WO2013028130A1

WO2013028130A1 - Multi-currency money changer which accepts electronic payment

Info

Publication number: WO2013028130A1
Application number: PCT/SG2011/000286
Authority: WO
Inventors: Foo Yu Kang Wilson; Chong En LIM
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-08-23
Filing date: 2011-08-23
Publication date: 2013-02-28
Anticipated expiration: 2014-02-23

Abstract

This invention is a multi-currency money changer machine which is capable of accepting payment in one or more currencies from a user through either cash or non-cash means such as electronic payment systems and travellers' cheques and can dispense money in multiple different currencies through either cash or non-cash means such as travellers' cheques. It retrieves the currency conversion rates in real time from the Internet and may contain an anti-tamper and locking system and an anti-hacking system and will send a signal to the police if a tampering or hacking attempt is detected.

Description

Multi-currency money changer which accepts electronic payment

Description

1. This description pertains to a money changer machine which is capable of dispensing multiple currency types, accepting payment from contactless smart cards, credit cards, or other electronic payment mechanisms and updating its rates in real-time by retrieving data from the Internet.

2. In this description,

2.1. Bill validator means any device which is capable of accepting a banknote and storing it in an internal storage mechanism;

2.2. Bill dispenser means any device which is capable of causing a banknote to be released from an internal storage mechanism to a user;

2.3. Coin validator means any device which is capable of accepting a coin and storing it in an internal storage mechanism;

2.4. Coin dispenser means any device which is capable of causing a coin to be released from an internal storage mechanism to a user;

2.5. Contactless payment reader means any device which is capable of accepting payment when another device, which is capable of identification via electronic means by the contactless payment reader, is brought into close proximity with it, and includes contactless smart card readers, Radio Frequency Identification tag readers or readers which use Bluetooth or any other such technology;

2.6. Computer means any electronic system which is capable of controlling other devices and includes a printed circuit board;

2.7. "PIN" means Personal Identification Number;

2.8. "HSDPA" means High Speed Downlink Packet Access;

2.9. "USB" means Universal Serial Bus;

2.10. "RS232" means Recommended Standard 232 and includes both 9-pin RS232 and 25 pin RS232;

2.11. "Firewire" means Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers standard 1394;

2.12. "Bluetooth" means a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances (using short wavelength radio transmissions in the ISM band from 2400-2480 MHz) from fixed and mobile devices;

2.13. Bid-offer spread means the difference between the prices quoted for the immediate sale (ask/offer) and an immediate purchase (bid) of a currency.

3. The unique features of this invention are:

3.1. The ability to dispense money in a currency or currencies selected by a user.

3.2. The ability to accept payment in more than one currency.

3.3. The ability to accept payment through non-cash payment systems in one currency and dispense money in another currency and capture signatures for validation if necessary.

3.4. The ability to accept and/or dispense traveller's cheques and capture signatures for validation.

3.5. The ability to accept a single payment from a combination of multiple cash and non-cash sources which may be denominated in more than one currency.

3.6. The ability to exchange currencies based on exchange rates obtained in real-time over the Internet.

3.7. The ability to detect tampering attempts and hacking attempts including attempts to fake the currency exchange rate and send signals to the police if these are detected.

Any device which incorporates one or more of the above is materially the same as this invention regardless of whether it contains additional features not enumerated in this description or does not contain one or more features enumerated in this description.

4. This invention makes use of the following devices:

4.1. Bill validators and bill dispensers to accept and dispense multiple types of currencies. The machine may have one or more bill validators but will definitely have more than one bill dispenser. This device may use combined bill validator/dispensers. The machine may also have coin validators and dispensers and/or coin hoppers which can act as combined coin validator/dispensers.

4.2. A contactless payment reader and a reader for credit cards and other magnetic strip-based cards used for electronic payment and optionally other cashless payment solutions in order to provide an alternative to cash payment to the user. These shall hereinafter be collectively known as "electronic payment systems".

.3. A keypad for entering passwords or PINs for electronic payment.

.4. A computer or other electronic system This computer will be connected to all of the other devices by cables (which may be USB/RS232/Firewire or any other method of connecting a device to a computer) and/or wireless connection methods such as Bluetooth and will contain a program, or will be hard-wired in a particular way, which will enable it to control all of the other devices.

.5. A wireless HSDPA modem or any other mechanism which allows a computer or other electronic device to connect to the Internet.

.6. A touch-screen monitor.

.7. Optional travellers cheques' accepting/dispensing mechanisms. Such mechanisms will require users to sign on the touch-screen either with an attached stylus or with their finger and the user may not proceed if the signature does not match the one on the travellers cheque.

.8. Optional anti-card-skimming and other anti-tamper devices for the electronic payment systems which may be capable of sending a signal to the computer if they are tampered with. This signal may be sent via either wireless means such as Bluetooth or wired means such as USB/RS232..9. An optional high security lock which is capable of sending a signal to the computer if tampered with. This signal may be sent via either wireless means such as Bluetooth or wired means such as USB/RS232.

The process by which the machine dispenses banknotes in a currency desired by the user is as follows:

.1. The user selects the currency or currencies he desires to change money into.

.2. The user inputs the amount(s) of money in the respective currency or currencies which he wants dispensed from the machine.

.3. The user is optionally allowed to select the currency or currencies which he wishes to pay in..4. The machine informs the user of the amount which must be paid. This amount will be based on the instantaneous exchange rate obtained from an Internet source which may be configured by the owner of the machine, with a bid-offer spread worked in. If the user has specified multiple currencies in which to pay, s/he must specify the desired payment amount in the different currencies, but shall not be able to specify the desired payment amount in one currency, which shall be used to pay the balance left over after the payments in the other currencies are made..5. The user makes payment in cash through use of the bill validator and/or coin validators, or through the electronic payment systems. If users make payment through the electronic payment systems, they may be required to enter a PIN/password on the keypad, sign on the touchscreen with an attached stylus, or perform some other validation procedure, as the case may be. Signatures will be recorded and may be submitted to banks for validation.

.6. The machine dispenses the foreign currency to the user, and dispenses change in the local currency if necessary (such as where the amount to be paid is an odd amount, or there are insufficient foreign currency banknotes), through bill dispensers and/or coin dispensers.

.7. The machine may optionally accept/dispense currency in the form of travellers cheques instead of banknotes and coins. The user will be required to sign on the touch-screen either with an attached stylus or with their finger and the user may not proceed if the signature does not match the one on the travellers cheque. Signatures will be recorded and may be submitted to banks for validation.

.8. At any stage, the machine will allow the user to cancel the transaction. If the transaction is cancelled, money paid may or may not be refunded to the user.

.9. Should any attempts at tampering be discovered by the anti-tamper devices, a warning signal will be sent to the computer, and should such a signal be detected should the computer detect any hacking attempt such as an attempt to change the currency rates, the computer will attempt to send a signal to the police via a direct line or any other mechanism which may be effected by a computer.

The order of the above steps is not of the essence and any machine, system, or device which materially incorporates the above steps or a variation of them in any order shall not be considered different from this invention.

A labelled diagram of such a machine is attached to this document. The appearance of the invention as well as the placement of components is not of the essence; any product which incorporates the features herein described shall be considered to be covered under this patent.

Claims

1. A machine which is capable of dispensing multiple types of currencies in various forms including but not limited to banknotes, coins and travellers' cheques and accepting payment from cash mechanisms including but not limited to travellers' cheques systems, bill validators and coin validators and non-cash mechanisms including but not limited to credit card systems and contactless payment systems.

2. A machine which is capable of accepting money in a combination of one or more currencies, through a combination of both cash and non-cash means, and dispensing another currency.

3. A machine which is capable of allowing a user to select a combination of one or more currencies in which s/he desires to have money dispensed in and which may accept payment through cash and/or non-cash means.

4. A machine which is capable of accepting money in one currency and dispensing it in another currency and which obtains the currency conversion rate(s) from the Internet in real-time.

5. A machine which is capable of accepting money in one or more currencies and dispensing it in one or more other currencies and, where payment is made via credit card, is capable of recording signatures of users for later validation.

6. A machine which is capable of accepting money in one or more currencies and dispensing it in one or more other currencies and, where payment is made via travellers' cheques, is capable of recording signatures of users made on a touch-screen for later validation and is capable of matching users' on-screen signatures with the signature on the travellers' cheque.

7. A machine which is capable of dispensing multiple types of currencies in various forms including but not limited to banknotes, coins and travellers' cheques and accepting payment from cash mechanisms including but not limited to bill validators and coin validators and non-cash mechanisms including but not limited to travellers' cheque systems, credit card systems and contactless payment systems and which obtains the currency conversion rate(s) from the Internet.

8. A machine which is capable of dispensing one or more currencies which may be dispensed in various forms including but not limited to banknotes, coins and travellers' cheques and contains anti-tamper/locking systems which are capable of sending signals to a computer.

9. A machine which is capable of dispensing one or more currencies which may be dispensed in various forms including but not limited to banknotes, coins and travellers' cheques and is controlled by an electronic system which can detect hacking attempts including an attempt to fake an exchange rate and will send a signal to the police when such attempts are detected.

10. A machine which is capable of dispensing one or more currencies which may be dispensed in various forms including but not limited to banknotes, coins and travellers' cheques and contains anti-tamper and locking mechanisms which are capable of sending signals to a computer should tampering occur, and is controlled by an electronic system which can detect hacking attempts including an attempt to fake an exchange rate and will send a signal to the police when a signal from the anti-tamper or locking device, or a hacking attempt, is detected.

11. A machine which is capable of dispensing multiple types of currencies in various forms including but not limited to banknotes, coins and travellers' cheques and accepting payment from cash mechanisms including but not limited to travellers' cheques systems, bill validators and coin validators and non-cash mechanisms including but not limited to credit card systems and contactless payment systems, is capable of recording signatures of users made on a touch-screen for later validation and is capable of matching users' on-screen signatures with signatures on travellers' cheques, and which obtains the currency conversion rate(s) from the Internet in real-time.

12. A machine which is capable of dispensing multiple types of currencies in various forms including but not limited to banknotes, coins and travellers' cheques and accepting payment from cash mechanisms including but not limited to travellers' cheques systems, bill validators and coin validators and non-cash mechanisms including but not limited to credit card systems and contactless payment systems, is capable of recording signatures of users made on a touch-screen for later validation and is capable of matching users' on-screen signatures with signatures on travellers' cheques, and contains anti-tamper and locking mechanisms which are capable of sending signals to a computer should tampering occur, and is controlled by an electronic system which can detect hacking attempts and will send a signal to the police when a signal from the anti- tamper or locking device, or a hacking attempt including an attempt to fake an exchange rate, is detected, and which obtains the currency conversion rate(s) from the Internet in real-time.