Abstract:
A system and method for depositing a cheque at a self-service terminal such as an automated teller machine. The method comprises the steps of: transporting the cheque from an entrance slot to a process zone; determining whether to accept or reject the document; and electronically acquiring an image of the document. Thereupon the system identifies an electronic or telecommunications address of a device associated with the user; and in the event of accepting the document, transmits the acquired image of the cheque to the device address.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a self-service terminal (SST), such as an automated teller machine (ATM). In particular, the invention relates to an ATM for depositing cheques, whether or not cash is dispensed to the user.  
         [0002]     A cheque cashing ATM allows a registered user, who typically does not have a bank account, to cash a cheque and receive money from the ATM in a public access, unattended environment. A user typically registers with an institution that owns or operates cheque cashing ATMs, and provides identification information (such as a social security number) and information about a cheque (usually a pay cheque) that he/she regularly receives. The registered user is typically provided with a card to initiate a cheque cashing transaction at a cheque cashing ATM.  
         [0003]     To cash a cheque, a user enters his/her card at a cheque cashing ATM, then enters a cheque to be cashed through a cheque slot in the ATM&#39;s fascia. The ATM draws in and processes this cheque. If the cheque is valid, and the details printed on the cheque match the cheque information provided during registration, then the ATM informs the user of a surcharge that will be applied if the user wishes to cash the cheque.  
         [0004]     If the user agrees to the surcharge then cash is dispensed to the user and the cheque is stored within the ATM. If the user does not agree to the surcharge then the cheque is returned to the user via the cheque slot.  
         [0005]     The cheque may be returned to the user for other reasons, for example, if the cheque is not complete, if the cheque has not been endorsed by the user, if the ATM decides that the details printed on the cheque do not match the cheque information provided by the user during registration, and such like.  
         [0006]     On other embodiments cheques can be cashed or deposited in a user&#39;s account without the aforementioned logging of regular cheques.  
         [0007]     The use of such terminals for depositing cheques, which are to be credited to an account, is restricted in part due to customer unease in depositing their cheque at an automatic terminal. This problem has been addressed in a number of ways including printing a receipt for the user. However, there still persists a large degree of uncertainty and unease for some users who dislike depositing a cheque automatically for fear of a technical problem resulting in their account not being credited correctly.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     It is among the objects of an embodiment of the present invention to obviate or mitigate the above disadvantage or other disadvantages of prior art self-service terminals and cheque deposit methods.  
         [0009]     According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a self-service terminal comprising a fascia having a document entry/exit slot, a document processing module for processing documents entered via the slot; a control means, communication means; and a transport mechanism for transporting documents within the terminal, the control means being arranged to cause the communications means to identify an electronic or telecommunications address of a device associated with the user, such as a mobile telephone, and to send an image of the deposited document to the user&#39;s device address, following a successful attempt to deposit the document in the terminal.  
         [0010]     Preferably, the transport mechanism is arranged to transport unacceptable documents to a reject bin.  
         [0011]     Alternatively, the transport mechanism is arranged to return unacceptable documents to the user.  
         [0012]     Preferably, the terminal is specifically arranged for the deposit of a financial cheque, the terminal being arranged either to provide the user with cash in return for the depositing of the cheque or to credit a user account.  
         [0013]     Preferably, the terminal includes a display screen and control means arranged to control the display screen to present the user with an image of the deposited document which can be compared with that forwarded to the device address, during the deposit process.  
         [0014]     According to a second embodiment of the present invention there is provided a system including a self-service terminal as described above; a telecommunications network; and at least one mobile device configured to receive an image of a document deposited in the terminal, via the telecommunications network.  
         [0015]     Preferably, the device is a mobile telephone.  
         [0016]     Preferably, the image is transmitted to the mobile telephone as an MMS message.  
         [0017]     According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of depositing financial document, the method comprising the steps of: transporting the financial document from an entrance slot to a process zone; determining whether to accept or reject the document; electronically acquiring an image of the document; identify an electronic or telecommunications address of a device associated with the user; and in the event of accepting the document, transmitting said image to said device address.  
         [0018]     Preferably the device is a mobile telephone. Most preferably the mobile phone is that of the user who deposited the document. However, the mobile telephone may be that of the person to whose account the document is to be credited, which may be someone different to the person who deposited the document.  
         [0019]     Preferably, the document is a cheque, which is credited to an account associated with the user. Alternatively, the cheque could be cashed with money being dispensed by the SST.  
         [0020]     Preferably, the user has pre-registered for the service and supplied information including the address of the device to which the image is to be transmitted. Alternatively, the user may input an electronic or telecommunications address or number during the transaction.  
         [0021]     Other information, such as advertising, may be transmitted to the user with the image in order to offset the costs involved.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0022]     An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0023]      FIG. 1  is a pictorial diagram of a self-service terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0024]      FIG. 2  is a simplified schematic sectional diagram showing a part (the document or cheque processing module) of the terminal of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0025]      FIG. 3  is a pictorial diagram of a part (the lower dispense area) of the terminal of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0026]      FIG. 4  is a schematic representation of a system in accordance with the present invention; and  
         [0027]      FIGS. 5A &amp; 5B  illustrate a flowchart illustrating the steps involved in a cheque deposit operation in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0028]     Reference is first made to  FIG. 1 , which illustrates a self-service terminal  10  in the form of a cheque deposit/cashing ATM. The ATM  10  comprises a fascia  12  pivotably coupled to a chassis (not shown); an upper panel  14  mounted to the chassis and defining an aperture  16  through which a camera (not shown) images a user of the ATM  10 ; and a lower panel  18  hingeably coupled to the chassis (not shown) so that the lower panel  18  can be opened to reveal a safe (not shown) mounted in the chassis (not shown).  
         [0029]     When the lower panel  18  is open, the fascia  12  can be pivoted upwards to reveal ATM modules mounted within the chassis (not shown).  
         [0030]     The fascia  12  and lower panel  18  provide a user interface  20  for allowing a user to execute a transaction. The fascia  12  includes a handset  30  and a telephone keypad  32  for allowing a user to contact a remote operator (not shown) typically located in a call centre (not shown). The fascia  12  also includes an encrypting keyboard  34  for allowing a user to enter transaction details, and a display  36  for presenting screens to a user.  
         [0031]     The fascia  12  also defines eight slots for receiving and dispensing media items, and a tray  40  into which coins can be dispensed. The slots include: a money order printer slot  42 , a bunch note input slot  44 , a bunch note exit slot  46 , a statement output slot  48 , a cash dispense slot  50 , a card reader slot  52 , a card issue slot  54 , and a cheque input/output slot  56 . The slots  42  to  56  and tray  40  are arranged so that when the fascia  12  is closed, the slots and tray align with corresponding ATM modules mounted within the ATM&#39;s chassis (not shown).  
         [0032]     The user interface features described above are all provided on an NCR PERSONAS (trade mark) 5878 financial services centre ATM, available from NCR Financial Solutions Group Limited, Discovery Centre, 3 Fulton Road, Dundee, DD2 4 SW, Scotland.  
         [0033]     However, in this embodiment of the invention an NCR PERSONAS (trade mark) 5878 ATM has been modified to include a lower dispense area  58 . The dispense area  58  is located beneath the cheque input/output slot  56  and is fed by a cheque processing module  60  located within the ATM chassis (not shown).  
         [0034]     The cheque processing module (CPM)  60  will now be described with reference to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 2  is a simplified schematic sectional diagram (along line  2 - 2  in  FIG. 1 ) showing part of the fascia  12  and lower panel  18 , and the main parts of the CPM  60 .  FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating the main elements in the CPM  60 .  
         [0035]     The CPM  60  is a modified version of a conventional cheque processing module, such as the cheque processing module provided with the PERSONAS (trade mark) 5878 NCR ATM.  
         [0036]     The CPM  60  comprises the following elements: a cheque input/output transport mechanism  70  including an alignment mechanism for aligning a cheque; a MICR head  72  for reading magnetic details on a code line of a cheque; an imager  74  including an upper  74   a  and lower  74   b  CCD camera for capturing an image of each side of a cheque (front and rear); a printer  76  for endorsing a cheque; and a storage bin  78  for storing processed cheques. The transport mechanism  70  includes two divert gates  80   a ,  80   b  for diverting cheques to either a reject bin  82  or a chute bin  84 . The elements ( 70  to  82 ) are conventional and will not be described in detail herein.  
         [0037]     The CPM  60  also includes a controller  86  for controlling the operation of the elements ( 70  to  80 ) within the CPM  60 .  
         [0038]     The chute bin  84  includes a chute  88  in the form of a steep, sloping plastics guide arranged to deliver a cheque from the transport mechanism  70  to the dispense area  58  using the force of gravity.  
         [0039]     The CPM  60  also includes an entrance shutter  90  for opening and closing the cheque input/output slot  56 , and a dispense area shutter  92  for allowing user access to the chute  88 .  
         [0040]     Included in the ATM CPU  87  is a control application that is operable to control internal ATM functionality, such as processing user inputs. The control application can additionally initiate communications with a service application  116  in the host  112 . This is done through a communications module  89  that is connected to the host terminal  112 . The service application  116  is operable to identify the current user from an ATM start transaction message, verify that user typically using information read from the user&#39;s bankcard and then effect any financial transactions in response to user inputs. The service application  116  includes an MMS application which is also able to send information relating to the financial transaction, including an image of a deposited document, to a pre-determined device, typically a mobile device  118 , specified by the user. To allow for this, a record of the user&#39;s selected device  118  is stored at the host  112 , together with a unique user identifier, such as. the user&#39;s unique banking identifier, so that as and when desired the host  112  can retrieve that information. Alternatively, a mobile telephone number may be entered as a part of the document deposit transaction, if the user is not pre-registered or if the user wishes the image to be sent to an alternatively device.  
         [0041]     The capability of the user&#39;s mobile device  118  determines how the information is delivered; some examples of delivery mechanisms include GSM, GPRS. This delivery information, including an image of the deposited document, is stored in association with the user&#39;s mobile details, and used by the host to determine how to deliver the message. In order to maximize the scope of the system, the host  112  is typically provided with a plurality of different communication mechanisms (not shown). For example, the host  112  may include mobile telephone communication means to allow MMS messages to be sent or a facility for connecting to the internet and sending, for example, e-mails. In any case, the host  112  is able to identify the user&#39;s device address and send information directly to it. In this way the user receives a permanent electronic record of the transaction, including an image of the actual cheque deposited. This enhances user confidence in automatic deposit SST.  
         [0042]     A typical transaction will now be described with reference to Figs SA and SB (which illustrate a flowchart illustrating the steps involved in a cheque deposit transaction) and also with reference to FIGS.  1  to  4 .  
         [0043]     Initially, the user enters their account card into the card reader slot  52  (step  100 ) and is identified by the system (step  102 ). The SST then presents the user with a list of transaction options, on the display  36 , (step  104 ), from which the user selects “cheque deposit” (step  106 ). The user then inserts the cheque to be deposited through the cheque input/output slot  56  (step  108 ).  
         [0044]     Thereupon the CPM controller  87  opens the slot shutter  90  to receive the cheque, and transports the received cheque (step  110 ) to the MICR head  72  where a code line on the cheque is read (step  112 ).  
         [0045]     The transport mechanism  70  then transports the cheque to the imager, where both sides of the cheque are imaged (step  114 ).  
         [0046]     The ATM  10  then verifies that the cheque has been completed correctly (step  116 ). If the cheque is incomplete, then the CPM  60  initiates a standard cheque return operation (STEP  118 ), which will not be described herein. Alternatively, the cheque can be diverted t a reject bin  82 , if for example there is thought to be something fraudulent regarding the attempted deposit of the cheque.  
         [0047]     If the cheque is complete, the SST then displays a charge for use of the SST to deposit the cheque (step  120 ). If the user accepts the charge (step  122 ), then the CPM  60  prints endorsement data onto the cheque (step  124 ).  
         [0048]     The ATM  10  then displays an image of the cheque to the user on the display  36  (step  126 ) and credits the amount of the cheque minus the surcharge, if appropriate, to an account detailed by the user (step  128 ). The account can either be detailed as part of the deposit process or a pre-registered account can be used. The CPM  60  then transports the cheque to the storage bin  78  (step  130 ) for subsequent collection and further processing.  
         [0049]     The ATM  10  then transmits the file containing the image of the deposited cheque to the host  112  (step  132 ), from where it is transmitted onto the mobile phone  118  associated with the user (Step  134 ), preferably as an MMS message.  
         [0050]     Various modifications may be made to the above described embodiment within the scope of the invention. For example, the above transaction assumes that a mobile device, such as a mobile phone, is pre-registered within the system, in respect of the user. However, if such a device has not been registered, or if the system is configured to offer an option, a screen is presented to the user requesting the input of a telephone number or other device address. The image is then sent to the device associated with the input address or number.