System and Method for Financial Transaction Validation

• US 20090182672A1
• Filed: 01/09/2009
• Published: 07/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deluxe Small Business Sales, Inc. (Deluxe Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Deluxe Small Business Sales, Inc. (Deluxe Corp.)
• Inventors: Doyle, Paul F.
• Granted Patent: US 10,410,214 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/64
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/64 Protecting data integrity, e.g. using checksums, certificates or signatures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2135 Metering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/042 characterized in that the payment protocol involves at least one cheque
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• 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 20/4037 Remote solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3236 using cryptographic hash functions

Abstract

A system and method for identifying and validating indicia representative of at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data by an originating party involves at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data having at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data. An identifier representative of the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data is generated. The integrity of the integrity of the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data is validated by using the identifier to determine whether at least one information item of the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data has not been altered from the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data.

Claims

1. A method for identifying and validating indicia representative of at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data by an originating party, the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data having at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data, the method comprising the steps of:

generating an identifier representative of the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data; and

validating the integrity of the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data by using the identifier to determine whether at least one information item of the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data has not been altered from the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data comprises a tangible item.

3. The method of claim 2 and further comprising the step of applying the identifier representative of the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data to the tangible item.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data comprises a data record.

5. The method of claim 4 and further comprising the step of associating the identifier representative of the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data with the data record.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data comprises a physical check representative of a financial transaction.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data comprises at least one of:

a payor, a payee, a numerical transaction amount, a transaction amount written out in words, a date, a check number, a signature, a URL, a routing number, an account number, a check number, a bank name, an address, and a telephone number.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of generating the identifier representative of the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data comprises associating the identifier with information representative of the at least one of:

a payor, a payee, a numerical transaction amount, a transaction amount written out in words, a date, a check number, a signature, a URL, a routing number, an account number, a check number, a bank name, an address, and a telephone number.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the identifier representative of the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data is printed on the physical check.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the identifier representative of the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data is generated by the originating party.

11. The method of claim 1 and further comprising a validating party to which at least one of the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data and the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data is provided by the originating party, wherein the identifier representative of the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data is generated by the validating party.

12. The method of claim 11 and further comprising at least one subsequent processing party to which the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data from the originating party is provided as part of processing the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the at least one subsequent processing party comprises the validating party.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the identifier representative of the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data is provided to the at least one subsequent processing party by at least one of the originating party, the validating party, and another subsequent processing party.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the at least one subsequent processing party generates a second identifier and compares the second identifier to the identifier representative of the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein the validation party provides the generated identifier representative of the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data to at least one of the originating party and the at least one subsequent processing party.

17. The method of claim 12 and further comprising the step of querying the validation party to perform the step of validating the integrity of the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the at least one subsequent processing party queries the validation party with at least one information item associated with the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the at least one subsequent processing party queries the validation party with an identifier associated with the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data.

20. The method of claim 17 and further comprising the step of providing an alert by the validation party when queried information does not match information associated with the identifier representative of the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data.

21. The method of claim 17 wherein the step of querying the validation party comprises the step of providing at least one information item associated with the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data, and wherein the validation party responds with an identifier.

22. The method of claim 12 wherein the at least one subsequent processing party is one of a payee, a payee'"'"'s bank, the Federal Reserve, a payor'"'"'s bank, and a remote validation service.

23. The method of claim 1 and further comprising the step of halting processing of the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data when the integrity of the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data cannot be confirmed.

24. The method of claim 1 and further comprising the step of returning the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data to the originating party prior to a completion of processing of the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data when the integrity of the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data cannot be confirmed.

25. The method of claim 1 and further comprising the step of storing the identifier representative of the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data.

26. A system for identifying and validating indicia representative of at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data by an originating party, the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data having at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data, the system comprising:

a validation service that receives the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data and generates an identifier representative of the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data,

wherein the identifier can be used to validate the integrity of the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data by using the identifier to determine whether at least one information item of the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data has not been altered from the at least one information item original to the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data.

27. The system of claim 26 wherein the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data comprises a document representative of a financial transaction between the originating party and a receiving party.

28. The system of claim 26 wherein the validation service is located remotely from the location of the financial transaction between the originating party and a receiving party.

29. The system of claim 26 and further comprising at least one additional implementation of the validation service employed by at least one of the originating party and the receiving party to generate the identifier.

30. The system of claim 26 wherein the identifier is physically imprinted on a physical representation of the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data.

31. The system of claim 26 wherein subsequent processors of the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data can view the imprinted identifier and query the validation service with at least one of the at least one information item and the physically imprinted identifier to confirm the integrity of the at least one of a document and a transaction and a set of data.