Computer-facilitated secure account-transaction

• US 8,719,128 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2007
• Issued: 05/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huntington Bancshares Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Tcf Financial Corporation
• Inventors: Allen, Gene, Kuntz, Kevin
• Primary Examiner(s): Hammond, III, Thomas M
• Assistant Examiner(s): AMELUNXEN, BARBARA J
• Application Number:
  US11/956,802
• Publication Number:
  US 20080147562A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,335 Days
• Field of Search: 705/6, 705/14, 705/27, 705/35, 705/37, 705/38, 705/39, 705/41, 705/43, 705/14.27, 705/14.39, 715/744, 713/155
• US Class Current: 705/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3572 Multiple accounts on card
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03

Abstract

The handling of accounts and account transactions are implemented using a variety of different systems and methods. According to one embodiment a computer-facilitated system is implemented for handling accounts held by a user at a financial institution and an educational institution. A first database stores account balance information associated with a first account held at one of the institutions. A second database stores account balance information associated with a second account held at the other institution. Logic, located at one institution, encrypts an identifier of the first account, associates a resulting encrypted identifier with the second account and decrypts the encrypted identifier. A database interface transmits the encrypted identifier to the second database for storage. A user interface provides the user with the account balance information associated with the accounts in response to the logic decrypting the encrypted identifier.

Claims

1. A computer-facilitated system for handling a first monetary account held by a user at one of a financial institution and an educational institution and a second monetary account held by the user at the other of the educational institution and the financial institution, the system including:

a first database that stores account balance information associated with the first account and that is controlled by a computer system at said one of the financial institution and the educational institution;

a second database that stores account balance information associated with the second account and that is controlled by a computer system at said other of the educational institution and the financial institution;

a server including a CPU and having logic located at said one of the financial institution and the educational institution, the server being configured and arranged to encrypt an identifier of the first account to create an encrypted identifier, that associates the encrypted identifier with the second account and that decrypts the encrypted identifier;

a server configured and arranged to provide a database interface that is configured and arranged to transmit the encrypted identifier and data corresponding to the association to the second database for storage therein and that receives the encrypted identifier from the second database for decryption by said logic; and

a user interface that is configured and arranged to provide the user with access via a remote computer to the account balance information associated with the second account and the account balance information associated with the first account via a secured connection to one of the first and second databases, wherein the secured connection is accomplished using a handshake protocol between the remote computer and said one of the first and second databases such that the user interface does not participate in the handshake protocol, and wherein one of the first and second accounts is managed by the educational institution to permit withdrawal of money in response to receipt of the encrypted identifier corresponding to a user at the educational institution.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the logic encrypts and decrypts the identifier using an encryption key and the encryption key is not provided to said other of the educational institution and the financial institution.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the user interface is an Internet-based website.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein one of the first and second accounts is one of a savings and checking account and the other of the first and second accounts is a university debit account.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the encryption is accomplished using a symmetric-key algorithm.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the secured connection is accomplished using a handshake protocol between the remote computer and said one of the first and second databases such that the user interface does not participate in the handshake protocol.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the second database stores account balance information associated with the first account in an encrypted form for which the computer system at the educational institution is not configured and arranged to decrypt.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the second database stores account balance information associated with the first account in an encrypted form for which the computer system at the educational institution is not configured and arranged to decrypt and for which the computer system at the financial institution is configured and arranged to decrypt.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured to allow access to the user interface in response to a presentation of an identification card issued by the educational institution for users associated with the educational institution.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the user interface is an Internet-based website.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein one of the first and second accounts is one of a savings and checking account and the other of the first and second accounts is a university debit account.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein, in response to receiving the identification card issued by the educational institution, the user interface is configured to provide user options that are enabled by receipt of the identification card.

13. A method of using a system for handling a first monetary account held by a user at one of a financial institution and an educational institution and a second monetary account held by the user at the other of the educational institution and the financial institution, the method comprising:

storing, in a first database, account balance information associated with the first account and that is controlled by a computer system at said one of the financial institution and the educational institution;

storing, in a second database, account balance information associated with the second account and that is controlled by a computer system at said other of the educational institution and the financial institution;

encrypting, via a server, an identifier of the first account to create an encrypted identifier that associates the encrypted identifier with the second account and that decrypts the encrypted identifier, wherein the server comprises a CPU and logic to perform said encrypting located at said one of the financial institution and the educational institution;

transmitting, via a database interface, the encrypted identifier and data corresponding to the association to the second database for storage therein;

receiving, via the database interface, the encrypted identifier from the second database for decryption by said logic; and

providing, via a user interface, the user with access, via a remote computer, to the account balance information associated with the second account and the account balance information associated with the first account via a secured connection to one of the first and second databases, wherein the secured connection is accomplished using a handshake protocol between the remote computer and said one of the first and second databases such that the user interface does not participate in the handshake protocol, and wherein one of the first and second accounts is managed by the educational institution to permit withdrawal of money in response to receipt of the encrypted identifier corresponding to a user at the educational institution.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the identifier is associated with an identification card issued by the educational institution for users associated with the educational institution.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, in response to determining the identification card was issued by the educational institution, the user is provided with options that are enabled by the determination.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the user requests access via an Internet-based website.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein one of the first and second accounts is one of a savings and checking account and the other of the first and second accounts is a university debit account.

18. The method of claim 13, further including

in response to the user requesting access to the first and second accounts using a remote computer, decrypting the encrypted identifier at said one of the financial institution and the educational institution;

and

identifying the first account using the identifier.

19. The method of claim 18, further including transferring account balance information associated with the second account from the second database and account balance information associated with the first account from the first database to the remote computer.