Electronic fund transfer or transaction system

• US 7,708,199 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2003
• Issued: 05/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Millennium Commerce, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Arigern Capital LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Gatto, James G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech; Karl D.
• Application Number:
  US10/623,656
• Publication Number:
  US 20050173519A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,478 Days
• Field of Search: 705/16, 705/26, 705/30, 705/35, 705/36, 235/379, 235/375, 235/384, 235/381
• US Class Current: 235/381
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1085 involving automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/20 Automatic teller machines [ATMs]

Abstract

An electronic fund transfer (EFT) system capable of displaying a menu including one or more user-defined custom transactions associated with an identification card so that the user can select a desired transaction by a single selection or with limited inputs. The transactions may be defined by a user during a set-up/authorization operation and/or may be stored based on transactions performed by the user. Additionally, the transactions may be stored on the identification card, in a local memory of a transaction terminal and/or in a system memory of the EFT system. A single identification card may be used to enable the user to select from a plurality of financial accounts with different institutions. Another asset of an ATM system and method comprises a graphical user interface that enables a user to select a transaction type and the transaction parameters necessary to define that transaction from a single display. By use of a pointing device (and possibly other input devices), the user can select or change selections for the transaction type and/or transaction parameters. Preferably, the display is created using object-oriented programming and has a plurality of objects corresponding to the transaction type and transaction parameters. Using the pointing device, the user selects the transaction type. Once the transaction type is selected, the transaction parameters necessary to define the selected transaction type are selected. The ATM system may preselect transaction types and/or transaction parameters based on stored information relating to the user (such as a previous transaction or other information). If the selections are as the user desires them to be for the desired transaction, then the user can simply click on a command button (e.g. a button labeled “OK”) to cause the transaction to be executed. This potentially reduces the number of inputs or selections that a user must make to execute a desire transaction.

Claims

1. A system for automatically providing customer preferences during a fueling operation, the system comprising:

a fuel dispenser with an audio/visual customer interface having a display and audio system;

wireless communication electronics associated with said fuel dispenser and adapted to receive signals including indicia from remote communication units; and

a control system and memory associated with said communication electronics and said customer interface;

said control system adapted to receive the indicia from a remote communication unit and provide a customer with select information predefined by the customer at said customer interface, said select information being selected by the customer and associated with the remote communication unit prior to the transaction.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said memory is located apart from said fuel dispenser and is operatively associated with a central site control system.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said control system includes a dispenser control system located in said fuel dispenser.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein said control system further includes a central site control system located apart from said fuel dispenser.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said control system includes a central site control system located apart from said fuel dispenser.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the indicia includes identification indicia and said select information is stored in said memory in association with the identification indicia of the remote communication unit and said control system is adapted to access said select information in said memory upon receipt of the identification indicia and provide the select information at the customer interface.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein said control system is adapted to access said select information at a remote network based on the indicia and provide the select information at the customer interface upon receipt of the indicia and accessing said select information.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the indicia defines the select information stored in said memory, said control system adapted to access said select information using the indicia after receipt of the indicia and provide the select information at the customer interface.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the indicia includes the select information and said control system is adapted to receive said select information through the communication electronics and provide the select information at the customer interface.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the selected information is stored on an audio/visual source adapted for playback of audio/visual material and said control system is adapted to control the audio/visual source to play the audio/visual material at said customer interface.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein said select information includes audio and visual components.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein said select information includes a desired greeting to be provided at the customer interface to the customer.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein said greeting is audibly presented to the customer.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein said greeting is visually displayed to the customer.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein said control system is adapted to allow a customer to modify the predefined selected information during a transaction to receive additional selected information.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein said control system stores the additional selected information as said selected information for future transactions.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein said control system and said communications system are adapted to transmit information to the remote communications unit to store the additional information as the selected information.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein the wireless communication electronics comprises a magnetic card reader/writer and the remote communication units comprise magnetic cards.

19. A system for automatically preventing presentment of information based on customer preferences during a fueling operation, the system comprising:

a fuel dispenser with a customer interface adapted to present information to a customer during a transaction;

wireless communication electronics associated with said fuel dispenser and adapted to receive signals including indicia from remote communication units; and

a control system and memory associated with said communication electronics and said customer interface;

said control system adapted to present said select information at said customer interface;

said control system adapted to receive the indicia from a remote communication unit and prevent presentment of select information at said customer interface, said select information being selected by the customer and associated with the remote communication unit prior to the transaction.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the indicia is identification indicia and said select information is stored in association with the identification indicia of the remote communication unit and said control system is adapted to identify said select information upon receipt of the identification indicia and prevent the presentment of the select information accordingly.

21. The system of claim 19 wherein the predefined parameters are transmitted to the communication electronics from said remote communication unit and said control system is adapted to receive the predefined parameters and control the transaction accordingly.

22. An interrogation system associated with a fuel dispensing system for automatically providing customer preferences during a fueling operation, said system comprising:

a customer transaction interface associated with an interrogator for communicating with transponders; and

a control system and memory associated with said interrogator;

said control system adapted to interrogate a remote communication unit with said interrogator during a transaction and provide select types of information predefined by the customer at said customer interface, said select types of information being selected by the customer and associated with the remote communication unit prior to the transaction.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein said interrogator is adapted to interrogate the transponder and receive identification indicia, and provide such information to said control system.

24. The system of claim 22 wherein said interrogator is adapted to interrogate the transponder and receive indicia including the select types of information predefined by the customer, said control system using the indicia to determine the select types of information predefined by the customer, access the information and provide the information to the customer.

25. A method for automatically providing customer preferences during a fueling operation, the method comprising:

receiving indicia from a remote communication unit in association with a fueling transaction;

determining select types of information predefined by the customer using the indicia received from the remote communication unit, the select types of information being selected by the customer and associated with the remote communication unit prior to the fueling transaction;

accessing information defined by the select types of information; and

providing the information to the customer during a transaction.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the receiving includes receiving identification indicia for the remote communication unit and the accessing includes accessing information according to the select types of information in a database using the identification indicia.

27. The method of claim 25 wherein the indicia includes the select types of information.