Patent Abstract:
A self-service terminal (SST) that allows a user to conduct one or more transactions through a remote transaction host during a user session includes a display module for use in presenting information to the user and a processing module that is configured to cause the SST to progress through a series of states. For each of the states, the SST receives from the transaction host an instruction to present on the display module a screen containing information corresponding to the state. At some point during the user session, the SST halts its progression through the series of states and presents on the display module a series of screens containing information received from a source other than the transaction host.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Self-service financial transactions, such as banking transactions conducted on automated teller machines (ATMs), typically take place on two types of machines, or self-service terminals (SSTs). The first of these machines follows a traditional “host-driven” approach to self-service transactions, in which the interaction between a user of the SST and the application software in the SST is driven by a transaction host in a financial-transaction network. In the host-driven approach, the SST leads the user through a prescribed series of transaction states, each having a corresponding video display screen that is delivered to the SST by the transaction host. The host-driven approach is a simple and popular approach that is used in the majority of ATMs worldwide. In the ATM industry, an industry standard known as “NDC” (the “states-and-screens” standard) has developed for ATM application software that uses this host-driven protocol. 
         [0002]    The second approach to self-service transactions—the “client-driven” approach”—involves the use of standard browser-based application software in the SST to drive interaction with the user. With this approach, the SST application software accesses the transaction host as necessary for authorization and fulfillment of financial transactions conducted by the user, but the SST application software itself, and not the transaction host, drives the SST&#39;s operation. The result is that SSTs following the client-driven approach provide more flexibility for SST owners, giving them greater control of both the content presented to the users of the SSTs and the overall flow of self-service transactions taking place on the SSTs. The client-driven approach also allows the SST to access web-based services, such Internet services or customer-relationship management (CRM) applications located on network servers, while a user is engaged with the SST. 
         [0003]    Despite all of the advantages of client-driven SSTs, however, owners of host-driven SSTs are reluctant to move wholesale to client-driven systems. Up to now, doing so would require the SST owners to replace all of their host-driven SSTs with client-driven SSTs, incurring tremendous cost along the way. 
       SUMMARY  
       [0004]    Described below is a self-service terminal (SST) that allows a user to conduct one or more transactions through a remote transaction host during a user session. The SST includes a display module for use in presenting information to the user and a processing module that is configured to cause the SST to progress through a series of states. For each of the states, the SST receives from the transaction host an instruction to present on the display module a screen containing information corresponding to the state. At some point during the user session, the SST halts its progression through the series of states and presents on the display module a series of screens containing information received from a source other than the transaction host. 
         [0005]    Also described is an SST that includes a data-storage module storing first and second self-service application modules and a processing module configured to execute the first and second self-service application modules during the user session. When the processing module is executing the first self-service application module, the SST is configured to receive instructions from the transaction host prescribing a flow for the user session in the SST. When the processing module is executing the second self-service application module, the SST is configured to receive no instructions from the transaction host prescribing a flow for the user session in the SST. 
         [0006]    Other features and advantages will become apparent from the description and claims that follow. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a diagram showing a hybrid self-service terminal (SST) that is configured for operation under both the traditional host-driven approach and the client-driven approach. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a diagram showing interaction between a traditional host-driven SST and a transaction host. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a diagram showing interaction between a hybrid SST like that of  FIG. 1  and a transaction host. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a diagram showing the structure of a general-purpose computer system suitable for use in implementing the hybrid SST of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0011]      FIG. 1  shows a hybrid self-service terminal (SST)  100  that is configured for operation under both the host-driven and client-driven approaches described above. The hybrid SST  100  includes a self-service application that is grounded in the host-driven approach, but included among the transaction states through which the SST  100  progresses is a special “Exit” state that, at some point during the transaction flow, allows a client-driven application module to take control of the SST  100 . 
         [0012]    The hybrid SST  100  is typically built upon a traditional architecture that is common for financial-services SSTs. In the example of  FIG. 1 , the hybrid SST  100  is built upon a layered architecture in which a Microsoft Windows NT or XP operating system (OS)  110  supports a transaction platform  120  that follows the Extensions for Financial Services (XFS) interface standard, in particular the XFS standard as put forth by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), known as “CEN/XFS.” A self-service application  130  sits on top of the CEN/XFS platform  120  and controls interaction between the hybrid SST  100  and users of the SST, primarily through a video display/browser  140  that appears on a monitor within the SST. The self-service application  130  also controls interaction between the hybrid SST  100  and a transaction host  175  in a financial-transaction network, as well as interaction with web-based servers, such as traditional Internet servers  185  and a customer-relationship management (CRM) server  195  that allows, e.g., a financial institution to direct targeted marketing or advertising campaigns to the user. Interactions between the hybrid SST  100  and the transaction host  175  and between the SST  100  and the web-based servers  185 ,  195  are driven by a network-interface module  150  that operates under control of the self-service application  130 . 
         [0013]    Unlike in traditional SSTs, the self-service application  130  in the hybrid SST  100  is a hybrid application that includes two distinct modules: a “host-driven” module  160  that follows the traditional host-driven approach to financial transactions, and a “client-driven” module  170  that follows the client-driven approach. When the SST operates under control of the host-driven module  160 , the SST&#39;s interaction with the user, and thus the display screens and input choices made available to the user, are driven by the transaction host  175 . When the SST operates under control of the client-driven module  170 , the SST&#39;s interaction with the user is driven by the self-service application  130  itself and not by the transaction host  175 . 
         [0014]    In most cases, the client-driven module  170  of the self-service application  130  includes some or all of the software components of a traditional client-driven self-service application. As described below, the functions performed by the client-driven module  170  in the hybrid SST  100  often are no different than the functions performed by traditional client-driven SSTs. 
         [0015]    The host-driven module  160 , on the other hand, is somewhat different than traditional host-driven self-service applications. While the host-driven module  160  does step through a series of transaction states like a traditional host-driven application does, the host-driven module  160  of the hybrid SST  100  includes a transaction state that does not appear in traditional host-driven applications—an “Exit” state that allows the host-driven module  160  to hand control of the hybrid SST  100  to the client-driven module  170  at some point during a user&#39;s interaction with the SST. In most systems as this hand-off occurs, the graphical display that is presented to the user remains consistent in appearance so that the user is unaware of any underlying changes. The “Exit” state and the operation of both the host-driven and client-driven modules are described in more detail below. 
         [0016]      FIG. 2  shows the operation of a standard host-driven SST  200 , where the transaction host  210  with which the SST  200  interacts drives the states  220   1 . . . X  through which the SST  200  progresses and drives the video-screen content associated with each state. The state in which the SST  200  resides at any given moment depends upon the user&#39;s actions in response to information presented in the screen corresponding to the previous state. In general, the user interacts with the SST  200  through several user-interface modules (e.g., a numbered key pad and multiple soft or hard keys within or adjacent to the video display) that allow the user to make selections from choices presented in the screens displayed on the video monitor. 
         [0017]    In the example of  FIG. 2 , when a user engages the host-driven SST  200 , the SST enters an initial state (State  1 )  220   1 , for which the transaction host  210  delivers a subsequent video screen (Screen  1 )  230   1 . The SST then progress to a subsequent state (State  2 )  220   2 , for which the transaction host  210  delivers a corresponding video screen (Screen  2 )  230   2 . The host-driven SST  220  and the transaction host  210  continue in this manner until the SST enters a final state (State X)  220   X  associated with a corresponding final screen (Screen X)  220   X , at which the SST concludes the user session. 
         [0018]      FIG. 3  shows the operation of a hybrid SST  300  like that shown in  FIG. 1  above. Like the standard host-driven SST  200  of  FIG. 2 , the hybrid SST  300  begins each user session by following the standard host-driven protocol, through which the hybrid SST  300  progresses through a series of transaction states  320   1 . . . X  as a transaction host  310  delivers a corresponding series of video screens  330   1 . . . X . 
         [0019]    In the example of  FIG. 3 , when a user engages the hybrid SST  300 , the SST enters an initial state (State  1 )  320   1 , for which the transaction host  310  delivers a corresponding video screen (Screen  1 )  330   1 . The hybrid SST  300  then progresses to a subsequent state (State  2 )  320   2  for which the transaction host  310  delivers a subsequent video screen (Screen  2 )  330   2 , and so on. 
         [0020]    At some point during this progression through states, however, the hybrid SST  300  enters a special “Exit” state  320   Z  for which there is no corresponding video screen in the transaction host  310 . Upon entering the “Exit” state, the host-driven module  340  (see item  160  in  FIG. 1  above) of the SST&#39;s self-service application ( 130  in  FIG. 1  above) hands control of the SST to the client-driven module  350  (see  170  in  FIG. 1  above). The client-driven module  350  then begins driving the SST&#39;s interaction with the user and thus the content displayed on the SST&#39;s video monitor. The client-driven module  350  also begins controlling operation of the SST&#39;s network-interface module ( 170  in  FIG. 1  above) and user-interface modules. As described above, this transition from the host-driven module  340  to the client-driven module  350  is meant to be transparent to the user of the SST. 
         [0021]    In handing control of the SST over to the client-driven module  350 , the host-driven module  340  delivers certain transaction-critical information to the client-driven module  350 —information such as card-track data gathered from a user&#39;s bank card and PIN data entered into the SST through an encrypted PIN pad. Passing this information between modules allows the client-driven module  350  to work with the transaction host  310  in carrying out some or all of the transactions requested by the user. 
         [0022]    In most systems, the client-driven module  350  uses a standard messaging protocol, such as the HTTP/SOAP protocol, and a standard document format, such as HTML or XML format, to drive the SST&#39;s interaction with the user. Upon taking control of the hybrid SST  300  from the host-driven module  340 , the client-driven module  350  delivers an initial document  360   1  for display on the video monitor. What the client-driven module  350  does next typically depends on a wide variety of factors, including the user&#39;s actions in response to the information presented in the video display, the availability of hardware devices (such as a cash dispenser and a receipt printer) in the SST, and the availability and/or action of the transaction host. In general, the client-driven module  350  next delivers any one of several subsequent documents  360   2 . . . Y  for display on the video monitor to present the user with a new set of information and/or choices. While under control of the client-driven module  350 , the hybrid SST  300  receives documents  360   1 . . . Y  from any of a variety of sources, including the Internet or CRM IFX servers described above. In some cases, some or all of the documents originate within the hybrid SST  300  itself (e.g., the documents are stored within the hybrid SST  100 ). 
         [0023]    Once the client-driven module  350  has completed its interaction with the user, it returns control of the hybrid SST  300  to the host-driven module  340 . From this point, the hybrid SST  300  continues its progression through the series of state transitions prescribed by the transaction host  310 , each leading to the display of a corresponding screen delivered by the host. As with the traditional SST  200  of  FIG. 2 , the hybrid SST  200  and the transaction host  310  continue in this manner until the hybrid SST  300  reaches its final state (State X)  220   X  and terminates the user session. 
         [0024]      FIG. 4  shows an example structure of a general-purpose computer system  400  that is suitable for implementing a hybrid self-service terminal like that described above. The computer system  400  includes some or all of the following components: one or more processors  405 ; one or more temporary data-storage components  410 , such as volatile and nonvolatile memory modules; one or more persistent data-storage components  415 , such as hard and floppy disk drives, CD-ROM drives, and magnetic tape drives; one or more devices such as a display monitor  420 ; one or more input devices such as an encrypted PIN pad (EPP)  430 ; and one or more other peripheral devices  440 . The other peripheral devices  440  typically include any of a wide variety of electronic modules commonly found in self-service terminals in the financial-services industry, such a card reader, a cash dispenser, a cash acceptor, a coin dispenser, a coin acceptor, a check acceptor, and a receipt printer. The computer system  400  also includes a network interface card  450  that allows the terminal to connect, e.g., to the Internet and to a financial-transaction network, which typically includes a local area network (LAN) in a physical branch facility of the financial-services institution, as well as a larger wide area network (WAN) and an ATM switching network. 
         [0025]    The SST also includes executable program code, in the form of one or more executable program modules, that is typically stored in one of the persistent storage components  415  and then copied into memory  410  at run-time. In the SST described here, this program code includes a hybrid self-service application  435  like that described above. The processor  405  in the SST executes the program code by retrieving program instructions from memory in a prescribed order and acting on those instructions. 
         [0026]    The text above describes one or more specific embodiments of a broader invention. The invention also is carried out in a variety of alternative embodiments and thus is not limited to those described here. Many other embodiments are also within the scope of the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6