Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
76 words
A method of authorizing the debit of funds from a bank account without negotiating a check, comprising: inputting payer bank account information into a point of sale terminal; inputting a transaction amount into said point of sale terminal; printing an authorization to debit payer's bank account by an amount equal to the transaction amount for the payer's signature; and debiting said payer bank account by an amount equal to the transaction amount by electronic fund transfer.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
76 words
A method of authorizing the debit of funds from a bank account without negotiating a check, comprising: inputting payer bank account information into a point of sale terminal; inputting a transaction amount into said point of sale terminal; printing an authorization to debit payer's bank account by an amount equal to the transaction amount for the payer's signature; and debiting said payer bank account by an amount equal to the transaction amount by electronic fund transfer.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
75 words
The method of authorizing the debit of funds from a bank account without negotiating a check of claim 1 , wherein the payer bank account information is input into the point of sale terminal by a method selected from the group consisting of: manually keying the information, MICR reading of a payer check, OCR reading of a payer check, magnetic stripe reading of a payer debit card, and electronic reading of a payer smart card.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of authorizing the debit of funds from a bank account without negotiating a check of claim 1 , further comprising checking payer information on a database to determine whether to continue a transaction prior to printing the authorization.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of authorizing the debit of funds from a bank account without negotiating a check of claim 1 , wherein the payer is selected from the group consisting of consumers and businesses.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of authorizing the debit of funds from a bank account without negotiating a check of claim 1 , wherein said electronic fund transfer is performed offline by one of the group consisting of ACH and Federal Reserve system.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of authorizing the debit of funds from a bank account without negotiating a check of claim 1 , wherein said electronic fund transfer is performed online by one of the group consisting of ACH and Federal Reserve system.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
80 words
The method of authorizing the debit of funds from a bank account without negotiating a check of claim 1 , wherein payer bank account information is supplied by a payer check and disposition of the check is by one of the group consisting of: returning a blank check to the payer, returning an incomplete check to the payer, returning a completed and voided check to the payer, retaining an incomplete and voided check, and retaining a completed and voided check.