Method of obtaining electronically-stored financial documents

1

METHOD OF OBTAINING
ELECTRONICALLY-STORED FINANCIAL
DOCUMENTS

RELATED APPLICATIONS 5

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/202,790 filed on Aug. 12, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,552,118, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/104,541 filed on Mar. 22,2002, 10 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,963,866, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/548,490 filed on Apr. 13,2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,072, which in turn claims priority to and all the advantages of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/129,021, which was filed on Apr. 13, 1999. 15

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1) Technical Field

The subject invention relates to a method for a financial 20 institution to obtain electronically-stored financial documents from an off-site storage system remotely-located from an on-site storage system.

2) Description of the Prior Art

Methods for obtaining electronically-stored financial 25 documents are generally known in the art. Financial institutions, such as banks and credit unions, utilize such methods to rapidly and efficiently obtain financial documents for distribution to clients upon request. Such financial documents include paid checks, account statements, and other related 30 documents. These financial documents are typically stored on microfiche, microfilm, digitally, or by some other electronic storage means. Further, these financial documents are typically electronically-stored in an on-site storage system located at the financial institution or in an off-site storage 35 system. Electronic storage of these financial documents permits financial institutions to eliminate storage of paper or "hard" copies of these documents. The electronic storage of these documents also provides a means of retrieving the information from the on-site and off-site storage systems. 40

Once the document is stored, the client may request an image of a particular stored document. Client requests are made to replace lost or stolen documents, for tax purposes, for proof of financial transactions, for legal disputes, and other similar matters. The client's request is inputted into a com- 45 puter terminal at the financial institution. More specifically, conventional methods for obtaining an electronically-stored financial document enable an employee of the financial institution, such as a bank teller, to input the request into an interface incorporated into the computer terminal. The inter- 50 face is inter-linked with the on-site storage system. Typically, all requests for a particular period are grouped together and subsequently downloaded for retrieval of the requested image by the financial institution. The financial institution retrieves the image, e.g. a photocopy of the check, and then distributes 55 the photocopy to the client via facsimile, mail or hand delivery. The storing, downloading, and retrieving of the financial document, including the reproduction and the distribution of the document, are known in the industry as back office production. Back office production for financial institutions is 60 particularly resource intensive, time consuming, and expensive. Also, back office production becomes increasingly expensive if the client requests a particularly old financial document because older financial documents frequently require more resources and time to locate and retrieve. 65

The majority of financial institutions electronically store financial documents only in an on-site storage system and not

2

in an off-site storage system. Consequently, these financial institutions are unable to outsource the responsibilities for the back office production to third party entities to alleviate the expenses and resources associated with the back office production. These financial institutions realize a significant financial burden since the back office production is concentrated strictly at the financial institution.

Other financial institutions do electronically store financial documents in on-site and off-site storage systems. However, the methods utilized by these financial institutions to access the financial documents stored in the off-site storage system are deficient in that the interface utilized in such methods is only inter-linked with the on-site storage system. That is, there is no interface independently inter-linked with the offsite storage system. As a result, the financial documents stored in the off-site storage system can not be efficiently accessed. These financial institutions are still responsible for retrieving the requested financial documents through their back office production and their expenses remain high. One such method of retrieving documents from on-site and offsited storage systems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,784,610 to Copeland, III et al.

Due to the inefficiencies identified in the conventional methods used by financial institutions to obtain financial documents, it is desirable to implement a method for a financial institution to obtain electronically-stored financial documents from both on-site and off-site storage systems that reduces, if not eliminates, the back office production of the financial institution by providing a direct interface interlinked with the off-site storage system. With such an interface, the responsibility for retrieving financial documents from the off-site storage can be outsourced to third party entities while still providing the financial institution with efficient access to any financial documents electronicallystored in the off-site storage system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND
ADVANTAGES

A method for a financial institution to obtain electronically-stored financial documents having a specific document parameter is disclosed. The specific document parameter is typically a particular numerical sequence, such as a record date of the financial document. The method of the subject invention enables the financial institution to obtain the financial documents from a first or an off-site storage system. The first or off-site storage system is different from a second or an on-site storage system and is preferably remotely-located from the second or on-site storage system. In one embodiment, the financial documents of the financial institution are maintained in the first or off-site storage system when the specific document parameter of the financial document is greater than a predetermined parameter. The financial documents that are less than or equal to the predetermined parameter are maintained in the second or on-site storage system. In another embodiment, the specific document parameter of the financial document that is less than or equal to the predetermined parameter is maintained in the first or off-site storage system and the financial document that is greater than the predetermined parameter is maintained in the second or onsite storage system.

When the financial institution receives a request for a financial document, the financial institution compares the specific document parameter of the requested financial document to the predetermined parameter to determine if the specific document parameter is greater than, less than, or equal to the predetermined parameter. A computer terminal located at the financial institution is connected to both the off-site and onsite storage systems through a processing unit. The processing unit is utilized to, at least partially, automatically access one of the storage systems in response to the comparison of the specific document parameter to the predetermined param- 5 eter. For instance, if it is determined that the specific document parameter is less than or equal to the predetermined document parameter, then the processing unit accesses the second or on-site storage system. On the other hand, if it is determined that the specific document parameter of the finan- l o cial document is greater than the predetermined parameter, then the processing unit accesses the first or off-site storage system. As stated below, the computer terminal may be used to feed a request into the processing unit.

After the requested financial document is accessed, the 15 requested document is then retrieved in order to reproduce the financial document, and distribute the financial document to an end user of the financial institution.

The subject invention therefore provides a method that enables financial institutions to obtain electronically-stored 20 financial documents from on-site and off-site storage systems As such, the financial institution can selectively store financial documents in either an on-site storage system or the off-site storage system, and the responsibility for the financial documents in the on-site or off-site storage systems can be 25 outsourced to a third party entity. Further, the documents can be stored in different fixed mediums, such as microfiche, microfilm, digitally, electronically, etc., and can be stored in different geographical locations. Therefore, the back office production of the financial institution associated with the 30 retrieval and distribution of financial documents stored in the on-site or off-site storage systems is strategically reduced or even completely eliminated.

Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein: 40

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram schematically detailing an on-site storage system, and an off-site storage system in accordance with the subject invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram generally representing a method for a financial institution to obtain electronically-stored 45 financial documents from the on-site and off-site storage systems;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram completing the method of obtaining electronically-stored financial documents from the onsite storage system; and 50

FIG. 4 is a block diagram completing the method of obtaining electronically-stored financial documents from the offsite storage system.

site storage system is located at a remote location distant from the financial institution. This allows the financial institution to 'outsource' the responsibilities associated with obtaining the financial document.

Methods for financial institutions to obtain electronicallystored documents are frequently used by such entities as banks, credit unions, and other financially-oriented institutions. For illustrative purposes only, the description of the subject invention is discussed with reference to banks. However, as appreciated by those skilled in the art, other businesses, such as insurance companies, may also utilize similar methods and incorporate the aspects of the subject invention.

Methods for banks to obtain electronically-stored financial documents are generally used by banks to rapidly and efficiently obtain financial documents for distribution to clients upon request. As described above, the financial documents for banks are usually paid checks, checking statements, and other related financial documents, and these documents include at least one specific document parameter. As appreciated by those skilled in the art, it is not the financial document (e.g. the paid check) itself that is electronically-stored. Rather, it is data included on the document such as a sequence number that is electronically stored to make up the financial document. The specific document parameter is preferably a particular numerical sequence. As appreciated, the specific document parameter of the financial document can include, but is not limited to, a record date or age of the document, a series number, or some other document identifying number of the financial document. More specifically, in the preferred embodiment of the subj ect invention, the particular numerical sequence of the financial document is the record date of the financial document. That is, the date that the particular financial document was created or posted.

The financial documents are typically stored on microfiche, microfilm, digitally, or by some other electronic storage means. As appreciated, the electronic storage of the financial documents is frequently created by taking an electronic photo image of the document and storing the photo image in a computer system. One such digital electronic storage device is sold by Kodak under the name of IMAGELINKTM Digital Workstation (IDW). Electronic storage of these financial documents permits banks to eliminate storage of paper or "hard" copies of these documents. The electronic storage of these documents also provides an efficient means of retrieving the information from the on-site and off-site storage systems. This will be discussed further herein below.

As described above, the financial documents are electronically-stored in either the on-site storage system located at the bank or in the off-site storage system remotely located from the on-site storage system. More specifically, the subject invention includes the step of maintaining the financial documents in the off-site storage system when the specific document parameter of the financial document is greater than a predetermined parameter. Financial documents are maintained in the on-site storage system when the specific document parameter of the financial document is less than or equal to the predetermined parameter. As appreciated, the document parameter of the financial documents stored in the offsite storage system may be greater than or equal to the predetermined parameter with the on-site storage system having documents only less than the predetermined parameter.

Similar to the specific document parameter of the financial document, the predetermined parameter is also a numerical value. The predetermined parameter is specifically a numerical value predetermined by the bank. For instance, if the specific document parameter is a series number of a paid check and the series number is greater than the predetermined 5

parameter which, in this case, would be an arbitrarily selected base series number, then the paid check would be stored in the off-site storage system.

In the preferred embodiment of the subject invention, the predetermined numerical value is a date pre-selected by the 5 bank. For instance, the bank may pre-select a date that is one year before a current date—the current date being the actual date that the client requests the financial document. Of course, the bank may pre-select a date that is some other time period before a current date (e.g. two or three years) without 10 varying from the scope of the subject invention. As such, if the record date of the particular financial document is older than one year, then the particular financial document is maintained in the off-site storage system. If the record date of the particular financial document is earlier than or equal to one year, 15 then the particular financial document is maintained in the on-site storage system. As discussed above, the document having record dates equal to the one year may be stored in the off-site or on-site storage systems.

Once the financial document is maintained in the appro- 20 priate storage system, the bank is capable of receiving a request for the financial document from the client. In reality, the client is requesting an image of the stored financial document. As appreciated, clients request the image for various reasons. As discussed above, requests are typically made for 25 replacing lost or stolen financial documents, for tax purposes, for proof of financial transactions, for legal disputes, and other similar matters. Ultimately, the bank retrieves the image, reproduces the image, and distributes the reproduced image to the requesting client of the bank. 30

Referring now to FIG. 1, the method for banks to obtain electronically-stored financial documents is discussed in detail in accordance with a general scope of the subj ect invention. Initially, the requesting client requests a particular financial document, such as a paid check. The client is typically a 35 customer of the bank or other financial institution. The client's request is inputted into a computer terminal 11 at the financial institution. The computer terminal 11 will be discussed in more detail hereinbelow.

From the computer terminal 11, the request is fed into a 40 processing unit 12, which is illustrated as a mainframe computer 12 at the bank. In the preferred embodiment of the subject invention, if the client requests a financial document having a record date earlier than or equal to one year before the current date, then the request, and other requests like it, are 45 processed at the bank in the on-site storage system. That is, the requests are grouped together and downloaded to a downloading terminal 14 at the bank. The downloading may occur at particular intervals such as at the end of each day, every three hours, etc. The sequence number of each check 50 requested is then determined. A document terminal 16 subsequently creates or reproduces the document, i.e., a photocopy of the check. The photocopy is then distributed to the client via facsimile, mail, or hand delivery.

It is known in the art that the majority of requests for 55 financial documents are requests for documents which were created in the most recent year. That is, if the pre-selected date is one year before the current date, as in the preferred embodiment, then the majority of requests are seeking financial documents having a record date earlier than or equal to the 60 pre-selected date. The remaining document requests relate to financial documents that are older than one year. Since, as described in the Background of the Invention, retrieval of financial documents that are older than one year is particularly expensive, the preferred embodiment of the subject 65 invention outsources all of the document requests which relate to documents having a record date later than one year

6

before the current date. As appreciated, the particular time frame which is outsourced is not a critical feature of the subject invention and may be adjusted to meet the needs of any particular financial institution. In fact, all of the document requests, including the most recent, may be outsourced using the outsourcing procedure of the subject invention.

In the preferred embodiment, if the client requests a financial document having a record date later than one year before the current date, then the request, and others like it, are grouped together and downloaded from the mainframe computer 12 to an outsourced downloading terminal 18. As above, the downloading may be at particular intervals as needed. The sequence number is determined by a sequencing terminal 20. The sequence number is then sent back to the outsourced downloading terminal 18. An outsourced document terminal 22 then creates or reproduces the desired document which is then distributed to either the client or the bank. As appreciated, two document retrieval operations, one for the bank to retrieve financial documents having record dates earlier than or equal to one year before the current date, and another to retrieve outsourced financial documents having record dates later than one year before the current date, preferably operate simultaneously. It is to be understood that the computer terminals and the accompanying PC bases are illustrated highly schematically in FIG. 1 and are not intended to be limiting in any manner. For instance, the schematic illustration of the outsourced document terminal 22 need not include a computer terminal and an accompanying PC base. Instead, the outsourced document terminal 22 is preferably some sort of printing device.

Referring to FIGS. 2 through 4, the method for banks to obtain electronically-stored financial documents is described in even greater detail. The request is first generated by the client. The request is then processed by the bank. The processing, retrieval and reproduction of the requested financial document is typically controlled by one interlinked computer software program. One such computer software program is a software program called Antinori Software Incorporated or ASI which is sold under the name of INNOVASIONTM by Carreker-Antinori of Dallas, Tex. However, other frequently used software programs include PEGATM and SterlingTM. Any of these computer software systems can provide the necessary means for implementing the discussed procedures.

The processing of the request is completed by a customer service tracking system and the computer terminal 11. The customer service tracking system assists the financial institution in receiving the request. More specifically, the customer service tracking system gives branches, customer service, and other bank departments the capability to enter, log, track, route and monitor the status of all requests for financial documents. The customer service tracking system also provides the capability to enter, log, track, route and monitor the status of customer complaints and other customer service related items.

In accordance with one contemplated embodiment of the invention, a bank employee, such as a bank teller first determines a status of the requested document. More specifically, the employee compares the specific document parameter of the requested financial document to the predetermined parameter to determine if the specific document parameter is greater than, less than, or equal to the predetermined parameter. If the specific document parameter is a particular numerical sequence and the predetermined parameter is a predetermined numerical value, then the employee compares the particular numerical sequence of the financial document to the predetermined numerical value to determine if the particular numerical sequence is greater than, less than, or