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11 June 2018Patents

Wells Fargo sued over mobile banking systems

US banking organisation Wells Fargo has been sued for patent infringement over technologies relating to depositing cheques remotely via mobile phones.

Financial services company United Services Automobile Association ( USAA) filed the complaint at the US District Court for the Eastern Division of Texas Marshall Division on Thursday, June 7.

USAA is the assignee of the disputed patents, called “Systems and methods for alignment of check during mobile deposit” (US numbers 8,699,779 and 9,336,517); “Systems and methods for image and criterion monitoring during mobile deposit” (9,818,090); and “Systems and methods for image monitoring of check during mobile deposit” (8,977,571).

The patented technologies were designed to connect members of the stationed members of the military and their families with financial services.

“In its decades of serving the military community, USAA has worked to innovate in serving the needs of its members, including a lifestyle that can make getting to a bank branch difficult, particularly if they are out to sea or deployed outside the US,” said USAA.

The patents protect technologies that allow banking customers to deposit paper cheques into their accounts by taking an image of the cheque on their mobile phones.

According to the claim, Wells Fargo’s remote deposit capture systems infringe USAA’s patents.

“Wells Fargo Mobile Deposit allows Wells Fargo customers to deposit checks using their mobile devices, such as smartphones,” the claim alleged.

The Wells Fargo system is available through the bank’s iPhone and Android apps. The apps allow customers to deposit cheques remotely by identifying an account for deposit, entering the amount in dollars, and taking images of the cheque.

“Through its website, for example, Wells Fargo encourages its customers to avoid ‘a trip to the branch’ by depositing checks using Wells Fargo Mobile Deposit, touting the system’s convenience, simplicity, and ease of use,” the claim continued.

USAA alleged that Wells Fargo has taken advantage of its “pioneering efforts” in mobile deposit technologies by incorporating the technologies into its apps. USAA said that it does not license its patents to Wells Fargo.

USAA is seeking damages for the alleged patent infringement and has demanded a jury trial.

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6 October 2016   Marketing and technology company Verify Smart has sued financial institution Wells Fargo for patent infringement.
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13 January 2020   In the second win for financial services company United Services Automobile Association, a jury in East Texas has awarded it $102.8 million in damages after finding Wells Fargo wilfully infringed its patents.