NL8400973A - AUDIO TRANSACTION POINT WITH INTERACTION. - Google Patents

Description

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Interaction audio transitional station.

The invention relates to a transaction item for use in an electronic financial exchange system. The station generates audio questions for transaction information simplifying the data entry procedure for the operator.

In the financial world, there is a clear line for conducting a wide variety of transactions electronically. Electronic transactions are typically faster, less costly and generally more efficient. It is therefore of great importance to develop systems that can be used and even improve the electronic exchange of financial information. The present invention is aimed precisely at such an improvement.

When developing an electronic exchange system, it is important to consider the identity of the typical operator. When the user is fully trained in the operating procedure of the device, design features that simplify human actions are less critical. For example, if the transaction device 20 is to be used continuously by a bank teller during the working day, methods of data entry and recovery can be performed very effectively for banking use rather than for use by an operator. In contrast, when an inexperienced and untrained person operates the device, greater attention should be given to developing a device that is user-friendly. This approach can be seen in the automatic counter machines used by banks, which include a video screen for displaying instructions to assist the inexperienced and rare account holder. Thus, when devices are developed for use by untrained personnel, it is highly desirable to simplify their operation and make them user-friendly.

Current bank card schemes rely heavily on 3400973 * 1 2 electronic communication of transaction information. Under a typical bank card scheme, a customer is given a credit or debit card by the bank or issuer. The customer can then offer the card to a merchant as payment for goods 5 or services. The copy of the transaction is delivered to the bank that issued the card. If the customer had received a debit card, a deposit account with the bank will be debited by the amount of the purchase transaction. If, on the contrary, a credit card had been given to the customer, the issuing bank will charge the customer for the amount of the transaction. The transfer of the transaction statement to the issuer can take a number of forms, whether physical or electronic. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the displayed device will assist in the electronic transfer of the transaction data to the issuer.

Most bank card networks have developed a number of systems to reduce potential credit and fraud losses. For example, a weekly bulletin can be distributed to merchants, containing card numbers that are reported lost or stolen or where an allocated credit limit has been exceeded. Before consenting to the transaction, the merchant will test to see if the customer's account number is on the list. If it takes into account.

ning number is on the list, the transaction must be changed 25. Apparently there are many shortcomings with this solution.

For example, the bulletin is only updated weekly and may not contain the most recent information. Furthermore, this method is quite inappropriate and time consuming and is therefore often ignored.

Another method used to reduce credit and fraud losses is to store the most recent customer information in a central location. The trader will then be asked to contact that central location for consent to complete the transaction. In the known systems, contact with the approval center can be made in 35 different ways. For example, the merchant can simply call the authorization center where a human operator will enter the transaction data into a computer, which contains the necessary information for determining whether to authorize the transaction.

The result is then verbally returned to the trader 5. The latter method is apparently user-friendly and will not deter a trader. However, this has serious drawbacks. In particular, since this method requires contact with an operator, the response time will typically be extended during peak sales periods. In addition, using the operator is inefficient and expensive.

Since ultimately the requests are made over the phone in real time, it involves significant communication costs.

In order to overcome these drawbacks, two improved systems have been developed. In the first system, the operator at the consent center has been replaced by an electronic voice generator. In operation, the trader contacts the computer at the consent center. The computer then generates audio questions for the desired transaction information. The information is then transferred by the merchant using the telephone dialing device. Preferably, a key tone block is generated which generates electronic tones. As will be appreciated, eliminating an operator will operate the system more efficiently. However, because the transaction information is entered in real time to the computer via telephone lines, communication costs are still high.

In order to overcome the latter difficulty, items have been developed in which transaction data can be entered and stored prior to a communication link formed to the authorization center. In these transaction items, the operator will enter the transaction information in a specific order. When the entry of the transaction information has been completed, the station activates the communication link with the authorization center and transmits the 8400373 information.

The latter method is the most efficient of the three. However, this has a main drawback. In particular, the data must be entered in a special prescribed sequence that requires the operator to either follow instructions or know that sequence.

In many cases, the clerk or sales person will not be familiar with the consent process, such as in stores where credit cards are rarely used. The sales clerk can 10 it. then find it difficult to get permission for the transaction. In the latter situation, delays will occur for the customer, which may result in the clerk omitting the consent process in its entirety. Thus, it would be desirable to provide an entry post which is both user friendly and minimizes communication costs.

It is in accordance with an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved interaction point for use in transferring transaction 20 'information.

It is another object of the invention to provide a new and improved transaction item which is user friendly.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved transaction item which reduces communication costs.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved transaction item which audibly requests information to facilitate data entry.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a new and improved transaction post which activates a communication link to the authorization center only after all necessary transaction data has been entered.

8400973 & -¾ 5

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a new and improved transaction post which can provide sound conversion from the output received from the permission center.

According to these and other objects, the present invention is defined by an interacting audio post capable of receiving transaction data and transferring the data via a communication link to an authorization center. As used herein, the consent center is defined in a broad sense and is intended to include the placement in the transaction network where an answer to a consent query is generated. In particular, in a typical system, the place where a consent request is processed depends on a number of factors, for example, the size of the transaction, the location of the issuer and the location of the merchant. In some cases, the request for consent is processed in a centralized place, while in other cases the request will be sent directly to the card issuer. A full discussion of a form of consent network can be found in U.S. Patent Application No. 359,375, filed March 16, 1983, in the name of applicant, and is believed to be incorporated herein. The present station is intended to establish a connection to the consent network which will process the query and return an answer.

The present item consists of a telephone with a sound transmitter, such as the transmitter in a micro telephone. In addition, the telephone must have a dialing device, such as a keypad, which can generate electronic input signals.

The phone is connected to a speech synthesizer capable of generating sound output signals from electrical input signals. The input signals are supplied via a processor which is also connected to an electronic memory. The memory is provided to store all information necessary for the authoring process.

8400973

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In operation, transaction data is entered into the memory via the telephone dialer in response to audio questions generated by the speech synthesizer. In particular, the speech synthesizer audibly instructs the operator as to the correct data entry sequence. For example, the operator will be instructed to enter the customer's account number and bank card expiration date. In addition, the amount of the transaction will be requested. When the sequence is completed, the processor activates the communication link to the consent center and transfers the data there. As is apparent, the present device fulfills the requirement of easy operation by an inexperienced user. Furthermore, since the communication link is not formed until all data 15 has been entered, the communication costs are reduced.

In a preferred embodiment, a consent response is returned to the station and stored in memory. The answer is then audibly transferred to the operator under the control of the processor. Preferably, the reply is stored in memory until the next transaction is started so that if the operator so wishes, it can be recalled.

The present station is intended to be able to connect to additional input and output devices. For example, it would be desirable to include a device for reading the magnetic stripe on a credit card to save the operator from having to enter the customer's account number with the dial pad. A paper copy printer can. 30 are provided to form a physical copy of the transaction. In addition, it is intended that a separate data entry block be provided for entering a customer's personal identification number or PIN.

The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing.

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Figure 1 is a block diagram for indicating a new and improved interaction station according to the invention.

In figure 1 block 10 according to the invention is indicated in block form. Item 10 is particularly adapted for use in generating permission requests in bank card transactions. It will be clear, however, that this item can be used in other financial applications.

As discussed above, in a bank card scheme, a customer will offer a card to a merchant as payment for goods or services. Prior to completing the transaction, the merchant will contact an authorization center 12 to request authorization for the transaction. By obtaining permission for each transaction, credit and fraud losses can be kept to a minimum.

In order to process a consent request, the consent center 12 must be provided with all information related to the transaction, such as the customer's account number 20, the card expiry date, the amount of the transaction, etc. This item 10 is intended to be made available to the merchant allow easy transfer of this data to the consent center. According to the invention the station 10 is used in combination with a standard telephone 20. The telephone 20 will have a means for generating sound signals, typically a transmitter 22 located in the micro telephone of the device. The telephone 20 is also provided with a dialing device for generating electrical input signals. Preferably, a key tone dial pad 24 is used.

The telephone 20 is connected to a processor 30 in the station. The processor 30 is intended to control the input / output functions of the station, as well as data format operation and handling. The processor 30 also controls a speech synthesizer module 32 and an internal memory 34 as described hereinafter. A suitable processor for the 8400973

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8 performing these functions is manufactured by Texas Instruments Corp. under Serial Number. TMS-7120. The latter device includes an eight-bit microprocessor and 12k byte ROM. The working instructions for the processor are stored in the ROM.

In order to generate the audio questions, a speech synthesizer 32 is provided which is connected to the processor. The speech synthesizer 32 includes a memory for digitally storing all the vocabulary needed to generate the required questions or comments. When the processor 10 determines that a particular audio comment is required, it will signal to the synthesizer to recall that comment from its memory. The synthesizer then generates an analog electrical output signal which is supplied to the transmitter 22 of the telephone 20. The transmitter converts the analog electrical signal 15 into a sound output. A speech synthesizer suitable for performing these operations is manufactured by Texas Instruments under Serial Number TMS-5220A. The latter includes an eight-bit speech microprocessor which can be connected to a 128k bit ROM such as a Texas Instruments Speech ROM TMS-6100.

20 The necessary * vocabulary for storage is intended to be approximately 100 words. This vocabulary can be combined in several ways to generate about 50 sound expressions.

A separate programmable memory 25 34 is also connected to the processor 30. The memory 34 is intended to store all information especially for the specific mail site. For example, the memory will hold a post identification as well as any trader information to be printed on a sales order. Storage space has also been provided for a table containing information, allowing the processor to determine the appropriate bank card network to contact based on the cardholder's account number. In addition, the telephone numbers associated with each bank card network are included.

The memory 34 is also used to store both the transaction data entered by the operator and the reply received from the consent center. In the preferred embodiment, sufficient memory area must be created to store a copy of all transactions 5 carried out during the working day. By this arrangement, a collection of the daily transactions can be built up and transferred to a central processing area when the working day is completed. Due to the importance of all this transaction information, the memory must not be volatile, ie 10 it will not fail due to power failure. One type of memory suitable for this purpose is an electronically erasable, programmable ROM, ie an EEPROM, which can only be changed when the power supply is present. Suitable EEPROMs for this application are made by XICOR, INC., X2816A and 15 by Seeq Ine., Nb. 5213. Each of the latter devices has a storage capacity of 2k bytes. It is intended that approximately 6k bytes of storage will be required. Another method of system security is to provide a capacitor which is charged during normal operations.

If the power supply fails, the capacitor can provide the energy to operate the system and keep the data in memory.

In the preferred embodiment, station 10 will also include a dialer (not shown) for automatically establishing a communication link to the consent center 12. A suitable dialer is manufactured by Texas Instruments, Corp., no. IMS-99531. The data is passed through a modem and transmitted at 300 bits per second. A suitable modem is manufactured by Texas Instruments, No.

30 TMS-99532.

In operation, the merchant can start the permission process by taking the micro telephone from the device 20 and entering a start code at the dialer. The start code activates the processor 30 which signals to the synthesizer 35 to generate transaction data queries. For example, the processor 30 will access the speech synthesizer 32 and cause the generation of the electrical analog signal corresponding to the message "enter account number". This analog signal is then converted into sound form by the transmitter 22 of the telephone. By using the key tone block 24, the operator can enter the customer's account number. When the entry is complete, the processor will signal to the speech synthesizer to generate the expression "expiration date entries". The operator then enters the card expiration date. This process will continue until all necessary transaction data has been entered into memory 34.

After the data is entered, the processor evaluates the cardholder number against the table of 15 numbers stored in the memory. This embodiment identifies the special bank card network allowing the correct telephone number to be located. The processor then activates the selector to form a communication link with the appropriate permission center 12. The transaction data is then transferred.

After evaluating the transaction, the consent center will return a message. The returned message will consist of an authorization or some form of rejection. If the returned message is an authorization, the processor will provide the appropriate audio message such as "your authorization number is 12345". The trader will then write that number on a sales order and complete the transaction. When a rejection response is provided, the operator may be asked to call another number for additional 30 information. The operator can then be told to confiscate the card or even to hold the user.

In the preferred embodiment, the message returned from the consent center is stored in memory 34 until the next transaction is started. By this embodiment, if the operator has forgotten to record or properly copy the message, the message can be recalled from memory without having to perform the entire consent process again.

In order to reduce the costs of the consent process without compromising security against credit and fraud losses, the present invention may be provided with a means for reducing the number of transactions actually transferred for consent.

In particular, it is contemplated that a Dollar threshold level will be chosen such that if the transaction amount is less than this threshold level, the data will not be transferred to the authorization center for authorization by this device, the cost of communications and the costs will be required. ran with the consent question eliminated. Furthermore, because of the relatively small transactions, credit and fraud losses are kept to a minimum. This special Dollar threshold level is determined based on factors such as the usual customer base, trader location and past 20 losses.

In order to obtain the latter result, a means is provided for comparing the entered transaction amount with the predetermined Dollar threshold level. If the transaction amount is below the threshold level 25, the processor 30 of the station will provide an automatic permission. If the transaction exceeds the threshold, the data will be transferred to the consent center for consent.

In order to provide further security to the system 30, the station may further include means for randomly selecting transactions below the threshold level and sending them to the authorization center. The percentage of transferred transactions may be relatively small, so that the cost savings associated with the threshold selection process are maintained. As will be appreciated, 8400973 12, by sending an arbitrary selection of transactions to the Consent Center, a fraudulent user cannot take advantage of the fact that a purchase below a certain level will not be subject to investigation for accuracy.

According to the present invention, a number of additional input / output devices can be connected to the post 10 to facilitate operation. One of the more desirable devices should be a magnetic stripe reader 40. A magnetic stripe reader 40 is suitable for de-encoding the magnetically encoded information on a bank card.

In operation, the merchant will carry the bank card through the reader 40, which detects the customer's account number and the expiration date encoded on his card. This information is fed directly to the processor 30, eliminating the need for the merchant to manually enter that information.

In a preferred embodiment, a printing device 42 is also connected to the processor. The printing device 42 can be used to automatically provide a paper statement to the customer indicating all relevant information related to the transaction. For example, the printing device 40 may indicate the name of the merchant, as well as the date of the transaction and the amount of the transaction.

The station can also be used in conjunction with a separate entry block 44. Block 44 is provided to facilitate entry of the customer's personal identification number or PIN. One method of improving security in a banking system is to provide each customer with their own secret identification number. This identification number is encoded on the magnetic stripe on the card. In operation, the merchant reads the information encoded on the magnetic strip into memory via the reader 40. The customer using block 40, which is separate from the telephone, can enter his identification number out of the merchant's view. The processor 30 then compares the secret.

35 number read from the card with the number entered by the 8400973 «13 customer. The transaction will not be allowed unless these numbers match. The PIN block input keys may correspond to the electrical tone signals generated by the telephone 20.

Several other connections can be made to the post to improve its operation. For example, the station can be provided with an entrance port for connection to an electronic cash register. In the latter case, the transaction totals and other information generated by the electronic cash register can be entered directly into the mail.

In summary, a new and improved exchange item 10 is provided for use in transferring transaction data. The station is connected to a telephone 15 and includes a processor 10 for controlling a speech synthesizer 32 and a storage memory 34. In operation, the transaction data is generated by the dialer 24 of the telephone and placed in the memory in response to audio questions generated by the speech synthesizer. When the data entry is completed, the processor activates a communication link to the consent center 12 and sends the data there. The present item reduces transmission costs and is user-friendly.

It will be clear that changes are possible within the scope of the invention.

8400973

Claims (12)

Interacted audio mail for receiving transaction data and for transferring the data along a communication link to an authorization center, characterized in that a telephone having a sound transmitter means and a dialing device capable of generating electrical signals is provided, speech synthesizer means suitable for generating sound output signals, processor means connected to the telephone and the speech synthesizer means, 10 and memory means connected to the processor means for storing data whereby, in operation, the transaction data is generated by the selector and input to the memory means in response to audio queries generated by the speech synthesizer means and supplied to the sound transmitter means under the control of the processor means, so that when the input of the transaction data is completed, the processor means activates the communication link with the consent center and send the data there. 2. Station according to claim 1, characterized in that the memory means are adapted to store data fed back to the mail from the permission center for allowing the returned data to be audibly sent by the transmitter means of the telephone under the control of the processor means . Station according to claim 2, characterized in that the data returned from the consent center remains in the memory means until a new transaction is started so that the returned data can be recalled by the selector. Station according to claim 1, characterized in that a means is connected to the processor means for reading an encoded magnetic stripe and transferring the data on this strip to the memory means. Station according to claim 1, characterized in that the dialing device is a key-tone dialing device, 8400973 Λ Station according to claim 1, characterized in that the sound transmitter means are present in the micro telephone of the telephone set. Station according to claim 1, characterized in that a means is present, connected to the processor means and separate from the telephone, for generating electrical signals for input into the memory. Mail according to claim 1, characterized in that a means is connected to the processor means for printing a paper copy of each transaction. 9. Station according to claim 1, characterized in that an electric storage means is connected to the memory means for supplying an alternative energy source to ensure that the data in the memory means is not lost in the event of a power failure. 10. Item according to claim 1, characterized in that a means is present for comparing the amount of the entered transaction with a Dollar threshold level, such that if the transaction amount is lower than the threshold level, the processor will generate an answer without transferring the data to the consent center. Mail according to claim 10, characterized in that a means is present for randomly selecting transaction entries below the Dollar threshold level and sending the selected data to the authorization center for authorization. 12. Device substantially as described in the description and / or shown in the drawing. 84 0 0 97 3 (,% 'V, /