Pre-authentication system and method for outgoing communication

• US 8,953,754 B1
• Filed: 04/21/2010
• Issued: 02/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wells Fargo Bank NA (Wells Fargo & Company)
• Original Assignee: Wells Fargo Bank NA (Wells Fargo & Company)
• Inventors: Simon, Charlie Aziz, Mou, Jacob Mine
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang, Fan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huynh, Van D
• Application Number:
  US12/764,806
• Time in Patent Office: 1,756 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.01, 379/88.04, 379/265.02, 379/88.02, 704/270, 705/44, 705/39
• US Class Current: 379/88.04
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/105 Financial transactions and auctions, e.g. bidding
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2027 Live party detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/6072 Authentication using challenger response
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/18 Automated outdialling systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/385 using speech signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4936 Speech interaction details speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5158 in combination with automated outdialling systems devices for signalling identity of wanted subscriber H04M1/26
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5166 in combination with interactive voice response systems or voice portals, e.g. as front-ends

Abstract

An automated calling system authenticates and subsequently communicates via a telephone network with a person such as a current or prospective customer. The communication may be in regards to an account having an adverse account status (e.g. a payment delinquency, an overdrawn checking account, being over the credit limit on a credit card, excessive transactions on one account, suspicious or fraudulent transactions on an account, and so on).

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for communicating with a customer via a telephone call, comprising:

selecting the customer to call from a customer database to remediate an adverse account condition of a first account;

initiating the telephone call using an automated calling system, the automated calling system including a speech signal generator configured to electronically generate a speech signal for transmission to the customer over a telephone network during the telephone call;

determining whether a person that answered the telephone call is the customer based on an answer received from the customer after asking a security question, including;

prompting the person to indicate whether the person is the customer, the prompting being performed by the speech signal generator,

receiving input from the person responsive to the prompting, the input indicating whether the person is the customer;

if the person that answered the telephone call is not the customer, then proceeding with the telephone call without transferring the telephone call to a human agent and the speech signal generator configured to electronically generate a speech signal for the person that answered the telephone call; and

if the person that answered the telephone call is the customer determined by receiving a correct answer to the security question, then transferring the telephone call to the human agent, determining an amount of funds in a second account held by the customer and generating a settlement option to transfer funds from the second account, based on the determining that the second account has sufficient funds, to remediate the adverse account condition of the first account.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein prompting the person to indicate whether the person is the customer comprising asking the customer whether the person is the customer, the asking being performed by the speech signal generated by the speech signal generator.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving input from the person responsive to the prompting comprises receiving a telephone keypad input from the customer.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving input from the person responsive to the prompting comprises receiving a voice input from the customer.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting the customer to be called prior to initiating the telephone call, and wherein the customer is selected to be called based on the customer having an account with an adverse account condition.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the customer is a customer of a banking institution, and wherein the account is an account the customer holds with the banking institution.

7. The method of claim 1,

wherein prompting the person includes requesting keypad input from the customer,

wherein the method further comprises assessing validity of a response based on a received keypad input, and

wherein, upon receiving an invalid response, the automated calling system is adapted to play a prerecorded message requesting another attempt to input the customer identifying information.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

accessing the second account of the customer and determining an account balance of the second account;

generating one or more options to remediate the adverse account condition of the first account based on the account balance in the second account; and

allowing the customer to transfer funds from the second account to the first account to remediate the adverse account status.

8. A method for processing a telephone call, comprising:

selecting a customer that is an account holder to call from a customer database to remediate an adverse account condition of a first account;

initiating the telephone call to the account holder of a banking institution in response to the account holder having at least one account with an adverse account status using a computer implemented system;

determining whether the telephone call has been answered by a live voice or an answering machine;

requesting customer identifying information by asking a security questions to the account holder to authenticate in a case where a live voice is detected and in the case where the live voice belongs to the account holder, wherein authenticating includes receiving, key pad input that correctly answers the security question, from the account holder;

transferring the telephone call to a banking institution live agent in a case where a live voice was detected, upon successful authentication and determining an amount of funds in a second account held by the customer and generating a settlement option to transfer funds from the second account, based on the determining that the second account has sufficient funds, to remediate the adverse account condition of the first account;

generating a speech signal for a person with the live voice that answered the telephone call in the case where the live voice is not the account holder; and

displaying account information to a live agent in a case where a live voice belongs to the account holder.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

identifying whether the telephone call was answered by the answering machine, and

playing a voice file to be recorded as a message on the answering machine, wherein the message provides a phone number to call back.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the default account condition comprises at least one of a payment delinquency, a checking account being overdrawn, or a credit card being over a credit limit.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein authenticating includes verifying whether the response is valid, and upon receiving an invalid response, a prerecorded message requests another attempt to input the customer identifying information.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising identifying whether the telephone call was answered by the answering machine, and playing a voice file to be recorded as a message on the answering machine, wherein the message provides a phone number for the customer to call.

13. A computer-implemented system for communicating with a banking institution customer, comprising:

an automatic dialer adapted to dial banking institution customer'"'"'s phone number from a customer database;

the automatic dialer configured to select a customer to call to remediate an adverse account condition of a first account;

determining logic to determine whether a connected call is answered by a person or an answering machine;

authentication logic configured to authenticate the customer based on a correct answer being received to a security question during the connected call and determining an amount of funds in a second account held by the customer and generating a settlement option to transfer funds from the second account, based on the determining that the second account has sufficient funds, to remediate the adverse account condition of the first account;

in the case where the person that answered the connected call is not a customer generating a call back message for the person that answered the connected call;

a call router that routes the connected call based on input received from the determining logic and the authentication logic; and

wherein the automatic dialer, the determining logic, the authentication logic, and the call router are implemented in machine-readable media having instructions stored therein and a machine that executes the instructions.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the authentication logic is adapted to authenticate the customer based on a telephone keypad input received during the connected call.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the authentication logic is adapted to authenticate the customer using voice recognition of a voice signal received during the connected call.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the automatic dialer dials the customer responsive to the customer having an account with the banking institution that has an adverse account condition.

17. A method for processing a telephone call, comprising:

selecting a customer that is an account holder to call from a customer database;

initiating the telephone call to the account holder of a banking institution in response to the account holder having at least one account having an adverse account status using a computer implemented system, the adverse account status comprising at least one of, a payment delinquency, a checking account being overdrawn, or a credit card being over the credit limit;

determining that the telephone call has been answered by a person with a live voice;

requesting customer identifying information to authenticate that the live voice belongs to the customer, wherein authenticating includes asking a security question and receiving key pad input from the person that answered the telephone call, wherein authenticating includes verifying whether the response is a correct answer to the security question, and upon receiving an invalid response, an automated calling system is adapted to play a prerecorded message requesting an answer to another security question;

transferring the telephone call to a banking institution live agent upon successful authentication in the case where the live voice was the account holder, determining an amount of funds in a second account held by the customer and generating a settlement option to transfer funds from the second account, based on the determining that the second account has sufficient funds, to remediate the adverse account condition of the at least one account;

generating a speech signal for the person that answered the telephone call in the case where the live voice is not the account holder; and

displaying customer account information to the bank institution live agent, the account information including an amount by which the at least one account is in default in the case where the live voice belongs to the customer.

18. A computer-implemented method for communicating with a customer via a telephone call, comprising:

selecting a customer to be called from a customer database, the customer being selected to be called based on the customer having a first account with an adverse account condition;

initiating the telephone call using an automated calling system, the automated calling system including a speech signal generator configured to electronically generate a speech signal for transmission to the customer over a telephone network during the telephone call;

determining whether a person that answered the telephone call is the customer, including;

prompting the person to indicate whether the person is the customer, the prompting being performed by the speech signal generator,

receiving input from the person responsive to the prompting, the input indicating whether the person is the customer or not the customer;

prompting the person to answer a security question;

responsive to receiving a correct answer to the security question transferring the customer to an agent; and

providing the customer with options in the case where the person is the customer for resolving the adverse account condition, wherein the options include;

1) determining an amount of funds in a second account held by the customer;

generating a settlement option to transfer funds from the second account, based on the determining that the second account has sufficient funds, to remediate the adverse account condition of the first account; and

2) offering the customer a settlement amount, less than a full balance of the account with the adverse account status, allowing the customer to transfer funds from the other customer owned accounts to the account with the adverse account status equal to the settlement amount;

3) receiving a customer selection of at least one of the provided options; and

4) transferring the funds according to the selected option;

generating a speech signal for the person that answered the telephone call in the case where the person is not the customer.