Patent Issued for Secure purchase verification for fund transfers (USPTO 11429980): United Services Automobile Association
2022 SEP 20 (NewsRx) -- By a
The patent’s inventors are Baker, Kelly Q. (
This patent was filed on
From the background information supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: “Financial account management tools have become an increasingly important resource for the average consumer. Financial services, particularly those now available for use via computing devices, can provide consumers the versatility and freedom to control their assets and credit. However, consumers with many different financial accounts, such as credit card accounts, utility accounts, mortgage accounts, etc., may have trouble keeping current with account balances, payments and other transactions. The consequences of mis-management may result in penalties being assessed against the consumer by the providing the accounts. For example, penalties may be associated with late payments or balance thresholds that are exceeded by a consumer. This type of issue is exacerbated when the account is co-held (e.g., a joint banking account) and one account holder incurs expenses that the other account holder is unaware of, at least until some time has passed following the transaction. For example, couples or parent-child account members may use a joint bank account and have joint credit or debit card accounts, whereby each person in the group individually draws on the same account and independently charges purchases to the joint account. If prompt communication regarding each purchase is not provided to the other members of the group, the charges may reach the credit card limit and/or the account may become overdrawn.
“Thus, the costs associated with failures to communicate these payments to all account holders can be significant. Furthermore, in cases of a joint account in which one person is a guardian or the “primary owner” (such as a parent) and the other is a dependent or a “secondary owner” (such as a child), the primary owner can have a strong interest in reviewing some or all financial transactions related to the joint financial transactions in order to monitor expenditures and ensure that money is spent according to a proposed budget or other their personal expectations. Conventional methods of managing financial activities of other account holders (e.g., a joint bank account) do not provide a fine level of control or granularity for the primary owner to customize and personalize their expectations and limits of account-related financial activities. Furthermore, it is imperative that such controls occur in a secure environment, to deter fraudulent attempts at obtaining the funds.
“There is a need in the art for a system and method that addresses the shortcomings discussed above.”
Supplementing the background information on this patent, NewsRx reporters also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “In one aspect, a method of increasing security of requests for access to funds held in a bank account is disclosed. The method includes receiving, from a first user of a first device, a first request for use of a first amount of the funds by the first user during a first transaction at a first location, and then causing, in response to receiving the first request, a first message to be presented to the first user at the first device requesting at least a first digital verification item. The method also includes receiving, from the first device, the first digital verification item, and transmitting at least the first request and first digital verification item to a second user at a second device. The method further comprises receiving a first approval of the first request from the second device, and automatically authorizing a release of the first amount of the funds for use by the second user in response to receiving the first approval and authenticating the identity of the first user.
“In another aspect, a system for increasing security of requests for access to funds held in a bank account includes a processor and machine-readable media. The machine-readable media include instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to receive, from a first user of a first device, a first request for use of a first amount of the funds by the first user during a first transaction at a first location, as well as cause, in response to receiving the first request, a first message to be presented to the first user at the first device requesting at least a first digital verification item. The instructions further cause the processor to receive, from the first device, the first digital verification item, and then to transmit at least the first request and first digital verification item to a second user at a second device. In addition, the instructions cause the processor to receive a first approval of the first request from the second device, and automatically authorize a release of the first amount of the funds for use by the second user in response to receiving the first approval and authenticating the identity of the first user.
“In another aspect, a system of increasing security of requests for access to funds held in a bank account includes means for receiving, from a first user of a first device, a first request for use of a first amount of the funds by the first user during a first transaction at a first location, as well as means for causing, in response to receiving the first request, a first message to be presented to the first user at the first device requesting at least a first digital verification item. The system also includes means for receiving, from the first device, the first digital verification item, and means for transmitting at least the first request and first digital verification item to a second user at a second device. In addition, the system includes means for receiving a first approval of the first request from the second device, and means for automatically authorizing a release of the first amount of the funds for use by the second user in response to receiving the first approval and authenticating the identity of the first user.
“Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the disclosure will be, or will become, apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description and this summary, be within the scope of the disclosure, and be protected by the following claims.”
The claims supplied by the inventors are:
“1. A computer-implemented method of authorizing a transaction using funds held in a bank account, the method comprising: receiving, at a computing system including a processor connected to the bank account and from a first computing device including a camera, a first request for a first amount of the funds by a first user at a first location; receiving, at the computing system and from the first computing device, image data captured by the camera; detecting in the image data, by the computing system, an image of a verification beacon installed at the first location that visually displays a unique code; authenticating, by the computing system and based on the detected unique code, the image data as having been captured while at the first location; transmitting, from the computing system and in response to authenticating the image data, at least the first request to a second user at a second computing device; receiving, at the computing system and from the second computing device, a first approval of the first request from the second computing device; and permitting, by the computing system and in response to the approval by the second user, use of the funds up to the first amount when the first user requests access to the funds via a merchant payment device around the first location.
“2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a registration from the second user linking the bank account to the computing system, the registration indicating a maximum amount of funds that may be used without first obtaining approval; and wherein the first amount is greater than the maximum amount.
“3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a registration from the second user linking the bank account to the computing system, the registration indicating a first range of funds that may be approved only upon receipt of location data associated with the first user; and wherein the first amount is within the first range.
“4. The method of claim 1, wherein the unique code is known by the computing system as corresponding to the retailer at this specific time.
“5. The method of claim 1, wherein the image data includes a display that visually presents the unique code.
“6. The method of claim 1, wherein the unique code is recognized by the computing system as corresponding to a first retailer location at the time the image data was captured.
“7. The method of claim 1, wherein the verification beacon further presents the current time and date.
“8. The method of claim 1, receiving, from a third device and at the computing system, a second request by a third user for a second amount of the funds at a second location; receiving, at the computing system and from the third device, a digital verification item; determining, at the computing system, the digital verification item fails to include features that support authentication; and automatically blocking, by the computing system, the second request.
“9. The method of claim 1, wherein the unique code corresponds to a time-based security code.
“10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from a third device and at the computing system, a second request by a third user for a second amount of the funds at a second location; determining, at the computing system, that the second amount is less than a maximum amount of funds that may be used without first obtaining approval; and automatically permitting, by the computing system, the second request.
“11. A computing system for authorizing a transaction using funds held in a bank account, the computing system comprising a processor and machine-readable media including instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: receive, at the computing system connected to the bank account and from first computing device including a camera, a first request for a first amount of the funds by a first user at a first location; receive, at the computing system and from the first computing device, image data captured by the camera; detect in the image data, by the computing system, an image of a verification beacon installed at the first location that visually displays a unique code; authenticate, by the computing system and based on the detected unique code, the image data as having been captured while at the first location; transmit, from the computing system and in response to authenticating the image data, at least the first request to a second user at a second computing device; receive, at the computing system and from the second computing device, a first approval of the first request from the second computing device; and permit, by the computing system and in response to the approval by the second user, use of the funds up to the first amount when the first user requests access to the funds via a merchant payment device around the first location.
“12. The system of claim 11, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to receive a registration from the second user linking the bank account to the computing system, the registration indicating a maximum amount of funds that may be used without first obtaining approval, wherein the first amount is greater than the maximum amount.
“13. The system of claim 11, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to: receive a registration from the second user linking the bank account to the computing system, the registration indicating a first range of funds that may be approved only upon receipt of location data associated with the first user; and wherein the first amount is within the first range.
“14. The system of claim 11, wherein the unique code is known by the computing system as corresponding to the retailer at this specific time.
“15. The system of claim 11, wherein the image data includes a display that visually presents the unique code.
“16. The system of claim 11, wherein the unique code is recognized by the computing system as corresponding to a first retailer location at the time the image data was captured.
“17. The system of claim 11, wherein the verification beacon further presents the current time and date.
“18. The system of claim 11, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to: receive, from a third device and at the computing system, a second request by a third user for a second amount of the funds at a second location; receive, at the computing system and from the third device, a digital verification item; determine, at the computing system, the digital verification item fails to include features that support authentication; and automatically block, by the computing system, the second request.
“19. The system of claim 11, wherein the unique code corresponds to a time-based security code.
“20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software comprising instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or more computers to: receive, at a computing system connected to the bank account and from a first computing device including a camera, a first request for a first amount of the funds by a first user at a first location; receive, at the computing system and from the first computing device, image data captured by the camera; detect in the image data, by the computing system, an image of a verification beacon installed at the first location that visually displays a unique code; authenticate, by the computing system and based on the detected unique code, the image data as having been captured while at the first location; transmit, from the computing system and in response to authenticating the image data, at least the first request to a second user at a second computing device; receive, at the computing system and from the second computing device, a first approval of the first request from the second computing device; and permit, by the computing system and in response to the approval by the second user, use of the funds up to the first amount when the first user requests access to the funds via a merchant payment device around the first location.”
For the URL and additional information on this patent, see: Baker, Kelly Q. Secure purchase verification for fund transfers.
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