Patent ID: 8336769

Claim:
Apparatus comprising: a banking system including a plurality of transaction terminals, wherein each respective terminal includes at least one reader operable to read user data usable to identify a financial account on which financial transactions can be carried out, wherein each respective terminal is operable to allow a user of the respective terminal to request a check cashing transaction responsive at least in part to the user being recognized as an authorized terminal user based at least in part on computer-determined correspondence between user data read by the at least one reader and authorized terminal user information stored in at least one data store, wherein each respective terminal includes a cash acceptor, wherein the cash acceptor is operable to receive cash from authorized terminal users, wherein each respective terminal includes a check acceptor, wherein the check acceptor is operable to receive checks from authorized terminal users, wherein each terminal includes a check imager, wherein the check imager is operable to capture an image of at least one side of a check received by the check acceptor, wherein each terminal includes a cash dispenser, a teller station remotely located from the plurality of terminals, wherein the teller station includes a teller input device, wherein each respective terminal includes at least one computer, wherein for each respective terminal, the at least one computer is operable to resolve from images captured by the check imager, check data including a check amount, and the at least one computer is operably responsive at least in part to at least one input to the teller input device, to cause the cash dispenser to dispense to an authorized terminal user, a cash amount that corresponds to a check amount resolved from an image captured by the check imager of a check received by the check acceptor, wherein the teller station includes a communication selector unit, wherein the communication selector unit allows a teller to selectively establish two-way audio and video communication with a respective customer at each of the terminals, wherein the teller station includes a queuing indicator, wherein the queuing indicator is linked to the check imager of each respective terminal, wherein the queuing indicator is operable to display a queue of session identifiers respectively corresponding to in-progress user sessions at respective terminals, wherein the queue indicates an order in which user session customers are to be sequentially served by a teller, wherein a session identifier for an in-progress user session which has continued for a predetermined time length after operation of the check imager of the terminal, has queue order priority over a session identifier for the longest in-progress user session.