Systems and Methods for Facilitating Mobile Banking to Provide Current Bank Account Balances to Mobile Devices | Patent Publication Number 20160321641
US 20160321641 A1Jill Tubaugh
Robert A. O'Malley
A mobile banking system and method quickly and securely provides current financial account balances to mobile electronic devices. A bank server electronically receives, from a mobile electronic device, a username and a request to receive at least one current financial account balance while the user is not fully logged-in. Full log-in typically requires receipt and validation of both the username and an associated password. The bank server first validates the username against stored user credentials, and only if the username is valid, proceeds to validate registration of the mobile electronic device sending the username. Registration is validated by verifying that a serial number from an authentication seed previously stored on the sending mobile electronic device matches its stored expected value. If the registration is valid, the bank server obtains data for the at least one current financial account balance and sends the data to the mobile electronic device.
- 1. A computer implemented method for facilitating mobile banking, said method comprising the steps of, in combination:nelectronically receiving, from a mobile electronic device, a username and a request to receive at least one financial account balance while a user associated with the username is not fully logged-in;wherein full log-in requires receipt and validation of the username and an associated password.electronically validating the username;electronically validating registration of the mobile electronic device;if the username is valid and the registration of the mobile electronic device is valid, electronically obtaining data for the at least one financial account balance; andafter electronically obtaining the data for the at least one financial account balance, electronically sending the data for the at least one financial account balance to the mobile electronic device for display.
- 8. A system for facilitating mobile banking, said system comprising, in combination:nat least one central computer having memory, a processor in communication with the memory, and a network interface in communication with the processor for communicating with mobile electronic devices; andwherein the memory comprising computer-executable instructions executable by the processor to perform the following steps:nelectronically receiving, from a mobile electronic device, a username and a request to receive at least one financial account balance while a user associated with the username is not full logged-in;wherein fully log-in requires receipt and validation of the username and an associated password.electronically validating the username;electronically validating registration of the mobile electronic device;if the username is valid and the registration of the mobile electronic device is valid, electronically obtaining data for the at least one financial account balance; andafter electronically obtaining the data for the at least one financial account balance, electronically sending the data for the at least one financial account balance to the mobile electronic device for display.
- 12. The system 1, wherein the step of validating registration of the mobile electronic device includes validating that a serial number from an authentication seed previously stored in the mobile electronic device matches an expected value associated with the username; and further including the step of denying the request if the serial number from the authentication seed previously stored in the mobile electronic device does not match an expected value associated with the username.
- 15. One or more computer-readable media storing an application for facilitating mobile banking comprising computer-executable instructions that responsive to execution cause operations to be performed comprising, in combination:nelectronically receiving, from a mobile electronic device, a username and a request to receive at least one financial account balance while a user associated with the username is not fully logged-in;wherein full log-in requires receipt and validation of the username and an associated password.electronically validating the username;electronically validating registration of the mobile electronic device;if the username is valid and the registration of the mobile electronic device is valid, electronically obtaining data for the at least one financial account balance; andafter electronically obtaining the data for the at least one financial account balance, electronically sending the data for the at least one financial account balance to the mobile electronic device for display.
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The field of the present invention generally relates to systems and methods for facilitating banking and, more particularly, to such systems and methods which facilitate mobile banking.
Mobile banking is a system that allows customers of a financial institution to conduct financial transactions through a mobile device such as a mobile phone or tablet. Mobile banking differs from mobile payments, which involve the use of a mobile device to pay for goods or services either at the point of sale or remotely. The earliest mobile banking services were offered over short message service (SMS), a service known as SMS banking. With the introduction of smart phones with wireless application protocol (WAP) support enabling the use of the mobile web, banks started to offer mobile banking on this platform to their customers. Apple®'s initial success with iPhone® and the rapid growth of phones based on Google®'s Android® (operating system) have led to increasing use of special client programs, called applications or apps, downloaded to the mobile device. The rapid adoption of mobile apps and other advancements in web technologies has resulted in many banks launching mobile web based services to complement native applications.
Mobile banking services may include: account information services such as mini-statements and checking of account history, and alerts on account activity or passing of set thresholds: transaction services such as funds transfers between the customer's linked accounts, paying third parties, including bill payments, and check remote deposit; support services such as exchange of data messages and email including complaint submission and tracking: and content services such as general information and location-based services.
Strict security of financial transactions is required because of the sensitive nature of the information. This strict security often comes at the cost of consumer convenience. Thus there is a continuous desire to improve customer convenience without sacrificing security. For example, customers desire a way to quickly and easily view current account balances but adequate security means must be present due to the sensitive nature of the information. Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems and methods for facilitating mobile banking to quickly and securely provide account balances to mobile electronic devices.
Disclosed are systems, methods, and software for facilitating mobile banking which address one or more issues of the related art as described above. Disclosed is a computer implemented method for facilitating mobile banking. The method comprises the steps of, in combination, electronically receiving, from a mobile electronic device, a username and a request to receive at least one financial account balance while a user associated with the username is not fully logged-in (wherein full log-in requires receipt and validation of the username and an associated password), electronically validating the username, and electronically validating registration of the mobile electronic device. If the username is valid and the registration of the mobile electronic device is valid, data for the at least one financial account balance is electronically obtained and electronically sent to the mobile electronic device for display.
Also disclosed is a system for facilitating mobile banking. The system comprises, in combination, at least one central computer having memory, a processor in communication with the memory, and a network interface in communication with the processor for communicating with mobile electronic devices. The memory comprises computer-executable instructions executable by the processor to perform the steps of electronically receiving, from a mobile electronic device, a username and a request to receive at least one financial account balance while a user associated with the username is not fully logged-in (wherein full log-in requires receipt and validation of the username and an associated password), electronically validating the username, and electronically validating registration of the mobile electronic device. If the username is valid and the registration of the mobile electronic device is valid, data for the at least one financial account balance is electronically obtained and electronically sent to the mobile electronic device for display.
Also disclosed is one or more computer-readable media storing an application for facilitating mobile banking comprising computer-executable instructions that responsive to execution cause operations to be performed. The operations performed comprise, in combination, electronically receiving, from a mobile electronic device, a username and a request to receive at least one financial account balance while a user associated with the username is not fully logged-in (wherein full log-in requires receipt and validation of the username and an associated password), electronically validating the username, and electronically validating registration of the mobile electronic device. If the username is valid and the registration of the mobile electronic device is valid, data for the at least one financial account balance is electronically obtained and electronically sent to the mobile electronic device for display.
From the foregoing disclosure and the following more detailed description of various preferred embodiments it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention provides a significant advance in the technology and art of systems and methods for facilitating online banking. Particularly significant in this regard is the potential the invention affords for providing systems and methods for facilitating mobile banking that provide a positive user experience through quick and secure account balance information. Additional features and advantages of various preferred embodiments will be better understood in view of the detailed description provided below.
These and further features of the present invention will be apparent with reference to the following description and drawings.
It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various preferred features illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. The specific design features of the systems as disclosed herein, including specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes of the various components, will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment. Certain features of the illustrated embodiments have been enlarged or distorted relative to others to facilitate visualization and clear understanding. In particular, thin features may be thickened for clarity or illustration. All references to direction and position, unless otherwise indicated, refer to the orientation of the systems illustrated in the drawings.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that is, to those who have knowledge or experience in this area of technology, that many uses and design variations are possible for the systems, methods, and software for electronically facilitating mobile banking as disclosed herein. The following detailed discussion of various alternative and preferred embodiments will illustrate the general principles of the invention with regard to a particular embodiment. Other embodiments suitable for other applications will be apparent to those skilled in the art given the benefit of this disclosure.
Referring now to the drawings,
The illustrated bank server (12) and the illustrated mobile electronic device (16) are in electronic communication with one another via a communication system (20). The illustrated communication system (20) is a computer network such as the Internet but any other suitable communication system (20) can alternatively be utilized such as, but not limited to, an intranet, any other type network of computers, and the like. The illustrated bank server (12) is in communication with the communication system (20) via a network connection (22) of any suitable type. The illustrated mobile electronic device (16) is in communication with the communication system (20) via a wireless connection (24) of any suitable type.
The illustrated bank server or computer (12) includes memory (26), at least one processor or central processing units (CPU) (28) in communication with the memory (26), at last one input/output (I/O) interface (30) in communication with the processor (28), and at least one network interface (32) in communication with the processor (28) (best shown in
The illustrated bank server or computer (12) is located at the bank (14) and can be accessed by customers or users (18) at remote locations via the communication system (20). It is noted that while the illustrated system (10) shows a single bank server or computer (12), it should be appreciated that the system (10) typically has a large number of bank servers or computers (12). It is also noted that the bank server (12) is not necessarily physically located at physical facilities of the bank (14). In many instances one or more servers (12) are located at other locations such as cloud based.
The illustrated user mobile electronic device (16) includes memory or a memory module (52) for retaining information, at least one processor module or central processing unit (CPU) (54) for processing computer instructions, calculations, and logic and in communication with the memory (52), at least one input/output (IO) interface (56) such as, but not limited to a display module or touch-screen display for enabling the fast and efficient visual display of information and user interface elements to the user (18) and in communication with the processor (54), and at least one communications module or network interface (58) for wireless communication of data to and from Internet based servers using either a wide area telephony based network carrier, a wifi connection, or the like and in communication with the processor (best shown in
The illustrated user mobile electronic device (16) is a mobile smartphone and is physically located with the customer or user (18), and is most often located at a location remote from the bank (14). It is noted that while the illustrated system (10) shows a single customer or user (18), it should be appreciated that the system (10) typically has a large number of customers or users (18) interfacing with the bank server (12) with a large number of mobile electronic devices (16). The illustrated mobile electronic device (16) is loaded with the customized mobile banking application (64) or configured to interface with system software residing on the bank server or computer (12) at the bank (14). The mobile banking application or app (64) can be downloaded from one of the public app stores such as Apple App Store or Google Play, so that it resides in the memory module (52) of the mobile electronic device (16) ready to be launched by the user (18).
The illustrated mobile banking app (64) includes several modules that permit a user (18) to set up and use the quick balance feature. These modules include: (1) a user authentication module (66) for enabling the user (18) to log into the mobile banking application (64) with their username and password credentials; (2) a user to device registration module (68) for enabling the user (18) to register the mobile banking application (64) by entering a one-time use passcode sent to them from the bank (14) using email or an SMS text message (if the passcode is successfully entered, an authentication seed and serial number are stored in the memory module (52) of the mobile electronic device (16) storing the mobile banking application (64)); (3) a user to device authentication module (70) which silently coordinates with the bank server(s) (12) to determine whether the user and device combination has previously registered using the user to device registration module (68) and is therefore authenticated to access the user's current bank account balances; (4) token protected modules (72) which require authentication using only the username (which can be stored on the mobile electronic device (16)) and not full login authentication (username and password) and the silent user to device authentication module (70); and (5) dually protected modules (74) which require full login authentication with username and password authentication and silent user to device authentication module (70). Features or functions requiring token protection without full login include the viewing the current balance of account(s). Features or functions requiring dual protection or full login include viewing full account details, viewing account history, making payments, adding/editing payees, making transfers or making deposits, and other like functions. The illustrated token protected modules (72) include, but are not limited to, a show quick balance module (76) which allows the user (18) who has been silently authenticated by the silent user to device authentication module (70) to see current balances for the bank accounts they previously selected using a quick balance settings module (78) described below. The illustrated dually protected modules (74) include, but are not limited to: an account display module (80) which is where the user (18) lands upon successful login using their full username and password and 2nd factor registration credentials; a payments module; a transfers module; a deposits module; a settings module (82) for enabling the user (18) to save their username, manage registered mobile electronic devices (16), and turn the quick balance feature on and off; and other full security modules (84) for enabling mobile banking features and functions. The illustrated settings module (82) includes: a save username module (86) for saving the user's username so that the username is pre-populated the next time the user (18) launches the mobile banking application (64); a manage registered devices module (88) for enabling the user (18) to see a list of mobile electronic devices (16) previously registered and to delete any prior mobile electronic device registration if desired; and the quick balance settings module (78) for enabling the user (18) to ‘turn on’ the quick balance feature and to choose which of their bank accounts they want current balances to be shown when requested with the quick balance feature.
After the customer acknowledges the disclaimer (116) (see
(1) User directs the mobile banking application (64) to login providing username and password credentials to the login page (90);
(2) The bank server(s) (12) validate the provided credentials against previously stored user credential data;
(3) The user directs the mobile banking application (64) to request a single use passcode;
(4) The bank server(s) (12) generate a single use passcode and an associated seed then saves the seed in the mobile registration data;
(5) The bank server(s) (12) then send the single use passcode to the user using an out of band communication method such as to the user's email address or to the user's SMS text account phone number;
(6) The user then enters the single use passcode into the mobile banking application (64) which sends the single use password to the bank server(s) (12) within a specified time limit;
(7) The bank server(s) (12) validate the single use passcode entered by the user 918) against the single use passcode seed that was previously stored in the mobile registration data;
(8) If the single use passcode is valid, the user (18) is given the option of proceeding into the mobile banking application (64) or remembering the mobile electronic device (16);
(9) If the user (18) chooses “remember the mobile electronic device†, this choice is sent to the bank server(s) (12) which generates a permanent authentication seed (154) and stores it in the mobile registration data along with a unique serial number for this mobile electronic device (16); and
(10) The bank servers (12) also send the permanent authentication seed (154) and the unique serial number back to the mobile banking application (64) which stores them in the memory module of the mobile electronic device (16).
(1) The mobile banking application (64) is directed to login to the bank server(s) (12);
(2) The bank server(s) (12) validates the user's username and password credentials against the previously stored user credential data;
(3) If the username and password credentials are valid, the bank server(s) (12) then validates that a single use token generated from the permanent authentication seed (154) stored on the mobile electronic device (16) matches its expected value derived from a like permanent authentication seed stored in the mobile registration data;
(4) If the token is valid, the user (18) is able to proceed within the mobile banking application (64) to retrieve their eligible accounts from the bank server(s) (12);
(5) The bank server(s) (12) then retrieve the eligible bank accounts from the account data and return them to the mobile banking application (64);
(6) At this point, the user (18) of the mobile banking application (64) can select which of these eligible bank accounts they want displayed in their quick balance display; and
(7) The selected quick balance accounts are sent to the bank server(s) (12) and then persisted in the user preference data.
(1) The mobile banking application (64) allows a user (18) who has previously registered their mobile electronic device (16) and has previously setup the quick balance module and has saved or entered their username to click on the “quick balance†button (100) on the login page (90);
(2) When they do, the mobile banking application (64) makes a request to get quick balance from the bank server(s) (12);
(3) At this time, the bank server(s) (12) validates only the user's username using the previously stored user credential data;
(4) If the username is valid, the bank server(s) (12) validate that a serial number from an authentication seed previously stored on the memory module of the mobile electronic device (16) matches its expected value stored in the mobile registration data;
(5) If the serial number is valid, the bank server(s) (12) lookup which eligible bank accounts the user (18) has selected for quick balance display from the user preference data and then gets the user's bank account data for those selected eligible accounts from the account data; and
(6) The current bank account balance data is then returned to the mobile banking application for display to the user (18).
Any of the features or attributes of the above described embodiments and variations can be used in combination with any of the other features and attributes of the above described embodiments and variations as desired for that user's saved preferences.
It is apparent from the above detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, that the above-disclosed systems, methods, and software facilitate electronic banking to quickly and securely provide current bank account balances to mobile electronic devices (16) while providing positive user experience.
It is also apparent from the above detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, that the above-disclosed systems, methods, and software can be modified to include additional or alternative features.
From the foregoing disclosure and detailed description of certain preferred embodiments, it is also apparent that various modifications, additions and other alternative embodiments are possible without departing from the true scope and spirit of the present invention. The embodiments discussed were chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the present invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the present invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the benefit to which they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled.