International Business Machines Corporation

May L Gee

Robert W Anderson

Alice K McMullen

Steven F Brock

A transaction execution system is provided in which key initiated transaction requests at a terminal remote from and in communication with a host data processing system are processed at the terminal under the selective control of the host. Each active transaction key at the terminal keyboard is assigned one of three different states by a financial institution table. Transactions requested by keys having a data entry state are handled within the terminal and with the additional consumer entered data required to complete the transaction being requested by and received by the terminal using sets of messages previously stored in the terminal by the host data processing system. Transactions designated by an interactive key state take place within and involve interactive communication between both the terminal and the host, enabling the responses and other communications generated by the host in connection with a transaction for a particular customer to be customized. Message storage within the terminal and communication of messages to the terminal from the host are greatly simplified by storage of segments of messages at the terminal. Frequently repeated phrases can then be incorporated into a message as it is readied for display at the terminal by storing the phrases as segments and thereafter simply identifying them in message definitions communicated to the terminal from the host or stored at the terminal.

Transaction execution system having keyboard and message customization,

Key initiated transaction requests at a terminal remote from and in communication with a host data processing system are processed at the terminal under the selective control of the host. Each active transaction key at the terminal keyboard is assigned one of three different states. Transactions requested by keys assigned a standard state are processed at the terminal without further data input being required of the customer. Transactions requested by keys having a data entry state are also handled within the terminal and with the additional customer entered data required to complete the transaction being requested by and received by the terminal using sets of messages previously stored in the terminal by the host data processing system. Transactions designated by an interactive key state take place within and involve communication of interactive start, display, response, and completion messages, and of transaction request, reply, and status messages between both the terminal and the host, enabling the responses and other communications generated by the host in connection with a transaction for a particular customer to be customized.

A transaction execution system is provided in which key initiated transaction requests at a terminal remote from and in communication with a host data processing system are processed at the terminal under the selective control of the host. Each active transaction key at the terminal keyboard is assigned one of three different states by a financial institution table. The table provides keyboard customization by selecting one of a plurality of different groups of key states for the different keys arrived at by combining the key states in a custom key set table with the states in a base key set table in response to information from a credit card entered by a consumer. Transactions requested by keys assigned a standard state are processed at the terminal without further data input being required of the consumer. Transactions requested by keys having a data entry state are also handled within the terminal and with the additional consumer entered data required to complete the transaction being requested by and received by the terminal using sets of messages previously stored in the terminal by the host data processing system. Transactions designated by an interactive key state take place within and involve interactive communication between both the terminal and the host, enabling the responses and other communications generated by the host in connection with a transaction for a particular customer to be customized and providing for greater and more varied transactions including such things as bill paying in which funds are transferred between accounts in the host. Message storage within the terminal and communication of messages to the terminal from the host are greatly simplified by storage of segments of messages at the terminal. Frequently repeated phrases can then be incorporated into a message as it is readied for display at the terminal by storing the phrases as segments and thereafter simply identifying them in message definitions communicated to the terminal from the host or stored at the terminal.

Transaction execution system with improved key function versatility

A transaction execution system having a multiple account data base and a plurality of transaction terminals in communication with the host. The terminals each include a keyboard, a display, document handlng subsystems, a hardware control subsystem, a communication subsystem and a programmable control subsystem supervising the other subsystems. A user initiates a transaction request by inserting a card, which may have been issued by any of a plurality of cooperating card issuers or banks, into one of the terminals. The issuer identification number is read from the card, and used to search a table of card format and encryption key data. If the corresponding format and key data is located in the table, the terminal requests entry of a preassigned personal ID number through the keyboard. Verification data located on the card by format data from the table is encrypted in response to the key data from the table for comparison with the keyboard entered ID number. If the corresponding format and key data is not located in the table, the card data is sent to the host, which accesses a master table with the issuer identification number, and communicates back to the terminal the corresponding format and key data located in the master table. Once the terminal has checked for correspondence between encrypted verification data and the ID number, in response to format and key data from its own table or communicated from the host, additional transaction data is obtained via the keyboard. Upon command from the host, the host supplied format and key data is purged by the terminal at completion of the transaction, or else retained for future reference.

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

May L Gee