WO2010024822A1

WO2010024822A1 - Deposit viewing in online banking

Info

Publication number: WO2010024822A1
Application number: PCT/US2008/074881
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jennifer Lynn Gaudron; Kenneth Lloyd Snellings; Jennifer Butler Settin
Original assignee: Bank of America Corp
Current assignee: Bank of America Corp
Priority date: 2008-08-29
Filing date: 2008-08-29
Publication date: 2010-03-04
Anticipated expiration: 2011-02-28
Also published as: CN102197614A; GB201103443D0; BRPI0822995A2; GB2475201A

Abstract

Methods and systems for providing electronic storage and online accessibility to images of deposited items, deposit correction notices and returned items are disclosed. The system allows for electronic access to items and information that were previously only available to customers via mail.

Description

DEPOSIT VIEWING IN ONLINE BANKING

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[01] Aspects of the disclosure generally relate to the availability of deposit item images to online banking customers.

BACKGROUND

[02] Banks do not have the systems in place to provide images of deposit-related items to its customers. Currently, banking customers must either call their bank or wait for notices to be mailed to them to obtain details relating to deposited items, deposit correction notices, returned items or notices, and hold notices.

BRIEF SUMMARY

[03] Aspects of the present disclosure provide methods, systems and computer readable media for implementing the ability to receive, store, and present details of deposit items to online banking customers. The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description provided below.

[04] In one embodiment, a method is disclosed comprising the steps of receiving data including an image of a deposit item; storing the data in a data storage medium; and presenting the image of the deposit item to an online banking customer.

[05] In a further embodiment, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure, aspects of the invention may be provided in a computer-readable medium. For example, a computer- readable medium may comprise computer-executable instructions to perform one or more of the method steps described herein.

[06] In still other embodiments, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure, aspects of the invention may be provided in a system including a database and various modules to carry out certain tasks. Depending upon the embodiment, the various modules may all be a part of one computing device or each module may be a separate computing device. Alternatively, any combination of modules may be part of a single computing device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[07] Fig. 1 illustrates a high-level computing environment in which one or more aspects described herein may be implemented.

[08] Fig. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a system for receiving, storing and presenting images of deposit-related items to online banking customers.

[09] Fig. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a process for receiving, storing and presenting images of deposit-related items to online banking customers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[10] Embodiments of the invention relate to systems and methods for receiving, storing, and presenting images of deposit or deposit-related items to an online banking customer. Aspects of the invention may eliminate manual provision of information and details to customers, increase the speed of delivery of information to customers, and provide visibility into details of transactions conducted by customers. In certain aspects of the invention, items such as deposited checks, deposit correction notices and returned item images may be viewable in an online banking customer's account. Deposited checks, deposit correction notices, hold notices, returned deposited checks, etc. may be referred to as deposit-related items or, more simply, deposit items.

Overall computing network

[11] Fig. 1 illustrates a high-level computing environment in which one or more aspects described herein may be implemented. A computing device such as computer 100 may house a variety of components for inputting, outputting, storing and processing data. Computer 100 may include desktop computers, laptop computers, ultra mobile PCs, servers and the like. Processor 105 may perform a variety of tasks including executing one or more applications, retrieving data from a storage device such as storage 115 and/or outputting data to a device such as display 120. Processor 105 may be connected to Random Access Memory (RAM) module 110 in which application data and/or instructions may be temporarily stored. Computer 100 may further include Read Only Memory (ROM) 112 which allows data stored thereon to persist or survive after computer 100 has been turned off. ROM 112 may be used for a variety of purposes including for storage of computer 100's Basic Input/Output System (BIOS). ROM 112 may further store date and time information so that the information persists even through shut downs and reboots. In addition, storage 115 may provide long term storage for a variety of data including applications and data files. Storage 115 may include any of a variety of computer readable mediums such as disc drives, optical storage mediums, magnetic tape storage systems, flash memory and the like. In one example, processor 105 may retrieve an application from storage 115 and temporarily store the instructions associated with the application RAM module 110 while the processor 105 is executing the application.

[12] Computer 100 may output data through a variety of components and devices. As mentioned above, one such output device may be display 120. Another output device may include an audio output device such as speaker 125. Each output device 120 and 125 may be associated with an output adapter such as display adapter 122 and audio adapter 127, which translates processor instructions into corresponding audio and video signals. In addition to output systems, computer 100 may receive and/or accept input from a variety of input devices such as keyboard 130, storage media drive 135 and/or microphone (not shown). As with output devices 120 and 125, each of the input devices 130 and 135 may be associated with an adapter 140 for converting the input into computer readable/recognizable data. In one or more instances, a device such as media drive 135 may act as both an input and output device allowing users to both write and read data to and from the storage media (e.g., DVD-R, CD-RW, etc.).

[13] Computer 100 may further include one or more communication components for receiving and transmitting data over a network. Various types of networks include cellular networks, digital broadcast networks, Internet Protocol (IP) networks and the like. Computer 100 may include adapters suited to communicate through one or more of these networks. In particular, computer 100 may include network adapter 150 for communication with one or more other computer or computing devices over an IP network (e.g., see FIG. 2). In one example, adapter 150 may facilitate transmission of data such as electronic mail messages and/or financial data over a company or organization's network. In another example, adapter 150 may facilitate transmission or receipt of information from a world wide network such as the Internet. Adapter 150 may include one or more sets of instructions relating to one or more networking protocols. For example adapter 150 may include a first set of instructions for processing IP network packets as well as a second set of instructions associated with processing cellular network packets. In one or more arrangements, network adapter 150 may provide wireless network access for computer 100.

[14] One of skill in the art will appreciate that computing devices such as computer 100 may include a variety of other components and is not limited to the devices and systems described in FIG. 1.

[15] As depicted in Figure 2, in some embodiments of the system, a bank customer 204 may deposit items 208 (checks, deposit slips, etc.) at teller 210, traditional ATM 222, or Image ATM 224. If deposited items 208 are deposited at teller 210 or traditional ATM 222, a scanning device 230 may be used generate images of deposited items 208. Financial institution 250 may be connected directly or indirectly to scanning device 230 and image ATM 224, such that financial institution 250 may access the images for deposited items 208. At some later point, customer 204 may use computer 270 coupled to monitor 280 to access the images of deposited items 208. Financial institution 250 may be any collection of computers and networks, including data storage facilities, enterprise servers, personal computers, a single server system, etc.

[16] In other aspects of certain embodiments of the invention, deposit correction notices and hold notices may be issued. These items may be issued electronically or in paper form. If the items are issued in paper form, scanning device 230, or some other means of obtaining an image of the items may be used to obtain an image of these types of deposit items.

[17] Additionally, in other aspects of some embodiments of the invention, another type of deposit item is a returned check. Checks that are returned for various reasons, including insufficient funds, may be imaged and stored in the system for later retrieval by customer 204. [18] In various embodiments, different portions of they system may be incorporated into any number of devices. For example, in one embodiment, scanning device 230 may be present at various teller 210 or ATM 222 locations and deposited items 208 may be scanned at each of the various locations. In other embodiments, scanning device 230 may be present at a centralized location where each of deposited items 208 may be sent to be scanned. In still other embodiments, scanning device 230 may be present at some teller 210 or ATM 222 locations but may also be present at a centralized location. In yet other embodiments, there may be any number of centralized locations that may have scanning device 230.

[19] In some embodiments, images of deposited items 208 may be stored at the various teller 210 or ATM 222 and 224 locations. In other embodiments, images may be stored at financial institution 250 or in a memory storage device connected to financial institution 250.

[20] Computer 270 may be a home personal computer or any other type of computer that customer 204 may use to connect to financial institution 250 and to access customer's bank account, generally through the internet. In other embodiments, computer 270 may be a public computer or a kiosk connected to a network providing a connection to financial institution 250, allowing access to customer's bank account.

Process

[21] Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a process for providing online access to deposit items. In the first steps shown in Figure 3, the various types of deposit items may be issued or deposited. In step 302, a deposit correction notice may be issued if a deposit by customer 204 has an incorrect deposit amount initially registered. In step 304, a customer may make a deposit of any mix of cash and checks. Once a check has been deposited, the check may be returned for various reasons, including insufficient funds, in step 306. In step 308, a hold notice may be issued. After each of the various types of deposit items are generated, the deposit items may be imaged in step 310. In some embodiments, data relating to the deposit item, including images of the deposit items may then received in step 320 and stored in a memory in step 330. When a customer 204 accesses the customer's bank account through online banking in step 340, the customer 204 may have access to and can view the customer's account activity in step 350. Upon identifying various transactions in the customer's account activity, the customer may choose in step 362 to view an image of a deposit correction. In step 364, the customer may view the images of the deposited items. Additionally, the customer may view images of returned items or a returned item notice in step 366 or images of a hold notices in step 368.

[22] The methods and systems disclosed herein can be carried out in various ways. The system may integrate multiple systems and/or steps into a single process.

[23] Although not required, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various aspects described herein may be embodied as a method, a data processing system, or as a computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions. For example, a computer-readable medium storing instructions to cause a processor to perform steps of a method in accordance with aspects of the disclosure is contemplated. For example, aspects of the method steps disclosed herein may be executed on a processor on a computer 100. Such a processor may execute computer-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium.

[24] While illustrative embodiments described herein embody various aspects are shown, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to these embodiments. Modifications may be made by those skilled in the art, particularly in light of the foregoing teachings. For example each of the elements of the aforementioned embodiments may be utilized alone or in combination or sub- combinations with the elements of the other embodiments. It will also be appreciated and understood that modification may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present intention. The description is thus to be regarded as illustrative instead of restrictive on the present intention.

Claims

We claim:

1. A method comprising: receiving an image of a deposit item; storing the image in a memory; and presenting the image of the deposit item to a user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the deposit item is a deposited check.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the deposit item is a returned item.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the deposit item is a deposit correction notice.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the image to the user is in response to receiving a request for the image from the user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the image to the user includes sending the image over a network.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the image to the user includes displaying an image of the deposit item on a screen proximate to the user.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein receiving a request for the image from the user includes receiving the request over a network.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising scanning the deposit item to obtain an image of the deposit item.

10. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed: receive an image of a deposit item; store the image in a memory; and present the image of the deposit item to a user.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the deposit item is a deposited check.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the deposit item is a returned item.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the deposit item is a deposit correction notice.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein presenting the image to the user is in response to receiving a request for the image from the user.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein presenting the image to the user includes sending the image over a network.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein presenting the image to the user includes displaying an image of the deposit item on a screen proximate to the user.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein receiving a request for the image from the user includes receiving the request over a network.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed, scan the deposit item to obtain an image of the deposit item.

19. An apparatus comprising: a storage medium; and a processor, the processor operatively coupled to the storage medium, the processor configured to: receive an image of a deposit item; store the image in the storage medium; and present the image of the deposit item to a user.