JP2004506973A - Automatic payment system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an automatic payment system (50) for compiling customer financial account information (76) from multiple financial institutions, for example, for credit cards. The system receives account information (66) from a financial institution and compiles information (76) at a central location (55). The system presents financial account information (76) to the customer. Next, the system receives and stores the customer's selection of at least one of the financial accounts, and stores the selected financial account information (76) in a merchant, biller, or payment. Provide to the processor (70).

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a computerized billing and payment system. In particular, the present invention provides a method for storing customer information, fingerprints, retinal scans, audio, or other biometric measurements and / or unique personal identifiers ("UPIs") Match financial account information from financial institutions and select financial accounts to use for bills, invoices and debt payments (or to customers). Automatic credit card payment system (which allows to be selected).
[0002]
[Prior art]
Most companies that provide continuous service can automatically and regularly bill their customers. In addition to payment certainty, to increase customer retention and to avoid the need to repeat billing for overdue accounts, companies are increasingly using their customers' credit cards Offer customers the option of making payments through However, the need for customers to collect the credit cards they wish to use was coupled with the customer's perception that it was not safe to write their credit card number on a bill and mail it. Preventing a large number of customers from using convenient payment methods.
[0003]
Second, if the customer wants to purchase goods or services over the Internet, the customer usually gives his credit card account number to the merchant as a form of payment. It is becoming increasingly difficult for consumers and credit card organizations to control fraud as there are countless merchants on the Internet. The moment the consumer presses "send" on the merchant's site, the consumer's credit card is issued. The consumer's card number may be intercepted by the perpetrator on his way to the merchant or, once received, may be "hacked" from the merchant's database. In addition, the fact that there are countless merchants and their numbers are growing exponentially is that merchants are legitimate companies and exist for committing credit card fraud. Making it virtually impossible.
[0004]
Third, when a customer purchases goods or services by a bricks-and-mortal merchant, the customer must wear his or her own credit card and the customer must , You need to give it to the merchant so that you can process your credit card. In this conventional scenario, consumers are vulnerable to loss or theft of credit cards. Consumers are also vulnerable if a merchant or employee decides to use a credit card number in a fraudulent manner.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Thus, the ability to efficiently match a customer's financial account information with the customer's UPI and enable the customer to purchase goods or services with a credit card or other financial account without presenting an actual card. There is a need for a system to provide to customers. The purpose of this system is to optimize customer safety and privacy concerns.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention is directed to a system for paying, purchasing, or otherwise paying bills and related methods, including subscribers, customers, potential customers, potential customers, Alternatively, the UPI or merchant / billmaker database for the accounts receivable (which are sometimes collectively referred to herein as "customers") may be stored in financial account information such as credit card account information. , Or a plurality of non-integrated databases for financial account information, or a combination of these two formats. (Demand deposits such as credit cards, charge cards, debit cards, smart cards, bank cards, checking accounts, virtual payment accounts, virtual cash account numbers, such as those provided for commercial transactions over the Internet, Wire transfer networks, financial electronic data exchange (FEDI), electronic checks, automatic clearinghouses (ACH), third party payment products, non-bank financial institutions such as CyberCash and TransPoint (MSFDC), and visas Many forms of financial account information can be used to make payments, including (but not limited to) stored value tools such as cash and mondex.
[0007]
The system matches a customer's UPI or customer identification data contained in a merchant, biller, or payment processor database with financial account information contained in one or more financial account databases, and If is a holder of more than one financial account, select which one or more financial accounts to present.
[0008]
The selected one or more financial accounts may be included on commercial communications such as remittance slips, renewal applications, invoices, or other marketing material to solicit payment or subscription. Or provided to the invoice creator. Optionally, the merchant / biller does not need to know the particular financial account or number used. For example, a commercial communication may include the issuer of a financial account, such as a credit card, and a particular financial account, such as a particular credit card account, for a customer to be charged for a purchase, but with an account number. It can only be included in encrypted form, which provides security and privacy to consumers. Many forms of security information (including but not limited to the use of encryption and record locator techniques) are known and can be used.
[0009]
For example, in a transaction where the financial account used is a credit card account, the customer can indicate his approval to use the credit card number provided in encrypted form, thus You do not need to provide any information when paying by card. The merchant / billmaker collects the invoice or other proposal by customer's instructions or authorization for payment by credit card account, and optionally submits it to the service secretariat, The bureau decrypts the credit card account number and processes billing for the selected credit card account. This helps maintain the customer's privacy on the customer's credit card and related information.
[0010]
As shown in FIG. 2, the system of the present invention acts as an intermediary between multiple publishers and multiple merchants. As shown in FIG. 2, the publishers provide their account information list to a central account management / integration system according to the present invention, and the account management / integration system, as described above, Is received from the merchant and matching and selecting financial account information to provide to the merchant.
[0011]
In some embodiments, the system includes a memory device that stores a number of integrated financial account information, such as a master financial account list that includes credit card account information from a number of credit card issuers. A computer system or other processing device matches the customer identification data from the stored integrated financial account information to a merchant / bill maker customer identification data UPI or database, thereby providing the financial account A number is associated with the selected portion of the customer database. The computer system or other processing device may assign a particular associated financial account number to one if more than one financial account number matches a selected portion of the merchant / biller customer database. Select above. If not previously encrypted, the associated financial account number will be encrypted and included in the customer's commercial communication such as an invoice, remittance slip, renewal application, or invoice / Provided to the biller and then sent to the customer. After selection and authorization by the customer, the system can further decrypt the encrypted financial account number to process payment to the merchant / billmaker from the customer's selected financial account. .
[0012]
Alternatively, instead of a master integrated database of financial account information, the system may consist of a plurality of internal or remote financial account information databases to locate the customer's financial account information. The various financial account information databases can include individual issuer databases and / or partially integrated databases containing information from multiple financial account issuers.
[0013]
The method according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises integrating a number of financial account information lists from a number of financial account issuers into a master financial account list and providing a UPI or merchant / bill maker customer database. And matching information from the master financial account list with the customer's UPI or with the merchant / billmaker database to associate at least one financial account number for each customer. And According to the preferred selection rules, if more than one financial account number is found for a particular customer, one or more of the matching financial account numbers is selected. The selected financial account number can be encrypted or, if already encrypted, provided in a financial account database. The encrypted one or more financial account numbers are provided to the merchant / billmaker on the merchant / billmaker's commercial communication to the customer, thereby providing access to the particular credit card-like account. A means is provided for the customer to authorize payment for the purchase to the associated financial account number. Payment for the purchase is processed and made to the merchant / billmaker from the authorizing member's financial account. Of course, the financial account number may be any unique encrypted identifier, and may even include letters in addition to numbers.
[0014]
Alternatively, instead of integrating multiple financial account information from multiple financial account issuers into one master financial account database or list, the method comprises integrating a subset of the financial account list; Selecting such a plurality of lists in addition to the lists from the individual financial account issuers to associate at least one financial account number for each customer in the merchant / billmaker customer database. Or multiple selections of individual financial account lists made available by various issuers.
[0015]
In another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a system and method for providing automatic payment via a computer network (eg, via the Internet). The system includes an automatic payment server connected to various financial institutions and receiving and compiling data from these institutions to create files of account information for various customers. If the customer wants to purchase goods from the merchant's website or want to pay an invoice, the customer will be able to route the account information to the payment server and compile the account information as compiled by the payment server. Be presented. The customer selects one or more of the financial accounts, and the payment server sends the appropriate financial information to the merchant's payment processor to complete the transaction. Thus, the credit card number is neither transmitted over the Internet nor stored on the merchant's site, and is preferably transmitted between the payment server and the payment processor via a secure line. It is only sent.
[0016]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
[0017]
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. For simplicity, many of these drawings and descriptions illustrate the use of the present invention with a credit card account, but the present invention is in no way limited to a credit card account.
[0018]
Referring to FIG. 3, an automatic payment system 50 according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown. The system 50 can utilize any combination of many types of financial accounts, and is described with reference to credit card accounts for simplicity. The system 50 can be operated by a company (eg, a service bureau) and includes a database integration / classification subsystem 55, a master credit card database 57, an identifier matching / selection subsystem 59, , An optional credit card account number encryption subsystem 53.
[0019]
The automatic payment system 50 comprises n credit card issuers 60 ₀ ~ 60 _n Used in conjunction with Each of the n credit card issuers has their own credit card information list 66 on a computer system according to one of a number of conventional formats known to those skilled in the art. ₀ ~ 66 _n To maintain. These credit card information lists 66 typically include account holder identification data, such as each account holder's name and address, with associated credit card numbers, financial institution names, account information, and demographic information for each card holder. (Demographic) information. Although the preferred embodiment has been described with reference to the use of credit cards, those skilled in the art will appreciate (smart cards, bank cards, checking accounts, and Internet and other online commercial transactions). -Other financial account information or devices, including, but not limited to, virtual payment accounts used for line commercial transactions), instead of credit card accounts or credits. You will understand / recognize that it can be used in any combination with a card account.
[0020]
The automatic payment system 50 receives the credit card information list 66 from the n credit card issuers 60 via the transmission medium 68. This transfer of information over the medium 68 includes many (including but not limited to, modem connections, high-speed data lines, the Internet, or physical transfer of storage media such as tape or disk). This can be achieved by a communication method. The transfer is authorized by a contractual relationship and may include financial incentives. To increase the likelihood of locating a customer's credit card information, it is preferable to include credit card account information from as many credit card issuers as possible. The database integration / classification subsystem 55, which may be in the form of a programmed computer system, includes a credit card issuer 60 ₀ ~ 60 _n Credit card information 66 provided by ₀ ~ 66 _n , And then the classified and integrated data is stored in the master credit card information database 57. This database can reside on the mass storage of the computer system. Of course, the processing and information storage elements can also be present on multiple computing devices, such as for fault tolerance or load balancing, to guard against accidents.
[0021]
The automatic payment system 50 stores the credit card account information in m merchants / billers 70. ₀ ~ 70 _m Used to provide one or more of the following. The m merchants / billmakers can maintain their own unique customer identification data list 76 on the computer. These lists 76 ₀ ~ 76 _m Contains customer identification data, such as the customer's name and address, or additional information, such as social security numbers and demographic information. The automatic payment system 50 stores the customer identification data in a predetermined merchant / bill creator 70. _x And the matching / selection subsystem 59 is a merchant / biller 70 _x Is compared with the record in the master credit card information database 57 to find the matching credit card holder identification data. Matching / selection subsystem 59 may be the same as that used for database integration / classification subsystem 55, or may be in the form of a separate, programmed computer system. In the matching / selection subsystem 59, the process of matching a customer from a merchant / billmaker database to a credit card account holder uses a conventional matching algorithm as is known to those skilled in the art. Can be implemented using
[0022]
If more than one credit card holder identifier matches a given customer (ie, the customer has more than one credit card), one or more of the matching credit card identifiers will: Selected and characterized by the matching / selection subsystem 59. This selection proceeds according to certain selection / presentation rules. Illustratively, a simple selection rule that the credit card selected is the credit card issued by the issuer with the most credit cards in the database (ie, the most "popular" or dominant credit card) Is used. Alternatively, in one embodiment, the selection is based on the total number of credit card accounts for each issuer relative to the number of credit card accounts for other issuers, and the total number of credit card accounts in master credit card database 57. Is performed on a pro-rata basis or by other algorithms. Thus, for example, a credit card issuer, who accounts for 25% of the total number of credit card accounts in a consolidated database, may have a credit card account associated with him or her that is a large number of credit card accounts, including those of the issuer. Have only 25% of the opportunities for the customer with the number selected. Another method of selecting one related credit card account number from two or more matching related credit card accounts is to compare the selected related credit card account number with the credit card usage information to determine the amount of usage. Judgment of the customer's primary credit card on the basis of this and selecting the credit card most frequently used by the customer. Yet another method of selecting an account may take into account fees associated with financial transactions and select the financial institution that charges the lowest fees. Alternatively, the selection process can take into account historical data and select the financial institution that has the best result or success for a particular merchant / billmaker. Finally, this selection can be made as a result of a fee paid by the credit card issuer to receive priority in the selection process.
[0023]
In an alternative embodiment, two or more credit cards or all credit cards can be selected, and the customer has the option to select which card to use to make the payment. Given. In this embodiment, all matching credit card account numbers can be selected and presented to the customer. The selected credit card account can be presented to the customer in a list with checkboxes in the following format:
Select the card you would like to pay:
Citibank Visa
Discover (DISCOVER)
American Express (AMERICA EXPRESS)
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the selected credit card accounts may be ordered and presented to the user based on criteria similar to those used by the system for determining credit card selection ( For example, the most popular card in the database, the credit card the customer uses most often, the card that charges the lowest rate, or the card of the issuer that paid the highest rate are ranked higher than other credit cards. Or can be presented in advance).
[0024]
One or more numbers of the selected credit card account to be included on the commercial communication are encrypted by the credit card account number encryption system 53. Particular encryption methods may include a finder number, a record locator, some form of high-level encryption, or any other encryption technique. While encryption is a component of the preferred embodiment, the encryption method may be any method that achieves sufficient security, and the particular encryption method is described herein. Does not constitute a physical element of the system and method. Further, the credit card information can be encrypted and provided in an encrypted form from the credit card issuer 60 before being stored in the master credit card information database.
[0025]
FIG. 4 illustrates the use of the encrypted account information of the present invention (for simplicity, more specifically, encrypted credit card information). In one embodiment, for each customer in the merchant / billmaker customer identification database 76, the encrypted credit card account number associated with the customer is provided by the merchant / billmaker 70. _x Merchant / Billmaker 70 as part of the communication from _x (Step 80). Alternatively, in a bricks-and-mortal embodiment of the present invention (where the traditional merchant does not have a "customer information database"), the customer can use a payment processing interface (e.g., (Terminal or computer) to communicate directly to the central database 57. At step 90, the customer decides whether to authorize payment by credit card. This authorization step can further include selecting which credit card to use if more than one credit card is presented to the customer. If the customer authorizes such payment and returns the commercial communication to the merchant / billmaker or other payment processing entity, the encrypted credit card account number is decrypted at step 100. The encrypted number can be transmitted by system 50 to a credit card issuer, payment processor, or merchant for decryption and / or payment processing. After decryption, the credit card account number is used to process the payment to the merchant / billmaker (step 110) and any payments required to use the system during transaction processing. Along with a particular merchant / invoice creator. In step 90, steps 100 and 110 are simply not performed unless the customer authorizes the payment.
[0026]
It is to be understood that elements of the systems and methods of the present invention described herein (eg, FIGS. 3 and 4) can be modified while retaining the intended scope of the present invention. For example, the integrated credit card account database is described as including account information. However, for merchant / bill maker customer identification data, or serially, against multiple databases, including individual credit card issuer credit card account databases and / or one or more integrated databases. You can also. The individual or integrated database represents a certain number of credit card issuers, which is a subset of all issuers.
[0027]
FIG. 5 shows an automatic payment system 50 'of an alternative embodiment of the present invention. The system 50 'of this alternative embodiment includes a serial matching subsystem 59' and a selection / presentation subsystem 59 ". The serial matching subsystem may be from a merchant or from a predetermined merchant / billing. The customer identification data received via the transmission medium 69 from one or more customer databases 76 of the party 70 is compared with the multiple credit card databases 66 of the multiple issuers 60. The serial matching subsystem further includes: The customer identification data is compared with an integrated database 58 containing information integrated from a finite number of publishers 60 (in this case, publishers 3 and 4.) The serial matching subsystem, as described above, is a merchant owner. / Billmaker's customer identification data with individual databases 66 and partially integrated search for a match with the account holder identification data contained in the database 58. Once the matching set of credit card account numbers has been found, the selection subsystem 59 "will proceed to account according to the selection rules described above. Select one or more of the numbers.
[0028]
Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown a block diagram of an embodiment of the automatic credit card payment system of the present invention as applied to a merchant / biller. In this arrangement, multiple merchants / billmakers 150 process multiple credit card account databases 156, one or more of which may be partially integrated databases as described above. For this purpose, a full house 152 and a service bureau 154 using the system of the present invention are used. Two or more order processors 152 can be utilized to supply various merchants / billmakers and / or merchants / billmaker groups, or each biller 150 On the other hand, one order processing place 152 can be used. The merchant / bill maker 150 provides each of their customer file 158 and external list 160 (eg, a list of potential customers) to the order processor 152. The service office 154 uses the system of the present invention to match the name on the merchant / billmaker customer file 158 with the associated financial account information. Information, including credit card information, is integrated by service bureau 154 from a number of credit card issuers 156 and stored in a master credit card file. Alternatively, this credit card information can be serially accessed from a number of credit card issuer databases.
[0029]
After matching the merchant / billmaker customer file 158 and external list 160 with the relevant financial account information, the service bureau 154 encrypts the matching credit card account number (block 162) and creates Is provided to the order processing office 152. The flowchart of FIG. 7 illustrates the use of the located credit card information, in which the order processor 152 may, for example, submit an encrypted credit card account number over commercial communications. The encrypted credit card account information is used in marketing and billing and / or renewal activities (step 164). In step 165, the customers authorize the use of their credit card and optionally select which credit card to use if more than one is presented to the customer.
[0030]
When a customer places orders over commercial communications using encrypted credit card account information, these orders are collected, and the encrypted numbers are entered into the integrated order file and Integration (step 166). Next, the encrypted account number in the consolidated order file is decrypted (step 170) and the payment is processed (step 172).
[0031]
Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, an alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown. In this embodiment, system 200 is designed for use over a computer network (eg, the Internet, LAN, WAN, etc.). The system 200 includes an automatic payment server 202 that includes a processing device 204 and a customer database 206 maintained by the processing device, and is similar in many respects to the automatic payment system 50 described above. The database combines account information from various financial institutions and bill information from various bill creators.
[0032]
The automatic payment server 202 is connected to and interacts with a plurality of customers at each terminal 208 via an appropriate customer interface 210 (only one terminal is shown schematically in FIG. 8). Is). The customer interface is a basic application used to select payment options, a method of reviewing bills from various billers, and / or combining these features and allowing the customer to reconfigure accounts It may be a full-service interface that allows for re-configuration. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various types of interfaces may be used.
[0033]
The automatic payment server 202 is further connected to one or more merchant sites 212 via one or more communication lines 214. As will be described in more detail below, it is preferred that at least one line 214 is a secure line for transmission of payment information.
[0034]
The automatic payment server 202 is connected to various financial institutions 220 and various bill maker 222. The automatic payment server 202 receives account information, including updated account information, from the financial institution via the transmission medium and transmits the billing information to various sources, as described above in connection with the automatic payment system 50. Received from invoice creator. For example, various utilities can send bills electronically to their customers via payment server 202. An automatic account information merge / purge subsystem 224 and an automatic invoice information merge / purge subsystem 226, which may be in the form of a programmed computer system, were provided by a financial institution and an invoice creator. Classify and consolidate the account information and billing information, and then the classified and consolidated data is stored in customer database 206 for subsequent access, as described in more detail below.
[0035]
Customer terminal 208 can take many different forms and can access automatic payment server 202 in many different ways. For example, a customer may make a call via a conventional terminal or e-mail, or via the Internet by clicking on a banner on a website, through the interactive TV, WebTV®, or via telephone. Thus, the purchase request can be sent by direct mail or in any other suitable manner. In one embodiment, the merchant site 212 can post a banner indicating that payment for the transaction can be made through the automatic payment server 202. The customer can then click on the banner and be directed to the automatic payment server 202, as described in more detail below.
[0036]
Customer interface 210 is preferably a suitable interface that allows automatic payment server 202 to communicate with multiple customers simultaneously via the Internet or other computer network.
[0037]
Referring now to FIG. 9, the steps of the automatic payment server 202 are shown in more detail. The process begins at step 300 by a customer communicating with a merchant 212 and initiating a transaction by requesting an order or paying for a good or service. In one embodiment, the merchant site presents a banner to the customer with the embedded URL of the automatic payment server 202, or the merchant site automatically directs the customer when the customer places an order. Automatically point to payment server. In step 302, the customer is linked to the automatic payment server 202, and in step 303, the server determines whether the customer is registered with the server. If the customer has not been registered, the process proceeds to step 304, and the customer registers with the payment server. Registration may be performed via a computer network, via telephone, via email, or in any other suitable manner, and for all subsequent transactions, the identity of the customer. ) Involves receiving identification information from the customer to verify. For example, customers can provide their name, address, etc., along with their mother's maiden name, social security number, etc. The customer can further provide biometric information (eg, a fingerprint sample, handwriting sample, retinal scan, or audio recording / pattern). Once the identity of the customer is verified, a password for the customer is selected (chosen by the customer or randomly assigned by the payment server), as is known in the art.
[0038]
If the customer is already registered with the payment server 202, the customer enters his name and password at step 303, and after authentication or verification, the customer can continue with the payment transaction.
[0039]
The merchant 212 sends the order and / or payment data to the payment server 202 in step 305, either automatically or after being prompted by the payment server 202. The data identifies the customer by including, for example, order ID data and / or the customer's UPI, and the order ID data and / or the customer's UPI are also transmitted to the payment server when the customer accesses the payment server. Is preferred. Alternatively, the merchant site may send the customer's name or any other identifying data to enable the payment server to associate the customer with a particular order or payment request.
[0040]
The customer's UPI or any other identifying information is associated with the customer's one or more financial accounts. The UPI may be in the form of a name, password, PIN, ID number, or other unique identifier. Alternatively, the UPI may take the form of a fingerprint, retinal scan, voice pattern, handwriting sample, or other unique "biometric" identifier. These biometric identifiers can in some cases be used in connection with a password or PIN. For recording, capturing, and storing unique biometric identifiers, such as retinal scans, iris scans, voice patterns, digital handwriting samples or digitally scanned fingerprints, see US Pat. No. 281; U.S. Pat. No. 6,038,334; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,991,408, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. You. In one possible embodiment of the invention, such as a digital scanner or camera or recorder attached to the customer's computer or mounted on a conventional or other merchant terminal as illustrated in FIG. Using a prior art device, the customer's UPI is stored and / or authenticated.
[0041]
Once the payment server associates the customer with the order or payment request, the process proceeds to step 306, and the payment server accesses the customer database to retrieve the customer's account information. As described above, customer account information may include various credit cards, debit cards, smart cards, bank cards, demand deposit accounts such as checking accounts, virtual payment accounts, and wire transfers. Network, financial electronic data exchange (FEDI), electronic check (Echeck), automated clearing house (ACH), third-party payment products, CyberCash and TransPoint ) (MSFDC), a non-bank financial institution, Visa Cash (Visa) ash) and Mont stored-value types such as index (Mondex) (stored value) tool of the form, such as. Next, at step 308, payment server 202 presents the customer account information to the customer (FIG. 10). The account information identifies various financial information for the customer without sending the entire account number to the customer. For example, some identification information such as the name of the credit card, the last few digits of the credit card, and the like (for example, “AmEx206543”) is transmitted. The account information includes, in addition to identifying various credit cards, etc., available balance information, last renewal date for the account, date of last payment, credit limit, transaction details, and the like. be able to.
[0042]
In step 310, the customer selects one or more payment options, and one or more selections are sent via interface 210 to a payment server. Thus, the actual account number is not sent between the payment server and the customer.
[0043]
The customer may choose to split the payment between two or more financial accounts (eg, two or more credit cards). Further, the payment server may present the accounts to the customer in a particular order as defined by the customer, financial institution, particular merchant, account usage, available balance, interest rate, and the like.
[0044]
In one embodiment, payment server 202 presents only the appropriate payment options to the customer. For example, if the total purchase is $ 100 and the customer's bank checking balance is less than $ 100, the payment server preferably does not optionally provide this to the customer. Alternatively, the bank checking account can be presented to the customer, for which such an account is not appropriate for a particular transaction but with other payment options to complete the transaction. Different colors or fonts can be presented to the customer to indicate to the customer that it can be used in conjunction.
[0045]
At step 312, payment server 202 sends a request for authorization to the payment processor at merchant site 212. The payment processor includes a payment option selected by the customer. At step 314, the customer interface determines whether the payment option is acceptable. For example, a customer may have selected a credit card that is not accepted by a particular merchant. If so, the process proceeds to step 316 and the customer is notified that the authorization has failed. As a result, flow returns to step 308 to allow the customer to select another payment option.
[0046]
If the payment option is acceptable at step 314, the process proceeds to step 318, and the customer is notified that the transaction has been approved. As a result, at step 320, the payment server 202 sends the approved order or approval (Approval) to the merchant's site or merchant's payment processor 212, preferably over a secure line, and Responds to the order by interacting with the customer 208. For example, a merchant's site may request that information if the merchant does not yet have shipping information, or may request other information needed to complete the transaction. Next, at step 322, the payment processor accesses the appropriate financial institution and sends the payment information, thereby debiting the customer's savings account and crediting the merchant's savings account.
[0047]
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above steps can also be performed over a telephone network that enables interactivity, such as a system that provides speech recognition and / or dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) tones. There will be. As is known in the prior art, if the payment server has well-known and appropriate hardware to interpret DTMF tones to determine the corresponding number entered by the customer, then the customer: The user ID and password can be entered by pressing the appropriate key on the phone. This allows the customer to dial a phone number, listen to a list of available goods and services and / or invoices, and press the appropriate keys on the phone to provide goods, services and And / or one or more of the invoices can be selected. The payment server may prompt the customer to enter identification data, such as a user name or PIN number, through a well-known interactive system such as an interactive voice response (IVR). Once the customer's identity has been verified, the payment server can present the customer with a list of credit cards that can be used to complete the transaction. For example, the IVR software can read "Press 1 to select your Visa account, press 2 to select American Express" and so on. The customer can simply press the corresponding key on the phone to signal his choice to the payment server. The remaining processing is the same as in the case of the computer network described above. Thus, payment server 202 is made available to the customer via the telephone network.
[0048]
Alternatively, the present invention can be implemented via email, where the customer replies with an order form sent via regular email and / or email. Thus, the payment server sends the pre-printed order form to potential customers, notes the various available goods, services, and / or invoices, and is compiled by customer database 206. Pay attention to the customer's financial account. The customer selects one or more of the goods, services, and / or invoices, selects a financial account for payment from a customer-specific list printed on a form, In addition, the order form is returned to the payment server 202. The operator of the payment server 202 then enters the data, or uploads the data if such email is forwarded electronically. The payment server forwards the data to the appropriate merchant. If the payment option selected by the customer is not appropriate (for example, if the merchant does not accept this form of payment, or if the available balance is too low), the customer will be notified via email (electronic or regular) Alternatively, a notification is made via telephone and the customer can select other payment options. Once the payment option is selected, the remaining transactions are completed along the line for the computer network described above.
[0049]
In an alternative embodiment, the customer receiving the order form or invoice can call the telephone number provided on the form and complete the transaction via telephone in the same manner as described above. can do.
[0050]
In another embodiment, a customer at terminal 208 can access payment server 202 without first accessing the merchant's site. The customer can then be presented with an open bill as compiled by the automatic bill information merge / purge subsystem 226 (FIG. 11). The customer can select one or more of the bills to pay, and then the customer is presented with account information, similar to the steps described above with respect to FIG.
[0051]
The system and method of the present invention can be implemented in a computer network without the need to send credit card numbers or the like directly between the customer 208 and the merchant 212 or between the customer 208 and the payment server 202. It will be clear that it is possible to carry out a payment transaction via. Thus, no account information is sent over a public network such as the Internet. The account information is transmitted via a secure line between the financial institution and the payment server 202 and a secure line between the payment server and the merchant's payment processor or merchant site. In addition, many merchants do not need to maintain a database of account numbers, so that information is maintained at the payment server 202. Maintaining the database in one place rather than in individual merchants further reduces the likelihood of fraud.
[0052]
Referring to FIG. 12, an automatic payment system 50 according to one embodiment that implements the use of a biometric identifier and / or PIN is shown. The biometric identifier and / or PIN are collected at a bricks-and-mortal terminal. Conventional terminals can include computers, digital cameras, scanners, recorders, or other devices capable of capturing such information. The automatic payment system 50 may provide the biometric identifier and / or PIN with a conventional terminal 84. _x , The matching / selection subsystem 59 may retrieve the biometric identifier and / or PIN 88 to locate the matching credit card holder identification data. _x Is compared with the record in the master credit card information database 57. Matching / selection subsystem 59 may be the same as that used for database integration / classification subsystem 55, or may be in the form of a separate, programmed computer system. In the matching / selection subsystem 59, the process of matching a customer from a merchant / billmaker database to a credit card account holder uses a conventional matching algorithm as is known to those skilled in the art. Can be implemented using If a match is found in the master credit card information database 57, the PIN is validated.
[0053]
As can be appreciated from the above description of the invention, the present invention provides a number of advantages for customers (such as credit card users), financial institutions, merchants, and billers. Benefits for financial institutions include reduced fraud, increased credit card usage, increased customer retention, and increased toll revenue. Benefits for customers include convenience, privacy, and efficiency. Benefits for merchants / billmakers include reduced fraud and theft, increased customer retention, reduced non-performing loans, reduced mailing costs, and improved customer relationships.
[0054]
The systems and methods of the present invention can also be used in connection with a target marketing or coupon plan in which purchase actions can be identified and recorded by a payment server. In one possible embodiment, customers with financial accounts (including credit card accounts) on payment servers agree that their purchasing behavior is tracked and provided to a wide variety of businesses and industries. Can be. These businesses and industries then preferably target various customers in exchange for discounts, coupons, or other market transactions based on past purchases by the consumer.
[0055]
Another advantage provided by the present invention is security and privacy for consumers. Thus, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention herein, a centralized organization or company, except for the financial institution with the consumer and the consumer himself, allows the specific financial account information to be The only party to have access. It should be understood that the functions performed by the central organization can actually be split between separate entities. For example, one entity may perform the processing, while another entity performs the encryption / decryption. As described above, only the encrypted account information is provided to the merchant / bill creator, but the account is provided directly to the merchant / bill creator and the merchant / bill creator is provided. It is within the scope of the present invention to provide a system for the creator or other company to encrypt such account information for use in his billing equipment. In such a case, once the merchant / billmaker has received the customer's approval for billing a particular account, the merchant / billmaker can begin decryption and Payments from financial institutions can be processed directly.
[0056]
Many other user functions known in the art can be implemented, such as, for example, the ability to allow a user to change his or her registration information.
[0057]
While several forms of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a problem encountered when matching multiple financial account issuers with multiple merchants / billmakers in an automatic payment system.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the use of the present invention to efficiently match multiple financial account issuers to multiple merchants / billmakers in an automatic payment system.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of an apparatus for performing the automatic credit card payment method and system of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the use of the apparatus of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an automatic payment system used for a bill maker according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the use of the apparatus of FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the use of the apparatus of FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 illustrates an interface display presented to a customer based on access to a payment server, according to one aspect of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an apparatus for performing the automatic credit card payment method and system of the present invention using a conventional terminal and a biometric identifier and / or PIN.
[Explanation of symbols]
50,50 ', 200 Automatic payment system
53 Credit Card Account Number Encryption Subsystem
55 Database Integration / Classification Subsystem
57 Master Credit Card Database
59 Identifier Matching / Selection Subsystem
59 'serial matching subsystem
59 "selection / presentation subsystem
60 Credit card issuer
66 Credit card information list
69 Transmission medium
70 Shopkeeper / Bill Creator
76 Customer Identification Data List
84 Conventional terminal
88 Biometric identifier and / or PIN
150 Many Merchants / Billmakers
152 Order Processing Office
154 Service Secretariat
156 Numerous credit card account databases
158 Customer File
160 External list 160
202 Automatic payment server
204 processing unit
206 Customer Database
208 Customer Terminal
210 Customer Interface
212 Shopkeeper's Site
214 lines
220 financial institutions
222 Invoice Creator
224 Automatic account information merge / purge subsystem
226 Automatic Invoice Information Merge / Purge Subsystem

Claims (96)

A method for facilitating payment from a customer's financial account to a merchant / billmaker or to a payment processor associated with the merchant / billmaker, comprising:
Compiling in-memory financial account information for at least one customer from a plurality of financial institutions;
Receiving and storing transaction information related to a particular customer;
Retrieving financial account information about the customer from memory;
Presenting the financial account information to the customer;
Receiving and storing at least one selection of a financial account by a customer;
Providing information of the selected one or more financial accounts to a merchant / bill creator or to a payment processor associated with the merchant / bill creator. how to. The financial account information may be a credit card, charge card, debit card, smart card, bank card, demand deposit, bank checking account, virtual payment account, virtual cash account, wire transfer network, financial electronic data exchange (FEDI), electronic The method of claim 1, wherein the method corresponds to at least one of a check, an automatic clearinghouse (ACH), and a stored value tool. Integrating at least two of the plurality of financial account information databases into one integrated financial account information database;
The method of claim 1, wherein said retrieving comprises retrieving said integrated database. Selecting a subset of one or more financial accounts from a plurality of customer financial accounts;
Presenting the subset to the customer. The method of claim 4, wherein the subset of accounts comprises financial accounts that are acceptable to a merchant / billmaker. The method of claim 1, further comprising, if more than one financial account is selected, splitting payment for one transaction between the two or more financial accounts. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting an order in which one or more financial accounts are presented to the customer before presenting the financial account information to the customer. Encrypting the selected customer's financial account information before providing it to the merchant / biller or to a payment processor;
Encrypting or truncating financial account information before presenting it to a customer. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating the financial account information from at least one of the plurality of financial institutions. Determining whether the customer is a registered customer;
Registering the customer, if the customer is not already registered. The method of claim 10, wherein registering the customer further comprises capturing the customer's PIN and biometric measurements. The method of claim 11, wherein the biometric measurement comprises a voice pattern, fingerprint, retinal scan, or handwriting sample. The method of claim 11, further comprising comparing the PIN, the biometric measurement, or both, to a database in which the PIN or the biometric measurement is stored, respectively. The method of claim 1, further comprising comparing a transaction value from the transaction information with an available balance value from the financial account information. 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising presenting only financial accounts with individual or combined available funds balances greater than or equal to the transaction value to a customer. A method for facilitating payment from a customer's financial account for an invoice selected from a plurality of invoices presented to the customer,
Compiling in-memory financial account information for at least one customer from a plurality of financial institutions;
Presenting invoice information for each of the plurality of invoices to the customer;
Receiving selection information from a customer specifying a particular selected invoice to be paid;
Retrieving financial account information about the customer from memory;
Presenting the financial account information to the customer;
Receiving from a customer selection information specifying a particular account to be used to pay the selected bill. The financial account information may be a credit card, charge card, debit card, smart card, bank card, demand deposit, bank checking account, virtual payment account, virtual cash account, wire transfer network, financial electronic data exchange (FEDI), electronic 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the method corresponds to at least one of a check, an automatic clearinghouse (ACH), and a stored value type tool. Integrating at least two of the plurality of financial account information databases into one integrated financial account information database;
The method of claim 16, wherein the retrieving step comprises searching the integrated database. Selecting a subset of one or more financial accounts from a plurality of customer financial accounts;
Presenting the subset to the customer. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the subset of accounts comprises financial accounts acceptable to a merchant / billmaker. 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising, if two or more financial accounts are selected, splitting payment for one transaction between the two or more financial accounts. 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising selecting an order in which one or more financial accounts are presented to the customer before presenting the financial account information to the customer. Encrypting the selected customer's financial account information before providing it to the merchant / biller or to a payment processor;
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising encrypting or truncating financial account information before being presented to a customer. The method of claim 16, further comprising updating the financial account information from at least one of the plurality of financial institutions. Determining whether the customer is a registered customer;
Registering the customer, if the customer has not yet been registered. The method of claim 25, wherein registering the customer further comprises capturing the customer's PIN, PIN address, or biometric measurement. The method of claim 26, wherein the biometric measurement comprises a voice pattern, fingerprint, retinal scan, or handwriting sample. The method of claim 11, further comprising comparing at least one of the PIN, the PIN address, and the biometric measurement value with a database in which the PIN, the PIN address, or the biometric measurement value is stored. 27. The method according to 26. The method of claim 16, further comprising comparing a transaction value from the transaction information with an available balance value from the financial account information. 30. The method of claim 29, further comprising presenting only financial accounts with individual or combined available funds balances greater than or equal to the transaction value to a customer. A method for facilitating payment via a computer network from a customer's financial account to a merchant / billmaker or to a payment processor associated with the merchant / billmaker. hand,
Compiling financial account information for at least one customer received from the plurality of financial institutions in a memory of a payment server;
Receiving transaction information associated with a particular customer via a computer network at a payment server and storing the transaction information;
Retrieving financial account information about the customer from memory;
Transmitting financial account information to the customer over the computer network;
Receiving a selection by a customer of at least one of the financial accounts via a computer network and storing the selection;
Transmitting the selected financial account information via a computer network to the merchant / bill creator or to a payment processor associated with the merchant / bill creator. And how. The financial account information may be a credit card, charge card, debit card, smart card, bank card, demand deposit, bank checking account, virtual payment account, virtual cash account, wire transfer network, financial electronic data exchange (FEDI), electronic The method of claim 31, corresponding to at least one of a check, an automatic clearing house (ACH), and a stored value tool. Integrating at least two of the plurality of financial account information databases into one integrated financial account information database;
The method of claim 31, wherein the retrieving step comprises searching the integrated database. Selecting a subset of one or more financial accounts from a plurality of customer financial accounts;
Presenting the subset to the customer. The method of claim 34, wherein the subset of accounts comprises financial accounts that are acceptable to a merchant / billmaker. 32. The method of claim 31, further comprising splitting payment for a transaction between two or more financial accounts if more than one financial account is selected. 32. The method of claim 31, further comprising selecting an order in which one or more financial accounts are presented to the customer before presenting the financial account information to the customer. Encrypting the selected customer's financial account information before providing it to the merchant / biller or to a payment processor;
32. The method of claim 31, further comprising encrypting or truncating the financial account information before being presented to the customer. The method of claim 31, further comprising updating the financial account information from at least one of the plurality of financial institutions. Determining whether the customer is a registered customer;
Registering the customer, if the customer is not yet registered. 41. The method of claim 40, wherein registering the customer further comprises capturing the customer's PIN, PIN address, or biometric measurement. The method of claim 41, wherein the biometric measurement comprises a voice pattern, fingerprint, retinal scan, or handwriting sample. The method of claim 11, further comprising comparing at least one of the PIN, the PIN address, and the biometric measurement value with a database in which the PIN, the PIN address, or the biometric measurement value is stored. 42. The method according to 41. The method of claim 31, further comprising comparing a transaction value from the transaction information with an available balance value from the financial account information. 45. The method of claim 44, further comprising presenting only financial accounts with individual or combined available funds balances greater than or equal to the transaction value to a customer. A method for facilitating payment from a customer's financial account to a merchant / billmaker or to a payment processor associated with the merchant / billmaker, comprising:
Compiling financial account information for at least one customer received from the plurality of financial institutions in a memory of a payment server;
Receiving transaction information related to a particular customer;
Transmitting the transaction information to a payment server and storing the transaction information;
Retrieving financial account information about the customer from memory;
Displaying financial account information on the interface;
Receiving a selection by a customer of at least one of the financial accounts and storing the selection;
Transmitting information of the selected one or more financial accounts to the merchant / bill creator or to a payment processor associated with the merchant / bill creator. And how. The financial account information may be a credit card, charge card, debit card, smart card, bank card, demand deposit, bank checking account, virtual payment account, virtual cash account, wire transfer network, financial electronic data exchange (FEDI), electronic 47. The method of claim 46, wherein the method corresponds to at least one of a check, an automatic clearing house (ACH), and a stored value tool. Integrating at least two of the plurality of financial account information databases into one integrated financial account information database;
47. The method of claim 46, wherein said retrieving comprises searching the integrated database. Selecting a subset of one or more financial accounts from a plurality of customer financial accounts;
49. The method of claim 46, further comprising presenting the subset to the customer. 50. The method of claim 49, wherein the subset of accounts comprises financial accounts that are acceptable to a merchant / billmaker. 47. The method of claim 46, further comprising splitting payment for one transaction between two or more financial accounts if more than one financial account is selected. 47. The method of claim 46, further comprising selecting an order in which one or more financial accounts are presented to the customer before presenting the financial account information to the customer. Encrypting the selected customer's financial account information before providing it to the merchant / biller or to a payment processor;
47. The method of claim 46, further comprising encrypting or truncating financial account information before being presented to a customer. The method of claim 46, further comprising updating the financial account information from at least one of the plurality of financial institutions. Determining whether the customer is a registered customer;
Registering the customer, if the customer is not yet registered. The method of claim 55, wherein registering the customer further comprises capturing the customer's PIN, PIN address, or biometric measurement. The method of claim 56, wherein the biometric measurement comprises a voice pattern, fingerprint, retinal scan, or handwriting sample. The method of claim 11, further comprising comparing at least one of the PIN, the PIN address, and the biometric measurement value with a database in which the PIN, the PIN address, or the biometric measurement value is stored. 56. The method according to 56. The method of claim 46, further comprising comparing a transaction value from the transaction information with an available balance value from the financial account information. The method of claim 59, further comprising presenting only financial accounts with individual or combined available funds balances equal to or greater than the transaction value to a customer. The method of claim 46, wherein the interface comprises a terminal, smart terminal, smart box, keypad, LCD display, magnetic card reader, or touchpad. 47. The method of claim 46, wherein only financial accounts that are acceptable to the merchant / billmaker are displayed on the interface. A method to facilitate direct bill payments by customers,
Receiving and storing billing information associated with a particular customer from a merchant / billmaker or from a payment processor associated with the merchant / billmaker;
Retrieving financial account information for a compiled customer from a plurality of financial institutions from a customer database;
Presenting the customer with an invoice payment interface with one or more of the customer's financial accounts;
Receiving and storing a selection by a customer of at least one of the financial accounts for bill payment;
Providing information of the selected one or more financial accounts to a merchant / bill creator or to a payment processor associated with the merchant / bill creator. how to. The financial account information may be a credit card, charge card, debit card, smart card, bank card, demand deposit, bank checking account, virtual payment account, virtual cash account, wire transfer network, financial electronic data exchange (FEDI), electronic 64. The method of claim 63, corresponding to at least one of a check, an automatic clearinghouse (ACH), and a stored value type tool. Integrating at least two of the plurality of financial account information databases into one integrated financial account information database;
64. The method of claim 63, wherein said retrieving comprises searching the integrated database. Selecting a subset of one or more financial accounts from a plurality of customer financial accounts;
Presenting the subset to the customer. The method of claim 66, wherein the subset of accounts comprises financial accounts that are acceptable to a merchant / billmaker. 64. The method of claim 63, further comprising the step of splitting payment for one transaction between two or more financial accounts if more than one financial account is selected. 64. The method of claim 63, further comprising selecting an order in which one or more financial accounts are presented to the customer before presenting the financial account information to the customer. Encrypting the selected customer's financial account information before providing it to the merchant / biller or to a payment processor;
64. The method of claim 63, further comprising encrypting or truncating the financial account information before being presented to the customer. The method of claim 63, further comprising updating the financial account information from at least one of the plurality of financial institutions. Determining whether the customer is a registered customer;
64. The method of claim 63, further comprising registering the customer if the customer has not yet been registered. 73. The method of claim 72, wherein registering the customer further comprises capturing the customer's PIN, PIN address, or biometric measurement. The method of claim 73, wherein the biometric measurement comprises a voice pattern, fingerprint, retinal scan, or handwriting sample. The method of claim 11, further comprising comparing at least one of the PIN, the PIN address, and the biometric measurement value with a database in which the PIN, the PIN address, or the biometric measurement value is stored. 73. The method according to 73. 64. The method of claim 63, further comprising comparing a transaction value from the transaction information with an available balance value from the financial account information. 77. The method of claim 76, further comprising presenting only financial accounts with individual or combined available funds balances greater than or equal to the transaction value to a customer. An apparatus for facilitating payment from a customer's financial account to a merchant / biller or to a payment processor associated with the merchant / biller, comprising:
A processor,
A memory for storing processing instructions for controlling the processor, the processor comprising:
Processing instructions for compiling in-memory financial account information for at least one customer from a plurality of financial institutions;
Processing instructions for receiving and storing transaction information associated with a particular customer;
Processing instructions for retrieving financial account information about the customer from memory;
Processing instructions for presenting financial account information to the customer;
Processing instructions for receiving and storing a selection by the customer of at least one of the financial accounts;
Acting on information of the selected one or more financial accounts to a merchant / bill creator or to processing instructions for providing to a payment processor associated with the merchant / bill creator. An apparatus characterized by the above. The financial account information may be a credit card, charge card, debit card, smart card, bank card, demand deposit, bank checking account, virtual payment account, virtual cash account, wire transfer network, financial electronic data exchange (FEDI), electronic 79. The system of claim 78, corresponding to at least one of a check, an automatic clearinghouse (ACH), and a stored value tool. 79. The system of claim 78, wherein the processor is operative to integrate at least two of the plurality of financial account information databases into one integrated financial account information database. The processor comprises:
Act to select a subset of one or more financial accounts from a plurality of customer financial accounts;
79. The system of claim 78 operable to present a subset to a customer. 79. The system of claim 78, wherein the processor is operative to select a subset of accounts that include financial accounts that are acceptable to a merchant / billmaker. 79. The processor of claim 78, wherein the processor is operative to split payment for one transaction between two or more financial accounts if more than one financial account is selected. system. 79. The system of claim 78, wherein the processor is operative to select an order in which one or more financial accounts are presented to a customer before presenting financial account information to the customer. The processor comprises:
Operative to encrypt the selected customer's financial account information before providing it to the merchant / billmaker or to a payment processor;
79. The system of claim 78, wherein the system acts to encrypt or truncate financial account information before it is presented to a customer. The system of claim 78, wherein the processor is operative to update the financial account information from at least one of the plurality of financial institutions. The processor comprises:
Act to determine whether the customer is a registered customer,
79. The system of claim 78, operative to register a customer if the customer has not yet been registered. The system of claim 87, wherein the processor is operative to capture the customer's PIN, PIN address, or biometric measurement as part of a registration. 89. The system of claim 88, wherein the biometric measurement comprises a voice pattern, fingerprint, retinal scan, or handwriting sample. The processor is operative to compare at least one of the PIN, PIN address, and biometric measurement to a database in which the PIN, PIN address, or biometric measurement is stored, respectively. 90. The system of claim 88. 79. The system of claim 78, wherein the processor is operative to compare transaction values from transaction information with available balance values from financial account information. 92. The system of claim 91, wherein the processor is operative to present only financial accounts with individual or combined available funds balances equal to or greater than the transaction value to customers. An apparatus for facilitating payment from a financial account of a customer for an invoice selected from a plurality of invoices presented to the customer, comprising: a processor;
A memory for storing processing instructions for controlling the processor, the processor comprising:
Processing instructions for compiling in-memory financial account information for at least one customer from a plurality of financial institutions;
Processing instructions for presenting invoice information to the customer for each of the plurality of invoices;
Processing instructions for receiving from a customer selection information specifying a particular selected payable invoice;
Processing instructions for retrieving financial account information about the customer from memory;
Processing instructions for presenting financial account information to the customer;
Apparatus operable with processing instructions for receiving from a customer selection information specifying a particular account to be used to pay a selected bill. An apparatus for facilitating payment via a computer network from a customer's financial account to a merchant / billmaker or to a payment processor associated with the merchant / billmaker. hand,
A processor,
A memory for storing processing instructions for controlling the processor, the processor comprising:
Processing instructions for compiling financial account information for at least one customer received from the plurality of financial institutions in a memory of the payment server;
Processing instructions for receiving transaction information associated with a particular customer over a computer network at a payment server and storing the transaction information;
Processing instructions for retrieving financial account information about the customer from memory;
Processing instructions for transmitting financial account information to a customer over a computer network;
Processing instructions for receiving via a computer network at least one selection of a financial account by a customer and storing the selection;
Acting on the selected financial account information via a computer network to the merchant / bill creator or to processing instructions for transmitting to a payment processor associated with the merchant / bill creator. An apparatus characterized in that: An apparatus for facilitating payment from a customer's financial account to a merchant / biller or to a payment processor associated with the merchant / biller, comprising:
A processor,
A memory for storing processing instructions for controlling the processor, the processor comprising:
Processing instructions for compiling financial account information for at least one customer received from the plurality of financial institutions in a memory of the payment server;
Processing instructions for receiving transaction information related to a particular customer;
Processing instructions for transmitting the transaction information to a payment server and storing the transaction information;
Processing instructions for retrieving financial account information about the customer from memory;
Processing instructions for displaying financial account information on the interface;
Processing instructions for receiving a selection by the customer of at least one of the financial accounts and storing the selection;
Operate by processing instructions for transmitting information of the selected financial account or accounts to the merchant / billmaker or to a payment processor associated with the merchant / billmaker. An apparatus characterized in that: A device for facilitating direct bill payment by a customer,
A processor,
A memory for storing processing instructions for controlling the processor, the processor comprising:
Processing instructions for receiving and storing billing information associated with a particular customer from a merchant / billmaker or from a payment processor associated with the merchant / billmaker;
Processing instructions for retrieving financial account information for a compiled customer from a plurality of financial institutions from a customer database;
Processing instructions for presenting the customer with a bill payment interface with one or more of the customer's financial accounts;
Processing instructions for receiving and storing a selection by the customer of at least one of the financial accounts for bill payment;
Acting on information of the selected one or more financial accounts to a merchant / bill creator or to processing instructions for providing to a payment processor associated with the merchant / bill creator. An apparatus characterized by the above.

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