Simultaneous real-time presentation of financial information

• US 7,686,208 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2007
• Issued: 03/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: DST Systems Incorporated (SS&C Technologies Holdings Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: DST Systems Incorporated (SS&C Technologies Holdings Incorporated)
• Inventors: Mallot, Kyle M., Tritt, Robert L., Glascock, Bradley C., Hawkins, Scott A., Glasgow, Todd P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rudy; Andrew Joseph
• Application Number:
  US11/821,872
• Publication Number:
  US 20080005006A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,008 Days
• Field of Search: 235/376, 235/379, 705/30, 705/35, 705/36.R, 707/10, 707/100, 717/100
• US Class Current: 235/376
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/95 Financial

Abstract

The present invention is defined by the following claims, and nothing in this section should be taken as a limitation on those claims. By way of introduction, the preferred embodiments describe below include a method of simultaneously presenting user specific real-time financial information includes authenticating a user, for example by using a user-id and password. Then receiving an input from the user indicating the shareholder of interest. The user is then presented with a list of the shareholder'"'"'s account information. The shareholder account information can be retrieved from several different record keeping systems. The record keeping systems can be maintained by different entities and can store the respective account information in different formats. The shareholder account information can be retrieved by broadcasting an account inquiry to the record keeping systems or by using a cross-reference table that indicates which record keeping systems the shareholder has accounts with. A combination of the broadcast and cross-reference table can be used. Once the shareholder account information is presented, the user can select an account, for example by a hyperlink tag, and receive detailed information about that account.

Claims

1. A system for providing access to substantially real-time financial information of account holders in a computerized system, the substantially real-time financial information describing a first account of a first account holder being stored on a first record keeping system, a second account of the first account holder being stored on a second record keeping system, a third account of a second account holder being stored on a second record keeping system, and a fourth account of the second account holder being stored on a fourth record keeping system, the first record keeping system being different from the second record keeping system and the third record keeping system being different from the fourth record keeping system, the first account holder being different from the second account holder, the system comprising:

a server operative to receive, from a user, identification of a selected account holder, the selected account holder identification being indicative of at least one of the first account holder, the second account holder, or a combination thereof;

the server being further operative to determine the first record keeping system, the second record keeping system, the third record keeping system, the fourth record keeping system, or a combination thereof, which store the first account, the second account, the third account, the fourth account, or a combination thereof, associated with the selected account holder identification; and

wherein the server further comprises a communications module operative to transmit requests to each of the determined the first record keeping system, the second record keeping system, the third record keeping system, the fourth record keeping system, or a combination thereof, substantially simultaneously, the requests requesting therefrom, information associated with at least the stored one of the first account, the second account, the third account, the fourth account, or a combination thereof, of at least one of the first account holder, the second account holder, or a combination thereof, indicated by the selected account holder identification; and

wherein the communications module is further operative to receive responses to the requests from the determined the first record keeping system, the second record keeping system, the third record keeping system, the fourth record keeping system, or a combination thereof, the responses including substantially real-time financial information associated with the at least the stored one of the first account, the second account, the third account, the fourth account, or a combination thereof, of at least one of the first account holder, the second account holder, or a combination thereof, indicated by the selected account holder identification.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the server further comprises a database for storing a cross-reference between the selected account holder identification and the first record keeping system, the second record keeping system, the third record keeping system, the fourth record keeping system, or a combination thereof, storing at least one of the first account, the second account, the third account, the fourth account, or a combination thereof, associated with the at least one of the first account holder, the second account holder, or a combination thereof, identified by the selected account holder identification.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the communications module is further operative to transmit requests to all of the first record keeping system, the second record keeping system, the third record keeping system, and the fourth record keeping system, substantially simultaneously when the database does not have a cross-reference stored therein.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the server is further operative to create a cross-reference in the database between the selected account holder identification and each of the first record keeping system, the second record keeping system, the third record keeping system, the fourth record keeping system, or a combination thereof, which respond with the requested substantially real-time financial information associated with the selected account holder identification and not create a cross-reference in the database between the selected account holder identification and each of the first record keeping system, the second record keeping system, the third record keeping system, the fourth record keeping system, or a combination thereof, which respond otherwise.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the server is further operative to update the cross-reference in the database between the selected account holder identification and each of the first record keeping system, the second record keeping system, the third record keeping system, the fourth record keeping system, or a combination thereof, based on the responses therefrom.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein the cross-reference between the selected account holder identification and the first record keeping system, the second record keeping system, the third record keeping system, the fourth record keeping system, or a combination thereof, which store each of the first account, the second account, the third account, the fourth account, or a combination thereof, associated with the at least one of the first account holder, the second account holder, or a combination thereof, identified by the selected account holder identification, is created upon enrollment of the at least one of the first account holder, the second account holder, or a combination thereof, identified by the selected account holder identification.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein the server further comprises a list of record keeping systems not cross referenced in the database.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the server is further operative to determine a record keeping system specific account holder identifier associated with each of the determined first record keeping system, the second record keeping system, the third record keeping system, the fourth record keeping system, or a combination thereof, each request including the associated determined record keeping specific account holder identifier.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the record keeping specific account holder identifier comprises an account number.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the record keeping specific account holder identifier comprises a password.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein the server is further operative to receive a user specific identifier from the user prior to receiving the selected account holder identification, the user specific identifier being different from each of the determined record keeping system specific account holder identifiers.

12. The system of claim 8 wherein each of the requests further include the user specific identifier.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is further operative to determine a record keeping system specific request format associated with each of the determined first record keeping system, the second record keeping system, the third record keeping system, the fourth record keeping system, or a combination thereof, each request being formatted based on the associated determined record keeping specific request format.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the request comprises a request for the status of the at least the stored one of the first account, the second account, the third account, or the fourth account, a combination thereof, of at least one of the first account holder, the second account holder, or a combination thereof, indicated by the selected account holder identification.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the server further comprises a presentation module coupled with the communications module and operative to present portions of the responses contemporaneously.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the server is further operative to verify that an identifier of the user indicates that the user is authorized to view the responses.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein the server is further operative to receive, from the user, a user specific identifier, identify a subset of the first account holder, the second account holder, or a combination thereof, associated with the user specific identifier, compare the subset with the selected account holder identification, and determine and transmit only where the at least one of the first account holder, the second account holder, or a combination thereof, identified by the selected account holder identification is also identified in the subset.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein the server is further operative to receive, from the user, a user specific identifier, identify a subset of the first account holder, the second account holder, or a combination thereof, associated with the user specific identifier, present the subset to the user, and permit the user to select from the presented subset to provide the selected account holder identification.

19. The system of claim 1 wherein the server is further operative to charge a fee based on the performance of the transmitting and receiving.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the fee is based on the number of requests.

21. The system of claim 19 wherein the fee is charged to the user, the at least one of the first account holder, the second account holder, or a combination thereof.

22. The system of claim 19 wherein the fee is charged to a financial institution affiliated with the first account holder, the second account holder, or a combination thereof.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the user comprises a financial intermediary.

24. A system for providing access to substantially real-time financial information of account holders in a computerized system, the substantially real-time financial information describing a first account of a first account holder being stored on a first record keeping system, a second account of the first account holder being stored on a second record keeping system, a third account of a second account holder being stored on a second record keeping system, and a fourth account of the second account holder being stored on a fourth record keeping system, the first record keeping system being different from the second record keeping system and the third record keeping system being different from the fourth record keeping system, the first account holder being different from the second account holder, the system comprising:

means for receiving, from a user, identification of a selected account holder by an access device, the selected account holder identification being indicative of at least one of the first account holder, the second account holder, or a combination thereof;

means for determining, by the access device, the first record keeping system, the second record keeping system, the third record keeping system, the fourth record keeping system, or a combination thereof, which store the first account, the second account, the third account, the fourth account, or a combination thereof, associated with the selected account holder identification;

means for transmitting, in response to the determining, requests by the access device to each of the determined the first record keeping system, the second record keeping system, the third record keeping system, the fourth record keeping system, or a combination thereof, substantially simultaneously, the requests requesting therefrom, information associated with at least the stored one of the first account, the second account, the third account, the fourth account, or a combination thereof, of at least one of the first account holder, the second account holder, or a combination thereof, indicated by the selected account holder identification; and

means for receiving responses by the access device from the determined first record keeping system, the second record keeping system, the third record keeping system, the fourth record keeping system, or a combination thereof, in response to the requests, the responses including substantially real-time financial information associated with the at least the stored one of the first account, the second account, the third account, the fourth account, or a combination thereof, of at least one of the first account holder, the second account holder, or a combination thereof, indicated by the selected account holder identification.