Cash letter print verification

• US 7,918,386 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2007
• Issued: 04/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (Federal Reserve System)
• Original Assignee: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (Federal Reserve System), Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (Federal Reserve System)
• Inventors: Treptow, David, Rodrigues, Richard, Mueller, Randall Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Seung H
• Assistant Examiner(s): JOHNSON, SONJI N
• Application Number:
  US11/982,950
• Publication Number:
  US 20090114711A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,246 Days
• Field of Search: 705/45, 235/462.1, 235/379, 235/375, 235/449, 235/487
• US Class Current: 235/375
• 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

Abstract

A printed cash letter includes a machine-readable identifier, such as a barcode, identifying the cash letter. Upon printing, information from the identifier is read and stored in a first record. To determine whether the cash letter is a duplicate, a check presentment module compares information from the identifier with information in the first record. If information identifying the cash letter already exists in the first record, the cash letter is a duplicate. To verify cash letter printing, information identifying multiple cash letters to be printed is stored in a second record. Upon printing a portion of the cash letters, information read from identifiers on the printed cash letters is compared with information in the second record. If the second record includes information regarding a cash letter not identified in the information scanned from the barcodes, then the check presentment module identifies the cash letter as having not been printed.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for verifying printing of an electronic image cash letter (“

ICL”

), comprising the steps of;

storing information regarding multiple ICLs to be printed in a first record;

reading information in each of a plurality of printed machine-readable identifiers, each printed machine-readable identifier being associated with a printed one of the ICLs;

storing the read information in a second record;

identifying, by a check presentment module, any of the ICLs that have not been printed by comparing the information in the first record with the information in the second record; and

causing, by the check presentment module, information regarding the identified ICLs to be displayed,

wherein the check presentment module is implemented in at least one computer system that comprises instructions stored in a machine-readable medium and a processor that executes the instructions.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each printed machine-readable identifier comprises a barcode.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of causing information regarding the identified ICLs to be displayed comprises outputting an alert including information regarding the identified ICLs.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, for each of the multiple ICLs to be printed, the information stored in the first record comprises information uniquely identifying the ICL.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the information uniquely identifying the ICL comprises at least one of a total value of items in the ICL, an ABA number of a bank that will receive a printed copy of the ICL, a total number of item bundles in the ICL, and a total number of items in the ICL.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, for each printed machine-readable identifier, the information stored in the second record comprises information uniquely identifying the one of the ICLs associated with the printed machine-readable identifier.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the information uniquely identifying the one of the ICLs comprises at least one of a total value of items in the ICL, an ABA number of a bank that will receive a printed copy of the ICL, a total number of item bundles in the ICL, and a total number of items in the ICL.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein each printed machine-readable identifier is disposed on a cover page of the one of the ICLs associated with the printed machine-readable identifier.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

for each of the printed machine-readable identifiers, prior to storing the read information in the second record, determining whether information regarding the one of the ICLs associated with the printed machine-readable identifier already is stored in the second record; and

in response to determining that information regarding the one of the ICLs associated with the printed machine-readable identifier already is stored in the second record, outputting an alert advising an operator that the one of the ICLs was printed twice.

10. A computer-implemented method for verifying printing of an electronic image cash letter (“

ICL”

), comprising the steps of;

storing, in a first record, information uniquely identifying each of multiple ICLs to be printed, the information stored for each ICL comprising at least one of a total value of items in the ICL, an ABA number of a bank that will receive a printed copy of the ICL, a total number of item bundles in the ICL, and a total number of items in the ICL;

reading information in each of a plurality of printed machine-readable identifiers, each printed machine-readable identifier being disposed on a printed one of the ICLs;

storing the read information in a second record;

determining, by a check presentment module, whether any of the ICLs have not been printed by comparing the information in the first record with the information in the second record; and

in response to determining that at least one of the ICLs has not been printed, causing, by the check presentment module, an output of an alert advising an operator that the at least one of the ICLs has not been printed,

wherein the check presentment module is implemented in at least one computer system that comprises instructions stored in a machine-readable medium and a processor that executes the instructions.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein each printed machine-readable identifier comprises a barcode.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein, for each machine-readable identifier, the information stored in the second record comprises information uniquely identifying the printed one of the ICLs on which the machine-readable identifier is disposed.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the information, stored in the second record, which uniquely identifies the printed one of the ICLs comprises at least one of a total value of items in the ICL, an ABA number of a bank that will receive a printed copy of the ICL, a total number of item bundles in the ICL, and a total number of items in the ICL.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

prior to storing the read information in the second record, determining whether information regarding the one of the ICLs associated with the printed machine-readable identifier already is stored in the second record; and

in response to determining that information regarding the one of the ICLs associated with the printed machine-readable identifier already is stored in the second record, outputting an alert notifying an operator that the one of the ICLs was printed twice.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein each printed machine-readable identifier is disposed on a cover page of the one of the ICLs associated with the printed barcode.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the alert includes information uniquely identifying the at least one of the ICLs has not been printed.

17. A computer-implemented method for verifying printing of an electronic image cash letter (“

ICL”

), comprising the steps of;

storing information regarding multiple ICLs to be printed in a record;

reading information in each of a plurality of printed machine-readable identifiers, each printed machine-readable identifier being associated with a printed one of the ICLs;

identifying, by a check presentment module, any of the ICLs that have not been printed by comparing the read information with the information stored in the record; and

causing, by the check presentment module, information regarding the identified ICLs to be displayed,

wherein the check presentment module is implemented in at least one computer system that comprises instructions stored in a machine-readable medium and a processor that executes the instructions.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein each printed machine-readable identifier comprises a barcode.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of causing information regarding the identified ICLs to be displayed comprises outputting an alert including information regarding the identified ICLs.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein, for each of the multiple ICLs to be printed, the information stored in the record comprises information uniquely identifying the ICL, the information uniquely identifying the ICL comprising at least one of a total value of items in the ICL, an ABA number of a bank that will receive a printed copy of the ICL, a total number of item bundles in the ICL, and a total number of items in the ICL.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein each printed machine-readable identifier is disposed on a cover page of the one of the ICLs associated with the printed machine-readable identifier.