Monitoring transactions by non-account holder

• US 7,529,710 B1
• Filed: 06/10/2004
• Issued: 05/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Valid Systems
• Original Assignee: Valid Systems
• Inventors: Griffin, Jason Victor, Clower, Dyron Lee, Templer, John Wesley Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Havan; Thu-Thao
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hammond, III; Thomas M
• Application Number:
  US10/864,513
• Time in Patent Office: 1,790 Days
• Field of Search: 705 35- 40
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03

Abstract

Monitoring a non-account holder seeking to perform a transaction with a financial institution includes receiving first transaction information including an identity of a non-account holder and a disposition of a first transaction between a first financial institution and the non-account holder. The first transaction information is stored in a transaction history data store. A portion of the first transaction information in the transaction history data store is later accessed when determining whether to perform a subsequent transaction with the non-account holder.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of monitoring a non-account holder seeking to perform a transaction with a financial institution, wherein the non-account holder is an individual who does not have a banking relationship with the financial institution it is seeking a transaction with, the method comprising:

electronically receiving first transaction information related to one or more past transactions between a non-account holder and a first financial institution, the first transaction information including and a disposition of a first transaction between the first financial institution and the non-account holder;

electronically storing the first transaction information in a transaction history data store;

electronically receiving second transaction information related to one or more past transactions between the non-account holder and a second financial institution, the second transaction information including a disposition of a second transaction between the second financial institution and the non-account holder, the second financial institution being different from the first financial institution and the second transaction being different from the first transaction;

electronically storing the second transaction information in the transaction history data store;

electronically storing, in a risk engine data store, a first set of risk rules for the first financial institution, each rule in the first set of risk rules being a rule applicable to non-account holder transaction history data for determining whether to perform a requested transaction between the non-account holder and the first financial institution;

electronically storing, in the risk engine data store a second set of risk rules for the second financial institution, the second set of risk rules being different from the first set of risk rules, each rule in the second set of risk rules being a rule applicable to non-account holder transaction history data for determining whether to perform a requested transaction between the non-account holder and the second financial institution;

electronically receiving a request for approval of the subsequent transaction with either the first financial institution or the second financial institution;

electronically determining an identity of either the first financial institution or the second financial institution in response to the request;

electronically selecting the first set of risk rules from among multiple risk rule sets based on the determined identity of the first financial institution or electronically selecting the second set of risk rules from among the multiple risk rule sets based on the determined identity of the second financial institution;

electronically determining, within a computer processor, whether to perform the subsequent transaction between the non-account holder and either the first financial institution or the second financial institution by applying the first set of risk rules or the second set of risk rules, respectively, based on the determined identity of either the first financial institution or the second financial institution, to at least a portion of the first transaction information and to at least a portion of the second transaction information; and

electronically communicating the subsequent transaction determination to either the first financial institution or the second financial institution.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising electronically receiving identity information for the non-account holder that includes a social security number.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising electronically receiving identity information for the non-account holder that includes a unique identity number.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising electronically receiving identity information for the non-account holder that includes biometric data that identifies the non-account holder.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the biometric data comprises image data of a fingerprint of the non-account holder.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising validating the identity of the non-account holder prior to receiving the first transaction information.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein validating the identity of the non-account holder comprises comparing identity information collected from the non-account holder with information accessed from third party data stores.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the information collected from the non-account holder and the accessed information include a social security number and information collected from a driver'"'"'s license.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the information collected from the non-account holder and the accessed information include biometric data.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the biometric data comprise image data of a fingerprint of the non-account holder.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein validating the identity of the non-account holder includes a teller at the first financial institution asking the non-account holder to answer verification questions if the collected identity information does not match the accessed information.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the verification questions include requesting one or more previous addresses associated with the non-account holder.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein validating the identity of the non-account holder includes a teller at the first financial institution answering confirmation questions if the collected identity information matches the accessed information.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the confirmation questions include questions related to the physical attributes of the non-account holder.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first transaction comprises cashing a check and the disposition of the first transaction includes an approval indicator indicating that the check was cashed by the first financial institution or a denial indicator indicating that the check was not cashed by the first financial institution.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the first transaction comprises opening an account and the disposition of the first transaction includes an approval indicator indicating that the account was opened by the first financial institution or a denial indicator indicating that the account was not opened by the first financial institution.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-account holder is an individual that participated in the past transactions with the first financial institution without having a banking relationship with the first financial institution and that participated in the past transactions with the second financial institution without having a banking relationship with the second financial institution.

34. The method of claim 33,

wherein the past transactions between the non-account holder and the first financial institution comprise check cashing transactions,

wherein the first transaction comprises a check cashing transaction and the disposition of the first transaction includes an approval indicator indicating that the check was cashed by the first financial institution or a denial indicator indicating that the check was not cashed by the first financial institution,

wherein the past transactions between the non-account holder and the second financial institution comprise check cashing transactions, and

wherein the second transaction comprises a check cashing transaction and the disposition of the second transaction includes an approval indicator indicating that the check was cashed by the second financial institution or a denial indicator indicating that the check was not cashed by the second financial institution.

35. The method of claim 34,

wherein the subsequent transaction with the first financial institution and the subsequent transaction with the second financial institution are check cashing transactions,

wherein the first set of risk rules includes a rule that if the non-account holder has requested to cash a check more than a first predetermined number of times during a window of time, the subsequent transaction with the first financial institution is not allowed, and

wherein the second set of risk rules includes a rule that if the non-account holder has requested to cash a check more than a second predetermined number of times during the window of time, the subsequent transaction with the second financial institution is not allowed, the second predetermined number of times being different from the first predetermined number of times.

39. The method of claim 1, wherein the first transaction information that is received further includes an identity of the non-account holder and the second transaction information that is received further includes the identity of the non-account holder.

41. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the multiple risk rule sets is assigned to a different financial institution.

17. A computer-implemented method of determining whether to perform a check cashing transaction with a non-account holder seeking to perform the check cashing transaction with a bank, wherein the non-account holder is an individual who does not have a banking relationship with the bank, the method comprising:

electronically receiving, from a non-account holder, a request that a first bank cash a first check for the non-account holder, the request including an identity of the non-account holder;

electronically accessing, based on the identity of the non-account holder, transaction history information associated with the non-account holder from a data store, the transaction history information including a history of check cashing transactions between the non-account holder and the first bank and a history of check cashing transactions between the non-account holder and a second bank different from the first bank;

electronically receiving information extracted from the first check;

electronically determining an identity of the first bank;

electronically selecting, from among a plurality of different sets of risk rules, a first set of risk rules based on the determined identity of the first bank, the selected first set of risk rules being previously assigned to the first bank for processing of check cashing requests at the first bank and the plurality of different sets of risk rules including a second set of risk rules that is different from the first set of risk rules and that was previously assigned to the second bank for processing of check cashing requests at the second bank;

electronically performing a risk analysis by applying the selected first set of risk rules to the information extracted from the first check and to the transaction history information for the non-account holder, wherein each rule in the first set of risk rules is a rule applicable to non-account holder transaction history data for determining whether to perform a requested transaction between the non-account holder and the first bank, and wherein each rule in the second set of risk rules is a rule applicable to non-account holder transaction history data for determining whether to perform a requested transaction between the non-account holder and the second bank;

electronically determining whether to cash the first check based on the risk analysis; and

electronically communicating to the first bank the determination whether to cash the first check.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the transaction request is received from a teller terminal at the first bank.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the transaction request is received from an Automated Teller Machine associated with the first bank.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the transaction history information further includes a history of check cashing transactions between the non-account holder and one or more other banks.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the transaction history information includes time, date, and transaction disposition information for check cashing transactions performed between the non-account holder and the first bank and for check cashing transactions performed between the non-account holder and the second bank.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the transaction history information includes an indicator that indicates whether the non-account holder has been placed on a negative list by the first bank.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein determining whether to cash the first check based on the risk analysis comprises determining not to cash the first check if the transaction history indicates that the non-account holder has been placed on a negative list by the first bank.

24. The method of claim 17, wherein determining whether to cash the first check based on the risk analysis comprises determining not to cash the first check if the transaction history indicates that the non-account holder has recently performed a prior check cashing transaction with the first bank or with another bank.

25. The method of claim 17, wherein the first set of risk rules includes rules that place a limit on the amount of the check that can be cashed.

26. The method of claim 17, wherein the first set of risk rules includes rules that place a limit on the frequency of the non-account holder requesting check cashing services from the first bank or from other banks.

27. The method of claim 17, wherein the first set of risk rules are tailored to the first bank and the second set of risk rules are tailored to the second bank.

28. The method of claim 17, wherein the first set of risk rules vary based on the identity of the non-account holder.

29. The method of claim 17, wherein the transaction request is a request to open an account with the financial institution.

36. The method of claim 17,

wherein the history of check cashing transactions between the non-account holder and the first bank comprises a history of check cashing transactions with the first bank in which the non-account holder participated without having a banking relationship with the first bank, and

wherein the history of check cashing transactions between the non-account holder and the second bank comprises a history of check cashing transactions with the second bank in which the non-account holder participated without having a banking relationship with the second bank.

37. The method of claim 36,

wherein the first set of risk rules includes a rule that if the non-account holder has requested to cash a check more than a first predetermined number of times during a window of time, the check should not be cashed by the first bank, and

wherein the second set of risk rules includes a rule that if the non-account holder has requested to cash a check more than a second predetermined number of times during the window of time, the check should not be cashed by the second bank.

38. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

receiving, from the non-account holder, a request that the second bank cash a second check for the non-account holder, the request including the identity of the non-account holder;

accessing, based on the identity of the non-account holder, the transaction history information associated with the non-account holder from the data store;

receiving information extracted from the second check;

determining an identity of the second bank;

selecting, from among a plurality of different sets of risk rules, the second set of risk rules based on the determined identity of the second bank;

performing a second risk analysis by applying the selected second set of risk rules to the information extracted from the second check and to the transaction history information for the non-account holder; and

determining whether to cash the second check based on the second risk analysis.

30. A system for monitoring a non-account holder seeking to perform a transaction with a financial institution, wherein the non-account holder is an individual who does not have a banking relationship with the financial institution it is seeking a transaction with, the system comprising:

a data store configured to store non-account holder transaction history; and

one or more computer processors configured to;

receive first transaction information related to one or more past transactions between a non-account holder and a first financial institution, the first transaction information including and a disposition of a first transaction between the first financial institution and the non-account holder;

store the first transaction information in a transaction history data store;

receive second transaction information related to one or more past transactions between the non-account holder and a second financial institution, the second transaction information including a disposition of a second transaction between the second financial institution and the non-account holder, the second financial institution being different from the first financial institution and the second transaction being different from the first transaction;

store the second transaction information in the transaction history data store;

store a first set of risk rules for the first financial institution, each rule in the first set of risk rules being a rule applicable to non-account holder transaction history data for determining whether to perform a requested transaction between the non-account holder and the first financial institution;

store a second set of risk rules for the second financial institution, the second set of risk rules being different from the first set of risk rules, each rule in the second set of risk rules being a rule applicable to non-account holder transaction history data for determining whether to perform a requested transaction between the non-account holder and the second financial institution;

receive a request for approval of the subsequent transaction with either the first financial institution or the second financial institution;

determine an identity of either the first financial institution or the second financial institution in response to the request;

select the first set of risk rules from among multiple risk rule sets based on the determined identity of the first financial institution or select the second set of risk rules from among the multiple risk rule sets based on the determined identity of the second financial institution;

determine whether to perform the subsequent transaction between the non-account holder and either the first financial institution or the second financial institution by applying the first set of risk rules or the second set of risk rules, respectively, based on the determined identity of either the first financial institution or the second financial institution, to at least a portion of the first transaction information and to at least a portion of the second transaction information; and

electronically communicate the subsequent transaction determination to either the first financial institution or the second financial institution.

40. The system of claim 30, wherein the first transaction information that is received by the one or more computer processors further includes an identity of the non-account holder and the second transaction information that is received by the one or more computer processors further includes the identity of the non-account holder.

42. The system of claim 30, wherein each of the multiple risk rule sets is assigned to a different financial institution.

31. A system for determining whether to perform a transaction with a non-account holder seeking to perform the transaction with a bank wherein the non-account holder is an individual who does not have a banking relationship with the bank, the system comprising:

a data store configured to store non-account holder transaction history; and

one or more computer processors configured to;

receive, from a non-account holder, a request that a first bank cash a first check for the non-account holder, the request including an identity of the non-account holder;

access, based on the identity of the non-account holder, transaction history information associated with the non-account holder from a data store, the transaction history information including a history of check cashing transactions between the non-account holder and the first bank and a history of check cashing transactions between the non-account holder and a second bank different from the first bank;

receive information extracted from the first check;

determine an identity of the first bank;

select, from among a plurality of different sets of risk rules, a first set of risk rules based on the determined identity of the first bank, the selected first set of risk rules being previously assigned to the first bank for processing of check cashing requests at the first bank and the plurality of different sets of risk rules including a second set of risk rules that is different from the first set of risk rules and that was previously assigned to the second bank for processing of check cashing requests at the second bank;

perform a risk analysis by applying the selected first set of risk rules to the information extracted from the first check and to the transaction history information for the non-account holder, wherein each rule in the first set of risk rules is a rule applicable to non-account holder transaction history data for determining whether to perform a requested transaction between the non-account holder and the first bank, and wherein each rule in the second set of risk rules is a rule applicable to non-account holder transaction history data for determining whether to perform a requested transaction between the non-account holder and the second bank;

determine whether to cash the first check based on the risk analysis; and

electronically communicate to the first bank the determination whether to cash the first check.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the one or more computer processors includes a risk engine that is configured to perform the risk analysis.