U.S. patent application number 12/178109 was filed with the patent office on 2011-02-10 for process of and system for facilitating cash collections deposits and deposit tracking.
This patent application is currently assigned to Brink's Network, Inc.. Invention is credited to Aaron BAKER, Paul BLACHOWICZ, Frederick PURCHES.
Application Number | 20110031306 12/178109 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40161754 |
Filed Date | 2011-02-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110031306 |
Kind Code |
A2 |
BLACHOWICZ; Paul ; et
al. |
February 10, 2011 |
PROCESS OF AND SYSTEM FOR FACILITATING CASH COLLECTIONS DEPOSITS
AND DEPOSIT TRACKING
Abstract
A process of facilitating cash collection deposits and deposit
tracking includes identifying by a retailer an amount of cash
collected by that retailer, including respective amounts of
currency by denomination of the collected cash, creating a deposit
ticket containing at least a unique identification code associated
therewith, depositing the created deposit ticket and the collected
cash into a deposit bag, transporting the deposit bag to a cash
processing facility, and counting at the cash processing facility
the collected cash contained in the transported deposit bag to
verify that the amount previously identified by the retailer
corresponds to the counted amount. Particularly additional novel
features include at least the following: the manner in which the
retailer identifies the amount of collected cash; the manner in
which the deposit bag may be scheduled for pickup; providing
advance credit to the retailer for the cash deposits during various
stages of cash handling/processing; and the particular manner of
tracking the status of each of the deposit bags of a retailer's
multiple stores.
Inventors: |
BLACHOWICZ; Paul; (Coppell,
TX) ; BAKER; Aaron; (Coppell, TX) ; PURCHES;
Frederick; (Coppell, TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PATENT DOCKET CLERK;COWAN, LIEBOWITZ & LATMAN, P.C.
1133 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS
NEW YORK
NY
10036
UNITED STATES
212-790-9200
212-575-0671
|
Assignee: |
Brink's Network, Inc.
203 Bancroft Building 3411 Silverside Drive
Wilmington
DE
19810
|
Prior
Publication: |
|
Document Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20090032580 A1 |
February 5, 2009 |
|
|
Family ID: |
40161754 |
Appl. No.: |
12/178109 |
Filed: |
July 23, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60/953,557 |
Aug 2, 2007 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
235/379 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/06314 20130101;
G06Q 10/0832 20130101; G07G 1/12 20130101; G06Q 40/02 20130101;
G06Q 20/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
235/379 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 40/00 20060101
G06Q040/00 |
Claims
1. A process of facilitating cash collection deposits, comprising
the steps of: identifying by a retailer an amount of cash collected
by the retailer, the identified amount including respective amounts
of currency by denomination of the collected cash; creating at the
retailer a deposit ticket, the deposit ticket having a unique
identification code associated therewith, the unique identification
code being associated with the identified amount of collected cash;
depositing the created deposit ticket and the collected cash into a
deposit bag; transporting to a cash processing facility the deposit
bag containing the deposit ticket and the collected cash;
ascertaining the identified amount of collected cash associated
with the unique identification code associated with the deposit
ticked contained in the transported deposit bag; counting, at the
cash processing facility, the collected cash contained in the
transported deposit bag to produce a counted amount of cash;
verifying, by the cash processing facility, that the ascertained
identified amount of collected cash corresponds to the counted
amount of collected cash; and arranging, by the cash processing
facility, for the retailer to be provided with a credit by a
financial institute in an amount corresponding to the amount of the
collected cash.
2. The process of claim 1, further comprising a step of depositing
the counted collected cash into the financial institute.
3. The process of claim 1, wherein the step of identifying by a
retailer comprises entering into an electronic device the
respective amounts of currency by denomination of the collected
cash; and transmitting from the electronic device to the cash
processing facility data corresponding to information entered into
the electronic device.
4. The process of claim 3, wherein the retailer enters into the
electronic device via a predetermined webpage of the cash
processing facility the respective amounts of currency by
denomination of the collected cash.
5. The process of claim 1, wherein the step of identifying by a
retailer includes identifying amounts of at least $100 bills, $50
bills and $20 bills of the collected cash.
6. The process of claim 1, wherein the step of creating at the
retailer a deposit ticket comprises printing the deposit ticket on
a standard size piece of paper.
7. The process of claim 1, wherein the step of identifying by a
retailer comprises the retailer communicating via a telephone the
respective amounts of currency by denomination of the collected
cash; and the step of creating at the retailer comprises sending a
facsimile communication corresponding to the deposit ticket to the
retailer and providing a printout at the retailer of the deposit
ticket in accordance with the facsimile communication.
8. The process of claim 1, wherein the step of creating at the
retailer a deposit ticket comprises including on the deposit ticket
a bar code representing the unique identification code.
9. The process of claim 1, wherein the step of creating at the
retailer a deposit ticket comprises including on the deposit ticket
the respective amounts of currency by denomination of the collected
cash.
10. The process of claim 1, wherein the deposit bag is a
tamper-evident type bag.
11. The process of claim 1, wherein the deposit bag includes an
RFID chip that uniquely identifies the deposit bag.
12. The process of claim 1, wherein the step of transporting to a
cash processing facility comprises the steps of automatically
scheduling a pickup of the deposit bag from the retailer in
accordance with a time when the deposit ticket is created; and
picking up the deposit bag from the retailer in accordance with the
automatically scheduled pickup.
13. (canceled)
14. The process of claim 1, wherein the step of arranging for the
retailer to be provided with a credit is carried out when the
deposit ticket is created.
15. The process of claim 1, wherein the step of arranging for the
retailer to be provided with a credit is carried out upon the cash
processing facility verifying that the ascertained identified
amount of collected cash corresponds to the counted amount of
collected cash.
16. The process of claim 1, further comprising a step of tracking a
status of the deposit bag, the status of the deposit bag being a
function of at least a location of the deposit bag and whether the
verifying step has been carried out for the respective deposit
bag.
17. A process of facilitating cash collection deposits, comprising
the steps of: depositing cash collected by a retailer into an
electronic safe disposed at the retailer; identifying by the
electronic safe an amount of the collected cash, the identified
amount including respective amounts of currency by denomination of
the collected cash; creating at the retailer a deposit ticket, the
deposit ticket having a unique identification code associated
therewith, the unique identification code being associated with the
identified amount of collected cash; depositing the created deposit
ticket and the collected cash into a deposit bag; transporting to a
cash processing facility the deposit bag containing the deposit
ticket and the collected cash; ascertaining the identified amount
of collected cash associated with the unique identification code
associated with the deposit ticked contained in the transported
deposit bag; counting, at the cash processing facility, the
collected cash contained in the transported deposit bag to produce
a counted amount of cash; and verifying, by the cash processing
facility, that the ascertained identified amount of collected cash
corresponds to the counted amount of collected cash.
18. The process of claim 17, wherein the step of transporting to a
cash processing facility comprises the steps of automatically
scheduling a pickup of the deposit bag from the retailer in
accordance with a time when the deposit ticket is created; and
picking up the deposit bag from the retailer in accordance with the
automatically scheduled pickup.
19. The process of claim 17, further comprising a step of tracking
a status of the deposit bag, the status of the deposit bag being a
function of a location of the deposit bag and whether the verifying
step has been carried out for the respective deposit bag.
20. The process of claim 17, further comprising communicating from
the electronic safe to the cash processing facility the amount of
the collected cash; and wherein the step of creating at the
retailer a deposit ticket includes accessing a predetermined
webpage of the cash processing facility by the retailer using a
computer disposed at the retailer and printing the deposit ticket
in response to a print command on the computer while accessing the
predetermined webpage, the deposit ticket being printed at the
retailer.
21. A process of facilitating cash collection deposits at a
plurality of stores of a retailer, comprising the steps of:
identifying, at each of the stores of the retailer, by a manager at
the respective store an amount of cash collected at the respective
store, the identified amount including respective amounts of
currency by denomination of the collected cash; creating, at each
of the stores of the retailer, a deposit ticket having a unique
identification code associated therewith, the unique identification
code being associated with the identified amount of collected cash
at the respective store; depositing, at each of the stores of the
retailer, the created deposit ticket and the collected cash into a
respective deposit bag; transporting each of the deposit bags to a
cash processing facility, each of the deposit bags containing the
respective deposit ticket and the respective collected cash;
ascertaining, for each of the transported deposit bags, the
respective identified amount of collected cash associated with the
unique identification code associated with the respective deposit
ticked contained in the respective transported deposit bag;
counting, at the cash processing facility, the collected cash
contained in each of the transported deposit bags to produce
respective counted amounts of cash; and verifying, by the cash
processing facility, that each of the ascertained identified
amounts of collected cash correspond to the respective counted
amount of collected cash.
22. The process of claim 21, further comprising a step of providing
the retailer with a credit corresponding to a total of all of the
amounts of the collected cash of all of the stores of the
retailer.
23. The process of claim 21, further comprising a step of tracking
statuses of all of the deposit bags, a status of a respective
deposit bag being at least a function of a location of the deposit
bag.
24. The process of claim 23, wherein the status of each of the
deposit bags includes identifying if a deposit ticket was created
for the respective deposit bag but the respective deposit bag is
still located at the respective store of the retailer.
25. The process of claim 23, wherein the status of each of the
deposit bags also is a function of whether the verifying step has
been carried out for the respective deposit bag.
26. The process of claim 21, wherein the identifying step is
carried out by accessing by the respective manager at each the
stores of the retailer a predetermined webpage of the cash
processing facility and identifying within the predetermined
webpage the respective amounts of cash collected at the respective
store, each said respective manager accessing the same
predetermined webpage.
27. The process of claim 26, wherein both the identifying and
creating of a deposit ticket steps carried out at each of the
stores of the retailer are carried out on respective electronic
devices disposed at the stores without specialized software
installed on the respective electronic devices designed to
implement the identifying and creating of a deposit ticket
steps.
28. A system for facilitating cash collection deposits, comprising:
an electronic device disposed at a retailer location for receiving
from a retailer an amount of cash collected by the retailer, the
electronic device creating a deposit ticket having a unique
identification code associated therewith, the unique identification
code being associated with the amount of collected cash; a deposit
bag for receiving the deposit ticket and the collected cash; and a
cash processing facility for receiving the deposit bag and for
ascertaining the amount of collected cash associated with the
unique identification code associated with the deposit ticked
contained in the deposit bag, the cash processing facility counting
the collected cash contained in the deposit bag to produce a
counted amount of cash, verifying that the ascertained amount of
collected cash corresponds to the counted amount of collected cash,
and arranging for the retailer to be provided with a credit by a
financial institute in an amount corresponding to the amount of the
collected cash.
29. A system for facilitating cash collection deposits, comprising:
an electronic safe disposed at a retailer location for receiving
cash collected by the retailer, the electronic safe identifying an
amount of the collected cash, the identified amount including
respective amounts of currency by denomination of the collected
cash; an electronic device disposed at a retailer location for
receiving information identifying the amount of cash received by
the electronic safe, the electronic device creating a deposit
ticket having a unique identification code associated therewith,
the unique identification code being associated with the identified
amount of collected cash; a deposit bag for receiving the deposit
ticket and the collected cash; and a cash processing facility for
receiving the deposit bag and for ascertaining the identified
amount of collected cash associated with the unique identification
code associated with the deposit ticked contained in the deposit
bag, the cash processing facility counting the collected cash
contained in the deposit bag to produce a counted amount of cash,
and verifying that the ascertained identified amount of collected
cash corresponds to the counted amount of collected cash.
30. A system for facilitating cash collection deposits at a
plurality of stores of a retailer, comprising: a plurality of
electronic devices, each of the electronic devices disposed at a
respective one of the plurality of stores of the retailer, each of
the electronic devices receiving from the respective retailer a
respective amount of cash collected by the respective retailer and
creating a respective deposit ticket having a unique identification
code associated therewith and being associated with the respective
amount of collected cash; a plurality of deposit bags, each of the
deposit bags receiving a respective deposit ticket and the
collected cash collected by a respective one of the stores of the
retailer; and a cash processing facility for receiving the deposit
bags and for ascertaining, for each of the deposit bags, the
respective identified amount of collected cash associated with the
unique identification code associated with the respective deposit
ticked contained in the respective deposit bag, the cash processing
facility counting the respective collected cash contained in the
respective deposit bag to produce a respective counted amount of
cash, and verifying that the respective ascertained identified
amount of collected cash corresponds to the respective counted
amount of collected cash.
31. The process of claim 1, wherein transporting the deposit bag to
the cash processing facility includes picking up the deposit bag by
an armored car service; and the step of arranging for the retailer
to be provided with a credit is carried out when the deposit bag is
picked up from the retailer by the armored car service.
32. The process of claim 17, comprising arranging, by the cash
processing facility, for the retailer to be provided with a credit
by a financial institute in an amount corresponding to the amount
of the collected cash.
33. The process of claim 32, wherein the step of arranging, by the
cash processing facility, for the retailer to be provided with a
credit is carried out upon the cash processing facility verifying
that the ascertained identified amount of collected cash
corresponds to the counted amount of collected cash.
34. The process of claim 32, wherein the step of arranging, by the
cash processing facility, for the retailer to be provided with a
credit is carried out when the deposit ticket is created.
35. The process of claim 21, comprising arranging, by the cash
processing facility, for the retailer to be provided with a credit
by a financial institute in an amount corresponding to each of the
amounts of the collected cash.
36. The process of claim 35, wherein the step of arranging, by the
cash processing facility, for the retailer to be provided with a
credit is carried out upon the cash processing facility verifying
that each of the ascertained identified amounts of collected cash
correspond to the respective counted amount of collected cash.
37. The process of claim 35, wherein the step of arranging, by the
cash processing facility, for the retailer to be provided with a
credit is carried out for a respective amount of collected cash
when one of the deposit tickets is created for a respective store
of the retailer.
Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application
No. 60/953,557, filed Aug. 2, 2007, the disclosure of which is
incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a process/system for
facilitating novel cash collections deposits and deposit tracking.
More particularly, the present invention relates to the process for
handling and processing of the physical cash collected by retailers
during transactions for goods and/or services, and the tracking
thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] With today's fast-paced mentality, individuals and
businesses expect financial transactions and financial related
processes to be carried out quickly, easily and ideally error-free.
In order to achieve these objectives, companies and particularly
retailers invest substantial amounts of money to purchase or lease
specialized hardware and software, and spend additional monies to
train personnel in the operation and use of such specialized
hardware and software. In the retail industry, it is now
commonplace for retailers to have within their various stores
credit and debit card processing equipment so that credit and debit
card transactions may be processed quickly both at the point of
sale and in back office operations. However, and unlike credit and
debit card transactions and post-transaction processing, cash
transactions and post-cash transaction processing are relatively
slow and prone to human error. More particularly, after cash is
collected by a retailer, the manners in which the cash is handled,
processed, counted, and ultimately deposited into a financial
institute are relatively slow and cumbersome.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] In view of the foregoing, it is a general object of the
present invention to provide a process for handling and processing
cash collections that entails improvements over currently existing
processes.
[0005] It is a particular object of the present invention to
provide a process for handling and processing cash collections that
enables retailers to process the collected cash without the need
for the retailer to purchase, lease, install or otherwise utilize
specialized hardware or software.
[0006] It is another object of the present invention to provide
retailers with improved cash collection processing that seeks to
minimize human entry and potential error in post-transaction cash
handling.
[0007] It is a further object of the present invention to provide
retailers with accelerated funds accessibility.
[0008] To achieve the foregoing and other objects, the present
invention entails a process for facilitating cash collection
deposits, comprising the steps of identifying by a retailer an
amount of cash collected by the retailer, the identified amount
including respective amounts of currency by denomination of the
collected cash, creating at the retailer a deposit ticket, the
deposit ticket having a unique identification code associated
therewith and the unique identification code is associated with the
identified amount of collected cash, depositing the created deposit
ticket and the collected cash into a deposit bag, transporting the
deposit bag to a cash processing facility, ascertaining at the cash
processing facility the identified amount of collected cash
associated with the unique identification code associated with the
deposit ticked contained in the transported deposit bag, counting,
at the cash processing facility, the collected cash contained in
the transported deposit bag to produce a counted amount of cash,
and verifying that the ascertained identified amount of collected
cash corresponds to the counted amount of collected cash.
Thereafter, the counted cash is deposited into a financial
institute.
[0009] As a particularly valuable aspect of the invention, the
retailer enters into an electronic device the respective amounts of
currency by denomination of the collected cash, and the electronic
device transmits to the cash processing facility data that
corresponds to the information entered into the electronic
device.
[0010] As another aspect of the invention, the retailer enters the
data into a webpage of the cash processing facility.
[0011] As a further aspect of the invention, the retailer
identifies the number of bills of each collected currency (e.g.,
number of $100 bills, number of $50 bills, etc.).
[0012] As an additional aspect of the invention, the retailer
prints the deposit ticket on a standard size piece of paper.
[0013] As yet another aspect of the invention, the retailer may
communicate via a telephone the respective amounts of currency by
denomination of the collected cash, rather than via a computer; and
the deposit ticket is sent to the retailer via a facsimile
communication.
[0014] As yet a further aspect of the invention, the deposit ticket
includes a bar code representing the unique identification
code.
[0015] As yet an additional aspect of the invention, the deposit
ticket includes the respective amounts of currency by denomination
of the collected cash.
[0016] Still as yet a further aspect of the invention, the deposit
bag is a tamper-evident type bag.
[0017] As another aspect of the invention, the deposit bag includes
an RFID chip that uniquely identifies the deposit bag.
[0018] As an additional aspect of the invention, a pickup of the
deposit bag from the retailer is automatically scheduled upon
creation of the deposit ticket.
[0019] As yet a further aspect of the invention, the retailer is
provided with a credit that corresponds to the amount of the
collected cash.
[0020] As a feature of this aspect, the credit is provided when the
deposit ticket is created. Alternatively, the credit is provided
after verifying that the ascertained identified amount of collected
cash (i.e., the original amount identified by the retailer)
corresponds to the counted amount of collected cash (i.e. the
amount counted by the cash processing facility).
[0021] As another aspect of the invention, the process includes
tracking the status of the deposit bag, where the status is a
function of at least a location of the deposit bag and whether the
verifying step has been carried out for the respective deposit
bag.
[0022] In accordance with another embodiment of the present
invention, a process of facilitating cash collection deposits
comprises the steps of depositing cash collected by a retailer into
an electronic safe disposed at the retailer, identifying by the
electronic safe an amount of the collected cash, the identified
amount including respective amounts of currency by denomination of
the collected cash, creating at the retailer a deposit ticket, the
deposit ticket having a unique identification code associated
therewith and the unique identification code is associated with the
identified amount of collected cash, depositing the created deposit
ticket and the collected cash into a deposit bag, transporting to a
cash processing facility the deposit bag containing the deposit
ticket and the collected cash, ascertaining the identified amount
of collected cash associated with the unique identification code
associated with the deposit ticked contained in the transported
deposit bag, counting, at the cash processing facility, the
collected cash contained in the transported deposit bag to produce
a counted amount of cash, and verifying that the ascertained
identified amount of collected cash corresponds to the counted
amount of collected cash.
[0023] As an aspect of this embodiment, the process further
includes communicating from the electronic safe to the cash
processing facility the amount of the collected cash; and accessing
a predetermined webpage of the cash processing facility by the
retailer using a computer disposed at the retailer and printing the
deposit ticket in response to a print command on the computer while
accessing the predetermined webpage. The deposit ticket is printed
at the retailer.
[0024] In accordance with a further embodiment of the present
invention, a process of facilitating cash collection deposits at a
plurality of stores of a retailer, comprises the steps of
identifying, at each of the stores of the retailer, by a manager at
the respective store an amount of cash collected at the respective
store, the identified amount including respective amounts of
currency by denomination of the collected cash, creating, at each
of the stores of the retailer, a deposit ticket having a unique
identification code associated therewith and the unique
identification code is associated with the identified amount of
collected cash at the respective store, depositing, at each of the
stores of the retailer, the created deposit ticket and the
collected cash into a respective deposit bag, transporting each of
the deposit bags to a cash processing facility, each of the deposit
bags containing the respective deposit ticket and the respective
collected cash, ascertaining, for each of the transported deposit
bags, the respective identified amount of collected cash associated
with the unique identification code associated with the respective
deposit ticked contained in the respective transported deposit bag,
counting, at the cash processing facility, the collected cash
contained in each of the transported deposit bags to produce
respective counted amounts of cash, and verifying that each of the
ascertained identified amounts of collected cash correspond to the
respective counted amount of collected cash.
[0025] As an aspect of this embodiment, a credit is provided to the
retailer that corresponds to a total of all of the amounts of the
collected cash of all of the stores of the retailer.
[0026] As another aspect of this embodiment, the process includes
tracking the statuses of all of the deposit bags, where a status of
a respective deposit bag is a function of at least a location of
the deposit bag.
[0027] As another aspect, the status of each of the deposit bags
includes identifying if a deposit ticket was created for the
respective deposit bag but the respective deposit bag is still
located at the respective store of the retailer.
[0028] As a further aspect, the status of each of the deposit bags
also is a function of whether the verifying step has been carried
out for the respective deposit bag.
[0029] As an additional aspect, a manager at each store accesses a
predetermined webpage of the cash processing facility and
identifies within the predetermined webpage the respective amounts
of cash collected at the respective store. Each manager accesses
the same predetermined webpage.
[0030] As a feature of this aspect, no specialized software is
needed to be installed on the electronic devices that are utilized
by the managers.
[0031] Various other objects, advantages and features of the
present invention will become readily apparent to those of ordinary
skill in the art from the following detailed description of the
invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0032] The following detailed description, given by way of example
and not intended to limit the present invention solely thereto,
will best be appreciated in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements and
parts, in which:
[0033] FIG. 1 is a block diagram that shows multiple entities that
may be involved in the process of facilitating cash collection
deposits and deposit tracking in accordance with the present
invention;
[0034] FIG. 2 is a schematic flow diagram that shows in general
terms the process of facilitating cash collection deposits and
deposit tracking in accordance with the present invention;
[0035] FIGS. 3A through 3D are exemplary web page images that may
be employed during the process of the present invention, and FIG.
3E is a schematic illustration of an exemplary deposit bag that may
be employed with the present invention; and
[0036] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing schematic illustrations of
various operations that may be carried out by an armored car
company in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
[0037] The present invention pertains to a process/system for
facilitating novel cash collections deposits and deposit tracking.
In general, the present invention takes the store-level cash
collections process into the electronic age with real-time,
web-based deposit creation and tracking, right from the store or
office. The inventive process/system combines armored
transportation with advanced information technology tools to create
a cash management solution that increases efficiencies, expedites
funds availability, improves cash flow and provides other features
and benefits as herein described. As a particularly useful feature,
as described further below, the present invention facilitates the
supply of credit information to a financial institution on the
same-day that armored car service is provided for cash pickup at a
cash-accepting retail facility.
[0038] In accordance with the present invention, the general
system/process entails multiple entities. As used herein, an entity
generally is a company providing goods and/or services, such as a
bank, an armored car service, a retail store (e.g., a department
store, a grocery store), a transportation provider (e.g., an
airline, a bus company), etc. For convenience, the generic term
"retailer" is used herein to refer to a company that provides goods
and/or services in exchange for money and where that retailer
sometimes (perhaps often) accepts physical cash (paper currency and
coin) in exchange for such goods and/or services. A retailer may be
disposed at a single location or at multiple locations (e.g.,
sometimes referred to as a "chain"). As various examples only, a
retailer may be a department store, a gas station, or a bus
company, each of which may have one or more physical store
locations.
[0039] Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 thereof is a block
diagram that shows multiple entities that generally are involved in
the cash collection deposit process of the present invention. The
entities shown include retailer 10, armored car service provider
20, cash processing facility 30, bank 40, and process facilitator
50. Although five entities are shown, additional entities may also
be involved to assist with one or more entities with its respective
functions. Further, a single entity may carry out the functions of
two or more entities and, thus, the total number of entities
involved in the process may be less than the five entities shown in
FIG. 1. In particular, each entity involved in the process is
described herein in terms of the functions it carries out. For
example, the functions of armored car service provider 20 and cash
processing facility 30 may be carried out by a single entity. As
another example, all of the functions of armored car service
provider 20, cash processing facility 30 and process facilitator 50
may be carried out by a single entity. Other scenarios may be
possible. In any event, the present invention entails multiple
steps, sub-steps and functions carried out by one or more entities
to provide certain advantageous features. For convenience, the
present invention is described herein with reference to the
different entities shown in FIG. 1.
[0040] FIG. 2 of the drawings is a schematic flow diagram that
shows in general terms the cash collection deposit process steps
that are carried out by retailer 10. Generally, prior to
commencement of the inventive process herein described, retailer 10
already has collected a certain amount of cash (generally in
exchange for goods and/or services) and desires to have that cash
deposited into its bank account (e.g., within bank 40) or be
credited or transferred in some other way.
[0041] At a preset period of time or when a sufficient amount of
cash is collected by the retailer or at another time generally
selected by the retailer, a manager or other authorized employee or
agent of the retailer initiates, as shown as step 100 in FIG. 2,
the deposit transaction process of the present invention. For
convenience, this person is referred to herein as the retailer's
"manager." In the preferred embodiment of the present invention,
deposit initiation (also referred to herein as "deposit creation")
is carried out by the manager logging onto a secure website of
process facilitator 50, and an exemplary log-in screen is shown in
FIG. 3A. Preferably, each individual (e.g., manager) who is
authorized to create a deposit is assigned a unique, respective
User ID so that the identities of the deposit creators may be
tracked. Upon entry of a recognized User ID and password, the
manager selects "create deposit" or other similar command within
the displayed web-page to proceed.
[0042] The manager inputs the deposit details, as shown as step 110
in FIG. 2. In accordance with the present invention, deposit
details include deposit amounts by denomination, and an exemplary
web-page into which such data may be entered is shown in FIG. 3B.
In particular, the number of $100 bills, $50 bills, etc., to be
deposited are entered within the web-page, and the web-page is
suitably programmed to auto-calculate the total amount to be
deposited based on the entered data. After the manager enters the
deposit details, the entered information preferably is displayed to
the manager for confirmation, as shown as step 120 in FIG. 2. An
exemplary confirmation page is shown in FIG. 3C.
[0043] After the manager confirms that the entered information is
correct, a deposit ticket to be printed is displayed to the
manager, as shown in the exemplary screen shot shown in FIG. 3D.
The manager prints the displayed deposit ticket using a printer
attached to the computer or through a network, as shown as step 130
in FIG. 2. The deposit ticket contains certain information,
including the amount of each currency denomination, the total
amount of cash to be deposited, the retailer identification, a
bar-code that uniquely identifies the deposit and other useful
information. Preferably, the deposit ticket is printed on standard
letter-size paper (e.g., 81/2.times.11 size paper) so that the
retailer does not need to purchase/utilize special paper.
[0044] The manager places the printed deposit ticket with the cash
to be deposited within, preferably, a tamper-evident deposit bag
and seals it in preparation for pick-up, as shown as step 140 in
FIG. 2. An exemplary tamper-evident deposit bag is shown in FIG.
3E. The deposit bag may include multiple compartments, and
generally the deposit ticket is placed within one compartment and
the cash is placed in a different compartment. In another
variation, rather than employing a bag, a box or other type of
container is employed. For purposes herein, the term "deposit bag"
shall include any container or device into which cash may be
contained.
[0045] Preferably, the barcode also is provided on the outside of
the deposit bag to enable identification of the deposit bag's
contents without referring to the deposit ticket disposed within
the bag. In one convenient version, the sheet of paper on which the
deposit ticket is printed includes a removable label onto which the
barcode is printed, whereupon the manager simply removes the label
(with the barcode printed thereon) and adheres it to the outside of
the deposit bag. The code may be provided in a different format. In
another version, barcodes (or other code format) are pre-printed on
the deposit bags and the manager, prior to printing of the deposit
ticket, is prompted to enter into the computer the alpha-numeric
code beneath the barcode on the deposit bag. Then, in such version,
the deposit ticket that is printed and placed within the deposit
bag contains the same barcode that is pre-printed on the deposit
bag. Other manners of proving identification codes on the deposit
ticket and/or the deposit bag may be employed.
[0046] As described above, a manager of retailer 10 utilizes a
computer to access a secure website of process facilitator 50 to
carry out the process shown in FIG. 2. By accessing a website to
enter the information, no specialized software installed on the
retailer's computer or specialized hardware is needed to implement
such process. The cash collection deposit process of FIG. 2 also
may be carried out without utilizing a computer. In accordance with
another embodiment of the present invention, the retailer's manager
initiates deposit creation by accessing a telephone VRU (voice
response unit) of process facilitator 50 by dialing a designated
telephone number and inputting via the telephone keypad the
manager's user ID and password. The manager is voice prompted to
enter in the deposit details by inputting, one at a time, deposit
amounts by denomination. Preferably, the entered data is confirmed
and a verbal indication is provided that indicates that a deposit
ticket will be faxed to the pre-designated facsimile machine
located at the retailer's facilities. Then, within a preset amount
of time (e.g., 20 minutes), a copy of the deposit ticket containing
the information identified above is automatically supplied to the
designated facsimile machine. The manager retrieves the faxed
deposit ticket and places it, along with the cash to be deposited,
within the tamper-evident deposit bag and seals it in preparation
for pick-up.
[0047] In yet a further variation of the deposit creation process
described above, the deposit details are not manually provided by
the retailer's manager but, instead, are provided electronically by
a suitably designed electronic drop safe. Electronic drop safes
having cash acceptors are known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos.
5,695,038; 5,975,275; and 5,944,163 are directed to drop safes for
receiving and temporarily storing currency from a point-of-sale
terminal (e.g., a cash register). Bill acceptors within the drop
safe accept and transfer cash into sealed cassettes within the
safe, and a processor produces deposit reports that identify the
contents of the sealed cassettes. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,695,038;
5,975,275; and 5,944,163 are assigned to the assignee of the
present invention and are incorporated herein by reference. In
accordance with the present invention, an electronic drop safe can
be modified with additional functionality so that the amounts of
accumulated currency are transferred electronically, directly or
indirectly, to process facilitator 50 (e.g., via its secure
website). Such data can be supplied from the drop safe to a
temporary electronic storage medium, preferably in encrypted form,
that can be read by the computer during deposit creation. The data
may be supplied directly, via a cable or wirelessly, from the
electronic drop safe to the computer system prior to or during the
deposit creation process. Then, the deposit details step is carried
out by utilizing the data supplied by the electronic drop safe,
rather than being manually entered by the retailer's manager.
Transfer of electronic data from the electronic drop safe to
process facilitator 50 may be carried out in other known manners.
The deposit ticket then may be generated and printed in various
manners. In one version, the manager accesses a secure website of
process facilitator 50, such as described above, but the deposit
details are not manually entered by the manager since that
information already has been transmitted as described above. The
manager simply initiates the generation and printing of the deposit
ticket. In another version, software installed on the computer is
designed to communicate with process facilitator 50 and then print
the deposit ticket. In either variation, the deposit ticket is
placed, along with the cash, in the tamper-evident deposit bag, and
the deposit bag is sealed in the manner as already described.
[0048] Armored car service provider 20 (FIG. 1) picks up from
retailer 10 the sealed tamper-evident deposit bag at preset periods
of time (e.g., daily, twice daily, every other day, weekly, etc.)
and transports the deposit bag to a cash vault for further
processing. Alternatively, or in addition to pre-scheduled
dates/times of pick-up, armored car service provider 20 is
dispatched (e.g., by process facilitator 50) to conduct a pickup
upon completion of the above-described deposit creation process
carried out by retailer 10. In one version, completion and printing
of the deposit ticket triggers the scheduling of a pickup. Although
generally not preferred (due to the reduced or lack of security
against theft), particularly for relatively large amounts of cash,
the entity that picks up the sealed deposit bag may be a courier or
message service (public or private) that does not employ armored
cars. For purposes herein, armored car services, messenger services
and courier services all generally refer to the entity that carries
out the function of armored car service provider 20 as described
herein.
[0049] Preferably, the armored car service carries out the
procedures shown in FIG. 4. In particular, the armored car service
arrives at the retailer (box 1) and performs an industry
standardized (or entity standardized) pick-up procedure (box 2).
The armored car service then follows further standardized
procedures when returning to the truck (box 3) and then drives the
armored car to cash processing facility 30 (box 4). The armored car
service then "sells" (i.e., supplies) each picked-up sealed deposit
bag to cash processing facility 30 (box 5) for further handling. In
addition, in a preferred version, the armored car service scans the
barcode (using a barcode scanner) disposed on the outside of each
deposit bag at pickup and also, optionally, upon supplying the
deposit bags to cash processing facility 30 to facilitate proper
tracking of the deposit bags, as will be further described. It is
noted that the term "iDeposit," as well as the Brink's name and
logo, as shown in FIG. 4 and in other figures, are trademarks of
Brink's Network, Inc. the assignee of the present invention.
[0050] In accordance with the present invention, cash processing
facility 30 carries out certain procedures during its handling of
each sealed deposit bag. In particular, an authorized person at
cash processing facility 30, who preferably is logged onto a secure
website of process facilitator 50 by use of a unique User ID and
password, identifies each sealed deposit bag by utilizing a barcode
scanner that reads the barcode on the outside of the sealed deposit
bag. Upon recognition of the unique barcode by the system, the
status of the sealed deposit bag is designated "Received" (or other
suitable designation) and the date and time of the status change is
recorded.
[0051] As a particularly beneficial optional feature of the present
invention, retailer 10 is provided with provisional credit in the
amount of the reported deposit upon cash processing facility 30's
receipt of a sealed deposit bag that originates from retailer 10.
In one implementation of the provisional credit, cash processing
facility 30 and bank 40 have a relationship that enables cash
processing facility 30 to instruct bank 40 to credit retailer 10's
bank account with an amount that corresponds to the amount reported
by retailer 10 (i.e., during step 110 of FIG. 2).
[0052] In another variation of the present invention, the
provisional credit is applied upon cash processing facility 30's
verification of the amount of cash within the sealed deposit bag.
In a further variation, the provisional credit is applied when the
armored car service provider 20 picks-up the sealed deposit bag
(e.g., the status of the sealed deposit bag is designated "Picked
Up" (or other suitable status name, at this time). In yet an
additional variation, the provisional credit is applied upon
retailer 10's completion of the deposit creation steps discussed in
connection with FIG. 2. In particular, in such variation, retailer
10 is provisionally credited with a total deposit based on the
deposit details entered by retailer 10's manager during step 110
shown in FIG. 2. In any event, the provisional credit of the
present invention enables the retailer to receive the benefit of
its deposits prior to the actual deposit of the cash within the
banking facility. Such provisional or "advance credit" is described
in further detailed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/924,055,
filed Oct. 25, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein
by reference. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/924,055 is
assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
[0053] After the sealed deposit bag is "received" by cash
processing facility 30 and, optionally, after retailer 10 is
provided with a provisional credit, cash processing facility 30
verifies the contents of the deposit bag (called, for convenience,
"verification" herein). Such verification may occur at any time
after receipt, but it need not occur on the same day that the
sealed deposit bag is received. For example, verification may occur
on the next business (or calendar) day or even on a future date. In
any event, verification entails identifying the deposit bag by
scanning the barcode on the outside of the deposit bag, opening the
deposit bag, removing the deposit ticket and the cash contained
within the deposit bag, scanning the deposit ticket's barcode,
automatically retrieving the deposit detail information previously
supplied by the manager of retailer 10 using the scanned code or
codes (if different) (i.e., by accessing information previously
stored in a database), counting the cash, and finally comparing the
counted amount of cash to the previously supplied information to
verify that the current count coincides with such previously
supplied information.
[0054] As described herein, each sealed deposit bag prior to
verification and also during verification is identified by the use
of bar-code technology, which includes use of a bar-code on each
deposit bag, the deposit ticket therein and suitable bar-code
reader equipment. However, other identification technology may be
employed, including RFID technology in which each deposit bag
contains an RFID chip containing a unique ID (preferably embedded
within the deposit bag itself), and suitable RFID readers disposed
at the retailer and the cash processing facility and optionally by
the armored car service provider. Other identification technologies
may be employed, including magnetic strips or other known
techniques. As used herein, all references to barcode, barcode
readers, etc., shall include all suitable identification
technology.
[0055] When the barcode is read at cash processing facility 30,
both upon receipt of the sealed deposit bag and during
verification, as mentioned above, all information pertinent to the
identity of retailer 10, which is pre-stored in a database,
including relevant banking information (e.g., the bank account of
retailer 10) and all information pertinent to the contents of the
deposit bag itself are immediately made available to cash
processing facility 30. During verification, if cash processing
facility 30 discovers an overage or shortage in the amount of cash
contained in the deposit bag as compared to the deposit amount as
reported by retailer 10, such overage/shortage is communicated to
bank 40 to correct the amount of any provisional credit that may
already have been provided to retailer 10. Historically useful
information pertinent to the overage/shortage is stored in a
database, including at least the amount of the overage/shortage,
the total amount of the deposit, the date and time, and the
identity of the manager who created the deposit.
[0056] Finally, after cash processing facility verifies the
contents of the deposit bag, the cash is transferred to bank 40 and
retailer 10's bank account is credited with the deposit amount.
Alternatively, the cash is deposited to another financial institute
that, in turn, provides bank 40 with an appropriate credit (e.g.,
wire transfer) or provides retailer 50 with such appropriate
credit. Since wire transfers and account reconciliation are well
known and the operations/systems designed to carry out such
processes are well known, further description thereof is not
provided herein except where necessary for an understanding of the
present invention.
[0057] In accordance with a further feature of the present
invention, retailer 10 additionally may access the system/database
of process facilitator 50 to track its own deposits, to produce
reports, to view historical information including exceptions and
variances, and to receive statistical information including total
expected daily deposits. Managers of retailer 10 who are authorized
to create a deposit may or may not be provided with authority to
obtain any or all of such additional information. Personnel of
retailer 10 can selectively be authorized to have limited or
unlimited access to all of the data/reports available from process
facilitator 50.
[0058] In the case of when retailer 10 has multiple locations, all
of the above-identified data and reports are available on a
store-by-store basis and also on an entity-wide basis so that a
manager or employee disposed at one location (or in a corporate
office or other facility) has (if authorized) immediate access to
all deposits of all stores, independent of store location.
Moreover, deposit report data and reports that incorporate such
data, on a store-by-store basis and also on an entity-wide basis
for all stores (or for a select group of stores), are available
immediately upon deposit creation (i.e., completion of the deposit
creation process, such as when the deposit ticket is printed),
regardless of whether the cash of that deposit has been picked up
from the retailer's store, delivered to the cash processing
facility, verified by the cash processing facility, or delivered to
a bank or other financial institute. Hence, reports may be
generated that reflect cash collections at a retailer's multiple
stores independent of the subsequent handling and actual location
of such cash collections. These and other types of reports may
include detailed tracking status information pertaining to all cash
collections of all of a retailer's stores. With such information
readily available to a retailer, cash collection activity,
including volume of cash collections, schedules of cash processing
(e.g., pickup, verification, etc.) and other characteristics, are
ascertainable (using known data processing software, algorithms,
statistical handling methodologies, etc.) and usable by a retailer
to, among other things, ascertain problematic areas (e.g.,
individual store locations, pickup schedules, etc.) that need
improvement.
[0059] In accordance with the present invention, process
facilitator 50 may further provide status update information
automatically to designated personnel of retailer 10 (e.g., via
e-mail, upon log-in onto the secure website of process facilitator
50). Status update information may include the occurrence of a new
deposit creation at a retailer location, a recent pickup, recent
verification, etc., along with relevant data about that recent
activity. For example, for a new deposit creation, information
provided may include the total amount of the deposit, the location
of the deposit creation (e.g., the store location), the identify of
the deposit creator, the date and time of the deposit creation,
historical data concerning that store location, etc.
[0060] Features and Benefits to Retailer
[0061] As described herein, the present invention entails various
processes that facilitate novel cash collections deposits as well
as deposit tracking. Retailers may take advantage of such processes
without the need to purchase, install or otherwise utilize
specialized hardware or software. There also is no need for the
retailers to designate a specific computer for the deposit
transactions. Generic Internet-enabled computers may be utilized
by, as described above, accessing a website for entry of cash
collections. Deposits may also be created even without the use of a
computer.
[0062] Managers can view deposits and anticipated balances so they
can make informed treasury decisions and better manage cash flow.
Managers can track deposit activity in various manners, view
exceptions and variances, and produce reports for trend analysis
and/or to analyze activity by date range and/or by deposit status.
Retailers are provided with desired status updates.
[0063] Retailers also reduce expenses previously incurred with
traditional deposit activity. In particular, the present invention
beneficially obviates the need for retailers to purchase deposit
slips, and the time to commence a deposit is reduced. Fees
associated with multiple deposits across multiple stores of a
retailer optionally may be consolidated into a single, consolidated
deposit.
[0064] Retailers benefit from accelerated funds availability. In
various versions described herein, retailers are provided with
credit before the cash reaches the bank, and in some variations on
the same day that the deposit is created, Accelerated funds
availability enables retailers the flexibility to make informed
treasury decisions and to better manage cash flow. In some
variations, funds become available regardless of cash vault cut-off
windows.
[0065] Retailers benefit from increased efficiencies. The inventive
process takes advantage of technology to expand the deposit window,
giving retailers more time to transmit deposits according to a
retailer's needs, not according to the bank's cut-off or the
armored pick-up schedule.
[0066] Retailers benefit from increased accuracy. The inventive
process provides for significantly less opportunity, as compared to
existing processes, for re-keying and posting errors. Auto
calculating fields allow for quick and accurate totaling that can
be reviewed instantly for verification and compliance. In one
version, deposit amounts are completely provided electronically
thus eliminating errors in monetary amounts caused by human
entry.
[0067] Retailers enjoy increased security. Intentional errors, such
as misstatements in the deposit slips, are nearly eliminated.
Access to the information is password-restricted, and the use of a
layered approach to security allows managers to grant store
employees with access to as much or as little as necessary.
[0068] Features and Benefit to Banks
[0069] Banks employing the present invention enjoy expanded reach.
The system/process enables banks to leverage nationwide footprint
and technology to facilitate retailer deposits.
[0070] Banks benefit from the added deposits with minimal risk. The
third party processor (the process facilitator) optionally handles
and coordinates the entire process, from pickup to verification,
for low risk of error and increased security.
[0071] Banks can offer enhanced service. As being a part of the
inventive process, banks can offer retailers streamlined account
management, lower costs, and accelerated credit.
[0072] Having described the present invention including various
features and variations thereof, it is intended that the appended
claims be interpreted as including the embodiments described
herein, the alternatives mentioned above, and all equivalents
thereto.
* * * * *