Email-based e-commerce

• US 10,049,385 B2
• Filed: 10/05/2015
• Issued: 08/14/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Swoop IP Holdings LLC
• Original Assignee: @Pay IP Holdings LLC
• Inventors: Killoran, Jr., John P., Peek, Dennis William, Custer, Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): Detweiler, James M
• Application Number:
  US14/875,156
• Publication Number:
  US 20160027047A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,044 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0253 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0258 Registration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/02 using automatic reactions or user delegation, e.g. automatic replies or chatbot-generated messages

Abstract

An electronic commerce (e-commerce) system may send advertisement emails to customers that are registered with the e-commerce system. The advertisement emails may include mailto hyperlinks. Each mailto hyperlink may be associated with a product that is being offered for sale, and each mailto hyperlink describes an email message that may be generated when that hyperlink is selected. When a mailto hyperlink is selected, the generated email message may include one or more parameters related to the product associated with the hyperlink, such as an identifier of the product. The generated email message may then be transmitted to the e-commerce system. The e-commerce system may receive the message and, based on the parameters in the received message, execute a transaction to purchase the identified product on behalf of the customer.

Claims

1. A method for transferring funds between a transferor and a recipient by a system having at least one processor, an email server a database utilizing Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and an exchange of SMTP emails, the method comprising:

storing, by the database, information that includes an identifier of the transferor, payment information of the transferor, an email address of the transferor, and a plurality of transaction identifiers, each transaction identifier including;

an identifier of the recipient

a predetermined and mutually exclusive financial amount;

generating, by the at least one processor, a first SMTP email message that is addressed to the email address of the transferor and that includes;

a plurality of visible SMTP mailto links, wherein each visible SMTP mailto link includes;

associated non-visible unique identifying information including an SMTP email address of an email account of the system and an associated one of the plurality of transaction identifiers; and

a visible indicia of one of said predetermined financial amounts corresponding to a corresponding one of the plurality of transaction identifiers;

whereby each visible SMTP mailto link, upon selection, generates a unique second SMTP email message from the email address of the transferor that includes only the non-visible unique identifying information from a respective one of the plurality of visible SMTP mailto links;

transmitting, by the email server, utilizing SMPT, the first SMTP email message to the email address of the transferor;

receiving, by the email server, the second SMTP email message from the email address of the transferor, wherein the message indicates a selection made by the transferor of one of said visible SMTP mailto links associated with a respective predetermined financial amount, wherein the second SMTP email message is responsive to the first SMTP email message, and wherein the second SMTP email message is addressed to the email address of the system and includes the transaction identifier from the selected one of said visible SMTP mailto links, and

the at least one processor and the email server performing a validation procedure based on the received second SMTP email message, wherein the validation procedure comprises comparing the contents of the received second SMTP email against information stored in the database to confirm the identity of the transferor.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing a transaction execution procedure including transmitting one or more payment messages to a payment processing system.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising storing, by the database, credit card information of the transferor;

wherein the one or more payment messages include the credit card information of the transferor, and wherein the payment processing system is a payment gateway that is operated by an acquiring financial institution.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the at least one processor, in response to the second SMTP email message, whether a transaction confirmation procedure should be performed; and

performing the transaction confirmation procedure by the at least one processor and the email server, in response to a determination that the transaction confirmation procedure should be performed.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the transaction confirmation procedure comprises:

generating, by the at least one processor, a third SMTP email message that is addressed to the email address of the transferor and includes text that solicits the transferor to confirm the second SMTP email message, wherein the third SMTP email message includes a second mailto link that includes;

the email address of the system; and

the transaction identifier associated with the second SMTP email message;

transmitting, by the email server, the third SMTP email message;

receiving, by the email server, a fourth SMTP email message, wherein the fourth SMTP email message is responsive to the third SMTP email message, wherein the fourth SMTP email message is addressed to the email address of the system, and wherein the fourth SMTP email message includes the transaction identifier and information that indicates whether the transaction is confirmed or canceled; and

determining, by the at least one processor, whether the transaction execution procedure should be performed based on the information that indicates whether the transaction is confirmed or canceled.

6. A system utilizing Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and an exchange of SMTP emails to transfer funds between a transferor and a recipient comprising:

a database storing information that includes identifier of the transferor, payment information of the transferor, an email address of the transferor, and a plurality of transaction identifiers, each transaction identifier including;

an identifier of the recipient

a predetermined and mutually exclusive financial amount;

at least one processor configured to generate a first Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) email message that is addressed to the email address of the transferor and that includes;

a plurality of visible SMTP mailto links, wherein each visible SMTP mailto link includes;

associated non-visible unique identifying information including an SMTP email address of an email account of the system and an associated one of the plurality of transaction identifiers; and

a visible indicia of one of said predetermined financial amounts corresponding to a corresponding one of the plurality of transaction identifiers;

whereby each visible SMTP mailto link, upon selection, generates a unique reply SMTP email message from the email address of the transferor that includes only the non-visible unique identifying information from a respective one of the plurality of visible SMTP mailto links;

an email server, utilizing SMTP, configured to transmit the first SMTP email message to the email address of the transferor and to receive the unique reply SMTP email message from the email address of the transferor, wherein the unique reply SMTP email message indicates a selection made by the transferor of one of said visible SMTP mailto links associated with a respective predetermined financial amount, wherein the unique reply SMTP email message is responsive to the first SMTP email message, and wherein the unique reply SMTP email message is addressed to the email address of the system and includes the transaction identifier from the selected one of said visible SMTP mailto links; and

the at least one processor and the email server are further configured to perform an authentication procedure based on the unique reply SMTP email message, wherein the authentication procedure includes comparing the contents of the received unique reply SMTP email against information stored in the database to confirm the identity of the transferor.

7. The system of claim 6,

wherein the at least one processor is further configured to perform a transaction execution procedure including transmitting one or more payment messages to a payment processing system.

8. The system of claim 7,

wherein the database further stores credit card information of the transferor;

the one or more payment messages include the credit card information of the transferor; and

the payment processing system is a payment gateway that is operated by an acquiring financial institution.

9. The system of claim 7,

wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine, in response to the unique reply SMTP email message, whether a confirmation procedure should be performed;

and

the at least one processor and the email server are further configured to perform the confirmation procedure in response to a determination that the confirmation procedure should be performed.

10. The system of claim 9,

wherein the at least one processor is further configured to generate a confirmation SMTP email message, wherein the confirmation SMTP email message includes text that solicits the transferor to confirm the unique reply SMTP email message, wherein the confirmation SMTP email message is addressed to the email address of the transferor, and wherein the confirmation SMTP email message includes a second mailto link, wherein the second mailto link includes:

the email address of the system; and

the transaction identifier associated with the unique SMTP reply email message;

the email server is further configured to transmit the confirmation SMTP email message and to receive a confirmation response SMTP email, wherein the confirmation response SMTP email message is responsive to the confirmation SMTP email message, wherein the confirmation response SMTP email message is addressed to the email address of the system, and wherein the confirmation response SMTP email message includes the transaction identifier and information that indicates whether the transaction is confirmed or canceled; and

the at least one processor is further configured to determine whether the transaction execution procedure should be performed based on the information that indicates whether the transaction is confirmed or canceled.