Transaction execution system having keyboard and message customization, improved key function versatility and message segmentation4484304Abstract A transaction execution system is provided in which key initiated transaction requests at a terminal remote from and in communication with a host data processing system are processed at the terminal under the selective control of the host. Each active transaction key at the terminal keyboard is assigned one of three different states by a financial institution table. Transactions requested by keys having a data entry state are handled within the terminal and with the additional consumer entered data required to complete the transaction being requested by and received by the terminal using sets of messages previously stored in the terminal by the host data processing system. Transactions designated by an interactive key state take place within and involve interactive communication between both the terminal and the host, enabling the responses and other communications generated by the host in connection with a transaction for a particular customer to be customized. Message storage within the terminal and communication of messages to the terminal from the host are greatly simplified by storage of segments of messages at the terminal. Frequently repeated phrases can then be incorporated into a message as it is readied for display at the terminal by storing the phrases as segments and thereafter simply identifying them in message definitions communicated to the terminal from the host or stored at the terminal. Claims What is claimed is: Description BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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Control
Function Character Explanation
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Line Feed X'25' The next character position
is down one row. The hori-
zontal position is unchanged.
If Line Feed is detected
while on the last row of
the screen, it will cause a
wrap to the first row of
the screen.
Return X'OD' The next character position
is position 1 on the current
display row.
New Line X'15' The current row is erased
from the current position to
the end of the row. The
next character position is
position 1 of the next lower
row. If new line is detec-
ted while on the last row
of the screen, the next
character position is posi-
tion 1 of the first row of
the screen.
New Page X'OC' The screen is completely
(form feed) erased; the next character
position is position 1 of
row 1.
Position X'34' This control character is
followed by a flag byte in
a 1-byte positioning value.
Flag byte:
Bit 4: 0 = position is
absolute.
1 = position is relative.
Bit 5: 0 = position change
is horizontal.
1 = position change is
vertical.
Bits 6-7: 00 = move to
new character position with-
out erasing.
01 = erase from the current
position the number of bytes
specified by the position
byte.
10 = move to new character
position and erase the old
position up to, but not in-
cluding, the new position.
The positioning byte indi-
cates a row or character
column number. It contains
an unsigned binary value
ranging from 0-255 to be
used under direction of the
flag byte; a 0 results in no
operation. The value speci-
fied is divided by a modulus
number to determine the re-
sulting position. The
modulus division produces a
change of 1 to x rows for
vertical positioning, and a
change of from 1 to y char-
acter columns for horizontal
positioning, where x is the
maximum number of rows on a
screen, and y is the maximum
number of character columns
in a row.
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Referring again to FIG. 3 it will be noted that within the terminal 14 the processor 60 is coupled to a message table 510, a segment table 512 and a consumer entered data table 514. Messages communicated to the terminal 14 from the host 12 during initialization are stored in the message table 510. Thereafter the processor 60 controls accessing of the messages in the table 510 for display by the multiline display 34 as the various operations of the transaction are sequenced through. Data entry keys utilize the standardized messages stored in the table 510. During execution of an interactive transaction the host can either utilize the messages stored in the table 510 or it can generate its own custom messages. Commonly used portions of messages are stored in the segment table 512. Each segment comprises a plurality of displayable characters and a plurality of display format control characters for the displayable characters in the same fashion as the fields 492, 494 and 496 of FIG. 15. However the segments do not have to be communicated with or stored with the rest of the display message. Instead, the display message as communicated or stored includes pairs of fields such as the RS CODE POINT X'28' field 498 and the RES SEG ID field 500. The field 498 which comprises the control character X'28' indicates that the following byte is a resident segment ID. The RESIDENT SEGMENT ID field 500 identifies which of the segments stored in the segment table 512 is to be inserted between the fields 492 and 494. During display of the message at the multiline display 34, the processor 60 of FIG. 3 inserts the displayable characters and the control characters therefor comprising the segment from the segment table 512 between the fields 492 and 494 of the message of FIG. 15. During execution of a transaction, data entered by the consumer is routed by the processor 60 of FIG. 3 to the consumer entered data table 514 where it is stored. Display of the consumer entered data stored in the table 514 is accomplished by inserting the consumer entered data at an appropriate place within a message communicated from the host 12 to the terminal 14 or stored in the message table 510. Insertion of consumer entered data between the fields 494 and 496 in the mmessage of FIG. 15 is provided by the CDES CODE POINT X'29' field 502. The presence of the control character X'29' in the field 502 causes the processor 60 to insert consumer entered data from the table 514 as the message of FIG. 15 is being displayed on the multiline display 34. The interactive display message of FIG. 14 communicated by the host 12 to the terminal 14 is displayed to the consumer and requests data entry by the consumer. The consumer entered data results in an interactive response message being assembled by the terminal 14 and communicated to the host 12. The interactive response message contains either the data the consumer has entered in response to the display of a selection set or a paging indication in the case where an incomplete selection set has been sent and the consumer wishes to view additional pages of a selection set. The major fields of an interactive response messsage include consumer entry fields and an informational status field. Displays from a selection set show a consumer a list of selection items from which a consumer is expected to make a selection. Depression of the CHANGE key means that no item on the page displayed was desired and that another page of data should be displayed. The processor 60 will display the next page of the selection set if it is available. A request that more pages be transmitted in an interactive message may be made for an interactive key if no more pages are available at the terminal 14. If the selection set is completely defined at the terminal 14 the first page of the selection set will be redisplayed. For a data entry key the selection set is always completely defined. Depression of the OK key terminates data entry. An option may be selected where data entries must be terminated by the OK key. This includes depression of the OK key without entering any numerics, which is a null entry, entry of a numeric field of less than the maximum length, as well as entry of a numeric field of the maximum length. If this option is not selected then the OK key will be required only after variable length entries. Data entry will be terminated when the maximum amount of data is entered for fixed length entries, namely when the minimum equals the maximum. The consumer data entry minimum and maximum are established differently for data entry and interactive keys. For data entry keys the minimum and maximum values are established in the key definition table. For interactive keys they are received in the interactive message containing the selection set (display) data. The minimum and maximum values may be different for each selection set for interactive keys since they are established with the definition of the selection set. The minimum and maximum values pertain to the number of characters that may be entered. A decimal point and each numeric digit counts as a character. The minimum value must be greater than or equal to zero and less than or equal to the maximum. The maximum must be greater than or equal to zero and less than or equal to 20. A minimum and maximum value of zero means that no numeric field data is allowed but that the consumer must respond to the display with entry of the OK, CHANGE, or CANCEL key. This setting essentially indicates a view only mode of operation. During consumer entry of data, any numeric key entry will be accepted. Entering the CORRECTION key will cause the previously entered data to be cleared but data entry is still expected. When data entry is complete it will be checked to insure it falls within the minimum and maximum values established for the key. If the entry is out of range an error message will be displayed and the page viewed by the consumer at the time he entered data will be redisplayed. Data may then be reentered. If a validation list is present for the consumer data entry, the data entry is checked against the list to determine if the consumer data entry is valid or erroneous. If the consumer data entry is found in the validation list and substitution data is present, the substitution data is then substituted for the consumer entered data. MESSAGE SEGMENTATION INCLUDING MULTILANGUAGE OPTION As previously described in connection with FIG. 3 standardized messages communicated to the terminal 14 from the host 12 during initialization are stored in a page or message table 510. Customized messages generated by the host as part of an interactive transaction are sent to the terminal for display. Each message, whether standardized or custom, may incorporate one or more message segments stored in a segment table 512. In a multilanguage option shown in FIG. 19, the terminal 14 is provided with a base message table 650, other message tables 652, a base segment table 654 and other segment tables 656. The base message table 650 and the base segment table 654 function in the same manner as and correspond to the message table 510 and the segment table 512 respectively of the arrangement of FIG. 3. However, in addition to the processor 60 being coupled to the base message table 650 and the base segment table 654 for operation in the manner described in connection with FIG. 3, the processor 60 is also coupled to a language table 658 which makes possible various different combinations of the message tables 650 and 652 and the segment tables 654 and 656. The multilanguage option allows a display message table and/or segment table to be associated together and selected for use during a transaction or transaction chain. At the end of a transaction or transaction chain the base message table 650 and/or base segment table 654 is used. The language table 658 contains entries which associate a message table and a segment table. The language table 658 contains as many entries as required to define all the message and segment table combinations to be used at the terminal 14. The options provided by the arrangement of FIG. 19 are useful in situations such as where transaction processing is to be made available in two or more different languages. Various countries and various parts of countries include people who speak two, three or more different languages. In such instances a consumer is able to request transactions in his native language using his credit card or by choosing from a display menu of languages. The language table 658 responds to the credit card data by selecting the appropriate message table and segment table for that language. To select one of the other message tables 652 instead of the base message table 650 or one of the other segment tables 656 rather than the base segment table 654, fields must be present in the financial institution table 100 shown in FIG. 3 that identify either or both a language ID (LID or the location of the language ID on the credit card) and an institution message ID (IMI). The LID allows entry selection based on the language. The IMI allows entry variation based on institution needs. An example is when a savings and loan wants different messages from a bank which may reference checking accounts, and so on. Using both parameters allows entry selection based on institution and language needs. An alternate form of operation can be used when the language code is located on the credit card and two institutions joining together in a pool use the same language code value but want to use different tables. Each institution is assigned different institution message identifiers (IMI) which allows each institution to use its own set of tables even though the institutions are using the same language code. Thus, neither institution needs to reissue its cards because of a language code conflict. Referring to FIG. 20 which shows the language table 658 in greater detail in conjunction with the financial institution table 100 and a credit card 36, when the credit card 36 is entered the financial institution table 100 is searched for an associated entry. At the host's option the consumer may choose a language from a list displayed at the terminal. This will override the language specified on the card or in the FIT. If the associated entry specifies a LID and/or IMI, then the LID and/or the IMI are used to identify an entry in the language table 658 to be used for the transaction or transaction chain. The language table 658 selects the appropriate message (page) table and segment table. The message table number and the segment table number can be any decimal integers in the range 1-9. Either or both the LID and the IMI may have default values (which are 0). The default LID and IMI use the base message table 650 and the base segment table 654. A default IMI means that the language table 658 is searched for an LID match only. Conversely, a default LID means that the language table 658 is searched for an IMI match only. It is occasionally desired to change one or more of the messages stored in the message table 510 within the terminal 14 rather than to replace the message with a new one. To accomplish this the applications program 26 within the host 12 generates and communicates to the terminal 14 a change display message command. The format of such a message is shown in FIG. 21. The format includes an L field 750 denoting the length of the message, an N field 752 providing the transaction sequence number, a C field 754 providing the class which is "X'OC'" and an SC field 756 which indicates the subclass which is "X'OF'". A C2 field 758 contains the value of the second bill counter where there are two bill counters at the terminal. The following C/SC field 760 denotes concatenation of class and subclass "X'CF'". The following C1 field 762 contains the value of the first bill counter. The following MN field 766 provides the message number which is a one byte binary field containing the message number of the message to be replaced in the message or segment table indicated. The following ML field 768 denotes the message length in terms of the number of bytes of the message field. This value may not exceed 238. The following MSG field 770 contains the message. This is a variable length EBCDIC field that contains the new page or segment that is to replace the page or segment in the table indicated. A following FLAG field 772 indicates whether the MN field represents a page number or a sequent number. An IMI field 774 at the end of the message is the message table identifier which is used in conjunction with the SPEC field 764 which contains the language identifier to search the language table for an entry. An entry has the address of the page or segment table where the message is to be changed. Bit 0 of the FLAG field 772 indicates whether a page or segment is to be changed. Display message segmentation in accordance with the invention in which often repeated segments of messages are stored at the terminal for ready incorporation into messages communicated to the terminal from the host provides a number of advantages. Such advantages include the reduction of the amount of local storage required in the terminal to store the display messages, a reduction of the number and size of communication messages required to complete an interactive transaction, a reduction of the time delays introduced by transmission of long interactive messages, and assistance in customization of multiline display messages. Changing the contents of a segment definition changes the display messages containing the segment. Thus, promotional messages or time and temperature data which change oover time and appear in more than one display message can be changed by altering the specific segment data without the requirement to individually change each display message that contains the information. In the present example the multiline display 34 includes a screen capable of displaying six lines of 40 characters each or up to 240 characters. In an interactive environment where the host communication message has a maximum length of 250 bytes, it is important to pack as many display message definitions as possible in a single communication message in order to avoid multiple interactive message sequences for a single related set of data items. Segmentation provides a means of shortening custom display definitions so that more than one can be contained in each communication message. This minimizes the number of communication messages required to complete an interactive transaction. As noted in connection with FIG. 15 the text stream portion of a display message may include displayable characters, display format control characters, segmentation control characters and CDES (consumer data entry) control characters. These elements can appear in any order in the text stream. The displayable characters are EBCDIC code points equal to or greater than X'40'. Undefined control characters are EBCDIC code points less than X'40' that are not assigned as CDES control characters, resident segment control characters or format control characters. When encountered in a display message definition, undefined control characters are displayed as a solid box the size of the dot matrix. Displayable characters are defined by EBCDIC code points equal to or greater than X'40'. Up to 227 displayable characters may be defined in the character set. A page definition consisting entirely of displayable characters results in the first character of the string being placed in the upper left corner of the display with succeeding characters being placed in sequence from left to right and from top to bottom on the display. When the maximum number of characters has been placed on a line, succeeding characters are placed at the leftmost character position of the next line. After the screen has been completely filled, any additional characters are placed beginning at the upper left character position of the screen with succeeding characters being placed according to the character positioning rules described above. In this mode of operation, "space" characters are included in the proper places to provide the desired display appearance. The format control characters provide a method for positioning strings of displayable characters, thereby removing the need to use "space" characters to format a display message and therefore resulting in a corresponding decrease in the size of the display message definition. As previously noted, the format control characters include line feed, return, new line, new page and position select. As previously noted, each segment consists of displayable characters, format control characters and in some cases a consumer data entry segment (CDES) control character. Segments represent phrases, lines, partial display message definitions, or boiler plate information available for use as building blocks in complete display message definitions. Each resident segment (RS) in the segment table 512 is assigned a unique segment identifier. Up to 255 segments may be stored in the segment table 512. These segments can be included in display message definitions by using the resident segment control character which is contained in the field 498 in the example of FIG. 15. The byte following the control character is interpreted as a segment I.D. and is contained in the field 500 in the example of FIG. 15. When encountered in a display message definition, the resident segment identified by the resident segment control character/segment I.D. pair is logically inserted in the display message definition. The resident segment is treated as if it had been explicitly included in the display message definition. After the resident segment has been interpreted, processing returns to the original display message definition. Any number of segments can be included in a display message definition. A resident segment definition may not contain a resident segment control character. This prevents segments from including other resident segments as part of their definitions, thereby eliminating circular segment definitions which might otherwise occur. The consumer data entry segment (CDES) control character represents buffer space available for data to be entered by the consumer via the keyboard. Again referring to the example of FIG. 15, the CDES control character is contained in the field 502. Occurrence of the CDES control character causes the terminal to refer to the consumer entered data table 514 and to insert any consumer entered data stored therein into the message. The length of the CDES data is determined by the maximum amount of digits the consumer is allowed to enter in a given situation. Unentered digits up to the maximum will be displayed as spaces. After the CDES has been interpreted, processing returns to the original page definition. A typical six line display message is as follows:
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ENTER CODE AND PRESS OK KEY
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105 - ORDER CHECKS
63 - PAY TELEPHONE BILL
41 - MAKE HOME MORTGAGE PAYMENT
6 - MAKE AUTOMOBILE LOAN PAYMENT
FOR OTHER CHOICES, PRESS CHANGE KEY
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This type of message is sent to the terminal 14 by the host 12 as the result of the consumer selecting a transaction key specified as interactive and the terminal 14 notifying the host 12 of the transaction key selected. Each of the six lines of this message is stored as a separate segment in the segment table 512. The display message definition for the six line display noted above and which would be stored in the message table 512 is shown in FIG. 2. The definition of FIG. 22 includes an L field 800 denoting that the message definition is 16 bytes in length. The following NP field 802 comprises a new page control character. This results in clearing of the screen and readying of the display to begin printing characters in the upper lefthand corner of the screen. The following RS field 804 contains a resident segment control character which is followed by the segment I.D. in field 806. A following CDES field 808 contains a consumer data entry segment control character indicating the maximum number of spaces that can be reserved. The following NL field 810 is a new line control character indicating that the next line of the display is to be addressed. The remainder of the message definition of FIG. 22 consists of pairs of bytes denoting the five remaining segments in the message. The first byte of each pair comprises the resident segment control character, and the second byte of each pair is the segment I.D. number. The first line of the six line display example noted above which reads "ENTER CODE AND PRESS OR KEY" is a general guidance line used with every display requesting selection by the consumer. Line 6 which reads "FOR OTHER CHOICES, PRESS CHANGE KEY" is a special guidance line required whenever the list of choices exceeds the one page screen capacity. The second through the fourth lines which read "105-ORDER CHECKS; 63-PAY TELEPHONE BILL AND 41-MAKE HOME MORTGAGE PAYMENT" represent a subset of the special financial transactions provided by the card issuing institution. The subset has been customized to those transactions applicable to the consumer currently using the machine. An appreciation of the saving in transmission time and storage space required can be gained when it is considered that the message definition of FIG. 22 consists of only 16 bytes. Line 1 of the message by itself would require 32 bytes if segmentation were not available. The length of the display definition required to define the entire six line message without the use of segmentation is 187 bytes. Whereas only one message definition 187 bytes in length could be included in an interactive display message which permits a maximum of 256 bytes, over ten display messages in the 16-20 byte range can be included in one interactive display message from the host. The invention can be better understood by considering an example of an interactive transaction together with the various messages displayed in connection therewith. Initially, the prior transaction has ended and the terminal 14 has sent a status message to the host 12. The terminal 14 displays the following message, which was previously generated by the host 12, to the consumer:
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1 INSERT CREDIT CARD TO BEGIN TRANSACTION
2 GOOD DAY
3 DATE: OCT. 14, 1977
4 WEATHER: 40% CHANCE OF RAIN TODAY
5 NEWS: YANKEES WIN WORLD SERIES
6 USE OUR NEW ATM LOCATED
IN OAKRIDGE MALL
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The consumer responds to the message by inserting his credit card. The credit card is read by the terminal 14 which fails to find an entry in the financial institution table 100. The terminal 14 sends a message to the host 12 requesting search of a virtual financial institution table within the host. In the meantime the terminal 14 displays the following message to the consumer:
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1 WAIT - YOUR CARD IS BEING PROCESSED
2 WE PLAN TO INSTALL MORE `MONEY TREE`
3 MACHINES IN THIS AREA. LET US KNOW
4 WHERE YOU THINK THEY SHOULD BE
5 LOCATED
6 USE OUR NEW ATM LOCATED
IN OAKRIDGE MALL
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The host 12 finds an entry in the virtual financial institution table for the credit card and sends the entry to the terminal 14. The terminal 14 responds by processing the fields of the entry and sending a status message to the host 12. The terminal 14 then displays the following message to the consumer:
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1 KEY PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER
3
4
5
6 USE OUR NEW ATM LOCATED
IN OAKRIDGE MALL
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The consumer responds by entering his personal identification number (PIN). The terminal 14 validates the PIN and displays a function select message to the consumer as follows:
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1 CHOOSE TRANSACTION TYPE - USE BLUE KEYS
3
4
5 WE ARE OPEN SATURDAYS FROM 10:00 AM TO
6 1:00 PM
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In the present example the consumer responds by choosing the "ADDITIONAL FUNCTION" transaction key which is determined to be an interactive function key. The terminal 14 sends an interactive start message to the host 12. The host 12 responds by sending an interactive display message to the terminal 14. The terminal 14 responds by displaying the first page of selection set 1 of the interactive display message which is as follows:
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1 ENTER TRANSACTION CODE
2 001 - ORDER CHECKS
3 002 - PAY TELEPHONE BILL
4 003 - PAY WATER BILL
5 004 - PURCHASE SAVINGS BOND - SERIES F
6 FOR OTHER CHOICES, PRESS CHANGE KEY
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The consumer responds to this message by actuating the "CHANGE" key. The terminal then displays the second page of selection set 1 of the interactive display message as follows:
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1 ENTER TRANSACTION CODE
2 005 - PURCHASE SAVINGS BOND - SERIES E
3 006 - PAY HOME MORTGAGE
4 007 - PAY AUTO LOAN
5 008 - PAY GAS AND ELECTRICITY BILL
6 FOR OTHER CHOICES, PRESS CHANGE KEY
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The consumer responds to this message by entering "005" indicating that he wishes to purchase saving bonds. The terminal 14 receives the consumer entered data and displays the following verification message:
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1 YOU KEYED IN 005
2 PRESS "OK" TO CONFIRM
3 PRESS "CORRECTION" TO REENTER
5
6
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The consumer actuates the "OK" key, and the terminal 14 responds by communicating the previously entered data requesting purchase of savings bonds to the host 12 as part of an interactive response message. The host 12 sends an interactive display message with more display data in the form of selection set 2 to the terminal 14. The terminal 14 displays page 1 of selection set 2 requesting choice of bond denomination. This display is as follows:
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1 ENTER BOND DENOMINATION
2 $25.00
3 $50.00
4 $75.00
5 $100.00
6 $500.00
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The consumer responds by entering "50.00". The terminal 14 then displays the following verification message:
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1 YOU ENTERED 50.00
2 PRESS "OK" TO CONFIRM
3 PRESS "CORRECTION" TO REENTER
5
6
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The consumer actuates the "OK" key, and the terminal 14 responds by transmitting the previously entered data selecting $50.00 denominations to the host 12. The host then sends an interactive display message containing more display data in the form of selection set 3, and the terminal 14 displays page 1 of selection set 3 which requests the number of bonds to be purchased and which is as follows:
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1 KEY IN NUMBER OF $50 BONDS
2 NO. COST NO. COST NO. COST
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3 1 $37.50 5 $187.50 9 $337.50
4 2 $75.00 6 $225.00 10 $375.00
5 3 $112.50 7 $262.50 11 $412.50
6 4 $150.00 8 $300.00 12 $450.00
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The consumer responds to the message by entering "30". The terminal 14 responds by displaying the following verification message:
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1 YOU ENTERED 30
2 PRESS "OK" TO CONFIRM
3 PRESS "CORRECTION" TO REENTER
5
6
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The consumer realizes he has made a mistake in entering "30" and actuates the "CORRECTION" key, resulting in redisplay of the following message:
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1 KEY IN NUMBER OF $50 BONDS
2 NO. COST NO. COST NO. COST
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3 1 $37.50 5 $187.50 9 $337.50
4 2 $75.00 6 $225.00 10 $375.00
5 3 $112.50 7 $262.50 11 $412.50
6 4 $150.00 8 $300.00 12 $450.00
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The consumer responds to this message by entering "3". The terminal 14 responds by displaying the following verification message:
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1 YOU ENTERED 3
2 PRESS "OK" TO CONFIRM
3 PRESS "CORRECTION" TO REENTER
5
6
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The consumer actuates the "OK" key, and the terminal 14 responds by communicating the request for purchase of three bonds to the host 12 in an interaction response message. The host 12 sends an interactive display message with more display data in the form of selection set 4. The terminal 14 displays the first page of selection set 4 which requests entry of "FROM ACCOUNT" information and which is as follows:
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1 KEY IN ACCOUNT NUMBER TO BE BILLED
2 010 CHECKING
3 020 SAVINGS
4 030 SPECIAL ACCOUNT #417638
5 040 MASTER CHARGE
6 050 VISA
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The consumer responds to this display by entering "30". The terminal 14 then displays the following verification message:
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1 YOU ENTERED 30
2 PRESS "OK" TO CONFIRM
3 PRESS "CORRECTION" TO REENTER
5
6
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Th consumer responds to this message by actuating the "OK" key. The terminal 14 sends the latest consumer entered data to the terminal 14 as part of an interactive response message. In the meantime the terminal 14 displays the following message to the consumer:
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1 PLEASE WAIT - YOUR REQUEST IS BEING
2 PROCESSED
4
5 OPEN A $600 TIMED SAVINGS ACCOUNT AND
6 RECEIVE A COLOR TV. CALL US TODAY!
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The host then sends an interactive completion message to the terminal, and the terminal sends a transaction request to the host. The host 12 then sends a transaction reply message to the terminal 14 containing the following transaction verification message which is displayed by the terminal 14:
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1 YOU ARE BUYING 3 $50, SERIES E BONDS
2 AT A TOTAL COST OF $112.50
3 FROM SPECIAL ACCOUNT #417638
4 HIT OK TO PURCHASE BONDS
5 PRESS CANCEL TO CANCEL TRANSACTION
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The consumer responds by actuating the "OK" key, thereby terminating the transaction. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that transaction execution systems in accordance with the invention increase an institution's functions on two levels. First, they provide a functional increase to the owning institution, allowing it to provide more services to its own consumers. Secondly, the invention provides the basis to allow this functional increase to be enjoyed by pools of institutions. The formation of pools is desirable because it allows the cost of a terminal to be shared across several institutions. The invention facilitates the development of pools by enabling each institution to customize its transactions as it desires without the need to have its own terminal. The multiline display allows an individual display to be more informative to the consumer, thus making it easier for the consumer to use the terminal. The display also provides an institution for capability of displaying promotional messages or information about new procedures or hours which may be important to the consumer. Furthermore, the display opens the way for more complex transactions to take place since these may require more instructional information to be given to the consumer. The data entry key function allows an increase in function at a minimal cost to the institution. A greater variety of transaction types and choice of accounts are possible without a significant increase in the complexity of the system or in communications line time. The interactive function enables a system to provide an almost limitless variety of transactions to its consumers. In addition, it allows personalization of transactions to a consumer. The segmentation feature used in conjunction with the multiline display is advantageous with respect to the various features noted above in that it optimizes the storage and transmission of the longer display messages. For a pool of institutions, systems in accordance with the invention allow customization of the availability of transaction types and hence the variety of options it wishes to describe to the consumer. Furthermore, the content of the displays to the consumer can be customized. Thus institutions A and B may have their own promotional messages even though they are operating on the same terminal. The ability to customize both transaction types available and display contents allows any member of a pool to enjoy all of the features described previously for an individual institution. As noted above the interactive function makes the kinds and types of transactions that can be performed almost limitless. Some of the possible transactions include the following: 1. Electronic Bill Payment--Funds can be transferred from any account to any cooperating bill collector. 2. Split Deposit--A check can be deposited with funds being withdrawn from that same check. 3. Purchase of Savings Bonds--As seen in the above example such things as savings bonds can be purchased in a variety of denominations. 4. Account Balance Information--Information on all accounts at a bank can be obtained. 5. Loan Status--Inquiry can be made as to the status of all loans with a bank. A breakdown on any individual loan can be obtained including such information as interest and principal paid. Additional payments to principal can be made. 6. Check Ordering--More checks can be ordered by the consumer. 7. Fund Transfers Between Accounts--Funds can be easily transferred between accounts, facilitating such things as the transfer of funds into a Christmas Club account or a children's savings account. 8. Display Variety--General information displays can be made up to describe things such as how to use the terminal, bank hours available, stock market reports, weather reports, types of loans available from a bank, interest rates, lengths of loans, minimum monthly payments and how to open an account. 9. Loan Application--Typically, the institution has much of the information about the consumer already needed to process a loan application so that all that may be needed is the amount and length of a loan and the reason for the loan (i.e. car, home improvement, personal). Furthermore, the terminal and its variety of displays can be used to request and extension on an existing loan. In the case of a loan application, the institution takes the information resulting from the transaction and prepares the loan application papers which are then sent to the consumer for approval. 10. Tax Preparation Aid--Consumers can request a printout of tax related information such as interest paid on loans and interest received on savings accounts, requiring minimal teller intervention. This information is easily gathered and mailed to the consumer. While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
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