Predictive Authorization Techniques

• US 20070262137A1
• Filed: 05/10/2006
• Published: 11/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fidelity Information Services, LLC (Fidelity National Information Services Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Metavante Corporation (Fidelity National Information Services Incorporated)
• Inventors: Brown, Steven
• Granted Patent: US 8,490,869 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 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 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for processing a transaction. An authorization request for the transaction is received over a financial network. The authorization request includes account information and transaction information specifying at least a transaction amount. A financial account is identified from the account information. A history of the financial account is analyzed to generate a prediction of a balance of the financial account at a specified future time. It is determined that the balance of the financial account at the specified future time will support the transaction for the transaction amount. An approval response is accordingly generated for the transaction.

Claims

1. A method of processing a transaction, the method comprising:

receiving an authorization request for the transaction over a financial network, the authorization request including account information and transaction information specifying at least a transaction amount;

identifying a financial account from the account information;

analyzing a history of the financial account to generate a prediction of a balance of the financial account at a specified future time;

determining that the balance of the financial account at the specified future time will support the transaction for the transaction amount; and

generating an approval response to the authorization request.

2. The method recited in claim 1 wherein a balance of the financial account at the time of receiving the authorization request is insufficient to support the transaction for the transaction amount.

3. The method recited in claim 1 wherein:

the financial account comprises a debit account; and

the determined balance of the financial account at the specified future time is greater than or equal to the transaction amount.

4. The method recited in claim 3 wherein the transaction comprises payment using a check drawn on the financial account.

5. The method recited in claim 4 wherein the account information includes an account number obtained by reading a magnetic-ink character-recognition (“

MICR”

) line from the check.

6. The method recited in claim 3 wherein analyzing the history of the financial account comprises analyzing records of deposits made to the financial account over a period of time to identify deposit trends to the financial account.

7. The method recited in claim 3 wherein analyzing the history of the financial account comprises analyzing records of withdrawals made from the financial account over a period of time to identify withdrawal trends from the financial account.

8. The method recited in claim 1 wherein:

the financial account comprises a credit account; and

a difference between a credit limit of the credit account and the determined balance of the financial account at the specified future time is greater than or equal to the transaction amount.

9. The method recited in claim 8 wherein analyzing the history of the financial account comprises analyzing records of payments made to reduce the balance of the financial account to identify payment trends to the financial account.

10. The method recited in claim 8 wherein analyzing the history of the financial account comprises analyzing records of charges made to increase the balance of the financial account to identify charging trends to the financial account.

11. The method recited in claim 1 wherein the specified future time comprises a time interval.

12. The method recited in claim 11 wherein the prediction of the balance of the financial account at the specified future time comprises a prediction of a minimum balance of the financial account over the time interval.

13. The method recited in claim 1 wherein the prediction of the balance of the financial account at the specified future time comprises an estimate of a reliability of the prediction.

14. The method recited in claim 1 wherein:

the transaction is between a customer and a merchant for a purchase by the customer from the merchant; and

the authorization request is received over the financial network from a merchant system controlled by the merchant,

the method further comprising transmitting the approval response to the merchant system over the financial network.

15. The method recited in claim 1 further comprising transmitting the approval response oven the financial network with a services application related to the financial account.

16. A transaction processing system comprising:

a communications device;

a processor;

a storage device; and

a memory coupled with the processor, the memory comprising a computer-readable medium having a computer-readable program embodied therein for directing operation of the processing system to process a transaction, the computer-readable program including;

instructions for receiving, with the communications device over a financial network, an authorization request for the transaction, the authorization request including account information and transaction information specifying at least a transaction amount.

instructions for identifying, with the processor, a financial account from the account information;

instructions for analyzing, with the processor, a history of the financial account maintained on the storage device to generate a prediction of a balance of the financial account at a specified future time;

instructions for determining, with the processor, that the balance of the financial account at the specified future time will support the transaction for the transaction amount; and

instructions for generating, with the processor, an approval response to the authorization request.

17. The transaction processing system recited in claim 16 wherein:

the financial account comprises a checking account;

the determined balance of the financial account at the specified time is greater than or equal to the transaction amount;

the transaction comprises payment using a check drawn on the checking account; and

the account information includes an account number obtained by reading a magnetic-in character-recognition (“

MICR”

) line from the check.

18. The transaction processing system recited in claim 16 wherein:

the financial account comprises a credit account; and

a difference between a credit limit of the credit account and the determined balance of the financial account at the specified time is greater than or equal to the transaction amount.

19. The transaction processing system recited in claim 16 wherein the instructions for analyzing the history of the financial account comprise separate instructions for analyzing actions that increase the balance of the financial account and actions that decrease the balance of the financial account.

20. The transaction processing system recited in claim 16 wherein the specified future time comprises a time interval.

21. The transaction processing system recited in claim 20 wherein the prediction of the balance of the financial account at the specified future time comprises a prediction of a minimum balance of the financial account over the time interval.

22. The transaction processing system recited in claim 16 wherein the prediction of the balance of the financial account at the specified future time comprises an estimate of a reliability of the prediction.

23. The transaction processing system recited in claim 16 wherein:

the transaction is between a customer and a merchant for a purchase by the customer from the merchant;

the authorization request is received over the financial network from a merchant system controlled by the merchant; and

the computer-readable program further includes instructions for transmitting the approval response to the merchant system over the financial network with the communications system.

24. A method for taking an action with respect to a financial object, the method comprising:

generating a model of at least one characteristic of the financial object over time from historical information of the financial object;

receiving input data defining a potential action to be taken with the financial object;

determining a future state of the characteristic of the financial object using the generated model;

determining an effect of the potential action by applying the input data to the determined future state of the characteristic of the financial object; and

deciding whether to take the potential action in accordance with the determined effect of the potential action.

25. The method recited in claim 24 wherein the financial object comprises a financial account.

26. The method recited in claim 25 wherein the characteristic of the financial object comprises a balance of the financial account and the future state of the characteristic comprises a predicted balance of the financial account.

27. The method recited in claim 25 wherein the historical information comprises a record of deposits of funds to the financial account.

28. The method recited in claim 26 wherein the historical information comprises a record of withdrawals of finds from the financial account.

29. The method recited in claim 25 wherein the potential action comprises approval of a transaction to be supported by the financial account.