Check verification system

• US 4,187,498 A
• Filed: 02/02/1978
• Issued: 02/05/1980
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/1975
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: CREO SRL, Telecredit Incorporated (Equifax, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: 1ST National Bank
• Inventors: Creekmore, Robert V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pitts, Harold I.
• Application Number:
  US05/874,691
• Time in Patent Office: 733 Days
• Field of Search: 340/149 A, 340/149 R, 235/379, 235/432
• US Class Current: 340/5.8
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/042 characterized in that the payment protocol involves at least one cheque
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4037 Remote solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/122 Online card verification

Abstract

A check verification system for providing customer-operated verification of checks at point-of-sale locations. The present system enables a customer to verify several possible kinds of checking functions, including verification of payroll or government checks as well as certain types of personal checks for cash, and sets limits on the number of times each checking function will be verified in a period of time. The system utilizes a number of local point-of-use terminals which are operated by the customer, and which communicate with a remotely-located transaction processor including a positive file of customers who are entitled to verify checks with the present system. The positive check verification files do not require the current bank balance of the customer, and the present system is designed to include persons who are merely the payees of checks and have no checking account or other established relationship with any bank. The present check verification system includes an identification card containing a unique number for each customer; a personal customer code, which is not on the card, is also provided for manual entry into the input terminal by the customer. Check verification is given a positive acknowledgement within the input terminal by printing information including a verification number on the back of the specific check being verified. The printed verification number on the customer-supplied check enables such checks to be factored or purchased for the benefit of the merchant who accepts checks verified by the present system.

Claims

1. Method of verifying the check presentation history of a number of persons who may present various types of checks for acceptance, comprising the steps of:

establishing signals corresponding to predetermined categories of checks which each individual customer may desire to present;

establishing signals corresponding to a predetermined maximum number of checks, for each of said check categories that are predetermined for such individual customer, which will be approved for acceptance if presented by such individual customer within a certain period of time;

establishing signals corresponding to a separate customer-supplied predetermined personal authorization code for each individual customer;

at the time of each present request by a customer for acceptance of a particular category of check accompanied by signals corresponding to a customer-furnished possible personal code, initially comparing said possible personal code signals for identity with said predetermined personal code signal for that customer, and if identical;

comparing said predetermined check category signals with signals corresponding to the particular requested category of check to determine whether the particular requested category of check is one of the categories that was predetermined for that particular customer, and if so;

comparing said signals corresponding to a predetermined maximum number of checks with signals corresponding to the number of times that particular customer has requested approval of said particular category of check within said certain period of time to determine whether granting the present request for acceptance will exceed said predetermined maximum number of times said particular requested category of check has been approved for acceptance for that particular customer within said certain period of time, and if not;

providing a signal corresponding to approval of said present request for acceptance.

2. The method as in claim 1, comprising the further steps of printing an authorization code on a customer-supplied check in response to each said approval of a present request.

3. The method as in claim 2, wherein said authorization code identifies said particular type of checking function.

4. The method as in claim 2, wherein said authorization code is a function of the time of day when said present request was granted.

5. The method as in claim 1, comprising the further steps of maintaining signals corresopnding to a count of the number of checks in each separate category that are approved for each of said individual customers within said certain period of time, and periodically resetting said signals so as to correspond to a count having a certain initial value.