Financial Services System for Direct Deposit Setup

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Solution Overview

Problem

Employees often lack the necessary financial account information to set up direct deposit of paychecks with their employers, as they typically do not have access to their bank account details.

Innovation Solution

A computer-implemented method and system that uses personal information, such as name and social security number, to identify and retrieve financial account information from a database or directly from a financial institution, enabling the setup of direct deposit by a payroll processor.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If employees use traditional direct deposit setup methods requiring bank account information, then direct deposit can be established, but employees cannot complete setup because they lack access to their bank account details

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of direct deposit setupVSAvoidlack of bank account information

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

A financial services system acts as an intermediary between the payroll processor and the employee's financial institution. The system receives personal information from the payroll processor, queries the financial institution on behalf of the employee, retrieves the financial account information, and transmits it back to the payroll processor, eliminating the need for the employee to have direct access to their bank account details

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The financial services system performs preliminary actions by pre-querying the financial institution for account information using the employee's personal information before the payroll processor needs to set up direct deposit. This preliminary retrieval of account details (routing number, account number) enables the payroll processor to complete setup without requiring the employee to provide this information

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Loss of information

If a financial services system queries financial institutions for account information, then complete account details can be obtained, but the system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecompleteness of account informationVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The financial services system performs multiple functions within a single platform: it receives requests from payroll processors, queries financial institutions using personal information, retrieves financial account details, and transmits the information back. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require separate systems for each function, managing complexity through consolidation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The financial services system serves as a standardized intermediary layer between diverse payroll processors and various financial institutions. By implementing a uniform interface and process flow for querying and retrieving account information, the system manages complexity through standardization rather than requiring custom integrations for each participant

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Measurement precision

If personal information is transmitted to query financial accounts, then account identification is enabled, but security risks increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy of account identificationVSAvoidsecurity risks

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The financial services system acts as a secure intermediary that receives personal information from the payroll processor, transmits it to the financial institution for account identification, receives the verified account information, and transmits it back to the payroll processor. This intermediary layer provides controlled access and transmission, reducing security risks compared to direct access models

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements a feedback mechanism where the financial institution verifies the personal information against its records and returns confirmation of the correct financial account. This feedback loop ensures accurate account identification while maintaining security through verified information exchange rather than direct data exposure

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS9946996B1Methods, systems and articles for providing financial account information for setting up direct deposit of pay checks

Publication Date: 2018.04.17 INTUIT INC

AI summary

Systems and methods for providing financial account information for an employee for setting up direct deposit of pay checks into a financial account of the employee. A financial services system receives a request from a payroll processor of an employer of the employee for account information for a financial account held by the employee, the request including personal information of the employee. The financial services system searches a database for a financial account held by the employee and identifies a financial account held by the employee by matching the personal information received in the request with corresponding information associated with a matching financial account stored in the database. The financial services system transmits the financial account information for the matching financial account sufficient to set up direct deposit to the payroll processor. The payroll processor then sets up direct deposit of the employee's pay checks into the matching financial account.