U.S. patent application number 09/095779 was filed with the patent office on 2001-08-02 for on-line consumer credit data reporting system.
Invention is credited to DUHON, ERIC M..
Application Number | 20010011245 09/095779 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 22253553 |
Filed Date | 2001-08-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010011245 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
DUHON, ERIC M. |
August 2, 2001 |
ON-LINE CONSUMER CREDIT DATA REPORTING SYSTEM
Abstract
A consumer credit information data base controlled by a
computerized system for storing current consumer credit
information, as well as historical credit data information. The
computerized system is programmed to present current and historical
credit data information to on-line users so that better assessments
can be made as to the credit worthiness of a consumer.
Inventors: |
DUHON, ERIC M.; (KATY,
TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Howison, Chauza, Handley, & Arnott, L.L.P.
High Point Centre, Suite 985
12225 Greenville Avenue
Dallas
TX
75243
US
|
Family ID: |
22253553 |
Appl. No.: |
09/095779 |
Filed: |
June 11, 1998 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/38 ;
705/30 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 20/4037 20130101;
G06Q 20/403 20130101; G06Q 20/04 20130101; G06Q 40/00 20130101;
G06Q 40/025 20130101; G07F 7/08 20130101; G06Q 40/02 20130101; G06Q
40/12 20131203 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/38 ;
705/30 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A computerized system for providing consumer credit information,
comprising: a computer system; a data base for storing consumer
credit information; said computer system being programmed to store
current credit information and programmed to store historical
credit information for a period at least greater than six months;
and said computer system being programmed to provide data for
screen displays showing historical credit information in graphical
form.
2. The computerized system of claim 1, wherein said computer system
is programmed to process a plurality of individual parameters
related to the historical credit information and store data
representative of the processed parameters so as to be
automatically presented in a chronological order for said
period.
3. The computerized system of claim 2, wherein said individual
parameters include at least an account balance for each month for
said period and a payment history for each month for said
period.
4. The computerized system of claim 2, wherein each said parameter
is stored in said data base in association with a respective
consumer.
5. The computerized system of claim 1, wherein historical credit
information is stored in said data base in association with
respective consumers, and in association with each tradeline to
which the respective consumers owed money for said period.
6. The computerized system of claim 1, wherein said computer system
is programmed to display a bar graph depicting at least one said
parameter for said period.
7. The computerized system of claim 6, wherein said computer system
is programmed to display data comprising a parameter displayed as
said bar graph, and programmed to display numerical data together
with said bar graph.
8. The computerized system of claim 6, wherein said computer system
is programmed to display said bar graph for a desired trade
line.
9. The computerized system of claim 6, wherein said computer system
is programmed to present said bar graph showing a first set of bars
for an account balance, where each bar is representative of an
account balance for an interval of one month, and programmed to
present a second set of bars on said bar graph for past due
amounts, where each bar of said second set is representative of a
past due amount for an interval of one month.
10. The computerized system of claim 9, wherein said computer
system is programmed to display numerical data with said bar graph,
where said numerical data corresponds to data processed to produce
said bar graph.
11. The computerized system of claim 1, wherein said computer
system is programmed to display a plurarity of parameters, each for
said period, together as a single screen display.
12. The computerized system of claim 11, wherein each parameter of
said plurarity of parameters is selectable by an on-line user of
said computerized system.
13. The computerized system of claim 6, wherein said period is
divided into time intervals, and a length of said time intervals is
selectable by an on-line user of said computerized system.
14. The computerized system of claim 1, wherein said computer
system is programmed to display said historical data for a
twenty-four month period in monthly intervals identified by a month
and year, and programmed to display a plurarity of tradelines and a
payment delinquency of a consumer for each tradeline for each said
monthly interval.
15. The computerized system of claim 1, wherein said computer
system is programmed to process address information for a plurarity
of consumers, and present on a screen display reported address data
for each said consumer, and a date in which said address was
reported as being associated with a respective consumer.
16. The computerized system of claim 15, wherein said computer
system is programmed to display an accumulated number of sources
reporting the respective address information.
17. The computerized system of claim 1, wherein said computer
system is programmed to process social security number information
for a plurarity of consumers, and present on respective screen
displays reported social security numbers for each said consumer,
and a respective date in which said social security numbers were
reported as being associated with the respective consumers.
18. A method of programming a computerized system to provide screen
displays of consumer credit information, comprising the steps of:
storing in a data base a plurarity of parameters of credit
information for consumers, and maintaining the consumer credit
information in said data base for at least a six month period;
programming the computerized system to provide screen displays of
the consumer credit information accumulated for said period; and
programming the computerized system to allow selection by a user of
one or more parameters to be displayed.
19. The method of claim 18, further including processing the credit
information for said period and displaying graphically the credit
information accumulated for the period.
20. The method of claim 19, further including receiving information
from a user for selecting plural graphical depictions of credit
information to be presented on a single screen display.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates generally to a data storage
and processing system for credit data reporting. In particular, the
present invention relates to an on-line consumer credit reporting
system.
[0003] 2. Background Art
[0004] The domestic consumer reporting industry serves the
expanding information requirements of an increasingly credit driven
economy. Low interest rates and increasing competition in the
credit card industry have fueled increased demand for consumer
credit information.
[0005] The principal customers of the industry's credit information
services are: (1) national, regional and local credit card issuers;
(ii) commercial banks and consumer finance companies; (iii)
mortgage companies; (iv) collection agencies; and (v) other
entities engaged in either the granting of consumer credit or
marketing of services predicated on the credit worthiness of the
consumer. Products and services offered to these customers by the
credit reporting industry include consumer credit reports, credit
risk scores, prescreened lists and skip-tracing services.
Skip-tracing is a term to connote those consumers who have failed
to comply with a payment program, and who cannot be located.
[0006] Traditionally, national, regional and local credit grantors
have provided consumer account histories to the major credit
repositories free of charge. The credit grantors are incentivized
to do so because they are also purchasers of credit reports. The
quality of the credit information they receive thus depends upon
the voluntary cooperation of all major credit grantors. Also,
credit grantors believe that consumers are more likely to pay
promptly if they are aware that their payment histories are being
reported to the major credit repositories. Credit repositories also
gather relevant data regarding bankruptcy filings and tax liens
from courthouses and other public records agencies. These records
are combined with the credit grantor data into large centralized
data bases which are used to compile consumer credit reports and
other industry products.
[0007] These major credit repositories have been maintained
primarily by divisions of TRW Inc., Equifax Inc., Trans Union
Corporations, and more recently by Consumer Credit Associates,
Inc.
[0008] Traditional credit reporting businesses store a substantial
amount of credit information for many consumers. Sometimes there is
so much information on the individual consumers that an on-line
review of the information is time consuming and often the data or
information is either contradictory or inaccurate. A major
shortcoming of the presentation of consumer credit is that it is
only a snapshot of the consumer credit worthiness for a short
period of time. Indeed, many of the data bases of the credit
reporting business are maintained primarily for current data. All
credit data that is older than, for example, a few months, is
discarded as being unimportant. A snapshot of a person's credit for
a short period can be very deceiving, thus allowing for an
erroneous extension of credit when it shouldn't be extended, or a
denial of credit when it should be extended.
[0009] As an example of the foregoing, consumer A may have used
his/her credit card during one or more holidays so as to incur a
substantial balance with the credit card issuer. However, the past
history of consumer A shows that he/she pays off the balance over a
period of time, which is exactly the type of credit card use that
is desired by the credit card issuer.
[0010] Consumer B, on the other hand, is running up a credit card
balance because of financial, family, or other problems, and does
not intend to pay off the balance. Rather, it is consumer B's
intention to either refuse to pay toward the balance, or declare
bankruptcy. In addition, the credit history of consumer B shows
that he/she is always late in payments and the balance continues to
rise. At some point in time, the respective balance of consumer A
and B may be the same. If a snapshot view of the traditional credit
information of consumer A and B is viewed, they do not look
substantially different. However, consumer A is clearly a better
risk for extending credit as compared to consumer B. Until the
credit histories are made available to the users of the credit
information, the significant difference in credit risks of
consumers A and B will not be realized.
[0011] From the foregoing, it can be seen that a need exists for a
credit information data base and processing system that provides a
user with many options and alternatives in ascertaining the credit
history of a consumer. Another need exists for an improved
graphical user interface that provides the credit history
information in an efficient and understandable manner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The present invention provides an on-line consumer credit
reporting system utilizing relational data base technology and a
single-instance data base of consumer credit histories that enable
more rapid response to customer needs. Data is collected
periodically from local and regional credit grantors and stored in
a massive capacity disk storage array. By retaining the original
and all new data from the credit grantors, a complete credit
history is accessible, with the ability to trace the source of any
erroneous information. Moreover, royalty payments are avoided by
bypassing regional credit bureaus in the data collection
process.
[0013] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the
invention provides user-friendly, windows-based client software
allowing for graphical interpretation of consumer credit histories
and easy retrieval and analysis of credit reports. In particular,
the consumer credit history stored in the massive capacity disk
storage array enables the calculation of data and the display of
twenty four month consumer trend data. This enables credit grantors
to better identify consumers with improving and deteriorating
credit balances. In the preferred embodiment, the historical credit
data of a consumer is maintained for at least a twenty four month
period so as to be processed and made available as raw data
arranged in chronological order, or presented in singular or
multiple graphical representations.
[0014] In accordance with yet another aspect, the invention
provides a method of more direct access to the data base by high
volume users in need of data for their own internal computing and
credit assessment operations.
[0015] In accordance with still another aspect of the invention,
data associations are automatically made between reported
consumers, thereby facilitating skip-tracing, marketing, and other
activities.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] Other objects and advantages of the invention will become
apparent upon reference to the drawings, in which:
[0017] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the hardware in a preferred
embodiment of an on-line consumer credit data reporting system of
the invention;
[0018] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the software functions
performed in the on-line consumer credit data reporting system of
FIG. 1;
[0019] FIG. 3 is an options screen presented to an on-line customer
by the on-line graphical user interface (GUI) of the on-line
consumer credit data reporting system of FIG. 1;
[0020] FIG. 4 is a search screen presented to the on-line customer
by the GUI;
[0021] FIG. 5 is a standard credit report screen presented to the
on-line customer by the GUI;
[0022] FIG. 6 is a tradeline information screen presented to the
on-line customer by the GUI;
[0023] FIG. 7 is another tradeline information screen presented to
the on-line customer by the GUI;
[0024] FIG. 8 is a graphical trend credit report screen presented
to the on-line customer by the GUI in order to provide a
twenty-four month credit history for a selected consumer;
[0025] FIG. 9 is a multiple credit indicator bar graph screen
presented to the on-line customer by the GUI to provide additional
twenty-four month credit history information;
[0026] FIG. 10 is a display option screen presented to the on-line
customer by the GUI for the selection of multiple graphical
depictions;
[0027] FIG. 11 is a delinquency bar graph screen presented to the
on-line customer by the GUI to indicate months past due;
[0028] FIG. 12 is a special comment screen presented to the on-line
customer by the GUI;
[0029] FIG. 13 is a sort option screen presented to the on-line
customer by the GUI;
[0030] FIG. 14 is a consumer demographic information screen
presented to the on-line customer by the GUI;
[0031] FIG. 15 is a drawing depicting the data is of a
single-instance relational data base with the particular data
stores encompassed within the data base shown in FIG. 1;
[0032] FIG. 16 is a drawing depicting the cycle of data processing
and data delivery within the credit industry; and
[0033] FIG. 17 graphically depicts a comparative analysis of the
credit histories of two consumers who have vastly different credit
histories, but at time "X", have similar credit balances.
[0034] While the invention is susceptible to various modifications
and alternative forms, a specific embodiment thereof has been shown
in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be
understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention
to the particular form shown, but to the contrary, the intention is
to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling
within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended
claims.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0035] Turning now to FIG. 1, there is shown a block diagram of a
preferred embodiment of an on-line consumer credit data reporting
system constructed to embody the principles and concepts in
accordance with the present invention. The system has two
high-speed data processing units denoted as computer system "A" 110
and computer system "B" 108. Preferably, computer system "A" 110
and computer system "B" 108 each include a Pyramid Nile 150 digital
computer. Both computers 108 and 110 utilize MIP R4400 processors
working in a SVR4 UNIX environment termed DCOSX. Preferably,
computer systems "A" 110 and "B" 108 each contain twelve 200 MHZ
CPUs and three gigabytes of random access memory (RAM). The
computers 108 and 110 may be symmetric multi-processor (SMP)
machines that can be scaled to a node on a multi-processor platform
(MPP) cluster when business requirements necessitate the
migration.
[0036] Consumer credit data is stored in a direct access storage
device (DASD) array 112 in the form of a single-instance data base.
Each computer system 108 and 110 has equal access to the DASD
memory array 112. Preferably, the DASD array 112 organizes 2.212
terabytes in High Availability Access Storage (HAAS) bays 112 which
comprises 336 hard disk drive units made by Siemens Pyramid, each
capable of storing seven Gigabytes of data. The HAAS bays are fully
mirrored and the systems are duplicated in configuration for full
failover capability. The HAAS bays 112 store information related to
each consumer for the preceding twenty-four month period, thereby
presenting a more complete credit history and enabling various
other products to be supplied to clients 104 and 105, as will be
further described below. In addition to the twenty-four (24) month
credit history and related summary information, HAAS bays 112 store
the originating data, thereby allowing tracing of the source of
summary information.
[0037] The system is set up for all users 104, 105 and 106 to log
directly into computer system "B" 108 to establish a session with
the on-line consumer credit reporting system. As will be further
described below, the on-line customers include CPU-CPU clients 104
and GUI clients 105. The users may also include on-line credit data
providers 106. Users 104, 105 and 106 may be located anywhere in
the world and access the system through the wide area network (WAN)
101. The WAN 101 may support a variety of communication protocols
including Dial Up Async, Dedicated Async, BiSync 3270, SDLC LU2
3274, SDLC LU 6.2, 3270 terminal emulation, and custom CPU-CPU
interface protocols.
[0038] Requests and traffic from the on-line users on the WAN 101
are sent to the router 102 which then directs traffic either
directly to computer system "B" 108 or indirectly with the
fiberoptic distributed data interconnect (FDDI) ring 103. Terminal
server 109 is connected to computer system "A" 110, computer system
"B" 108 and FDDI ring 103 and functions as a local interface and
control over the connected systems. This design isolates all
overhead related to the log-in process from the data base engine
which processes data base access commands. Information requests are
then passed to computer system "A" 110 via an application link over
either a dual Ethernet network or an internal FDDI connection 111.
Computer system "A" 110 then accesses the information stored on the
DASD array 112. DASD array 112 is a mirrored storage system wherein
all data is stored in a duplicated manner, thereby increasing
system reliability. Although all data is stored twice, the data
base is a single-instance data base in that all reporting and
updating occurs on a single data base as opposed to the
conventional use of separate data bases where one is used for
reporting and another for updating. In addition, computer systems
"A" 110 and "B" 108 are each equipped to perform the operations of
the other computer system so that, in the event of a failure by any
one computer system, the other computer system can perform all the
functions of the entire system. This capability is referred to as
failover and results in increased system reliability. Tape backup
units 107 provide a means for archival storage on removable media
of the information in DASD 112.
[0039] Information in batch form may be provided directly by batch
credit data providers 118 or indirectly via removable storage media
121. In the preferred embodiment, removable storage media 121
supports a variety of storage formats including IBM 3174, 3203,
3504, 1270, 3490, 3480, 3803, 3420 and is capable of translating
between the several formats. Alternatively, the DASD 120 can be
part of the DASD 112. Information provided in this form is
processed by the batch I/O processor 119 and may be stored locally
in a DASD 120 or on the removable storage 121. In the preferred
embodiment, DASD 120 is manufactured by the EMC Corp. and is
capable of storing at least 127.5 gigabytes. Information processed
by the batch I/O processor 119 is then passed through FDDI ring 103
before updating the DASD array 112.
[0040] The system in FIG. 1 further includes a maintenance and
development environment including components 113, 114, 115, 116,
117. Requests from this maintenance and development environment are
sent to the router 102 for transfer to the other components of the
system in FIG. 1. Nile/100 Dev. 113 is preferably a Pyramid Nile
100 computer on which applications for computer systems "A" 110 and
"B" 108 may be developed. CCA-LAN 114 is a local area network (LAN)
capable of supporting multiple workstations for general maintenance
and development of applications that are first tested on the
Nile/100 Dev. 113 before being made operational on computer systems
"A" 110 and "B" 108. SHIVA 116 is a communications server or modem
which provides the capability for communication with computers not
physically located in proximity to the remainder of the development
environment (113, 114, 115, 117). Ethernet 115 is a computer
network connecting and allowing communication among and between the
development environment (113, 114, 117, 116) which is further
connected to router 102 for communication with the remainder of the
system. Maintenance terminal 117 is a computer terminal for
monitoring and maintenance of the Ethernet network 115. The system
in FIG. 1, for example, may support 15,000 on-line users, and exist
in both an SMP and MPP environment. The system uses the industry's
leading relational data base management system, Oracle release 7,
which has the ability to scale into multi-terabyte systems on
various operating platforms.
[0041] Turning now to FIG. 2, there is shown a block diagram of the
operation of the preferred embodiment and the servicing of data
requests and logical flow of information through the on-line
consumer credit data reporting system of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG.
2, requests for information may come from either CPU-CPU clients
104 or from graphical user interface (GUI) clients 105. In the
preferred form of the invention, the computer system "B" (108 of
FIG. 1) is programmed to carry out the server functions illustrated
in FIG. 2, except for all of the resource manager functions, which
are normally performed by computer system "A" (110 of FIG. 1).
[0042] CPU-CPU clients 104 are high volume users of the data base
112 that require data in an electronic format suitable for further
processing on computers at the CPU client location. Typically,
CPU-CPU clients 104 develop applications that operate on the
CPU-CPU client digital computers, but require data stored in the
on-line consumer credit data reporting system. Further processing
at the CPU-CPU client site may be electronic or manual. Requests
from CPU-CPU clients 104 are standardized by computer system "B"
108 for submission to the data base engine operating on computer
system "A" 110 (or computer system "B" 108 in the event of a
failure of computer system "A" 110). Although a particular CPU-CPU
client 104 may generate a large number of requests for data nearly
simultaneously, the requests are processed in a sequential fashion
to reduce system load and ensure consistent response times to
on-line user requests.
[0043] The commands and requests of consumer credit data from the
CPU-CPU clients 104 are processed by a server 122, which comprises
software resident in the computer system "B" 108. The parallel
requests received by the CPU-CPU client workstations are decoded by
program 124 and placed into a TUXEDO format. TUXEDO is a well-known
server software package sold by BEA Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif. The
TUXEDO server eliminates duplicate requests, thereby resulting in
reduced load on computer system "A" 110. The credit data requests
of the TUXEDO format are placed in parallel form by the software
126.
[0044] Information returned by computer system "A" 110 is then
reformatted for presentation to the CPU-CPU clients 104. Requests
submitted by GUI clients are processed in the same general fashion
as noted above, except that the information is presented to the
on-line user in a format suitable for efficient communication to
human operators. The format of presenting credit information to GUI
users is shown in FIGS. 3-14. The requested consumer credit data
information retrieved from the data base 112 is returned to
software block 126 of the server 122. Such information is then
passed to software block 128 where it is placed into the
appropriate format that is conveniently used by the CPU-CPU clients
104. When placed in the reporting format, the credit data is
transmitted back to the requesting workstation of the CPU-CPU
client 104.
[0045] Returning to the processing of credit data requests, the
various software functions programmed into computer system "A" 110
are shown, in part, by the block labeled with reference numeral
130.
[0046] The server 130 of the computer system "A" (110 in FIG. 1)
functions as a resource manager 132 by identifying formatted
requests for information from CPU-CPU or GUI clients 104 and 105.
Preferably, the computer system "A" (110 in FIG. 1) employs ORACLE
server software for the resource management. Requests received from
any of the clients are processed by the ORACLE server data base
engine 160 for servicing. Separate tables for data fields are
maintained, thereby reducing lookup time. These tables are accessed
by respective programs executed by a TUXEDO server 134. The tables
include, for example, consumer names 136, tradelines 138, (i.e.,
credit lines such as Mastercard, VISA, American Express, CitiBank),
consumer addresses 140, driver's license numbers 142 (DL), social
security numbers (SSN) 144, associations 146 (described further
below), inquiries 148, public information 150 (tax liens,
judgments, bankruptcies), additional miscellaneous information 152,
and credit worthiness scores 154. Lastly, the ORACLE resources
manager 160 services the requests by accessing the data base 112 to
find the information in reply to such requests.
[0047] The foregoing computer equipment and peripherals are
programmed to respond to on-line user demands for carrying out
various calculations of consumer credit data to present credit
information in numerical and graphical formats, as shown in the
following GUI screen displays. In accordance with an important
feature of the invention, the consumer credit data entered into the
data base is not only maintained for a long period of time, the
data is accumulated for various parameters, such as current
balance, past due amount, etc. and enables on-line users to make
better decisions as to credit changes of the consumers.
[0048] Turning now to FIG. 3, there is shown an options screen
wherein on-line customers have the opportunity to change credit
reporting options during an on-line session. Options may be
selected individually or according to standardized options packages
as shown. Included among the options is the reporting of historic
data for the twenty-four month period preceding the latest report,
and the ability to display information for the preceding twelve or
twenty-four month period in a compressed numerical grid format.
With the information thus presented, an on-line user can trace the
origins of a consumer's present credit status, including individual
and total balances paid, and determine if there is a trend, i.e. if
the credit status is improving or deteriorating, this is
significant in determining whether to change the credit rating of
the consumer, discontinue extending credit, increase collection
efforts or to terminate the account. Conventional credit reporting
systems report a tally of the number of times a consumer has been
delinquent and total delinquency, but do not reflect the more
detailed information supplied by the system of FIG. 1. A
significant feature of the invention is the ability to change
reporting options during an on-line session (i.e., point and
click). It should be noted that the various screens of FIGS. 3-14
are selected by the user by selecting or clicking on the subject
matter areas of the top of the respective screens.
[0049] Turning now to FIG. 4, there is shown a GUI inquiry search
screen where on-line customers can enter search criteria into
predefined fields, thereby eliminating the complex series of
commas, periods, and spaces utilized by the prior art technology.
On-line customers can sequentially move between fields shown by
pressing the TAB key of the keyboard. By entering information into
the predefined fields, on-line users can create a customized search
criteria. In addition, as shown in the figure by downward pointing
arrows following fields, several of the predefined fields are
capable of displaying a list of selections from which the on-line
user may choose, for example, various "states" can be selected to
modify the search criteria.
[0050] In FIG. 5, there is shown a GUI standard credit report
screen displaying trade line information for the various credit
lending institutions. While two such institutions are shown in the
screen display of FIG. 5, others may be viewed by scrolling the
bottom portion of the screen. In addition to other information
presented on a particular account, the screen displays information
regarding utilization of credit resources, thereby indicating
substantial increases or decreases in credit usage. Information so
presented is sorted by tradelines, which is information concerning
a consumer's credit relationships with the various credit extending
institutions. An object of the invention is to display only credit
information relevant to a credit allocation decision.
[0051] In accordance with the display of the "Payment History"
information, there is displayed for the business "The Limited"
numerical information "221000000000". Each digit position indicates
a 30-day period, and the value of each digit represents the number
of 30-day periods the account was delinquent in paying the
requisite amount towards reducing the balance of the account. The
example screen of FIG. 5 shows that for the business "The Limited",
the particular consumer was delinquent in payments 60 days, 60
days, 30 days, zero days, etc. This information does not provide
the actual days when such delinquency occurred. Another important
feature of this aspect is that the system further provides such
dates in numerical form on the third line below the name of the
business. In particular, this screen display shows that the actual
date of delinquency, and the number of days delinquent. For
example, the "June 96-60" indicates that as of June 1996, the
account for The Limited business for the particular consumer was 60
days delinquent. On "May 96-60", the balance was still 60 days
delinquent, and on April 96 the balance was 30 days delinquent.
Thus, on the same screen displayed to the user, not only are the
delinquencies displayed, but the actual days also. This is
important information that can be readily obtained without bringing
up the other screens to obtain such information.
[0052] Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown a GUI standard
credit report screen displaying additional tradeline information.
By selecting the scroll bars in the window, an on-line user can
review all the tradeline information available for a particular
consumer. As will be described below, by clicking on "Grid
Delinquency", the numerical delinquency history is displayed, such
as shown in FIG. 11. By clicking on "Graph Tradeline", a graphical
display of the historical delinquency information is presented such
as FIGS. 8 and 9.
[0053] Turning now to FIG. 7, there is shown a GUI standard credit
report screen overlaid on the screen of FIG. 6, displaying
additional tradeline information on a particular credit grantor. By
selecting any particular tradeline from the tradelines shown in
FIGS. 5 or 6, additional information is presented to the on-line
user concerning that particular tradeline, including special
comments. The screen display of FIG. 7 was obtained by pointing and
clicking on "The Limited" displayed in FIGS. 5 or 6. Here, there is
shown additional and more particular data concerning the account
with the particular credit grantor. The particular information
shown indicates that as to the consumer identified by the account
number, the highest balance occurred on Jun. 1, 1996 and the date
of the original delinquency was Apr. 15, 1996. In the special
comment section, it is noted that the particular account is in the
collection process.
[0054] Turning now to FIG. 8, there is shown a GUI report screen
displaying a graphical presentation of information for the past
twenty four months for a particular tradeline. Information is
presented in a bar graph format and graphically shows the
progression of payments and charges for the preceding twenty four
month period, resulting in a highly efficient means of displaying
information to the on-line user. The raw numbers used to generate
the bar graph are made available to the on-line user through the
scroll box appearing immediately below the bar graph. With the
information thus presented, an on-line user can determine the
historical trend with respect a particular tradeline for the
preceding twenty four month period, as opposed to a simple
indication of how many times a consumer has been thirty (30), sixty
(60), or ninety (90) days past due on an account.
[0055] The vertical axis of the graph shows the dollar amount of
the account balance, the bars of the graph above the "0" dollar
balance amount show the particular amount of the balance for each
of the calendar months. The bars below the zero-balance line show
those month for which past due amounts have appeared. The numerical
past due amounts shown on the grid at the bottom of the screen
display correspond to the length of the bars extending below the
zero-balance line. In like manner, the numbers in the "Cur Balance"
column of the bottom grid of FIG. 8 correspond to the length of the
current balance bars extending above the zero-balance line of the
graph. Thus, both the numerical trend and the graphical trend are
depicted on the same screen display so that the on-line use can
make the best, most efficient and thorough analysis of the credit
history of the user.
[0056] As can be appreciated from the foregoing, the same consumer
credit data can be presented in many different formats, all
according to the desires of the on-line user. For example, the
historical data of a consumer, for each tradeline, can be displayed
as set forth in FIG. 5, as the numerical grid at the bottom of the
screen display of FIG. 8, and in graphical form as shown in the
middle of the screen display of FIG. 8.
[0057] Turning now to FIG. 9, there is shown a GUI screen
displaying multiple credit indicators in graphical format. Each
credit indicator or datum is presented in a bar graph format for
the preceding twenty four month period, resulting in highly
efficient means of displaying information to the on-line user.
Information so displayed may be selected by the on-line user. The
various credit indicators shown are monthly installment current
balance, total monthly current balance, past due amount and total
estimated monthly payments. Each data indicator provides trend
information by quarters, over a two-year period. The past due
amount shown in FIG. 9 corresponds to that shown in both graphical
and numerical form in FIG. 8. The "Monthly Installment Current
Balance" graph illustrates the aggregate of all credit account
balances for the consumer of interest. By aggregating the data of
all the accounts, a better appraisal of the overall credit picture
can be made in a much smaller period of time.
[0058] With reference now to FIG. 10, there is shown a GUI screen
where on-line users can select information to be presented in
graphical format or in printed form as shown in FIG. 9. The point
and click selection of "GRAPHS" brings up this screen display. Of
the many graphical depictions that are available from this screen,
four such graphs can be selected for display on a single display,
such as shown in FIG. 9. Multiple display options are
presented.
[0059] Turning now to FIG. 11, there is shown a GUI standard credit
report screen where payment history for the prior twenty four
months is displayed in a delinquency grid format. All tradeline
data for a particular credit consumer is summarized in a grid
format with numbers used to indicate months past due for particular
tradelines. Again, the delinquencies are shown for 30-day periods,
i.e., "2" means 60 days.
[0060] With reference to FIG. 12, there is shown a GUI standard
credit report screen where special comments on particular
tradelines can be entered and viewed by on-line users. The Special
Comments area can be utilized for showing information relevant to
other sections clicked. The comments shown in the screen display is
a result of clicking on "col" for collections.
[0061] In FIG. 13, there is shown a GUI standard credit report
screen where on-line users can select multiple sorting options for
optimal presentation in user defined reporting environments. Thus,
the presentation to any particular on-line user can be optimized by
the on-line user for maximal efficiency and flexibility of
presentation.
[0062] With reference to FIG. 14, there is shown a GUI standard
credit report screen where consumer identifying demographic
information can be entered or displayed. Identification information
on each consumer is stored by the system including tracking of the
number of credit information sources that have reported such
information, and the dates. This tracking system enables an on-line
user to determine the reliability of any particular piece of
information.
[0063] This screen display depicts address information data for a
particular credit consumer. As to the 1123 Locke Lane address, such
address was first reported on May 12, 1996, and last reported on
Jul. 7, 1996, with one source reporting such address. With respect
to the 250 Threadneedle address of the same consumer, eleven
tradeline sources reported such address between the dates of Sep.
22, 1991 and Jul. 1, 1996. An undisclosed tradeline reported that
the consumer lived at the address of 934 Henry Street, but no
reporting source reports that the consumer lives there any longer.
The "warning" line indicates that the address input by the on-line
user does not match any address on file.
[0064] Near the bottom of FIG. 14, there is illustrated the various
Social Security Numbers reported by the consumer in applying for
credit. While the Social Security Numbers are different, it is
apparent that there was a simple transposition of the first two
digits. In the "warning" line of the display, a statement can be
displayed when the credit consumer submits a Social Security Number
of a deceased person.
[0065] In addition to other features, the on-line consumer credit
data reporting system can make and display associations between
reported consumers. Thus, consumers who jointly participate in a
particular tradeline, either through marriage, authorization, or
contractually, are associated and their individual credit histories
and other identifying information can be presented to the on-line
user. By making and displaying associations, the on-line system can
provide a report of each person associated with a particular
tradeline and facilitate other activities including skip-tracing
and marketing. Thus, information (addresses, financial
relationship, equal credit opportunity act level, etc.) on other
consumers associated with a base consumer tradeline may be reported
to the on-line consumer credit data reporting system user.
[0066] The on-line consumer credit data reporting system has an
online product catalogue for providing customers with a full suite
of traditional credit analysis products, including credit reports,
prescreened lists, collection reports and other credit grantor
products.
[0067] Credit reports are the primary on-line product purchased by
credit grantors. A credit report contains all of the
identification, trade account and public records information found
in the data base of the on-line consumer credit reporting agency.
Credit reports can be delivered in either machine readable or human
readable formats.
[0068] The single-instance data base can store and maintain twenty
four months of data detailing each consumer's monthly credit
balances, payment information and past due amounts. The advanced
logic for matching inquiries to correct credit files yields fewer
incorrectly purchased credit reports. This feature reduces the
chance of consumer relations problems due to mistaken access of the
wrong credit file.
[0069] Credit grantors can obtain a consumer's file by using the
consumer's account number with that credit grantor. In addition to
lowering costs with fewer key strokes, this feature results in
accurate file retrieval, even in cases involving multiple names,
addresses or social security numbers.
[0070] The on-line graphical user interface (GUI) as shown in FIGS.
3-14 provides the capability to deliver credit reports in an
on-line user specified format and allows for easy retrieval and
analysis of credit reports in a graphical representation.
[0071] Products provided by the on-line consumer data reporting
system can include collection reports (as shown in FIG. 1),
skip-locating service (which may be based on information as shown
in FIG. 14), on-line decoding (as shown in FIG. 7), and trend data
(as shown in FIGS. 5, 6, 8, 9, 11). Collection reports are designed
for skip-tracing purposes and to help locate individuals who have
"skipped" out on a debt. The report contains full consumer
identification information including name, address and phone
numbers of all credit grantors that submit account information to
the consumer's file. With this report a collector can contact other
creditors to uncover new addresses for the consumer.
[0072] The skip-locating service allows a creditor to place a flag
in the consumer's file that generates a notification every time a
new consumer address is uncovered. The new address information may
come from an inquiry to the file or from an accounts receivable
tape. Such information is stored as shown in FIG. 14. The on-line
decode service will display the full name, address and phone
numbers of every credit grantor listed on the credit reports, as
partially shown in FIG. 7. Other information concerning the credit
grantor can be presented in other "pop-up" screens. Tradelines,
inquiries and public record providers will all be decoded. This
add-on product is used by collection agencies and mortgage credit
reporting companies to allow them to contact creditors listed in
the report.
[0073] Trend data will allow lenders to greatly enhance their
internal and/or external collection strategies by identifying those
debtors who are likely to pay delinquent balances. Delinquent
customers with a trend that reflects a willingness and ability to
repay can be offered attractive repayment alternatives and even the
possibility of remaining a customer. Those customers' accounts with
negative trends can be denied further credit, or closed and sent to
an outside agency for collection. Thus, the information presented
in FIGS. 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 results in more accurate decision making
capabilities by on-line users.
[0074] Products provided by the on-line consumer data reporting
system may include prescreened lists compiled using one of two
methods. One method involves taking criteria provided by on-line
users and returning the names from those lists that pass the
criteria established by the on-line user. Such lists can be
communicated to the on-line consumer credit data reporting system
by CPU-CPU clients as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thus, a credit
grantor may wish to prescreen a list of prospects for a new credit
card, or buyers of particular products or services that may be of
interest. For example, buyers of certain magazines or products may
be likely to purchase a home and therefore could be targeted for
directed advertising.
[0075] The other method involves direct extraction of data from the
massive single instance data base. Thus, lists of consumers
matching a series of criteria (e.g., income level, credit scores,
purchasing habits) can be offered to customers as a separate
product that may further be used in mailing or direct marketing
campaigns, or for other uses. These prescreened lists are an
integral part of most direct mail credit offers.
[0076] The system allows selected credit grantors to develop and
test prescreen criteria online against a national data base.
Modeling against a national file rather than a regional file gives
the credit grantor more accurate statistics at the beginning of a
program. Thus, credit grantors can assess prescreen criteria
dynamically on current national data as opposed to relying on out
of date or partial data.
[0077] Prescreens can be performed against the on-line data base as
stored in DASD 112 (FIG. 1) rather than an archived copy of the
data base. By using real-time, on-line data, prescreen decisions
using the on-line data base more accurately reflect current
consumer debt standings, and provide a better indication of credit
risk.
[0078] The on-line data base includes a number of ancillary data
bases. Multiple data files of census demographics and other
information can be incorporated into the prescreen process. This
allows the credit grantor to target more specific audiences in
prescreen mailings, thus enhancing a response.
[0079] Other products provided by the on-line consumer data
reporting system may include: credit risk scores, fraud alert
services, report summaries and address search features. Credit risk
scores are added to credit reports as a modeled indictor of a
consumer's propensity to conduct its business and lifestyle in a
certain way. An on-line user may select such reporting as shown in
FIG. 3. Scores may be generic for all credit grantors, generic for
a specific type of credit grantor, or custom developed for an
individual credit grantor. Generic scores in use at current
repositories include: bankruptcy risk scores, delinquency risk
scores, response probability scores, profitability scores and
collection scores.
[0080] The system can provide a fraud alert service. The system
will maintain a data base of mail drop addresses, prison addresses,
and names and social security numbers that have previously been
used in credit fraud activities. A customer may elect to have their
inquiries compared against this data base and the result displayed
on the credit report.
[0081] The system can provide a report summary. A summary of the
information on a credit report may be purchased as an enhancement
to a full credit report, or it may be purchased as a single
product.
[0082] The system can provide an address search feature. This
feature validates a consumer's current and previous addresses based
on the input of name, prior address, social security number, or
other identifying information (e.g. driver's license number) at the
time a credit report is ordered, as shown in FIG. 4. This invention
can thus be marketed as a locate tool.
[0083] Turning now to FIG. 15, there is shown in more detail the
single-instance relational data base 112 noted in FIG. 1 as the
DASD 112. The single instance data base 112 is comprised of various
individual files and control tables. The arrows between the files
depict the interrelationship therebetween such that the result is a
relational data base. Data store DS1 contains the control tables
necessary to employ all the rules governing the updating of the
data-stores, including those rules inherent within the relational
data base software. To that end, the control tables of the DS1 data
base control the activity between the other individual data bases.
Data Store DS2 contains the financial data elements such as account
numbers and payment amounts of each consumer identified in the data
base 112. Data Store DS3 contains all identifying information for
individuals, including names, addresses, date of birth, Social
Security Number information as well as any other information that
may be used to indicate a unique identity. Other identifying
features could include digital fingerprints, retinal scans and
digitized photographs. Data Store DS4 contains all data of
historical importance. This data is specified as needing little or
no future updating and as such is structured within the data base
112 for optimum high speed storage and retrieval. Data Store DS5
contains all data of a legal nature including but not limited to
public records i.e., data store judgments, tax liens, bankruptcies,
etc.
[0084] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the data information flow
between the various functional apparatus and entities. Reference
numeral 170 represents the data acquisition process which involves
the incoming transmission of credit data as well as any other
financial data to be stored in the repository. Data is introduced
into the system via various media types including but not limited
to round reel tape, cartridge tape, floppy diskettes and electronic
transmissions. The data edit and validation programs are shown as
module 172. This software insures adherence to industry standard
formats and contents. Any data failing to qualify will be retained
from updating and returned to the sender with explanations of
rejection. Data update and storage module 174 contains the
processes and programs that may be purchased and/or proprietary
that actually perform the updating and adding of new data to the
repository. All rules for updating the data are imbedded within the
proprietary code and all rules to insure integrity and cardinality
of the data base are provided by data updating and storage
software. Software module 176 depicts the data verification and
correction processes. The invention provides for automatic data
verification utilizing statistical averaging of data attributes as
individual decisioning points for verification of proper updating.
If variances, which are set manually and calculated automatically,
are out of sync, the system will notify the specified person or
persons and in some instances automatically corrects the erroneous
data. This area also allows for manual correction of data by use of
proprietary written software. This process has interfaces with
outside service providers for sharing data changes within the
industry, thus providing enhanced consumer service. The software
modules 170, and 176 are resident in DASD 112 of FIG. 1.
[0085] The network management equipment 178 includes all purchased
hardware and software as well as custom software utilized to
control and provide network access to the repository data base.
This includes all routers, front-end processors, network management
software and transport services. The network security software 180
is commercially available, and contains all log on, password and
connectivity aspects of the system. Network security is the first
level of security for protecting the system, and is followed by
application and data base levels of security. Application program
interfaces software 182 is provided to allow custom programs and
packaged software to be accessed via various standard protocols.
Report request and retrieval software 184 is the process by which
subscribers to the service actually provide the identifying
information of an individual, and the system retrieves the
requested data while performing a match to the data base and any
custom analysis requested by the subscriber. The software 182 and
184 is resident on the terminal server 109 of FIG. 1.
[0086] The hub 186 of FIG. 16 represents the participants in the
process. Credit grantors provide data to the system that is used to
build and enhance the repository data base. Credit grantors also
become subscribers who purchase the composite data from the
repository. Other data contributors may include providers of public
record information and providers of demographic information on
individuals. The latter participants typically do not purchase data
from the repository data base.
[0087] The foregoing sets forth many examples in which historical
credit information is maintained in the data base and made
available to on-line users as graphical user interfaces. This
differs from traditional credit information data bases, in that the
conventional technique is to provide the user with the most current
credit information, and not historical data information. As noted
above, erroneous decisions can often be made based on current
credit information, in that a first consumer and a second consumer
can have very similar credit information at a certain point in
time, but the credit histories are vastly different. It is obvious
that given this situation, the credit worthiness of one consumer
having a good history of payment is much better than another
consumer who has a poor history of payments toward reducing the
balance, even though both consumers have similar credit data, if
assessed only at one point in time.
[0088] FIG. 17 illustrates such a situation. Here, line 200
illustrates consumer A who has a revolving account. Line 202
represents consumer B who also has a revolving account. The
horizontal axis of the graph illustrates a twenty-four month trend
and the vertical axis indicates the account balance. It is noted
that consumer A initially has a high balance which is reduced by
payments, the balance again rises, but again is reduced by other
payments, and then the balance again rises to the point in time
labeled "X". This type of credit consumer is termed a "seasonal
revolver," as goods or services are purchased during the year,
perhaps at holidays such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc., but the
balances are paid off. This type of consumer is attractive and
desired, in that the consumer pays the balance plus interest
charges in a timely manner, thereby representing a profitable
consumer to the credit card business industry. In contrast,
consumer B has had a very low balance for a major portion of the
twenty-four month period, but the balance increases in the last
period of the time, and is a little greater than the balance of
consumer A at the period in time denoted by the vertical line X. If
an on-line user only had available the most current credit
information at the time X, then consumer B would not look a lot
different from consumer A, in terms of credit balances. However,
when the historical credit information of consumer A is made
available, it becomes clear that the credit risk of consumer A is
much superior to that of consumer B. In accordance with an
important feature of the invention, not only is the historical
credit information made available to the on-line user, but such
information is presented in a highly efficient and usable form.
[0089] As can be appreciated from the description of the invention
herein, the on-line consumer credit data reporting system and
method of operation thereof involves principles and concepts that
overcome many of the shortcomings and disadvantages of the prior
art consumer credit reporting systems. Therefore, while the
preferred and other embodiments of the methods and apparatus have
been disclosed with reference to specific software and hardware
structures, techniques and the like, it is to be understood that
many changes in detail may be made as a matter of engineering
choices without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention, as defined by the appended claims. Indeed, those skilled
in the art may prefer to embody the apparatus and/or software in
other forms, and in light of the present description, they will
find it easy to implement that choice. Also, it is not necessary to
adopt all the various advantages and features of the present in a
single embodiment or assembly in order to realize the individual
advantages disclosed herein.
* * * * *