Patent ID: 7103618

Claim:
A method of operating a system of automated teller machines (ATMs) to store at each ATM information about a sub-set of customers to allow the ATM to more effectively serve its sub-set of customers, the method comprising: maintaining a first relational database at a first ATM, wherein the first relational database stores information about a first sub-set of customers who frequent the first ATM to conduct transactions at the first ATM; maintaining a second relational database at a second ATM, wherein the second relational database stores information about a second sub-set of customers, different from the first sub-set of customers, and who frequent the second ATM to conduct transactions at the second ATM; collecting in a data warehouse customer information from transactions conducted at the first and second ATMs; determining first customer information based upon customer information collected in the data warehouse and relating to transactions conducted by the first sub-set of customers at the second ATM; determining second customer information based upon customer information collected in the data warehouse and relating to transactions conducted by the second sub-set of customers at the first ATM; transmitting the first customer information from the data warehouse to the first ATM to allow the first ATM to update the information about the first sub-set of customers stored in the first relational database to include the first customer information and thereby to allow the first ATM to more effectively serve the first sub-set of customers at the first ATM whenever the first sub-set of customers conduct future transactions at the first ATM; and transmitting the second customer information from the data warehouse to the second ATM to allow the second ATM to update the information about the second sub-set of customers stored in the second relational database to include the second customer information and thereby to allow the second ATM to more effectively serve the second sub-set of customers at the second ATM whenever the second sub-set of customers conduct future transactions at the second ATM.