Patent Issued for Methods and systems for multiple channel authentication (USPTO 11677870): United Services Automobile Association

2023 JUN 30 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- According to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx journalists, a patent by the inventors Barner, Robert (San Antonio, TX, US), Buckingham, Thomas Bret (Fair Oaks Ranch, TX, US), Farnsworth, Anthony Scott (San Antonio, TX, US), Harris, John Raymond (San Antonio, TX, US), Haslam, Justin Dax (San Antonio, TX, US), Jayapalan, Vijay (San Antonio, TX, US), Johnson, Zakery Layne (San Antonio, TX, US), Kerr, Joshua S. (San Antonio, TX, US), Leonard, Joshua Samuel (San Antonio, TX, US), Liang, Minya (McKinney, TX, US), Mortensen, Maland Keith (San Antonio, TX, US), Oakes, III, Charles Lee (Boerne, TX, US), Smith, Eric (Helotes, TX, US), Thiele, Ross Andrew (San Antonio, TX, US), filed on February 24, 2021, was published online on June 13, 2023.

The assignee for this patent, patent number 11677870, is United Services Automobile Association (San Antonio, Texas, United States).

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Organizations strive to ensure secure and convenient user access to services and accounts. With the proliferation of identity theft and the growing emphasis on convenience, organizations are forced to find a balance between sufficient security procedures and accessibility of services/accounts. Many systems sacrifice convenience and efficiency of use for security measures, such as by requesting authentication information several times during the course of an interaction with the user. As such, techniques are needed that provide for improved security without sacrificing ease of use and time for the customer.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “In some embodiments, a method and system of user authentication is described. In some embodiments, a method includes receiving authentication information of a user into a mobile application that allows the user to engage in activities through the mobile application on a mobile device. The user may be authenticated to the mobile application, and in response to receiving a request from the user, a voice and data call to an organization may be initiated from within the mobile application. Initiating the voice and data call may include transferring the authentication information in connection with the voice and data call to allow pass-through authentication to a representative of the organization.

“The method may further include determining whether a connection between the mobile device and a communications network can support the voice and data call. In some embodiments, the method includes indicating, to the user, that the representative of the organization could not be contacted through the voice and data call and presenting additional channels for the user to communicate with the organization. The additional channels may include at least one of: text messaging, a voice call, chat, web, video call, or electronic mail. Initiating the voice and data call may further include transferring, in connection with the voice and data call, data related to existing or prior activities on the mobile device. The data related to the activities may comprise a webpage or a view that the user was accessing within the mobile application. The data related to the activities may include media (e.g., insurance document, photographs of an accident, etc.) relating to the activities.

“In some embodiments, the voice and data call is routed based on a content of the data related to the activities the user was engaging in prior to the voice and data call. In other embodiments, the voice and data call is routed based on an assumption of user intent, where the assumption of user intent is determined using predictive analytics (e.g., based on what the user has done in the past, what other users have done in similar situations, patterns, etc.). The voice and data call may be suspended when the user answers an incoming legacy phone call on the mobile device. After the voice and data call has ended, the user may be returned to the activity within the mobile application that the user was engaging in prior to the voice and data call. The method may further include presenting information relating to the representative to the user.

“In other embodiments, a computerized method may include receiving authentication information from a user on a first channel; authenticating the user on the first channel thereby initiating a session between the user and an organization; allowing the user to engage in activities with the organization through the first channel; receiving a request to communicate with the user on a second channel; and transferring the session to the second channel in response to receiving the request. Transferring the session to the second channel may include passing authentication information to authenticate the user to the second channel. Transferring the session to the second channel may further include transferring data relating to the activities the user was engaging in prior to receiving the request to transfer the session.

“In some embodiments, the first channel and the second channel are not the same type of channel. The types of channels may include: a mobile application, a voice and data call, a voice call, a webpage, a web portal, a mobile device, ATM, watch, vehicle, television, game console, connected smart devices, and a personal computer. In some embodiments, the first channel is a mobile application and the second channel is voice and data call with a representative of the organization. The voice and data call may be initiated from within the mobile application. The user may be authenticated to the second channel using the authentication information.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving a request to initiate a session with an organization over a first channel, the request initiated within an application on a device associated with a user; acquiring data related to existing or prior activities on the device; determining whether the data related to the existing or prior activities on the device is sufficient to determine a routing for the session; and in response to the data related to the existing or prior activities on the device being sufficient to determine a routing for a transfer: identifying at least one representative based at least in part on the data related to the existing or prior activities on the device; presenting at least one option to the user when the at least one representative is not available and a wait time for the at least one representative exceeds a threshold; and in response to determining that a particular representative of the at least one representative is available, transferring the session from the first channel to a second channel associated with the particular representative who is available, wherein the application allows the user to engage in an operation through the application after authentication, and wherein transferring the session from the first channel to the second channel includes A) authentication information associated with the request and B) an indication of the operation, to allow pass-through authentication to the organization, wherein the authentication information provides a level of authentication for the user.

“2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one option includes A) using a different channel, B) waiting for an estimated amount of time, or C) receiving a call back.

“3. The method of claim 2, wherein the different channel includes at least one of: text messaging, instant messaging, a voice call, a voice and data call, a video call, or electronic mail.

“4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the wait time until the at least one representative is available, wherein the at least one option is presented to the user when the wait time exceeds a threshold.

“5. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating the wait time to the user when the at least one representative is not available.

“6. The method of claim 1, wherein the data related to the existing or prior activities comprises at least one of A) media relating to the prior activities or B) a webpage or view the user was accessing within the application.

“7. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the wait time on the device associated with the user when the at least one representative is not available.

“8. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a user intent based on predictive analytics, wherein the routing is based on the determined user intent.

“9. The method of claim 1, further comprising causing the level of the authentication to be indicated on a screen of a representative of the organization when the data related to the existing or prior activities on the device is sufficient to determine a routing for the transfer.

“10. A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform a process for transferring calls, the process comprising: receiving a request to initiate a session with an organization over a first channel, the request initiated within an application on a device associated with a user; acquiring data related to existing or prior activities on the device; determining whether the data related to the existing or prior activities on the device is sufficient to determine a routing for the session; and in response to the data related to the existing or prior activities on the device being sufficient to determine a routing for a transfer: identifying at least one representative based at least in part on the data related to the existing or prior activities on the device; presenting at least one option to the user when the at least one representative is not available and a wait time for the at least one representative exceeds a threshold; and in response to determining that a particular representative of the at least one representative is available, transferring the session from the first channel to a second channel associated with the particular representative who is available, wherein the application allows the user to engage in an operation through the application after authentication, and wherein transferring the session from the first channel to the second channel includes A) authentication information associated with the request and B) an indication of the operation, to allow pass-through authentication to the organization, wherein the authentication information provides a level of authentication for the user.

“11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the at least one option includes A) waiting for an estimated amount of time, B) receiving a call back, or C) using a different channel, wherein the different channel includes at least one of: text messaging, instant messaging, or electronic mail.

“12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the process further comprises determining the wait time until the at least one representative is available, wherein the at least one option is presented to the user when the wait time exceeds a threshold.

“13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the at least one representative is specialized in a subject matter associated with the data related to the existing or prior activities on the device.

“14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the data related to the existing or prior activities comprises at least one of: media relating to the existing or prior activities or a webpage or view the user was accessing within the application.

“15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the process further comprises communicating the wait time to the user when the at least one representative is not available.

“16. A computing system for routing calls, the computing system comprising: one or more processors; and one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing system to perform a process comprising: receiving a request to initiate a session with an organization over a first channel, the request initiated within an application on a device associated with a user; acquiring data related to existing or prior activities on the device; determining whether the data related to the existing or prior activities on the device is sufficient to determine a routing for the session; and in response to the data related to the existing or prior activities on the device being sufficient to determine a routing for a transfer: identifying at least one representative based at least in part on the data related to the existing or prior activities on the device; presenting at least one option to the user when the at least one representative is not available and a wait time for the at least one representative exceeds a threshold; and in response to determining that a particular representative of the at least one representative is available, transferring the session from the first channel to a second channel associated with the particular representative who is available, wherein the application allows the user to engage in an operation through the application after authentication, and wherein transferring the session from the first channel to the second channel includes A) authentication information associated with the request and B) an indication of the operation, to allow pass-through authentication to the organization, wherein the authentication information provides a level of authentication for the user.

“17. The computing system of claim 16, wherein the at least one option includes A) using a different channel, B) waiting for an estimated amount of time, or C) receiving a call back.

“18. The computing system of claim 17, wherein the different channel includes at least one of: instant messaging, a web chat, or electronic mail.

“19. The computing system of claim 16, wherein the process further comprises determining the wait time until the at least one representative is available, wherein the at least one option is presented to the user when the wait time exceeds a threshold.

“20. The computing system of claim 16, wherein the process further comprises communicating the wait time to the user when the at least one representative is not available.”

For more information, see this patent: Barner, Robert. Methods and systems for multiple channel authentication. U.S. Patent Number 11677870, filed February 24, 2021, and published online on June 13, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11677870)&db=USPAT&type=ids

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)