U.S. patent application number 10/608439 was filed with the patent office on 2004-04-01 for integrated electronic bill presentment and payment with improved activation.
Invention is credited to Johnson, Mark A., Kight, Peter J., Kitchen, William C..
Application Number | 20040064410 10/608439 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 21877194 |
Filed Date | 2004-04-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040064410 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kight, Peter J. ; et
al. |
April 1, 2004 |
Integrated electronic bill presentment and payment with improved
activation
Abstract
A service provider activates subscribers for electronic
presentment of bills and for electronic payments by receiving, from
a first subscriber, information identifying a first of a plurality
of billers and information that the first biller associates with
the first subscriber. The service provider also receives, from a
second subscriber, information identifying a second of the
plurality of billers and information that the second biller
associates with the second subscriber. The service provider
transmits to the first biller a request for verification of
validity of the received information which the first biller
associates with the first subscriber, and receives a verification
of validity responsive to the transmitted verification request.
Based on the received verification of validity, the service
provider activates the first subscriber for electronic presentment
of bills of the first biller. On the other hand, the service
provider activates the second subscriber for only electronic
payment of the second biller, without any verification from the
second biller of the validity of the received information that the
second biller associates with the second subscriber.
Inventors: |
Kight, Peter J.;
(Alpharetta, GA) ; Kitchen, William C.;
(Westerville, OH) ; Johnson, Mark A.; (Duluth,
GA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ANTONELLI, TERRY, STOUT & KRAUS, LLP
1300 NORTH SEVENTEENTH STREET
SUITE 1800
ARLINGTON
VA
22209-9889
US
|
Family ID: |
21877194 |
Appl. No.: |
10/608439 |
Filed: |
June 30, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10608439 |
Jun 30, 2003 |
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09795314 |
Mar 1, 2001 |
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09795314 |
Mar 1, 2001 |
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09034561 |
Mar 3, 1998 |
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6289322 |
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09795314 |
Mar 1, 2001 |
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09250711 |
Feb 16, 1999 |
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09250711 |
Feb 16, 1999 |
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08372620 |
Jan 13, 1995 |
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5873072 |
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08372620 |
Jan 13, 1995 |
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07736071 |
Jul 25, 1991 |
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5383113 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/40 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 20/102 20130101;
G06Q 40/00 20130101; G06Q 20/385 20130101; G06Q 20/04 20130101;
G06Q 40/04 20130101; G06Q 40/02 20130101; G06Q 20/0855 20130101;
G06Q 20/108 20130101; G06Q 40/025 20130101; G06Q 20/10 20130101;
G06Q 20/14 20130101; G06Q 40/06 20130101; G06Q 30/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/040 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Claims
I/We claim:
1. A method of activating billers for subscribers for electronic
presentment of bills and for electronic payments, comprising:
receiving (i) first biller information identifying a first of a
plurality of billers and first subscriber information which the
first biller associates with a first subscriber, and (ii) second
biller information identifying a second of the plurality of billers
and second subscriber information which the second biller
associates with a second subscriber; transmitting, to the first
biller identified in the received first biller information, a
request for verification of validity of the received first
subscriber information; receiving, from the first biller, the
verification of the validity of the first subscriber information
responsive to the transmitted verification request; and activating
(i) the first subscriber for electronic presentment of bills of the
first biller, based on the received verification of validity, and
(ii) the second subscriber for only electronic payment of bills of
the second biller without verification of validity of the received
second subscriber information.
2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving
payment information which a financial institution associates with a
payment account of the second subscriber; and the second subscriber
is activated for electronic payment of bills of the second biller,
based on the received payment information.
3. A method according to claim 2, wherein: the second subscriber
information and the payment information are received
concurrently.
4. A method according to claim 1, wherein: the first subscriber
information includes a first biller account number which the first
biller associates with the first subscriber; and the second
subscriber information includes a second biller account number
which the second biller associates with the second subscriber.
5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: transmitting,
to the first subscriber and to the second subscriber, a list
identifying multiple of the plurality of billers; wherein the first
biller is a first of the multiple billers, and the second biller is
not one of the multiple billers; wherein the received first biller
information is indicative of a selection of the first biller from
the identified multiple billers in the transmitted list, and the
received second biller information is typed information entered by
the second subscriber.
6. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving,
from the first subscriber, a request to be activated for only
electronic presentment of bills; and transmitting, to the first
subscriber, a list identifying multiple of the plurality of billers
having bills available for electronic presentment in response to
the request; wherein the first biller is a first of the identified
multiple billers in the transmitted list; wherein the received
first biller information is indicative of a selection of the first
biller from the identified multiple billers in the transmitted
list.
7. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving,
from the first subscriber, a first request to be activated for
electronic payment of bills; transmitting, to the first subscriber,
a first list identifying multiple of the plurality of billers,
including the first biller and not the second biller, having bills
available for electronic presentment, in response to the first
activation request, wherein the received first biller information
is indicative of a selection of the first biller from the
identified multiple billers in the transmitted first list;
receiving, from the first subscriber, first payment information
that a first financial institution associates with a payment
account of the first subscriber; and activating the first
subscriber for electronic payment of bills of the first biller,
based on the received first payment information.
8. A method according to claim 7, further comprising: receiving,
from the second subscriber, a second request to be activated for
electronic payment of bills; transmitting, to the second
subscriber, a second list identifying multiple of the plurality of
billers, including the first biller and the second biller, some of
which have and some of which do not have bills available for
electronic presentment, in response to the second activation
request; and receiving, from the second subscriber, second payment
information which a second financial institution associates with a
payment account of the second subscriber; wherein the received
second biller information is indicative of a selection of the
second biller from the identified multiple billers in the
transmitted second list; wherein the second subscriber is activated
for only electronic payment of bills of the second biller based
also on the received second payment information.
9. A system for activating billers for subscribers for electronic
presentment of bills and for electronic payments, comprising: a
processor configured to receive (i) first biller information
identifying a first of a plurality of billers and first subscriber
information that the first biller associates with a first
subscriber, and (ii) second biller information identifying a second
of the plurality of billers and second subscriber information that
the second biller associates with a second subscriber; and a memory
configured to store the received first and the received second
biller information and the received first and the received second
subscriber information; wherein the processor is further configured
(i) to direct, to the first biller identified in the received first
biller information, a request for verification of validity of the
received first subscriber information, (ii) to receive, from the
first biller, the verification of validity of the received first
subscriber information responsive to the directed verification
request, (iii) to activate the first subscriber for electronic
presentment of bills of the first biller, based on the received
verification of validity, and (2) to activate the second subscriber
for only electronic payment of the second biller without a
verification of validity of the received second subscriber
information.
10. A system according to claim 9, wherein: the processor is
further configured (i) to receive payment information that a
financial institution associates with a payment account of the
second subscriber and (ii) to activate the second subscriber for
only the electronic payment of bills of the second biller, based
also on the received payment information; and the memory is further
configured to store the received payment information.
11. A system according to claim 10, wherein: the processor is
further configured to receive the second subscriber information and
the payment information concurrently.
12. A system according to claim 9, wherein: the first subscriber
information includes a first biller account number which the first
biller associates with the first subscriber; and the second
subscriber information includes a second biller account number
which the second biller associates with the second subscriber.
13. A system according to claim 9, wherein: the memory is further
configured to store a list identifying multiple of the plurality of
billers; the first biller is a first of the identified multiple
billers, and the second biller is not one of the identified
multiple billers; the processor is further configured to direct the
list to the first subscriber and to the second subscriber; and the
received first biller information is indicative of a selection of
the first biller from the identified multiple billers in the
directed list, and the received second biller information is
indicative of typed information entered by the second
subscriber.
14. A system according to claim 9, wherein: the memory is further
configured to store a list identifying multiple of the plurality of
billers having bills available for electronic presentment and the
first biller is a first of the identified multiple billers; the
processor is further configured to receive, from the first
subscriber, a request to be activated for electronic presentment of
bills, and to direct the stored list to the first subscriber in
response to the activation request; and the received first biller
information is indicative of a selection of the first biller from
the identified multiple billers in the directed list.
15. A system according to claim 9, wherein: the memory is further
configured to store a first list identifying multiple of the
plurality of billers, including the first biller, having bills
available for electronic presentment; the processor is further
configured (i) to receive, from the first subscriber, a first
request to be activated for electronic payment of bills, (ii) to
direct, to the first subscriber, the stored first list, in response
to the received first activation request (iii) to receive, from the
first subscriber, first payment information that a first financial
institution associates with a payment account of the first
subscriber, and (iv) to activate the first subscriber for the
electronic payment of bills of the first biller, based on the
received first payment information; and the received first biller
information is indicative of a selection of the first biller from
the identified multiple billers in the directed first list.
16. A system according to claim 15, wherein: the memory is further
configured to store a second list of multiple of the plurality of
billers not having bills available for electronic payment, and the
second biller is one of the identified multiple billers in the
stored second list; the processor is further configured (i) to
receive, from the second subscriber, a second request to be
activated for electronic payment of bills, (ii) to direct, to the
second subscriber, the stored second list in response to the second
activation request, and (iii) to receive, from the second
subscriber, second payment information which a second financial
institution associates with a payment account of the second
subscriber; the received second biller information is indicative of
a selection of the second biller from the identified multiple
billers in the directed second list; and the second subscriber is
activated for only electronic payment of bills of the second biller
based also on the received second payment information.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of (1) pending U.S.
application Ser. No. 09/795,314 (Docket No. 3350-005A) entitled
"Electronic Bill Processing with Enhanced Bill Availability
Notification and/or Enhanced Bill Presentation", filed Mar. 1,
2001, which is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/034,561
(Docket No. 3350-005) entitled "Electronic Bill Processing", filed
Mar. 3, 1998 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,322, issued Sep. 11, 2001),
and (2) pending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/250,711 (Docket No.
3350-031 B) entitled "System And Method For Electronically
Providing Customer Services Including Payment Of Bills, Financial
Analysis And Loans", filed Feb. 16, 1999, which is a continuation
of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/372,620 (Docket No. 3350-031)
entitled "System And Method For Electronically Providing Customer
Services Including Payment Of Bills, Financial Analysis And Loans",
filed Jan. 13, 1995 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,072, issued Feb. 16,
1999), which is in turn a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.
07/736,071 entitled "Electronic Bill Payment", filed Jul. 25, 1991
(now U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,113, issued Jan. 17, 1995). Pending U.S.
application Ser. No. 09/795,314 (Docket No. 3350-005A) and Ser. No.
09/250,711 (Docket No. 3350-031 B) are incorporated herein by
reference in their entirety.
[0002] This application is also related to U.S. Application Serial
Number ______, entitled "INTEGRATED ELECTRONIC BILL PRESENTMENT AND
UNIVERSAL PAYMENT", filed Jun. 30, 2003, (Docket No. 3350-0106);
U.S. Application Serial Number ______, entitled "FLEXIBLE
INTEGRATED ELECTRONIC BILL PRESENTMENT AND PAYMENT ", filed Jun.
30, 2003, (Docket No. 3350-0106A); U.S. Application Serial Number
______, entitled "INTEGRATED ELECTRONIC BILL PRESENTMENT AND RISK
BASED PAYMENT", filed Jun. 30, 2003, (Docket No. 3350-0106B); U.S.
Application Serial Number ______, entitled "INTEGRATED ELECTRONIC
BILL PRESENTMENT AND PAYMENT", filed Jun. 30, 2003, (Docket No.
3350-0106C); and U.S. Application Serial Number ______, entitled
"SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR BILL DELIVERY AND PAYMENT OVER A
COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK", filed Jun. 30, 2003, (Docket No.
3350-0106E).
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0003] The present invention relates generally to electronic
commerce and more particularly to integrated electronic
presentation and payment of bills from different billers.
BACKGROUND ART
[0004] Historically the billing process has been a three party
process. More particularly, the typical billing process consists of
billers, such as merchants, utility companies, service providers
and bankcard companies, preparing hardcopy paper bills either
directly or through an independent bill preparation service
provider. The bills normally consist of detailed billing
information relating to the goods or services purchased or ordered,
including a detailed itemization of the billed charges. The billing
information also includes the total charge, due date for payment
and, in many cases, the minimum amount which must be paid by the
due date.
[0005] The hardcopy billing information relating to each individual
biller is then placed in a separate envelope and mailed through the
postal service to the applicable payor. The envelope may also be
stuffed with other materials such as other product offerings, e.g.,
special discounts or new goods or services. Hence, each payor has
historically received billing information from each biller as an
individual hardcopy piece of correspondence received by mail.
[0006] Most, although not all, billers bill on a periodic basis,
such as each calendar month or every thirty days. However, although
billers may issue bills covering similar periods of time, e.g.,
thirty day periods, individual billers may have billing cycles and
bill issue dates which vary. For example, some monthly billers may
have a billing period which extends from the fifteenth of one month
to the fifteenth of the next month, while other billers may have a
monthly billing period which extends from the last day of one month
to the last day of the following month. Further, even if different
billers bill charges incurred over identical periods, the issue
dates of the bills can vary widely. Accordingly, payors typically
receive bills at various times throughout, for example, any given
calendar month.
[0007] Payors continue to receive large numbers of hardcopy paper
bills from individual billers. Hence, bill presentment has remained
a tedious and expensive task both in terms of the preparation and
the distribution of billing information.
[0008] To complete the billing process individual payors have
historically made payments directly to each individual biller by
hardcopy paper check drawn against a financial institution and
mailed via the postal service to the biller's remittance center. A
returnable portion of the billing information received from the
biller is typically returned with the check. The biller must then
present the check for payment through the payor's financial
institution before the payment funds can be actually received by
the biller and applied against the payors account.
[0009] For example, it has been common for many years for consumers
to pay monthly bills by way of a personal check written by the
consumer and sent by mail to the entity from which the bill or
invoice was received. Consumers have used other ways to pay bills,
including personally visiting the billing entity to make a cash
payment. In today's economy, it is not unusual for a consumer to
have several regular monthly invoices to pay. Writing individual
checks to pay each invoice can be time-consuming and costly due to
postage and other related expenses.
[0010] Accordingly, a need exists for a method whereby a consumer
can contact a single source and inform the source to pay various
bills of the consumer, to have the source adjust the consumer's
account with the consumer's financial institution (i.e., bank,
credit union, savings and loan association, etc.) to reflect a bill
payment, and to actually pay the billing entity a specified amount
by a particular time. The system should be efficient and not
unreasonably expensive and relatively simple for a consumer to
interact with.
[0011] Some banks have attempted to provide a service for making
payment to a few billing entities to which the banks have
established relations. The banks that do provide that type of
service are limited in that they provide the service only for their
own customers since the banks have not developed a system for
accurately acquiring and processing account numbers and balances of
customers of all other banking institutions and coordinating that
information with bill payment. Furthermore, banks have not
developed a system for managing the risks involved in providing
such a service and the inherent complexities of providing the
service to consumers other than the bank's own customers.
[0012] Therefore, a need exists for a single source system that
would be available to any consumer, regardless of where the
consumer banks and regardless of what bills are to be paid.
[0013] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to
provide a technique for electronically presenting billing
information in a manner which facilitates the timely payment of
bills by payors.
SUMMARY DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0014] The present invention is designed to fulfill the above
listed needs. The invention provides a universal system that works
regardless of the consumer's financial institution and bill to be
paid. The present invention provides a computerized system by which
a consumer may pay bills utilizing the telephone, a computer
terminal, or other electronic, data transmission means.
Transactions are recorded against the consumer's account wherever
he or she banks. The consumer may be an individual or a business,
large or small. The present invention works regardless of where the
consumer banks.
[0015] The present invention further provides integrated bill
presentment and payment with improved biller set-up system. A
unique aspect of the invention resides in its capacity to flexibly
and efficiently activate subscribers desiring electronic bill
presentment service, as well as those subscribers wishing only to
make electronic payments. Furthermore, the system also facilitates
the activation of those subscribers wishing to have both their
bills presented electronically and the presented bills paid
electronically. Additionally, subscribers requesting activation for
electronic payment, can also be activated, in a manner which is
transparent to the subscriber, for electronic presentment of those
of their bills which are available for electronic presentment.
Hence the invention, as will be described further below, provides a
single integrated platform for activating different subscribers and
different billers for electronic payment and/or presentment
services.
[0016] The system includes a processor. The processor may include a
single or multiple processing device(s), such as processing devices
included in one or more mainframe computers. The processor is
configured, e.g. programmed, to receive first biller information,
such as a name, address, and/or other information identifying a
first of a plurality of billers and first subscriber information,
such as an account number that the first biller associates with a
first subscriber. This information is typically received from the
first subscriber as part of the enrollment process, although it
could be received at other times. It should be understood that
billers may be merchants or other types of billers, including
non-merchant billers.
[0017] The processor also receives second biller information
identifying a second of the plurality of billers and second
subscriber information that the second biller associates with a
second subscriber. This information is likewise typically received
from the second subscriber as part of the enrollment process, but
could be received at some other time.
[0018] The system also includes a memory configured to store the
received first and second biller information and the received first
and second subscriber information. The memory can be any type of
storage device and could, for example, take the form of a hard,
floppy or compact disk, optical disk, random access memory (RAM),
or some other form. The memory will commonly be configured to
include a relational database, with the first biller information
and the first subscriber information being stored in relationship
to some identifier, e.g. a name, address or other identifying data,
of the first subscriber, and the second biller information and the
second subscriber information being stored in relationship to an
identifier of the second subscriber.
[0019] The processor is further configured to direct, to the first
biller identified in the received first biller information, a
request for verification of validity of the received first
subscriber information. If the first subscriber information is
valid, the processor receives, from the first biller, a
verification of validity responsive to the transmitted verification
request.
[0020] The processor can then activate the first subscriber for
electronic presentment of bills of the first biller, based on the
received verification of the validity, thereby enabling the first
subscriber to receive bills of the first biller electronically. It
will be understood that the electronically presented bills may be
detailed bills and/or summary bills, which normally include only a
summary of the detailed bill information.
[0021] On the other hand, the second subscriber is activated by the
processor for only electronic payment of the second biller, without
verification of the validity of the received second subscriber
information. In this regard, the processor is preferably further
configured to receive payment information that a financial
institution associates with a payment account of the second
subscriber. The financial institution could be a bank, brokerage
firm or other type entity that maintains deposit, credit, debit or
other types of accounts, which can be used to make payments, for
its customers.
[0022] The received payment information is preferably also stored
in the memory and may, in some implementations, be advantageously
received by the processor concurrently with the applicable
subscriber information, although this is not mandatory. The
processor typically also activates the first subscriber for
electronic payment of bills of the first biller, based on received
payment information for the first subscriber. It will be recognized
that the payment information will normally also be verified, e.g.
through the applicable financial institution prior to completing
activation for electronic payment of bills.
[0023] According to another aspect of the invention, the memory is
further configured to store a list, sometimes referred to as a
"pick list", identifying multiple of the plurality of billers, e.g.
a list identifying those of the plurality of billers whose bills
are available for electronic presentation. The first biller might
be a first of the multiple billers. The second biller may not be
one of the multiple billers.
[0024] The processor is further configured to transmit the list to
the subscribers. A subscriber may select billers from the
transmitted list. Accordingly, the received first biller
information may be indicative of a selection by the first
subscriber of the first biller from the identified billers in the
transmitted list. On the other hand, the received second biller
information could be indicative of typed information entered by the
second subscriber. In accordance with other aspects of the
invention, the processor is further configured to receive, from the
each subscriber, a request to be activated, and to direct the
stored list to the subscriber, in response to the activation
request.
[0025] The multiple billers identified in a stored list could, if
desired, include first billers having bills available for
electronic presentment and second billers which do not have bills
available for electronic payment. In such a case the first biller
might be one of the first billers and the second biller might be
one of the second billers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0026] FIG. 1 depicts a bill processing network in accordance with
the present invention.
[0027] FIG. 2 depicts a functional block diagram of the bill
processing network of FIG. 1.
[0028] FIG. 2A depicts a simplified block diagram of the CF station
of FIG. 1. FIG. 2B depicts a simplified block diagram of an
exemplary payor station of FIG. 1.
[0029] FIG. 3 depicts various types of payor stations which can be
utilized in the bill processing network of FIG. 1.
[0030] FIG. 4 depicts a payor enrollment screen in accordance with
the present invention.
[0031] FIG. 5 depicts another payor enrollment screen in accordance
with the present invention.
[0032] FIG. 6 depicts a still further payor enrollment screen in
accordance with the present invention.
[0033] FIG. 7 depicts a simplified flow diagram of the operation of
the bill processing network depicted in FIG. 1.
[0034] FIG. 8 depicts a payor welcome screen in accordance with the
present invention.
[0035] FIG. 9A depicts bill presentment information which includes
a new bill summary screen in accordance with the present
invention.
[0036] FIG. 9B depicts bill presentment information which includes
an unpaid bill summary screen in accordance with the present
invention.
[0037] FIG. 9C depicts bill presentment information which includes
another type of bill summary in accordance with the present
invention.
[0038] FIG. 10A depicts a pre-bill payment authorization screen in
accordance with the present invention.
[0039] FIG. 10B depicts another pre-bill payment authorization
screen in accordance with the present invention.
[0040] FIG. 11 depicts bill presentment information which includes
a detailed bill screen in accordance with the present
invention.
[0041] FIG. 12A depicts a bill payment authorization screen in
accordance with the present invention.
[0042] FIG. 12B depicts a different bill payment authorization
screen in accordance with the present invention.
[0043] FIG. 12C details certain aspects of the bill payment
authorization screen of FIG. 12B.
[0044] FIG. 13 depicts bill presentment information which includes
a listing of information related to bills which have been
authorized for payment in accordance with the present
invention.
[0045] FIG. 14 depicts a biller category screen in accordance with
the present invention.
[0046] FIG. 15 depicts a screen having bill presentment and payment
authorization information in accordance with the present
invention.
[0047] FIG. 16 is a diagrammatical representation of the creation
of a consumer database in accordance with the present
invention.
[0048] FIG. 17 is a diagrammatical representation of the
establishment of a merchant's (billing entities) database and the
making of payments in accordance with the present invention.
[0049] FIG. 18 is a diagrammatical representation of the creation
of a consumer pay table in accordance with the present
invention.
[0050] FIG. 19A is a diagrammatical representation of a payment
processing cycle in accordance with the present invention.
[0051] FIG. 19B is a continuation of the diagram of FIG. 19A.
[0052] FIG. 19C is a continuation of the diagram of FIG. 19B.
[0053] FIG. 20 is a diagrammatical representation of a computer
hardware system that may be used for creating a consumer database
and a consumer pay table, establishing a merchant's database, and
accomplishing the payment processing cycle shown in FIGS.
16-19C.
[0054] FIG. 21 is a diagrammatical representation of another
computer hardware system that may be used for creating a consumer
database and a consumer pay table, establishing a merchant's
database, and accomplishing the payment processing cycle shown in
FIGS. 16-19C.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0055] Overview of Selective Features
[0056] In accordance with the invention, an electronic bill
presentment system includes a memory, such as an electrical or
optical storage device, a processor, such as a high speed
microprocessor, and a communications network interface. The system
may take the form of one or more servers interconnected to a
private or public bill presentation network, e.g. the Internet.
[0057] The memory stores billing information, associated with
various billers, representing bills for various payors. Preferably
the billing information is received from the billers or their
representatives, e.g. bill consolidators, via the network interface
and is stored on the memory by the processor in association with an
identifier of the appropriate payor.
[0058] In a typical operational sequence, the processor accesses
the memory to read the stored billing information. Using this
information, the processor generates bill presentment information
which corresponds to a portion of the billing information which
represents bills for a first payor. The processor also generates
bill presentment information which corresponds to other portions of
the billing information which represents bills for other payors.
The bill presentment information may relate to paid bills, unpaid
bills or bills having another desired status, or any combination
thereof. The bill presentment information, may be a detailed bill
which includes all the applicable billing information, could be a
summary of the applicable billing information, or could be a simple
retransmission of all or some of the applicable billing
information. Some or all of the bill presentment information may
also be stored in the memory.
[0059] Preferably, the bill presentment information includes a
summary listing of all bills of a desired status, such as all paid
or unpaid bills. Beneficially, the bill presentment information
includes a listing of respective billed amounts owed by the payor
to a number of the different billers, which can be presented as one
or more pages on a display, such as the monitor of a payor's home
or office computer. The bill presentation information could also
include a formatted version of all the applicable billing
information, such as a full detailed presentation of a bill, which
can be presented on a display so as to appear substantially similar
to the conventional hardcopy bills which are regularly received by
mail today.
[0060] The processor generates signals directing transmission of
the applicable bill presentment information responsive to requests
for current billing information, received by the network interface,
from respective payors. The network interface transmits the
applicable bill presentment information to the appropriate payor
responsive to the applicable signal.
[0061] Preferably, the processor generates a notice of availability
of current billing information to each of the payors for whom
billing information has been received by the system and stored in
the memory. In this regard, the processor generates a signal
directing the transmission of each notice, responsive to which the
network interface transmits a respective notice to the appropriate
payor. Each notice may be an e-mail message addressed to the
network e-mail address, e.g. an Internet e-mail address, of the
appropriate payor.
[0062] According to other aspects of the invention, the processor
may also generate a further notice of availability of current
billing information and a signal directing the transmission of this
further notice to a payor after some period of time has passed
subsequent to the applicable billing information having been first
noticed to or requested by the payor. For example a further notice
may be generated if no request for bill presentment information is
received for some period of time after a first notice of
availability has been transmitted. An additional notice may also or
alternatively be generated if no notice of payment of some or all
of the bills represented the applicable portion of the billing
information has been received by the system for some period of time
after bill presentment information has been requested by a payor,
transmitted to a payor or viewed by a payor. The network interface
transmits this further notice to the applicable payor responsive to
the signal.
[0063] According to further aspects of the invention, the processor
may continuously update the bill presentation information based
upon the new bill related information, such as additionally
received billing information representing new bills to be paid or
the payment of bills which were represented by billing information
previously received by the applicable payor. In this regard, the
processor, if desired, can generate new bill presentment
information corresponding to some or all of the portion of the old
billing information which represents bills for a particular payor,
e.g. that which represents only those bills which have been paid or
remain unpaid, and the portion of the new billing information which
represents bills for the same payor, e.g. newly paid bills or new
outstanding bills. If, for example all the bills represented by the
applicable portion of the old billing information have been paid,
the new bill presentment information would only include the
applicable portion of the new billing information. This new billing
information may be associated with the same and/or different
billers as the previously received billing information, but would
more typically relate to different billers. The processor also
generates a signal directing the transmission, via the network
interface, of the new bill presentment information to the
applicable payor responsive to the payor's request for the then
current billing information.
[0064] In accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, an
electronic bill presentment network is provided. The electronic
bill presentment network includes a private or public
communications network, such as the Internet, interconnecting
multiple biller stations, multiple client stations and a network
server.
[0065] The biller stations each transmit the billing information
associated with a respective one of the different billers to the
server via the network. The network server receives and stores the
transmitted billing information. The received information is stored
such that the portion of the billing information representing bills
for a particular payor is associated with that payor. Using a
client station a payor can transmit, via the network, a request for
current billing information. The network server receives each payor
request and transmits bill presentment information, which
corresponds to an appropriate portion of the billing information,
to the applicable payor client station via the network responsive
to the request.
[0066] As discussed above, if desired, the network server can
transmit a notice of availability of current billing information to
payors via the network. The client stations may transmit,
subsequent to the transmission of a first request for current
billing information, one or more additional request for then
current billing information via the network. Hence, applicable
current bill presentation information will be provided on-demand to
the payor.
[0067] Beneficially, the network server receives notification of
the payment of bills represented by the respective portion of the
billing information applicable to each payor. In such a case, the
network server only transmits or retransmits that part of the
applicable bill presentment information which corresponds to the
portion of the billing information representing the remaining
unpaid bills via the network responsive to a payor request for
information regarding outstanding bills which is received by the
network server after receipt of the notice of payment.
[0068] Payment processing includes, for example: gathering payor
information and creating a master file with banking or other
financial institution information and routing codes; inputting
payment instructions by the payor at a convenient location (e.g.,
at home), typically remote from the payment service provider, by
using an input terminal; applying the payment instructions to the
payor's file; using computer software to examine various files to
determine such things as what is the appropriate form of payment
based on variables involving banking or other financial
institutions and merchants or other payees; comparing each
transaction against a dynamic credit file and routing based on set
parameters; and, if the system determines that everything is ready
for payment to be made, adjusting the payor's account (usually by
debiting) and making payment directly to the billing entity or
other payee. The single source service provider for payee payment
could be any entity with the capability to practice the invention
as described hereinafter. The foregoing and other objects and
advantages will become more apparent when viewed in light of the
accompanying drawings and following detailed description.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Network Infrastructure
[0069] FIG. 1 depicts a communications network 100, which can be a
private or public network such as a wide area network (WAN), the
Internet or some other type of communication network for linking
biller stations 110a-110d, payor stations 120a-120d, financial
institution (Fl) stations 130a-130c and a centralized CF station
140. The biller stations 110a-110d may represent individual
merchants, utility companies, service providers, bank credit card
companies, or other individuals or entities to whom a payment is
owed. Payor stations 120a-120d may represent individuals or
entities which have purchased or ordered goods or services or
otherwise have an outstanding debt to the billers represented by
stations 110a-110d. The payors represented by stations 120a-120d
maintain accounts with one or more of the financial institutions,
which may, for example, be banks, credit unions or other type of
financial institution or any combination. Each of the billers
represented by stations 110a-110d may also maintain one or more
deposit accounts in the financial institutions represented by
stations 130a-130c. The CF station 140 serves as a centralized bill
processing system as will be described in detail below.
[0070] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the bill processing
network depicted in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the CF station 140
is interconnected, via the network 100, with each of the biller
stations 110a-110d and each of the payor stations 120a-120d.
Accordingly, each of the billers represented by stations 110a-110d
can transmit, via the network 100, billing information to each of
the payors represented by stations 120a-120d as appropriate through
the CF station 140.
Electronic Bill Presentment
[0071] As shown in FIG. 2A, the CF station 140 includes a network
interface (NI) 405 for receiving and transmitting communications
via the network 100. The station 140 also includes a processor 410
and a memory 420. The station 140 could, for example, be a high
powered work station, minicomputer, mainframe computer or other
type of network computing device which serves as a network server,
or any combination of such devices. The memory 420 stores, in area
420a, which will sometimes be referred to as a merchant master file
database and is described further below with reference to FIG. 17,
biller data such as the biller's name, remittance center address,
deposit account number with one of the financial institutions
represented by stations 130a-130c, account numbers for respective
payors represented by stations 120a-120d, network address, e.g. an
e-mail address, and other biller related information of each of the
billers represented by stations 110a-110d. Payor data is stored in
memory area 420b, which is sometimes referred to as the consumer
database and described further below with reference to FIG. 16, and
will typically include such information as the payor's name and
address, account numbers with respective billers represented by
stations 110a-110d, checking account number with one of the
financial institutions 130a-130c, network address, e.g. an e-mail
address, and other payor related information.
[0072] The billing information received by the CF station 140 from
the respective billers represented by stations 110a-110d via the
network 100 is normalized by the server processor 410 in accordance
with the bill presentment software stored in memory area 420c.
Different portions of the normalized bill information are stored in
memory area 420d in association with a respective identifier of the
appropriate payor represented by station 120a-120d to whom that
portion of the billing information relates.
[0073] The bill presentment software also generates a summary of
the received billing information from each of the billers
represented by stations 110a-110d for each of the payors
represented by stations 120a-120d and stores the summary
information with an identifier of the applicable payor in the
memory area 420e. Bill templates are stored in memory area 420f.
The bill templates can be merged with the normalized billing
information to electronically present the billing information to
the appropriate payor represented by station 120a-120d in
substantially the same form, including detailed billing
information, biller logo, color and terms and conditions, as has
historically been provided to the payor in hardcopy. Network
software is stored in area 420g of the memory 420.
[0074] Once the billing information has been processed by the
processor 410 so as to be available for access by the appropriate
payors, the processor 410 in accordance with the bill presentment
software instructions stored in memory area 420c, generates an
e-mail or other message to notify the applicable payors represented
by station 120a-120d of the availability of bill presentment
information. The processor 410 also generates a signal directing
the transmission of the message, via the network interface 405, to
the applicable payors using a network address, e.g. an e-mail
address, stored as part of the payor data in area 420a of the
memory 420.
[0075] As shown in FIG. 3, the payor 120a-120d may be represented
by a personal computer (PC) 310 interconnected to the network 100
by a modem, a television (TV) 320 interconnected to the network 100
via a set top box, a touch tone telephone 330, a mobile phone 340,
a notebook computer 350 interconnected to the network 100 by a
modem, or some other network device. It will recognized by those
skilled in the art that the network device could be of virtually
any type capable of receiving a voice, graphic, or textual message.
If different types of payor station devices are utilized, the payor
data will include an identification of the particular type of
network device being utilized by the payor. If audio devices such
as telephone 330 or mobile phone 340 are utilized, the processor
410 is configured to include a voice synthesizer to generate voice
messages and a voice signal converter to transform received audio
messages into digital signals of processing at station 140 in
accordance with the bill presentment software instruction stored in
memory area 420c.
[0076] Referring now to FIG. 2B, an exemplary payor station 120
capable of receiving e-mail messages will now be described. Station
120 includes a payor processor 450 which is interconnected to a
memory device 470. The memory stores the payor client software in
area 470a and the network software in area 470b of the memory 470.
It will however be recognized that, if desired, the memory 470
could be eliminated in and that storage of the payor client
software could be implemented on the memory 420 of the CF station
140. A network interface (NI) 455 interconnects the payor station
120 to the network 100. Messages transmitted by the CF station 140
to the payor station 120 are received via the network interface 455
and processed by the processor 450 in accordance with the network
software stored in area 470b of memory 470.
[0077] In a customary e-mail notification processing sequence, the
processor 450, in accordance with the network software instructions
stored in memory area 470b, directs the presentation of an
indicator on the display 460 of the payor station 120 to notify the
applicable payor that an e-mail message has been received. Using
the input device 465, which may be a keyboard, mouse or other input
device, the applicable payor can access the e-mail message and
request the available billing related information from the CF
station 140.
[0078] The notification mechanism may alternatively be implemented
directly in the bill presentment client rather than via e-mail.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that there may be
many possible implementations of a notification mechanism.
[0079] The payor may request the available billing related
information by, for example, inputting one or more commands on the
input device 465. Responsive to these commands, the processor 450
generates and directs the transmission of the request, via the
network interface 455, to the CF station 140. The generated request
could, for example, take the form of a reply e-mail message, an
instruction to access a web page at the CF station 140 if the
network is the Internet or some other instruction as will be well
understood by those skilled in the art. If desired, the e-mail
message could include an icon or other indicator which can be
activated using the input device 465 to automatically link the
payor station 120 to the CF station 140 to access bill related
information.
[0080] Referring again to FIGS. 2 and 2A, the processor 410 of the
CF station 140, in response to the request received from the payor
station 120a-120d, directs the transmission of the requested bill
presentment information, via the network interface 405, to the
applicable payor station 120a-120d. The transmitted bill
presentment information may need to be generated by the processor
410 responsive to the payor request or may be already stored in the
memory 420. For example, the processor 410 may either retrieve the
applicable template(s) and normalized billing information from
memory areas 420f and 420d and merge this information to generate
requested detailed bill presentment information. On the other hand,
the processor may simply retrieve information stored in area 420e
of memory 420 if only bill summary information is requested. It
should be noted that by storing unmerged templates and normalized
data and merging this information only responsive to request for
detailed information, the required memory to store detailed bill
presentment information can be significantly reduced. It should be
understood that, in many cases, the payor will require only summary
bill presentment information, and thus online processing to merge
the templates and normalized billing information will not, in many
cases, be required. However, preferably, detailed bill presentment
information dynamically generated by merging template and
normalized data may be cached to support re-retrieval requests
responsively.
[0081] Referring again to FIG. 2B, the payor station 120a-120d
receives, via network interface 455 of payor station 120, the bill
presentment information transmitted by the CF station 140 over the
network 100. The payor processor 450 processes the received
information in accordance with the payor client software stored in
memory area 470a and directs the presentation of the received bill
presentment information on the display 460 of the payor station
120.
General Payment Processing
[0082] Although payment processing will be described in further
detail with reference to FIGS. 16-21, the following provides an
overview of certain aspects of the processing relating to the
payment of presented bills.
[0083] As discussed above referring to FIG. 2, the CF station 140
is linked via the network 100 to various financial institution
stations 130a-130c which represent financial institutions with whom
checking accounts are maintained by one or more of the payors
represented by stations 120a-120d and/or deposit accounts are
maintained by one of more of the billers represented by stations
110a-110d. A payor, having received bill presentment information,
can now request that payment of one or more bills be made to the
appropriate biller(s) represented by station(s) 110a-110d.
[0084] In this regard referring again to FIG. 2B, the payor
processor 450 generates, in accordance with the client software
residing in memory area 470a, a payment instruction and an
instruction directing the transmission of the instruction, via the
network interface 455, over the network 100 to the CF station 140.
Referring again to FIG. 2A, the payment instruction is received and
processed by the processor 410 of CF station 140. The processor
410, responsive to the received payment instruction and in
accordance with the bill payment software stored in memory area
420c, directs the payment of the applicable bills either by
electronic funds transfer or by hardcopy check.
[0085] If the payment will be made by electronic funds transfer,
the CF processor 410 generates an electronic funds transfer
instruction to electronically transfer the appropriate amount from
the applicable payor's checking account maintained at one of the
financial institutions represented by stations 130a-130c to the
appropriate biller's deposit account maintained at one of the
financial institutions represented by stations 130a-130c. The
processor 410 also generates an instruction to transmit the
electronic funds transfer instruction via the network interface
405, over the network 100 to the applicable payor financial
institution station 130a-130c and/or an originating financial
institution and or originating financial institution to the
Automated Clearing House (ACH) network or similar financial network
for funds transfer.
[0086] The processor 410 also generates, in accordance with the
bill payment software instructions stored in memory area 420c, a
message indicating the amount of payment remitted and the
associated payor account number, along with an instruction to
transmit the message, via the network interface 405, over the
network 100 to the appropriate biller station 110a-110d. This
remittance advice information may flow directly to the biller
station 110a-110d or be routed with the payment through the
biller's financial institution 130a-130c, which would deliver the
information to the biller station. It should be recognized that the
biller station to which the payment notice is transmitted may be
different than the biller station from which the billing
information is transmitted.
[0087] If the payment will be made by hardcopy check, the CF
processor 410 generates an instruction to print a hardcopy check
for the appropriate amount against funds in CF station 140's
checking account. The applicable payor's checking account
maintained at one of the financial institutions represented by
stations 130a-130c is debited appropriately via ACH (resulting in
electronic funds transfer to the CF station account) or via some
form of "good funds" debiting through a direct electronic
connection to the financial institution (resulting in electronic or
wire funds transfer to the CF station account). The check may be a
"single check" remitting only a single payor's payment to a
particular biller, or a "check and list", combining the remittance
from multiple payors to a particular biller. Alternatively, the CF
processor may generate an instruction to print a hardcopy check,
sometimes referred to as a draft, for the appropriate amount
against funds in the applicable payor's checking account maintained
at one of the financial institutions represented by stations
130a-130c.
[0088] The processor 410 also generates, in accordance with the
bill payment software instructions stored in memory area 420c, a
message indicating the amount of the payment(s) remitted and the
associated payor account(s). The printed message, i.e. the
remittance advice, and check are then mailed to the applicable
biller remittance center. It should be recognized that the location
to which the payment notice is sent may be different than the
location of the biller station from which the billing information
is transmitted.
Distributed Functionality
[0089] Referring again to FIG. 2, rather than having all operations
performed by the CF station 140, certain operations can be
performed directly by other network stations and certain
information can be transmitted directly between the payor stations
120a-120d, the biller stations 110a-110d and the financial
institution stations 130a-130c. It may, in some instances, be
preferred to have the CF station 140 linked to the payor stations
120a-120d and biller stations 110a-110d via the financial
institution stations 130a-130c.
[0090] For example, it may be desirable in some cases for the
biller stations 110a-110d to communicate some or all bill related
information via the network 100 directly to the payor stations
120a-120d while the notices of the availability are generated and
transmitted by the CF station 140 directly to the appropriate payor
stations. This facilitates biller control over bill related
information which could be stored exclusively on a memory device at
the appropriate biller station. In other cases, it may be
advantageous for all payment instructions to be transmitted
directly from the payor stations 120a-120d to an appropriate
financial institution station 130a-130c. In such cases, there could
be a preference to have the payment instruction processed by the CF
station 140 or at the financial institution station 130a-130c. In
still other cases, it may be beneficial for all communications to
be transmitted through the financial institution station 130a-130c
but all processing to be performed by the CF station 140.
[0091] As indicated above, if desired, all or part of the billing
information may be retained at the biller stations 110a-110d. For
example, it may be desired that detailed bill presentment
information be retained at the biller stations 110a-110d while
summary bill presentment information be stored and provided by the
CF station 140. Although billing information may be maintained by
the biller stations 110a-110d, the request for such information may
be directed through the CF station 140 to the appropriate biller
110a-110d in order to provide a third party audit trail or meet
other desired objectives.
Notifications of Bill Availability
[0092] Referring again to FIGS. 2 and 2A, the CF processor 410, in
accordance with the bill presentment software stored in area 420c
of the memory 420, preferably tracks and stores information
relating to requests or transmissions of bill presentation
information to payors after the notice of availability. The CF
processor 410 also preferably receives, stores and tracks a signal
from the payor stations 120a-120d relating to when a notice of
availability bills has been viewed by the applicable payor. In this
way, the processor 410, in accordance with the bill presentation
software instructions, may transmit a reminder notice of the
availability of bills, for example, if no request to view the bills
has been received for some period of time after the payor has
viewed the notice or if bills represented in previously requested
bill presentment remain due and unpaid after some period of time.
It may be desirable to send reminder notifications one or more
times at fixed intervals, e.g., weekly, after the initial viewing
of the notice of availability or the initial request for bill
presentment information. A reminder notice could alternatively or
additionally be sent just prior to the bill due date as a final
reminder to the payor before late payment or interest charges will
accrue.
Enrollment
[0093] Turning now to FIGS. 4-6, the payor enrollment process
performed by the CF processor 410, in accordance with the bill
presentment and bill payment software instructions stored in memory
area 420c, will be described. Upon request by an existing or
potential payor represented by a payor station 120a-120d,
enrollment interface information is electronically transmitted via
the network 100 from the CF station 140 to the applicable station
120a-120d. The information is provided so as to be capable of
processing by the payor processor 450 and presented in one or more
screens on a display 460 of the payor station 120. It will of
course be recognized that, although the enrollment process is
described with reference to a payor station of the type shown in
FIG. 2B, the process could be easily implemented with other types
of payor stations.
[0094] The initial enrollment screen 550, as shown in FIG. 4,
includes a listing in block 560 of billers from whom bills can be
received electronically. An indicator 565 indicates those billers
whose bills can be received electronically and who can also be paid
electronically as previously described. The payor using the input
device 465 of the payor station 120 can select any or all of the
billers identified in the listing in block 560 for electronic bill
presentation and/or electronic payment, if applicable. The account
number for the payor's account with each selected biller is
inserted in block 562 using the payor input device 465. The payor
is also given the option, in block 570, of identifying other
payees, including billers not included in the listing in block 560.
Since all billers from whom electronic bills are available are
listed in block 560, block 570 is reserved for those billers, for
example, the paper boy, babysitter, lawn boy, etc., to whom the
payor desires to make payments electronically through the CF
station 140 based upon hardcopy bills received directly from the
biller. This information will typically be used to populate a
consumer database, as will be described further below with
reference to FIG. 16.
[0095] FIG. 5 depicts further enrollment screen 1600 transmitted by
the CF station 140 to the payor station 120a-120d during the
enrollment process. This screen is also presentable on the display
460 of the payor station 120. This screen facilitates the gathering
of payor data which is necessary or desirable for the processing of
bills. Using the input device 465 of the payor station 120, the
payor enters his/her first name, middle initial, and last name in
block 510 of the screen 1600. The payor is also requested to enter
his/her social security number in block 520 and mother's maiden
name in block 525. The maiden name of the payor's mother is
requested for subsequent verification purposes. The payor's address
is also requested to be entered in block 530. In blocks 540, both
home and office telephone numbers are requested.
[0096] It should be noted that although the payor's account numbers
for those billers selected from the listing in block 560 of FIG. 4
are requested, in certain implementation it may be preferable to
obtain the account numbers from the billers as part of the
information to be forwarded to the CF station 140 by the applicable
billers selected in block 560 of FIG. 4. By eliminating the need
for potential payors to provide an account number, the enrollment
process can be simplified somewhat from the enrollee's prospective.
However, it should be noted that in most cases it will be
beneficial to request that the payor enter an account number for
each selected biller.
[0097] Turning now to FIG. 6, another screen 600, transmitted from
the CF station 140 to the payor station 120 during the enrollment
process, depicts an exemplary portion of a conventional personal
check in block 610. Within this block, the areas of the check
having the routing and transit number (RTN) and the account number
are indicated. The RTN and account number for the applicable
payor's checking account with the applicable financial institution
130a-130c are entered in block 620. Additionally, in block 630, log
on information is entered in the form of a user name and password
to complete the enrollment process.
[0098] All of the gathered payor information will typically be used
to populate a consumer database, as will be described further below
with reference to FIG. 16.
[0099] Upon enrollment, the billers from whom electronic bills have
been requested and the financial institutions from whom checking
account withdrawals have been authorized are notified, supplied
information is verified and additional information is
requested.
CF Station Operations
[0100] FIG. 7 provides a simplified flow diagram which summarizes
operations of the CF station 140 during bill processing. It should
be noted that the operations are described with the CF station 140
serving a centralized role within the bill processing network of
FIGS. 1 and 2. Those skilled in the art will understand that the
described operations could be performed, as appropriate, by
stations other than the CF station 140 within the network shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2, as has been previously described above.
[0101] As indicated in step 705, the CF station 140 receives
billing information from the biller stations 110a-110d via the
network 100. The received billing information is normalized,
summarized and stored in steps 710 and 715 at the CF station 140.
In step 720, the payor is notified of the availability of bills by
message transmitted from the CF station 140 to the payor station
120a-120d via network 100. In step 725, the CF station 140 receives
a request for bill presentation information from the applicable
payor station 120a-120d. The bill presentment information is
transmitted over the network 100 by the CF station 140 to the
applicable payor station 120a-120d in step 730, responsive to the
request. The bill presentment information may include only a
summary of bills or one or more detailed bills formed by templating
the normalized data before transmission. If desired the transmitted
bill presentment information could include both summary and
detailed bills.
[0102] In step 740, the CF station 140 determines if bill payment
instructions have been received for those bills represented by the
previously transmitted bill presentation information. This
determination may, for example, be made at some predefined period
after the receipt of a request for or transmission of the bill
presentation information. If not, the payor is again notified of
the bill availability in step 720.
[0103] Optionally, the payor station 120a-120d may be configured to
transmit a notice to the CF station 140, responsive to the viewing
of the notice of availability by the applicable payor. In step 735,
the CF station 140 determines if a request to receive bill
presentment information has been received for those bills
represented by the previously transmitted notice of availability.
This determination may, for example, be made at some predefined
period after the initial viewing of the notice of availability of
bill presentation information. If not, the payor is again notified
of the bill availability in step 720. If a request has been
received, the process continues at step 730.
[0104] As will be described in more detail below with reference to
FIGS. 16 to 21, if the determinations in step 740 is positive, in
step 755, the CF station 140 determines if, in accordance with the
payment instruction, the bill is to be paid by electronic funds
transfer. If yes, CF station 140 transmits, via the network 100, an
electronic funds transfer instruction for the payor's deposit
account at one of the applicable financial institution represented
by stations 130a-130c in step 760. The CF station 140 also
transmits, via network 100, a notice to the applicable biller
station of the payment in step 765. If payment is to be made by
check or draft, the CF station 140 generates a hardcopy check or
draft with the appropriate account information and directs the
mailing of same to the biller in step 770.
User Interfaces
[0105] Referring now to FIGS. 8-15, the payor, at his/her own
prerogative, can access the bill presentment information at the CF
station 140 via the network 100 at any time. For example, this
contact may be initiated by using a payor station 120a-120d to
contact the CF station 140 at a Web site on the Internet.
[0106] Upon initiating contact with the CF station 140, the payor
is welcomed, as shown in FIG. 8, by a screen 800 transmitted by the
CF station 140 to the payor station 120a-120d for presentment on
the payor station display 460. The screen 800 includes notification
of bills in block 810 and of messages in block 820 which have not
been previously transmitted to the payor. In this particular
instance, no new bills or messages are indicated. If new bills
and/or messages are available, the payor can, using the payor
station input device 465, click on indicator 810a to access the new
bills and indicator 820a to access the new messages.
[0107] From screen 800, the payor can also access either bill
presentment information related to previously transmitted billing
information, including information relating to unpaid bills or paid
bills, as well as information relating to previously accessed
messages by clicking on indicator 830a to receive the unpaid bills,
indicator 840a to access bill presentment information related to
paid bills, and indicator 850a to access other messages. The payor
can also select categories as indicated in block 870 by clicking on
indicator 870a. Responsive to clicking on indicator 870a, the CF
station 140 will transmit a screen which will be described below
and allows the payor to categorize billers in any desired
manner.
[0108] The payor can also contact customer care by inserting a
topic of interest in block 860 and clicking on the indicator 860a.
Alternatively, block 860 may offer a pulldown list of selectable
topics, similar to block 560 in FIG. 4. In such a scenario, the
payor would select one of the topics prior to clicking on indicator
860a. By clicking on the indicator 860a, a message is sent from the
payor station 120a-120d to the appropriate customer care station.
The customer care station may be the CF station 140 for all topics,
or could alternatively be the CF station 140 for certain topics,
the appropriate financial institution station 130a-130c for other
topics and/or the appropriate biller station 110a-110d for still
other topics.
[0109] For example, if the inquiry topic relates to the accounting
of certain funds transferred from the payor's checking account, the
customer care request can be directed to the appropriate financial
institution station 130a-130c. If the indicated topic relates to a
particular merchant billing, the customer care request can be
directed to the appropriate merchant station 110a-110d. If the
inquiry is of a more general nature, the customer care request can
be directed to the CF station 140.
[0110] The customer case messaging option shown in FIG. 8 and
described here may be beneficially provided on some or all screens
presented on the payor station 120a-120d.
[0111] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that, if
the CF station 140 serves as a centralized gateway for all
communications, all customer care requests could be directed to the
CF station 140 and it may be unnecessary for the payor to indicate
a topic of interest in block 860. Likewise, if all pertinent
information is available at the CF station 140, then all customer
care inquiries could also be directed to and disposed of by
customer care represented by the CF station 140, rather than being
forwarded on to a financial institution station 130a-130c or biller
station 110a-110d for response.
[0112] Referring now to FIG. 9A, as noted above, if new bills are
available, a summary of these bills can be accessed by clicking on
indicator 810a. Similarly, if new messages are available, these
messages can be accessed by clicking on indicator 820a. By clicking
on indicator 810a when new bills are indicated, a screen 900, as
shown in FIG. 9A, is transmitted from the CF station 140, via the
network 100, to the payor station 120a-120d, processed by payor
processor 450 and presented on the payor display 460. The screen
900 includes bill presentment information 910 which summarizes the
new bills which have been received since the payor last requested
bill presentment information related to unpaid bills. The summary
information includes the biller name, amount of the new bill and
the due date for payment of the bill.
[0113] As indicated in FIG. 9A, the applicable biller logo may be
displayed as part of the presentation. The payor is given the
option of clicking on a pay indicator 910a, a mark indicator 910b,
or a delete indicator 910c, associated with each summarized
billing. By clicking on the pay indicator 910a using the payor
input device 465, a signal is transmitted to the CF station 140 to
direct payment of a particular billed amount on the due date. By
clicking on indicator 910c, the displayed bill presentation
information relating to a particular biller is deleted. By clicking
on indicator 910b, the bill summary information relating to one or
more particular bills is marked and by then clicking on indicator
915 the detailed bill presentment information relating to these
particular bills can be retrieved from the CF station 140.
[0114] The payor also has the option, using the payor input device
465, of clicking on block 920 to access a summary of all unpaid
bills from the CF station 140. The unpaid bill summary will be
substantially in the form of bill summary 910, but will include a
summary listing of all unpaid bills rather than just listing new
unpaid bills.
[0115] FIG. 9B depicts screen 930 which can be transmitted from the
CF station 140 to present summary bill related information at the
payor station 120a-12d in a categorized manner. As shown, by
clicking on indicator 935, categories of billers are changed in
block 940. For example, in screen 930 the category has been set to
unpaid bills and accordingly, a summary of all unpaid bills appears
on the payor display 460. Other categories could be, for example,
utility bills, paid bills, questioned bills, credit card bills or
any other category which may be desirable under the particular
circumstances.
[0116] In screen 930, one or more of the check blocks 945 can be
clicked on along with the pay bill indicator 950 to direct a
communication from the payor station 120a-120d to the CF station
140 instructing particular bills which are summarized in screen 930
should be paid on the due date. Indicator 955 allows the check
blocks 945 to be reset in the event that a block is inadvertently
checked.
[0117] FIG. 9C depicts still another screen 960 which can be
transmitted from the CF station 140 to the appropriate payor
station 120a-120d for presentation on the payor display 460. As
shown, the listing contains a current bill summary with payee names
965, total bill amounts 970, minimum payment amounts due 975,
payment due dates 980 and bill status 985. Indicators 990 indicate
that a pre-bill payment authorization has been made with respect to
particular bills. Such authorizations will be described below. The
status may, for example, be indicated as unpaid, as being processed
if payment has been previously directed by the payor, or as on hold
if the bill has been previously questioned by the payor.
[0118] As indicated in block 992, the payor can direct that all
bills summarized in the bill summary of FIG. 9C be paid by clicking
on the indicator 992a. Clicking on indicator 992a will result in
the payor processor 450 directing a communication to the CF station
140 to pay all of the listed bills by the due date. Alternatively,
as indicated in block 994, the payor can click on the indicator
994a to direct payment of the minimum amount due on all listed
bills be paid by the payment due date. To the extent that the
payment of bills have been preauthorized by the payor, clicking on
indicator 992a or 994a will not affect the preauthorized
payments.
[0119] Block 996 identifies the category of billers with respect to
whom bill related information is summarized in screen 960. An
indicator arrow 996a can be clicked on to scroll through various
categories of billers to change the information summarized on
screen 960, as has been previously described with reference to FIG.
9B. Additionally, dates can be inserted in block 998 to limit or
extend the amount of bill summary information which is displayed.
The arrow indicator 998a can be used to change the "TO" date.
[0120] By clicking on one or more indicators 965a and the retrieve
indicator 999, detailed bill presentment information relating to
particular bill summary items can be accessed from the CF station.
By clicking on one or more of the indicators 970a and the pay
indicator 997, an instruction to pay the total billed amount
associated with particular bills will be communicated to the CF
station 140. By clicking on one or more of the indicators 975a and
the pay indicator 997, an instruction will issue to the CF station
140 to make payment of the minimum amount due on particular
bills.
[0121] Turning now to FIG. 10A, a pre-bill payment authorization
screen 1000 is shown. The screen is transmitted from the CF station
140 to the appropriate payor station 120a-120d for presentation on
the payor station display 460. The pre-bill payment authorization
screen 1000 allows the payor to identify billers in column 1005
whose bills are pre-authorized by the payor for payment by the CF
station 140. More particularly, the payor can designate in column
1010 a fixed payment amount, a maximum payment amount or an
instruction to pay the total amount due or minimum amount due for
any named biller. Further, the payor can specify, it so desired, in
column 1015, a frequency at which such payments are authorized.
[0122] As shown in FIG. 10A, the payor can also authorize payment
of the total amount billed for all billers identified by an
asterisk 415 in FIG. 4 by filling in a period of authorization in
block 1020 and clicking on indicator 1020a. Similarly, if the payor
wishes to pre-authorize payments of the minimum amount due on all
bills, the period of authorization can be inserted in block 1025
and indicator 1025a can be clicked on. As indicated by block 1030,
an indicator 1030a can be clicked on to direct that notification of
and bill presentment information associated with bills for which
payment is pre-authorized not be forwarded to the payor. The payor
also has the option, as indicated by block 1035, of clicking on
indicator 1035a to receive notices and presentations of bill
presentment information associated with the bills which have been
pre-authorized for payment by the CF station 140.
[0123] FIG. 10B depicts an alternative screen 1050 which may be
utilized in setting up pre-bill payment authorization. Screen 1050
is transmitted from the CF station 140 to the applicable payor
station 120a-120d. Billers identified in block 1060 and associated
account numbers identified in block 1065 can be changed by clicking
on indicator 1055. Alternatively, the payor can enter a biller name
in block 1060 and the payor's account number with the particular
biller payments will appear automatically in block 1065. By
clicking on indicator 1070, the payor can direct the CF station 140
not to transmit notices and presentations of bill presentment
information relating to the particular biller indicated. By
clicking designator 1075, the payor can direct the CF station 140
to continue to transmit notices and bill presentment information
regarding unpaid bills of the identified biller. By clicking on
indicator 1080 after entering an amount in block 1085, the payor
can pre-authorize the CF station 140 to pay bills of the indicated
biller up to the maximum amount indicated without further
authorization.
[0124] As indicated above, the payor station 120a-120d can also
access the detailed bill related information stored at the CF
station 140. As shown in FIG. 11, detailed bill presentment
information, identified with referenced numeral 1110, is
transmitted as screen 1100 by the CF station 140 responsive to a
request for such information from the payor station 120a-120d. By
clicking on indicator 1120, the payor station 120a-120d will issue
an instruction directing the payment of the bill through the CF
station 140. The bill can also be deleted from the screen by
clicking on indicator 1125.
[0125] Responsive to clicking on indicator 1120 at payor station
120a-120d, a screen 1200, as shown in FIG. 12a, is transmitted by
the CF station 140. The screen 1200 includes a check 1205 which can
be presented by the payor processsor 450 on the display 460 at the
payor station 120a-120d. The check 1205, as shown, resembles a
conventional hardcopy personal check. The name of the applicable
biller automatically appears in the block 1210. An appropriate
payment date automatically appears in block 1215. It should be
noted that the indicated payment date may pre-date the payment due
date included on the bill presentment information of FIG. 11 to
reflect when the payment must be made to ensure timely arrival and
avoidance of late charges. The lead time may vary depending on the
remittance method (hardcopy check or various forms of electronic
funds transfer). The total bill amount is also automatically
indicated in block 1220.
[0126] The payor can modify the date and amount of the payment if
so desired. As an option, the payor can also indicate in block 1225
that the amount shown should be paid to the biller more than once,
for example, monthly or semi-annually. This feature will typically
be most useful where a fixed payment amount is payable on a fixed
periodic basis to the applicable biller. The payor then clicks on
the pay bill indicator 1230 to direct transmission of an
instruction from the payor station 120a-120d to the CF station to
make payment to the designated payee, i.e., biller, in the
designated amount on the designated date.
[0127] FIG. 12B depicts an alternative bill payment screen 1250.
Screen 1250 includes a check 1255 which is similar to check 1205 of
FIG. 12A, but which can be used in connection with the payment of
individual bills from a bill summary screen such as those
previously described with reference to FIGS. 9A-9A. More
particularly, responsive to the pay indicator, in the bill
summaries shown in FIGS. 9A-9C, being clicked on at the payor
station 120a-120d, the CF station 140 transmits screen 1250 to the
payee station. The check 1255 includes block 1260 in which an
individual biller's name can be inserted by scrolling through
billers names appearing on the bill summary using the arrow
indicator 1260a. The bill due date or a date which allows time for
hardcopy mailing of a check to the biller automatically appears in
the date block 1265 for the listed bill of the selected biller.
[0128] In the screen 1250, the block 1270 must be filled in by the
payor to indicate the desired payment amount. Block 1275 can be
scrolled by clicking on the arrow indicator 1275a to select the
period of payment as has been previously discussed with reference
to block 1225 in FIG. 12A. FIG. 12C further details screen 1250 to
show that block 1275 can be expanded to provide multiple options
with respect to the payment period for selection by the payor.
[0129] Once the check 1255 has been appropriately filled out the
payor can then click on the pay bill indicator 1280 to transmit an
instruction from the payor station 120a-120d directing the CF
station 140 to pay the selected biller in accordance with
information contained in the filled check 1255. If, on the other
hand, changes in the check information are required, the payor can
click on indicator 1285 to reset check 1255 and restart the process
of selecting a biller for payment and filling in the amount of the
payment to be made.
[0130] Referring to FIG. 13, a screen 1300, having a payment list
1305 including those bills which have been paid or on which
instructions for payment have been received, is generated by the CF
station 140. Responsive to a request from the payor, the screen
1300 is transmitted via the network 100 to the appropriate payor
station 120a-120d. The screen 1300 is presentable on the payor
display 460. The screen includes a listing of billers in column
1310 and a listing of the date on which payment has or will be made
in column 1315. The amount of the authorized payment is listed in
column 1320 along with the period at which such payment is
authorized in column 1325. A payment confirmation number is
referenced in column 1330. This number can be used to identify the
particular transmission or payment of interest should the payor
wish to make any inquiries to customer care regarding the payment.
In column 1335, the status of the payment is indicated. For
example, as indicated, the status may be that payment has been
processed or may be pending awaiting a due date of payment. In
column 1340, the payor is provided with various options depending
upon the status of the payment. For example, where payment is
pending, the payment authorization can be stopped or edited. In
those cases where payment has been made, the payor can make
inquiries relating to those payments.
[0131] FIG. 14 depicts a screen 1400 which, responsive to a request
from a payor, is transmitted by the CF processor 140 to the payor
station 120a-120d. Screen 1400 allows the payor to establish
certain categories of billers, as has been previously discussed.
For example, the biller may, in block 1405, establish categories
for utilities, credit card companies, school, tennis related
activities and any other categories as may be desired by an
individual payor. By clicking on the reset indicator 1410, the
payor can modify the listed categories. The selected categories and
any changes to the category listings are saved by clicking on
indicator 1415.
[0132] FIG. 15 depicts a particularly beneficial screen 1500 for
bill presentment and payment. As shown, the CF processor 140
transmits for presentation on the payor station display 460, a
screen having an area 1505, which includes biller-specific bill
presentment information, including the biller name, biller address
and payor account number with the biller in block 1510. The area
1505 also includes a block 1515 having the biller invoice number
and invoice date to the extent applicable. A block 1520 presents
information which includes the purchase dates, product/service
descriptions and the associated billed amounts, along with the
total amount due and minimum payment due. A block 1525 indicates
the payment due date.
[0133] In section 1530 of screen 1500, a check 1535 is shown which
includes information similar to that of check 1205 which is
described above with reference to FIG. 12A, with the exception that
the check 1535 includes an invoice number in block 1540 and a click
on indicator for approving the payment in block 1545. As in FIG.
12A, the payment due date and the total payment amount can be
modified. An area 1550 of the screen 1500, has indicators which can
be clicked on to access other information. As shown, indicator
1555a can be clicked on to access other terms and conditions as
indicated in block 1555, and indicator 1560a can be clicked on to
access advertisements which the biller wishes to include with the
bill presentment as indicated in block 1560.
[0134] An indicator 1565a can be clicked on to access customer care
as indicated in block 1565. The customer care access can, if
desired, be similar to that described with reference to FIG. 8. Any
customer care inquiry will automatically reference the particular
account number referred to in area 1505 of the screen 1500, and may
also reference the invoice number referred to in area 1505. By
clicking on indicator 1570a, the payor can determine if payment has
already been made as indicated by block 1570. If payment has been
made, by clicking on indicator 1570a a canceled check stamp will
appear on the check 1535 to indicate that the check has been
cashed.
[0135] Accordingly, utilizing the screen 1500, a payor can access
all information on a single screen necessary to review detailed
bill presentment information relating to any particular bill, make
payment of that bill in a desired amount and access other
information, such as terms and conditions and advertisements, which
would normally be included in a hardcopy mailing of bill. The payor
can also determine that payment of the bill has in fact been
received by the applicable biller. Should the biller have questions
regarding the bill or payment, by simply clicking on indicator
1565a, customer care can be accessed.
Processing Payments to Billers and Other Payees
[0136] Payment processing will now be described in further detail
with reference to FIGS. 16-21.
[0137] FIG. 16 illustrates the steps in the creation of a consumer
database for use with the present invention. The first step in the
process is to establish a consumer's data records on the system.
This may be accomplished by the consumer completing an
authorization form 1600, which may include some or all of the
enrollment screens 500 and 600 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, would
contain the needed information to input into the system concerning
the consumer. As has been discussed above with reference to FIG. 5,
this information may include the consumer's name, address,
telephone number and other applicable information. The consumer
would also provide a voided check from the consumer's personal
checking account, or the consumer's personal checking account
information via the enrollment screen 600 as previously described
with reference to FIG. 6.
[0138] The consumer's information may then be manually input via a
keyboard 1652, or otherwise automatically entered into the consumer
database record 1622, which forms part of the payor data 420b
described above with reference to FIG. 2A. Default amounts may be
set for an individual credit line parameter and for a total
month-to-date parameter. These amounts establish the maximum
unqualified credit risk exposure the service provider is willing to
accept for an individual transaction and for the collective
month-to-date transactions of a consumer. As explained hereinafter,
the service provider may be at risk when paying a consumer's bills
by a check written on the service provider's account.
[0139] From the voided check or entered checking account
information, the consumer's bank routing transit and individual
account numbers at an institution are input into the computer
system. This information may be edited against an internal
financial institutions file (FIF) database 1624 of the present
invention. It will be recognized that the FIF database 1624 may
also be stored at the memory 420 shown in FIG. 2A or could be
stored at another location accessible to the CF processor 410. FIF
1624 is a database of financial institutions' identification codes
and account information for the consumer. This file is used to
edit[s] the accuracy of the routing transit number and the bank
account number. If the numbers do not correspond with the correct
routing and bank numbers, they are rejected in 1623 and the data
entry is done again. FIF 1624 in conjunction with the software
stored in area 420c of the memory 420 shown in FIG. 2A of the
present invention also allows the CF processor 410 to update[s] the
consumer database 1622 for both electronic and paper draft routing
and account information. The needed information may be obtained
from each banking institution and each consumer.
[0140] As appropriate, the consumer is notified by the service
provider of his or her local phone number access and personal
security code for informing the service provider that a bill is to
be paid. This information may be stored in a phone access table
1626. Of course, no local access phone number is required if the
Internet will be used to inform the service provide that a bill is
to be paid. The personal security code may be much like an ATM
machine four digit code.
[0141] In addition, to the extent necessary or as otherwise desired
to comply with federal law, an electronic pre-note 1628 will be
created to be sent to the consumer's bank to inform the bank that
the service provider is authorized to debit the consumer's account.
For further security to the service provider, a consumer credit
record 1630 may be obtained. The default credit limit amounts over
which the service provider may be unwilling to assume financial
risk may be modified based on the information obtained from the
credit report 1630.
[0142] In FIG. 17 the steps are shown for establishing merchants to
be paid and the making of a payment. The consumer must inform the
service provider or processor of a merchant's name, address, phone
number and the consumer's account number with the merchant 1732. As
described above with reference to FIG. 4, this can be done using
enrollment form 550, which avoids the need for the consumer to
enter all of the necessary information for billers named in the
listing in block 560. The term "merchant" as used herein is
intended to pertain to any person or entity that the consumer
wishes to pay and is not to be limited to the usual merchants most
consumers pay, such as the electric company, a home mortgage
lender, etc. Thus, the term "merchant" should be understood to
include the billers describe above, as well as any other payee.
This information is put into a merchant master file database 1842
(MMF), to the extent it is not already included in the MMF 1842.
The MMF 1842 and the addition of merchants to the MMF 1842 will be
further described with reference to FIGS. 18 and 19. The MMF 1842
is stored as payee data in area 420a of the memory 420 shown in
FIG. 2A.
[0143] The consumer may also indicate whether the merchant is a
variable or fixed merchant. A variable merchant is one in which the
date and amount of payment will vary each month. A fixed merchant
is one in which the date and amount remain the same each month. If
the merchant is fixed, the frequency of payment may be other than
monthly, such as weekly, quarterly, etc. The consumer should inform
the service-provider of the date on which the merchant is to be
paid and the amount to be paid.
[0144] Through a telecommunications terminal 1734 (e.g., a
push-button telephone such as telephone 430 or mobile phone 340 of
FIG. 3, or computer terminal such as the PC 310 or notebook
computer 350 of FIG. 3, which serves as the payor station 120
described in FIG. 2B), a consumer may initiate payment of bills.
Through the terminal, the consumer may access his merchant list and
input the payment date and amount. The system may be provided with
a payment date editor 1736 to insure that the date is valid and
logical (i.e., payment dates already in the past or possibly a year
or more into the future would be questioned). The consumer
interfaces with the service provider via a front end processor 1740
communicating through a network. The front end processor 1740 may,
for example, form part of the CF process 410 of CF station 140
shown in FIG. 2A.
[0145] As payments are initiated, a consumer "checkbook register"
may be created and automatically updated to reflect this activity.
The merchant list can be visible on the consumer's personal
computer screen, e.g. display 460 of the payor station 120 shown in
FIG. 2B. On a personal computer a consumer may enter merchant
payment amounts and payment dates, e.g. using input device 465 of
the payor station 120 shown in FIG. 2B, on the computer screen,
e.g. display 460 of the payor station 120 shown in FIG. 2B, and
then transmit this information to the service provider, e.g. using
the network interface 455 of the payor station 120 shown in FIG.
2B.
[0146] By telephone, the list may be presented by programmed voice.
The voice may be programmed to ask the consumer if a particular
merchant (selected from the consumer's MMF, which may be updated
from time to time) is to be paid and to tell the consumer to press
1 if yes, or press 2 if no. If yes, the voice may instruct the
consumer to enter the amount to be paid by pressing the numbers on
a touch tone phone. The asterisk button could be used as a decimal
point. After the amount is entered, the voice may ask the consumer
to enter the date on which payment is to be made to the merchant.
This may be accomplished by assigning each month a number, such as
January being month 01. The consumer may then enter month, day and
year for payment. The programmed voice may be accomplished with a
VRU (voice response unit) available from AT&T or other vendors.
It may communicate with a data processor to obtain consumer
information. At the end of the consumer's session on the terminal a
confirmation number may be sent to the consumer, in step 1632,
providing a record of the transaction.
[0147] In FIG. 18 the steps are shown for the creation of the
consumer pay table 1838 and making updates to it. The consumer's
files of payment related requests may be received at the service
provider on a front end processor 1740 that interfaces with the
telecommunications network, e.g. the network 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2.
The consumer's records may be edited 1844 for validity by comparing
to the merchants' account scheme. Any new merchant records, from
step 1732 of FIG. 17, are added to the consumer's pay table 1838.
New merchants are compared to the MMF 1842 and appropriately
cross-referenced to the pay table 1838 to check if a merchant
record already exists in the MMF 1842. If no merchant record
exists, a merchant record will be created on the MMF 1842.
[0148] Payment records may also be received on the service
provider's processor. The payment may first go through a validation
process against the pay table 1838. The validation process checks
for duplicate payments and if duplicates are found they are sent to
a reject file 1839. The validation process also verifies that
merchants are set up and may check for multiple payments to be paid
to a particular merchant. Orders for payment go to the consumer pay
table 1838 to determine when the payment should be released and how
it will be released for payment. The consumer pay table 1838 can be
stored as payor data in area 420b of memory 420 within CF station
140 shown in FIG. 2A.
[0149] The service provider may pay merchants by a draft or check
(paper) or by electronic funds transfer. To create a draft that
will pass through the banking system, it must be specially inked.
This may be accomplished by a printer which puts a micr code on
drafts, like standard personal checks.
[0150] For example, as shown in FIG. 20, the front end processor
1740 may be a DEC VAX which is connected to an IBM main frame 46
Model 4381. Consumers may call by telephone 2035, a number that
passes through the private bank exchange (PBX) 2039 and contacts a
voice response unit 2041 in association with the front end
processor 1740. The telephone 2035 could, for example, be a hard
wired phone such as telephone 430 of FIG. 3 or a wireless phone
such as mobile phone 340 of FIG. 3. The private bank exchange (PBX)
2039 could be part of the network 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0151] After the consumer's payment instructions are received an
analysis is performed to determine the most cost effective and
least risk mode of payment for the service provider to use. One
preferred mode of payment is electronic funds transfer through the
Federal Reserve Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network 2047, which
could be part of the network 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. If the
service provider is not a bank, a bank intermediary may be needed
to be connected to the Federal Reserve Network. Another payment
mode is a charge to the consumer's credit card through the RPS
Network 2049, which could also be part of the network 100 shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2. Additionally, an IBM Laser Printer attached to a
micr post printer 2048 may be used by the service provider to send
drafts 2076 or consolidated checks 2078 to merchants.
[0152] The main frame 2046, the functionality of which can be
included in the CF processor 410 of CF station 140 shown in FIG.
2A, has data storage means 2050, which may form part of the memory
420 of CF station 140 shown in FIG. 2A, and runs the FIF 1624 and
MMF 1842 programs, which may be stored in the area 420c of the
memory 420 in CF station 140 shown in FIG. 2A. It may also have a
tape drive or telecommunication interface, such as interface 405 of
the CF station 140 shown in FIG. 2A, for accomplishing electronic
funds transfer. It should be recognized that various other hardware
arrangements could be used to accomplish the present invention.
[0153] FIG. 21 illustrates a similar arrangement for use when the
consumer is using a personal computer 2137, which is shown to be
either a MS/DOS or Macintosh PC, to instruct the service provider.
The personal computer may access the front end processor 1740
through the standard X.25 Network 2143, which could be part of the
network 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0154] Referring now to FIGS. 19A, 19B and 19C, the payment process
is shown. This process may be performed by the CF station 140 in
accordance with the bill payment software stored in area 420c of
the memory 420 as shown in FIG. 2A. The payment process may be
cycled 1956 each day or more or less frequently. The first step is
to establish when payment items are to be processed. This may be
accomplished through a processing calendar 1958. A processing
calendar 1958 may be built into the system, e.g. stored in the area
420c of the memory 420 in the CF station 140 shown in FIG. 2A. The
calendar 1958 enables the system to consider each date, including
weekends and the Federal Reserve holidays. Payments are released
from the consumer pay table 1838 using the due date. Any bank date,
payments, or payments within a period such as four business days
may be released the same day. All future payment dates would be
stored in the consumer pay table 1838. On-line inquiry may be made
on the consumer pay table 1838. The service provider has on-line
capability to make changes to the consumer payment upon request
until the day the payment is released. A consumer's merchant change
may also affect the consumer's payment on the pay table 1838.
[0155] The method of payment to the merchant may be either paper
(draft or check) or electronic. There are several factors in the
process used to determine if a payment will be released as a paper
item, or an ACH electronic transaction (automated clearing house;
service provider is a party to transaction).
[0156] Each consumer may be assigned a status such as: active=good;
inactive=bad; and, pending=uncertain, risky. If a consumer's status
is pending 1960, when reviewing the payment file with the
processing calendar 1958, the payment should go out as a draft
paper 2076, as shown in FIG. 19C, to protect the service provider.
When payment is made by draft, the service provider is not a
contractual party to the transaction. The consumer's bank account
codes are actually encoded onto the draft prepared by the service
provider and act much like the consumer's personal check. The draft
has been specially designed for this process. The draft is payable
to either the service provider or the particular merchant. This
allows the draft to be delivered to the merchant for payment and
depositing, but allows the draft to be legally payable by the bank,
with proper authorization. Additionally, posting information for
the merchant is contained on the body of the draft. To the
applicant's knowledge, it is the first time a draft has been used
in such a manner and with this unique design to accomplish
this.
[0157] If the consumer's bank transit number does not indicate an
electronic bank 1962 (i.e., a banking institution that will accept
electronic funds transfer), the program associated with FIF 1624,
which may be stored in the area 420c of the memory 420 in the CF
station 140 shown in FIG. 2A, sends the payment as a draft. A
pre-note 1628 is required anytime, step 1964 determines, new
banking information is entered on a consumer and the bank shows on
FIF 1624 as an electronic receiving bank. The pre-note period is
ten (10) days under federal law. Any payments released during this
period are sent as paper.
[0158] The third manner in which the service provider may pay bills
is by a check written on the service provider's account 2078. A
consolidated check may be written if many customers have asked the
service provider to pay the same merchant. Under this method of
payment the service provider assumes some risk since the service
provider writes the check on its own account. The service provider
is later reimbursed by the (consumer's) banking institution.
[0159] As a means of minimizing risk to the service provider, any
transaction may be compared to the MMF 1842 credit limit. For
example, if the check limit is greater than zero and the payment is
$50.00 or less in step 1966, the item may be released as electronic
1974 or by service provider check 2078. If the payment is greater
than $50.00 but less than or equal to the merchant credit limit, as
determined in step 1968, the payment may be released as an
electronic payment 1974 or check 2078. Any payments within the
merchant's credit limit, as determined in step 1968, are added to
the consumer's monthly ACH balance in step 1972. This provides a
monthly total billing day to billing day summary of the consumer's
electronic payment activity. Any transaction may be compared to the
consumer's database 1622 credit limit parameters. If a payment
amount is greater than the consumer's credit limit, as determined
in step 1970, the item is released as a draft 2076 which is written
on the consumer's account. If the payment amount plus the total of
electronic payments in a particular month is greater than the
consumer's credit limit in step 1971, the item is released as a
draft 2076. Items not released as paper are initiated as an ACH
debit against the consumer's account in step 1974.
[0160] The consumer database 1622 may be reviewed for proper
electronic funds transfer (EFT) routing. Payment to the merchant
may be accomplished one of three ways, depending on the merchant's
settlement code. Various merchant's settlement codes may be
established. For example, a merchant set up with a settlement code
"01" results in a check and remittance list 2078 being mailed to
the merchant. Merchants with a settlement code, such as "10"
produce an ACH customer initiated entry (CIE). Merchants with a
settlement code, such as, "13" produce a remittance processing
system (RPS) credit.
[0161] In the consumer pay table 1838, for fixed payments, a
payment date gets rolled to the next scheduled payment date on the
pay table. The number of remaining payments counter is decreased by
one for each fixed payment made. For variable payments once made,
the payment date is deleted on the consumer pay table 1838. The
schedule date and amount on the consumer pay table roll to zero. A
consumer payment history may also be provided which show items such
as process date as well as collection date, settlement method, and
check number in addition to merchant name and amount.
[0162] The software of the present invention is designed in part to
make several decisions relating to particular transactions for
consumers. The following example is provided to more fully describe
the software. This example is not intended to limit the application
to the details described in the example and is only provided to
further enhance the description of the invention already stated
above.
[0163] For this example, assume that a consumer has five
transactions of varying amounts for which the consumer has asked
the service provider to arrange payment. For simplicity, assume
that the five payments are to be made on the same day. First, the
consumer database 1622 is edited to validate the status, banking
institution, and pre-note flags associated with the consumer's
requested payments, in steps 1960, 1962 and 1964. The account
numbers provided by the consumer for the merchants to be paid, are
also checked to determine if they are valid in step 1965. Assuming
the merchant account numbers are valid, the program begins with the
first dollar analysis.
[0164] For purposes of this example, the five payments the consumer
has requested are in the amounts of: $25.00; $75.00; $150.00;
$250.00; and $1,000.00. The program will consider each dollar
amount individually as it goes through the various edit modes. The
first edit may be called a $50.01 edit in step 1966. In this
example, any transaction that is less than $50.01 is automatically
sent as an ACH debit, in step 1972, to the consumer's account. This
means that the service provider uses ACH to electronically transfer
funds from the consumer's account to the service provider's
clearing account.
[0165] In this example, the initial payment of $25.00 will satisfy
the $50.01 edit and therefore will be paid without any further
edits being conducted for this particular payment. Continuing with
the example, the next edit may be a merchant dollar edit in step
1968 that is established for the specific merchant to which the
transaction is being sent. For purposes of this example, this edit
is set at $100.00 for all merchants. Different dollar edits can be
incorporated for different merchants. In the example, the second
payment request of the consumer, for $75.00, meets the $100.00
merchant edit parameter and is sent as an ACH debit to the
consumer's account. Note that the $75.00 payment would not have
satisfied the $50.01 edit and therefore would have passed on to the
second edit which in this case, is the merchant dollar edit.
[0166] The remaining three payments in the example exceed both the
$50.01 edit and the merchant $100.00 edit and therefore, go to the
next edit. In the example, the next edit is for a consumer
individual transaction limit set at $200.00 in step 1970. The
$150.00 payment is less than the $200.00 consumer individual
transaction limit and is, therefore, sent as an ACH debit to the
consumer's account and paid. The other two remaining payments yet
to be made exceed the $200.00 limit in this example and pass to the
next edit.
[0167] In the next edit, which happens to be the last edit in the
example, the consumer's month-to-date "unqualified" risk limit is
checked. In the example, the month-to-date limit is set at $1,500.
Assume that for this particular consumer $400.00 of month-to-date
payments have already been made on the consumer's behalf. Added to
the $400.00 would be the three payments made above for $25.00,
$75.00 and $150.00. So an additional $250.00 is added to the
$400.00 month-to-date for a total of $650.00 "unqualified" risk for
the current month-to-date amount in step 1971. The next payment to
be made is for $250.00 and would fall within the $1,500
month-to-date limit when added to the current $650.00 risk amount.
Therefore, the $250.00 payment is made and an ACH debit is sent to
the consumer's account. This brings the total month-to-date
"unqualified" risk amount to $900.00. The final $1,000 payment has
not been paid and would send the "unqualified" risk amount over
$1,500 when added to the $900.00. Since the final payment of $1,000
in the example fails the consumer month-to-date limit edit, the
$1,000 payment would be sent as a paper draft directly drawn on the
consumer's account, and for which the service provider has no
liability. In the example, the final step would be updating the
consumer month-to-date current total to $900.00.
[0168] It will also be recognized by those skilled in the art that,
while the invention has been described above in terms of one or
more preferred embodiments, it is not limited thereto. Various
features and aspects of the above described invention may be used
individually or jointly. Further, although the invention has been
described in the context of its implementation in a particular
environment and for particular purposes, those skilled in the art
will recognize that its usefulness is not limited thereto and that
the present invention can be beneficially utilized in any number of
environments and implementations. Accordingly, the claims set forth
below should be construed in view of the full breadth and spirit of
the invention as disclosed herein.
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