilized in conjunction with the operation of the system and method of the invention. Rather, any number of different programming languages may be utilized as is necessary or desirable.
Also, the instructions and/or data used in the practice of various embodiments of the invention may utilize any compression or encryption technique or algorithm, as may be desired. An encryption module might be used to encrypt data. Further, files or other data may be decrypted using a suitable decryption module, for example.
In the system and method of exemplary embodiments of the invention, a variety of “user interfaces” may be utilized to allow a user to interface with the mobile devices or other personal computing device. As used herein, a user interface may include any hardware, software, or combination of hardware and software used by the processor that allows a user to interact with the processor of the communication device. A user interface may be in the form of a dialogue screen provided by an app, for example. A user interface may also include any of touch screen, keyboard, voice reader, voice recognizer, dialogue screen, menu box, list, checkbox, toggle switch, a pushbutton, a virtual environment (e.g., Virtual Machine (VM)/cloud), or any other device that allows a user to receive information regarding the operation of the processor as it processes a set of instructions and/or provide the processor with information. Accordingly, the user interface may be any system that provides communication between a user and a processor. The information provided by the user to the processor through the user interface may be in the form of a command, a selection of data, or some other input, for example.
The software, hardware and services described herein may be provided utilizing one or more cloud service models, such as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), and/or using one or more deployment models such as public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud, and/or community cloud models.
Although, the examples above have been described primarily as using a software application (“app”) downloaded onto the customer's mobile device, other embodiments of the invention can be implemented using similar technologies, such as transmission of data that is displayed using an existing web browser on the customer's mobile device.
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described herein in the context of a particular implementation in a particular environment for a particular purpose, those skilled in the art will recognize that its usefulness is not limited thereto and that the embodiments of the present invention can be beneficially implemented in other related environments for similar purposes.
