Patent ID: 7533804

Claim:
A data processing system comprising: a processor; a data storage facility hosting one or more customer account information; network connection means for allowing remote access via an external device to said one or more customer account information at the data storage facility; and program logic executed by the processor for: linking an alert to an occurrence of a pre-defined activity within a customer account that is accessible via an automatic teller machine (ATM); monitoring for the pre-defined activity within said customer account that is related to the alert selected by the customer; in response to the occurrence of the pre-defined activity, automatically forwarding the alert for outputting at the ATM during a subsequent access of said customer account during an ATM transaction, wherein the alert is forwarded for outputting utilizing an output mechanism of the ATM to signal the occurrence of the activity within said customer account; enabling selection of characteristics to associate with the alert, including whether the alert is confidential or non-confidential, wherein a method of outputting the alert at the ATM is affected by a confidentiality characteristic associated with the alert; and enabling selection of a method and an output format for outputting the alert at the ATM, said format selected from one or more of: (1) a display format wherein the alert is displayed on a monitor of the ATM; (2) a print format wherein the alert is printed on a transaction receipt generated at the ATM; and (3) an audible relay format wherein the alert is audibly outputted on a speaker of the ATM.