Method and apparatus for preparing and assessing payment documents
US3990558A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 7, 1974 |
| Grant date | Nov 9, 1976 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 7, 1994 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG07F19/20
- WIPO fieldControl
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method and apparatus is described for preparing and assessing machine readable payment documents such as bank or postal checks to avoid fraud. The checks are prepared by enciphering the serial number and the amount for which the check is made out with secret code data to provide a crypto number which is printed on the check with the serial number and the amount. The check is assessed as valid by reading out the printed data and enciphering the amount and serial number with the same secret code data as used when preparing the check to provide a crypto number which is compared with the crypto number read from the check. If the two crypto numbers are the same the check is assessed as valid. The crypto number can be derived from additional data such as the credit card number of the person making out the check, the time and date and the number of the machine preparing the document.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.