Integration of facial recognition into cross channel authentication

• US 8,558,663 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2007
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bank of America Corp.
• Original Assignee: Bank of America Corp.
• Inventors: Newman, Kurt D., Banerjee, Sudeshna, Bendel, Timothy J., Ghosh, Debashis, Joa, David, Allison, Thayer S. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Benjamin C
• Assistant Examiner(s): KING, CURTIS J
• Application Number:
  US11/947,972
• Publication Number:
  US 20090140838A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,146 Days
• Field of Search: 340/5.83
• US Class Current: 340/5.41
• 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: G06Q 20/40145 Biometric identity checks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/257 electronically G07C9/26 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/37 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/20 Automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/207 Surveillance aspects at ATMs

Abstract

Real time facial images of individuals transacting accounts held in a bank facility are taken following the grant of authorization to the individual to access the account under the bank'"'"'s required identification protocol, the real time facial images being matched to recorded facial images of account holders maintained by the bank to further authenticate the transacting individual as having authorized account access.

Claims

1. An apparatus configured to authenticate an individual who is initiating a bank account transaction as having authorization to access the bank account, the apparatus comprising:

an imaging device configured to obtain a real time image of two or more facial features of the individual;

a memory device comprising bank account-associated image files, each bank account-associated image file comprising one or more recorded images of one or more facial features of one or more persons who are authorized to access the bank account;

a processing device communicably coupled to the imaging device and the memory device, wherein the processing device;

receives a level of accuracy number from the individual, wherein the level of accuracy number is, at least, two, wherein the level of accuracy number is received prior to when the individual initiates the bank account transaction;

receive selections, by an entity other than the individual, of facial features of the individual to be used in authenticating the individual for the bank account transaction, wherein a number of facial features selected by the entity is based at least partially on the level of accuracy number received from the individual, wherein a number of successful matches of facial features required to grant bank account access is based at least partially on the level of accuracy number received from the individual, wherein the entity selecting the facial features of the individual to be used in authenticating the individual is an entity associated with the bank that maintains the bank account;

obtain, using the capture device, the real time facial image of the individual;

select two or more facial features shown in the obtained real time facial image of the individual based on the selection of facial features by the bank to match to thereby grant access to the bank account;

compare each of the two or more facial features selected by the processing device obtained real time image to a plurality of facial features of the one or more recorded facial images;

detect matching facial feature image pairs when each of the facial features of the individual that was selected by the bank matches successfully with, at least, one of the plurality of facial features of the one or more recorded facial images;

provide a default authorization for accessing the bank account access when the processing device fails to identify the bank account associated image file, the default authorization comprising;

a) providing, via a communication interface, a notification, to the individual, indicating that the processing device failed to verify the financial account based on failing to identify the image file that is linked to the financial account;

b) requesting, from the individual, permission to obtain, during the default authorization, at least one facial image of the individual in real-time;

c) obtaining, during the default authorization, the at least one facial image of the individual in real-time based at least partially on receiving the permission from the individual;

d) generating a new image file and linking the new image file to the financial account;

e) storing the at least one facial image of the individual obtained during the default authorization in the new image file that is linked to the financial account; and

grant to the individual access to the bank account when the processing device detects that the number of facial features selected by the bank for matching is satisfied and that each of the selected facial features match, at least, one of the plurality of facial features of the one or more recorded facial images.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the two or more facial features comprises, at least, an iris.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the real time image of the two or more facial features comprises a real time image of an iris of the individual, wherein the one or more recorded images of one or more facial features comprises one or more recorded images of one or more irises, and wherein the processing device is configured to compare the obtained real time image of the iris with the one or more recorded images to detect a matching iris pair.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the real time image of the two or more facial features comprises a real time image of the individual'"'"'s face, wherein the one or more recorded images of two or more facial features comprises one or more recorded images of one or more faces, and wherein the processing device is configured to compare the obtained real time image of the individual'"'"'s face with the one or more recorded images to detect a matching face pair.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the real time image of the two or more facial features comprises a real time image of the individual'"'"'s iris or the individual'"'"'s face, wherein the processing device is configured to compare the obtained real time image with the one or more recorded images to detect a matching iris pair and a matching face pair, and wherein the processing device is configured to grant account access to the individual in response to the presence of either a matching image pair or a matching face pair.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing device is further configured to deny account access to the individual in response to the absence of a matching image pair.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a communication system configured to provide information to the individual, wherein the processing device, as part of authorizing default account access, is configured to offer the individual the opportunity to enroll in a program which authenticates the authority of each individual accessing the account by matching each individual'"'"'s real time image of two or more facial features to one or more recorded images maintained by the bank of one or more facial features of one or more persons authorized to access the account.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processing device is further configured to create, in response to acceptance by the individual of such offering, an account-associated image file in the memory device to maintain each such obtained real time image of two or more facial features as a recorded image of one or more facial features of a person authorized to access the account.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing device is further configured to:

use, at the time of opening a bank account, an imaging device to capture an initial real time image of a facial feature of each individual having authority to access such account; and

create, in the memory device, an account-associated image file to maintain each such acquired initial real time image as a recorded image of a facial feature of a person authorized to access the bank account.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to add to the account-associated image file each most recent successfully-matched real time image obtained in each most recent account transaction in which an imaging device captured a real time image.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein a selected N number of recorded images of one or more facial features for a person is maintained in the account-associated image file, wherein N is greater than or equal to two.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing device is configured to grant account access to the individual in response to the presence of a matching image pair by notifying an appropriate bank employee of authorization based on the presence of a matching image pair.

13. A method of authenticating an individual that is initiating a bank account transaction as having authorization to access the account, the method comprising:

acquiring, at the time of opening a bank account, an initial real time facial image of each individual having authority to access such account;

creating an account associated image file to maintain each such acquired initial real time facial image as a recorded facial image of an individual authorized to access the account;

initiating, by the individual, a bank account transaction, wherein the initiating comprises;

a) receiving an account information that identifies a bank account associated with the bank account transaction; and

b) receiving a personal identification number that is associated with the bank account and that when provided by the individual along with the account information satisfies successfully initiates the bank account transaction;

verifying, based at least partially on the successful initiation of the bank account transaction;

a) an existence of the bank account,

b) a bank account associated image file of one or more recorded facial images of one or more persons authorized to access the bank account,

c) and the authority of the individual to access the account under a bank required identification protocol;

providing a default bank account access to such individual when the processing device does not locate the bank account associated image file of recorded facial image of persons authorized to access the account, wherein providing the default bank account access comprises;

a) providing a notification to the individual indicating that the processing device failed to locate the bank account associated image file,

b) requesting, from the individual, permission to obtain, during the default authorization, at least one facial image of the individual in real-time;

c) obtaining, during the default bank account access, a real time facial image of the individual;

d) creating, in response to the absence of an account associated image file of recorded facial image of persons authorized to access the account, an account associated default authorization image file; and

e) storing in the default authorization image file the real time facial image of persons who are granted default authorization to access the account;

receiving from the individual a predetermined number of successful matches of facial features required to grant account access;

selecting, by a processing device, two or more facial features shown in the obtained real time facial image of the individual to match to thereby access the account based at least on the predetermined number of successful matches of facial features received from the individual;

comparing;

the two or more facial features selected by the processing device to two or more corresponding facial features shown in a recorded facial image of a person authorized to access the account, wherein the recorded facial image is maintained by the bank in an account associated image file of one or more persons who are authorized to access the account;

detecting matching facial image pairs, of at least, the predetermined number of successful matches of facial features received from the individual;

granting to the individual access to the account when the processing device detects the predetermined number of successful matches of facial features by notifying an appropriate bank employee of authorization based on the presence of a matching image pair;

adding, to the account associated image file, as a recorded facial image of persons authorized to access the account, the obtained real time image of the individual based on the detecting matching facial image pairs, of at least, the predetermined number of successful matches, wherein a selected N number of recorded facial images of persons authorized to access the account is maintained in the account associated image file, wherein N is three, and wherein the longest maintained one of the recorded facial images in the account associated image file is deleted in response to the adding of each most recently added recorded facial image, as necessary to maintain the selected N number of recorded facial images; and

wherein detecting matching facial image pairs comprises;

a) selecting a most recent recorded facial image in the account associated image file to detect a matching image pair with the obtained real time image; and

b) continuing, in the absence of achieving a matching image pair therefrom, with selecting a next most recent recorded facial image in the account associated image file for comparison with the obtained real time image to detect an image pair.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of comparing further comprises comparing the obtained real time facial image with recorded facial images maintained by the bank in the account associated default authorization image file to detect a matching image pair.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

transforming each most recent successfully matched real time facial image obtained into a facial image template to be added to the account associated image file as a recorded facial image of persons authorized to access the account, the facial image template presenting the selected number of facial features to be compared in an abstract format for ease of comparison.