Patent Issued for Systems and methods for live video financial deposit (USPTO 11694268): United Services Automobile Association

2023 JUL 24 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent by the inventors Buentello, Andre Rene (San Antonio, TX, US), filed on October 27, 2021, was published online on July 4, 2023, according to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx correspondents.

Patent number 11694268 is assigned to United Services Automobile Association (San Antonio, Texas, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Checks typically provide a safe and convenient method for an individual such as a payor to purchase goods and/or services. To use a check, the individual usually opens a checking account, or other similar account, at a financial institution and deposits funds, which are then available for later withdrawal. To pay for goods and/or services with a check, the payor (i.e., the buyer) usually designates a payee (i.e., the seller) and an amount payable on the check. In addition, the payor often signs the check. Once the check has been signed, it is usually deemed negotiable, meaning the check may be validly transferred to the payee upon delivery. By signing and transferring the check to the payee, the payor authorizes funds to be withdrawn from the payor’s account on behalf of the payee in return for the goods and/or services provided by the payee.

“While a check may provide a payor with a convenient and secure form of payment, receiving a check may put certain burdens on the payee, such as the time and effort required to deposit the check. For example, depositing a check typically involves going to a local bank branch and physically presenting the check to a bank teller. To reduce such burdens for the payee, systems and methods have been developed to enable the remote deposit of checks. For example, the payee may scan a check in an electronic image using a scanning device and a computing device. The financial institution may then receive from the payee the electronic image of the check. The financial institution may then use the electronic image to credit funds to the payee. However, such a technique requires the generation and transmission of a still electronic image.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “A live video of a negotiable instrument may be provided from a user to a financial institution so that an image of the negotiable instrument may be obtained from the live video, processed, and funds associated with the negotiable instrument may be deposited in an account of the user.

“In an implementation, after endorsing a check, a user may use a video source such as a video camera, a web camera, or a video-enabled phone to send a live video of the front and/or back of the check to the financial institution, where it may be processed and deposited in an account associated with the user. The video may be provided by the user to the financial institution via live streaming video.

“In an implementation, a user may be identified and authenticated to the financial institution by one or more biometric characteristics. One or more biometric characteristics may be used to endorse the negotiable instrument. The biometric characteristic(s) may be provided from the user to the financial institution or an associated authentication authority via live video. The financial institution or authentication authority may capture the biometric characteristic(s) from the live video and process the biometric characteristic(s) to identify and authenticate the user and to verify an endorsement of the negotiable instrument.

“In an implementation, a holder may be used to hold a negotiable instrument while live video is being taken and provided from a user to a financial institution. The holder may comprise a sleeve into which the user may slide or otherwise insert the negotiable instrument. The holder may comprise a template into which the user may place the negotiable instrument. The holder may position the negotiable instrument in a predetermined manner and/or may comprise predetermined markings or features and the financial institution may identify the positioning of the negotiable instrument and may retrieve the data therefrom based on the position, markings, and/or features of the negotiable instrument and/or the holder.

“This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A processor-implemented method of depositing a negotiable instrument, comprising: establishing, with a processor, a real-time two-way communication pathway with a video-enabled mobile device operated by a user, receiving, with a processor, live video of a negotiable instrument captured by a sensor of the video-enabled mobile device; analyzing, with a processor, the video to determine whether the negotiable instrument is readable; providing information, with a processor, to display on the video-enabled mobile device while the video is being received, the information advising the user regarding a status of the deposit process; and initiating, with a processor, a procedure to deposit funds of the negotiable instrument into an account based on deposit information extracted from the video of the negotiable instrument.

“2. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying and authenticating the user of the video-enabled mobile device with a biometric characteristic received in the video from the video-enabled mobile device.

“3. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the real-time two-way communication pathway is video instant messaging.

“4. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, wherein a processor of the video-enabled mobile device receives the live video of the negotiable instrument captured by the sensor of the video-enabled mobile device and analyzes the video to determine whether the negotiable instrument is readable.

“5. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, wherein a processor of a financial institution receives the live video of the negotiable instrument captured by the sensor of the video-enabled mobile device and analyzes the video to determine whether the negotiable instrument is readable.

“6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: verifying, with a processor, an endorsement of the negotiable instrument using a second biometric characteristic.

“7. The method of claim 2, wherein the second biometric characteristic is the same as the biometric characteristic used in authenticating the user.

“8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing, with a processor, instructions specifying a specific set of parameters for the sensor of the video-enabled mobile device to utilize in capturing the live video.

“9. The method of claim 1, wherein the live video is received via a streaming video format.

“10. The method of claim 1, wherein the live video of the negotiable instrument is analyzed as it is received.

“11. The method of claim 1, wherein the video-enabled mobile device is a mobile phone.

“12. A device, comprising: memory; and a processor in communication with the memory, the processor configured to: establish a real-time two-way communication pathway with a video-enabled mobile device operated by a user; receive live video of a negotiable instrument captured by a sensor of the video-enabled mobile device; analyze the video to determine whether the negotiable instrument is readable; provide information to display on the video-enabled mobile device while the video is being received, the information advising the user regarding a status of the deposit process; and initiate a process to deposit funds of the negotiable instrument into an account based on deposit information extracted from the video of the negotiable instrument.

“13. The device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to identify and authenticate the user of the video-enabled mobile device with a biometric characteristic received in the video from the video-enabled mobile device.

“14. The device of claim 12, wherein the real-time two-way communication pathway is video instant messaging.

“15. The device of claim 12, wherein the device is the video-enabled mobile device.

“16. The device of claim 12, wherein the device is part of a system of a financial institution.

“17. The device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to verify an endorsement of the negotiable instrument using a second biometric characteristic.

“18. The device of claim 17, wherein the second biometric characteristic is the same as the biometric characteristic used in authenticating the user.

“19. The device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to provide instructions specifying a specific set of parameters for the sensor of the video-enabled mobile device to utilize in capturing the live video.

“20. The device of claim 12, wherein the live video is received via a streaming video format.

“21. The device of claim 12, wherein the live video of the negotiable instrument is analyzed as it is received.”

URL and more information on this patent, see: Buentello, Andre Rene. Systems and methods for live video financial deposit. U.S. Patent Number 11694268, filed October 27, 2021, and published online on July 4, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11694268)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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