Systems and methods for preventing duplicative electronic check processing

• US 8,112,357 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2007
• Issued: 02/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond (Federal Reserve System)
• Original Assignee: Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (Federal Reserve System), Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (Federal Reserve System), Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond (Federal Reserve System)
• Inventors: Mueller, Randall Lee, Nori, V. Srinivas, Breeden, Benjamin T. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): MILEF, ELDA G
• Application Number:
  US11/982,985
• Publication Number:
  US 20080162320A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,554 Days
• Field of Search: 705/45, 705/35
• US Class Current: 705/45
• 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 20/0425 the cheque being electronic only
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

Preventing duplicate ICL files and/or ICL file elements, including duplicate ICLs, items, and item bundles, from being processed for payment and/or presentment. A duplicate detection module can assign a predictable and repeatable unique identifier to each ICL file and/or ICL file element. The duplicate detection module can determine whether each ICL file and/or element is a duplicate by comparing the identifier associated with the ICL file and/or element with information stored in a record of already processed files/elements. In response to determining that an ICL file and/or element is a duplicate, the duplicate detection module can determine not to process the file/element for payment and/or presentment. In response to determining that the ICL file and/or element is not a duplicate, the duplicate detection module can store information regarding the file/element in the record. For example, the stored information can include the unique identifier associated with the file/element.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for preventing duplicative electronic check processing, comprising the steps of:

assigning, by a duplicate detection module, a unique identifier to at least a portion of an image cash letter (“

ICL”

) file based upon information associated with the ICL file;

determining, by the duplicate detection module, whether the at least a portion of the ICL file is a duplicate by comparing the unique identifier assigned to the at least a portion of the ICL file with information stored in a record;

in response to determining that the at least a portion of the ICL file is a duplicate, determining, by the duplicate detection module, not to process the at least a portion of the ICL file for at least one of payment and presentment; and

in response to determining that the at least a portion of the ICL file is not a duplicate, assigning, by the duplicate detection module, a unique identifier to at least one element of the at least a portion of the ICL file based upon information associated with the at least one element of the ICL file,

wherein the duplicate detection module is implemented in a 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 the at least a portion of the ICL file comprises the entire ICL file.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least a portion of the ICL file comprises at least one of an ICL, an item bundle, and an item of the ICL file.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the unique identifier comprises information derived from information within the ICL file.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the unique identifier comprises at least one objective metric of the at least a portion of the ICL file.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the objective metric comprises a byte count of the at least a portion of the ICL file.

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

determining, by the duplicate detection module, whether the at least one element is a duplicate by comparing the unique identifier assigned to the at least one element with information stored in the record; and

in response to determining that the at least one element is not a duplicate, storing the unique identifier assigned to the at least one element in the record.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the duplicate detection module determines that the at least a portion of the ICL file is a duplicate if the information stored in the record includes the unique identifier assigned to the at least a portion of the ICL file.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the unique identifier comprises hashed information related to the at least a portion of the ICL file.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the hashed information comprises at least one of a byte count of the ICL file, a total number of ICL'"'"'s in the ICL file, a total number of bundles in the ICL file, a total number of items in the ICL file, and a total dollar value of the items in the ICL file.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the hashed information comprises at least two of a byte count of the ICL file, a total number of ICL'"'"'s in the ICL file, a total number of bundles in the ICL file, a total number of items in the ICL file, and a total dollar value of the items in the ICL file.

12. A computer-implemented method for preventing duplicative electronic check processing, comprising the steps of:

assigning, by a duplicate detection module, a unique identifier to an image cash letter (“

ICL”

) based upon information associated with the ICL;

determining, by the duplicate detection module, whether the ICL is a duplicate by comparing the unique identifier assigned to the ICL with information stored in a record;

in response to determining that the ICL is a duplicate, determining, by the duplicate detection module, not to process the ICL for at least one of payment and presentment; and

in response to determining that the ICL is not a duplicate, assigning, by the duplicate detection module, a unique identifier to at least one element of the ICL based upon information associated with the at least one element of the ICL,

wherein the duplicate detection module is implemented in a computer system that comprises instructions stored in a machine-readable medium and a processor that executes the instructions.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the unique identifier comprises information derived from information within the ICL.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the unique identifier comprises at least one objective metric of the ICL.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the objective metric comprises a byte count of the ICL.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

determining, by the duplicate detection module, whether the at least one element of the ICL is a duplicate by comparing the unique identifier assigned to the at least one element of the ICL with information stored in the record; and

in response to determining that the at least one element of the ICL is not a duplicate, storing the unique identifier assigned to the at least one element of the ICL in the record.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein

the at least one element of the ICL comprises an item bundle of the ICL and the method further comprises:

determining, by the duplicate detection module, whether the item bundle is a duplicate by comparing the unique identifier assigned to the item bundle with information stored in the record; and

in response to determining that the item bundle is a duplicate, determining, by the duplicate detection module, not to process the item bundle for at least one of payment and presentment.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the steps of:

in response to determining that the item bundle ICL is not a duplicate,

assigning, by the duplicate detection module, a unique identifier to an item of the item bundle based upon information associated with the item of the item bundle;

determining, by the duplicate detection module, whether the item is a duplicate by comparing the unique identifier assigned to the item with information stored in the record; and

in response to determining that the item is a duplicate, determining, by the duplicate detection module, not to process the item for at least one of payment and presentment.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the duplicate detection module determines that the ICL file is a duplicate if the information stored in the record includes the unique identifier assigned to the ICL file.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the unique identifier comprises hashed information related to the ICL.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the hashed information comprises at least one of a byte count of the ICL, a total number of bundles in the ICL, a total number of items in the ICL, and a total dollar value of the items in the ICL.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the hashed information comprises at least two of a byte count of the ICL, a total number of bundles in the ICL, a total number of items in the ICL, and a total dollar value of the items in the ICL.

23. A computer-implemented method for preventing duplicative electronic check processing, comprising the steps of:

assigning, by a duplicate detection module, a unique identifier to an item bundle of an image cash letter (“

ICL”

) based upon information associated with the item bundle;

determining, by the duplicate detection module, whether the item bundle is a duplicate by comparing the unique identifier assigned to the item bundle with information stored in a record;

in response to determining that the item bundle is a duplicate, determining, by the duplicate detection module, not to process the item bundle for at least one of payment and presentment; and

in response to determining that the item bundle is not a duplicate, assigning, by the duplicate detection module, a unique identifier to at least one element of the item bundle based upon information associated with the at least one element of the item bundle,

wherein the duplicate detection module is implemented in a computer system that comprises instructions stored in a machine-readable medium and a processor that executes the instructions.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the unique identifier comprises information derived from information within the item bundle.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the unique identifier comprises at least one objective metric of the item bundle.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the objective metric comprises a byte count of the item bundle.

27. The method of claim 23, further comprising the steps of:

determining, by the duplicate detection module, whether the at least one element of the item bundle is a duplicate by comparing the unique identifier assigned to the at least one element of the item bundle with information stored in the record; and

in response to determining that the at least one element of the item bundle is not a duplicate, storing the unique identifier assigned to the at least one element of the item bundle in the record.

28. The method of claim 23, further comprising the steps of:

determining, by the duplicate detection module, whether the at least one element of the item bundle is a duplicate by comparing the unique identifier assigned to the at least one element of the item bundle with information stored in the record; and

in response to determining that the at least one element of the item bundle is a duplicate, determining, by the duplicate detection module, not to process the at least one element of the item bundle for at least one of payment and presentment.

29. The method of claim 23, wherein the duplicate detection module determines that the item bundle is a duplicate if the information stored in the record includes the unique identifier assigned to the item bundle.

30. The method of claim 23, wherein the unique identifier comprises hashed information related to the item bundle.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the hashed information comprises at least one of a byte count of the item bundle, a total number of items in the item bundle, and a total dollar value of the items in the item bundle.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the hashed information comprises at least two of a byte count of the item bundle, a total number of items in the item bundle, and a total dollar value of the items in the item bundle.

33. A computer-implemented method for preventing duplicative electronic check processing, comprising the steps of:

assigning, by a duplicate detection module, a unique identifier to at least a portion of an item bundle of an image cash letter (“

ICL”

) based upon information associated with the ICL;

determining, by the duplicate detection module, whether the at least a portion of the item bundle is a duplicate by comparing the unique identifier assigned to the at least a portion of the item bundle with information stored in a record;

in response to determining that the at least a portion of the item bundle is a duplicate, determining, by the duplicate detection module, not to process the at least a portion of the item bundle for at least one of payment and presentment; and

in response to determining that the at least a portion of the item bundle is not a duplicate, assigning, by the duplicate detection module, a unique identifier to at least one element of the at least a portion of the item bundle based upon information associated with the at least one element,

wherein the duplicate detection module is implemented in a computer system that comprises instructions stored in a machine-readable medium and a processor that executes the instructions.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the unique identifier comprises information derived from information within the item.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the unique identifier comprises at least one objective metric of the item.

36. The method of claim 33, further comprising the step of:

in response to determining that the item is not a duplicate, storing the unique identifier assigned to the item in the record.

37. The method of claim 33, wherein the duplicate detection module determines that the item is a duplicate if the information stored in the record includes the unique identifier assigned to the item.

38. The method of claim 33, wherein the unique identifier comprises hashed information related to the item.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the hashed information comprises at least one of a byte count of the item and dollar value of the item.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein the hashed information comprises a byte count of the item and a dollar value of the item.

41. A computer-implemented method for preventing duplicative electronic check processing, comprising the steps of:

assigning, by a duplicate detection module, a unique identifier to an item of an image cash letter (“

ICL”

), the unique identifier being predictable and repeatable such that the duplicate detection module will assign the same unique identifier to the same item on separate occasions;

determining, by the duplicate detection module, whether the item is a duplicate by comparing the unique identifier assigned to the item with information stored in a record; and

in response to determining that the item is a duplicate, determining, by the duplicate detection module, not to process the item for at least one of payment and presentment, wherein

the unique identifier comprises at least one objective metric of the item,

the objective metric comprises a byte count of the item, and

the duplicate detection module is implemented in a computer system that comprises instructions stored in a machine-readable medium and a processor that executes the instructions.

42. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium having computer-readable program code encoded thereon for preventing duplicative electronic check processing, the computer-readable medium comprising;

computer-readable program code that is computer executable for assigning a unique identifier to at least a portion of an image cash letter (“

ICL”

) file based upon information associated with the ICL file;

computer-readable program code that is computer executable for determining that the at least a portion of the ICL file is a duplicate if information stored in a record already includes the unique identifier assigned to the at least a portion of the ICL file;

computer-readable program code that is computer executable for determining not to process the at least a portion of the ICL file for at least one of payment and presentment in response to determining that the at least a portion of the ICL file is a duplicate; and

computer-readable program code that is computer executable for, in response to determining that the at least a portion of the ICL file is not a duplicate, assigning a unique identifier to at least one element of the at least a portion of the ICL file based upon information associated with the at least one element.

43. The computer program product of claim 42, wherein the at least a portion of the ICL file comprises at least one of an ICL and an item bundle.

44. The computer program product of claim 42, wherein the unique identifier comprises information derived from information within the ICL file.

45. The computer program product of claim 42, wherein the unique identifier comprises at least one objective metric of the at least a portion of the ICL file.

46. The computer program product of claim 42, wherein the objective metric comprises a byte count of the at least a portion of the ICL file.

47. The computer program product of claim 42, further comprising

computer-readable program code that is computer executable for determining that the at least one element is a duplicate if information stored in the record includes the unique identifier assigned to the at least one element;

and

computer-readable program code that is computer executable for, in response to determining that the at least one element is not a duplicate, storing the unique identifier assigned to the at least one element in the record.

48. The computer program product of claim 42, wherein the computer-readable program code that is computer executable for determining that the at least a portion of the ICL file is a duplicate comprises computer-readable program code that is computer executable for determining that the at least a portion of the ICL file is a duplicate if the information stored in the record includes the unique identifier assigned to the ICL file.

49. The computer program product of claim 42, wherein the unique identifier comprises hashed information related to the at least a portion of the ICL file.

50. The computer program product of claim 49, wherein the hashed information comprises at least one of a byte count of the ICL file, a total number of ICL'"'"'s in the ICL file, a total number of bundles in the ICL file, a total number of items in the ICL file, and a total dollar value of the items in the ICL file.

51. The computer program product of claim 49, wherein the hashed information comprises at least two of a byte count of the ICL file, a total number of ICL'"'"'s in the ICL file, a total number of bundles in the ICL file, a total number of items in the ICL file, and a total dollar value of the items in the ICL file.

52. A system for preventing duplicative electronic check processing, comprising:

means for assigning a unique identifier to at least a portion of an image cash letter (“

ICL”

) file based upon information associated with the ICL file;

means for determining that the at least a portion of the ICL file is a duplicate if information stored in a record already includes the unique identifier assigned to the at least a portion of the ICL file;

means for determining not to process the at least a portion of the ICL file for at least one of payment and presentment in response to determining that the at least a portion of the ICL file is a duplicate; and

means for, in response to determining that the at least a portion of the ICL file is not a duplicate, assigning a unique identifier to at least one element of the at least a portion of the ICL file based upon information associated with the at least one element.

53. The system of claim 52, wherein the at least a portion of the ICL file comprises at least one of an ICL and an item bundle.

54. The system of claim 52, wherein the unique identifier comprises information derived from information within the ICL file.

55. The system of claim 52, wherein the unique identifier comprises at least one objective metric of the at least a portion of the ICL file.

56. The system of claim 52, further comprising

means for determining that the at least one element is a duplicate if information stored in the record includes the unique identifier assigned to the at least one element;

and

means for, in response to determining that the at least one element is not a duplicate, storing the unique identifier assigned to the at least one element in the record.

57. The system of claim 52, wherein the means for determining that the at least a portion of the ICL file is a duplicate determines that the at least a portion of the ICL file is a duplicate if the information stored in the record includes the unique identifier assigned to the ICL file.

58. The system of claim 52, wherein the unique identifier comprises hashed information related to the at least a portion of the ICL file.

59. The system of claim 58, wherein the hashed information comprises at least one of a byte count of the ICL file, a total number of ICL'"'"'s in the ICL file, a total number of bundles in the ICL file, a total number of items in the ICL file, and a total dollar value of the items in the ICL file.

60. The system of claim 58, wherein the hashed information comprises at least two of a byte count of the ICL file, a total number of ICL'"'"'s in the ICL file, a total number of bundles in the ICL file, a total number of items in the ICL file, and a total dollar value of the items in the ICL file.

61. A computer system for preventing duplicative electronic check processing, comprising:

a database that stores a record;

a duplicate detection module comprising instructions on a computer-readable medium, the instructions

(1) assigning a unique identifier to at least a portion of an image cash letter (“

ICL”

) file based upon information associated with the ICL file,

(2) determining whether the at least a portion of the ICL file is a duplicate by comparing the unique identifier assigned to the at least a portion of the ICL file with information stored in the record,

(3) in response to determining that the at least a portion of the ICL file is a duplicate, determining not to process the at least a portion of the ICL file for at least one of payment and presentment, and

(4) in response to determining that the at least a portion of the ICL file is not a duplicate, assigning, by the duplicate detection module, a unique identifier to at least one element of the at least a portion of the ICL file based upon information associated with the at least one element; and

a processor that executes the instructions of the duplicate detection module.

62. The system of claim 61, wherein the at least a portion of the ICL file comprises at least one of an ICL and an item bundle.

63. The system of claim 61, wherein the unique identifier comprises information derived from information within the ICL file.

64. The system of claim 61, wherein the unique identifier comprises at least one objective metric of the at least a portion of the ICL file.

65. The system of claim 61, wherein the duplicate detection module further comprises instructions

determining whether the at least one element is a duplicate by comparing the unique identifier assigned to the at least one element with information stored in the record;

and

storing the unique identifier assigned to the at least one element in the record, in response to determining that the at least one element is not a duplicate.

66. The system of claim 61, wherein the duplicate detection module further comprises instructions determining that the at least a portion of the ICL file is a duplicate if the information stored in the record includes the unique identifier assigned to the ICL file.

67. The system of claim 61, wherein the unique identifier comprises hashed information related to the at least a portion of the ICL file.

68. The system of claim 67, wherein the hashed information comprises at least one of a byte count of the ICL file, a total number of ICL'"'"'s in the ICL file, a total number of bundles in the ICL file, a total number of items in the ICL file, and a total dollar value of the items in the ICL file.

69. The system of claim 67, wherein the hashed information comprises at least two of a byte count of the ICL file, a total number of ICL'"'"'s in the ICL file, a total number of bundles in the ICL file, a total number of items in the ICL file, and a total dollar value of the items in the ICL file.