Apportioning a payment card transaction among multiple payers

• US 10,621,563 B1
• Filed: 01/07/2014
• Issued: 04/14/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Square Inc (Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.))
• Inventors: Spindel, Nathan, Khandker, Nefaur Rahman, Morel, Shawn
• Primary Examiner(s): Madamba, Clifford B
• Application Number:
  US14/149,754
• Time in Patent Office: 2,289 Days
• Field of Search: 705 44
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3223 Realising banking transactions through M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/00 Information and communication technology [ICT] specially adapted for implementation of business processes of specific business sectors, e.g. utilities or tourism healthcare informatics G16H

Abstract

The disclosed technique enables a consumer who uses a payment object to pay for goods or services to specify, by using a mobile device, how the transaction amount should be apportioned among multiple payers. In certain embodiments, the technique involves communication between a mobile payment application installed on the consumer'"'"'s mobile device and a remote payment service system (PSS). The mobile payment application enables the user to specify how many payers there are, who the payers are, and exactly how the transaction amount should be apportioned among the payers. The mobile payment application communicates this information to the PSS, which then executes or triggers reimbursement to carry out the specified apportionment.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a processor of a computer system operated by a third-party payment service, a first message sent from a point-of-sale system via a first network, wherein the first message is indicative of a request for approval of a payment transaction between a consumer and a merchant, in which a payment object associated with a first financial account of the consumer is used, the first message including a transaction amount for the payment transaction, and wherein the third-party payment service is not the merchant, the consumer, or an issuer of the payment object;

receiving, by the processor, a merchant category code (MCC) associated with the point-of-sale system;

determining, by the processor, a type of merchant associated with the point-of-sale system based on the MCC provided by the point-of-sale system;

based on the determined type of merchant, identifying, by the processor, the first financial account of the consumer and a second financial account of the merchant, and causing, by the processor, a first electronic transfer of funds to the second financial account of the merchant from the first financial account of the consumer; and

further based on the determined type of merchant, executing steps including;

determining, by the processor, information usable to communicate with a mobile device associated with the consumer, based on stored data representing an association previously created by the consumer between the payment object and the mobile device;

causing, by the processor, a second message to be sent to the mobile device associated with the consumer via a second network;

including, by the processor in the second message, an indicator indicating whether or not to prompt the consumer to specify an apportionment of the transaction amount among a plurality of financial accounts, wherein each financial account of the plurality of financial accounts is associated with a different person of a plurality of persons, the plurality of financial accounts including at least the first financial account of the consumer and a third financial account of a person other than the consumer, wherein the indicator corresponds to the determination of the type of merchant based on the MCC, wherein the second message is generated, based on the determined type of merchant, causing the mobile device to output a suggestion of one or more persons of the plurality of persons among whom the transaction amount is to be apportioned, and wherein the second message is generated further causing the mobile device to output to the consumer one of;

a user interface for enabling the consumer to apportion the transaction amount by at least one of;

an amount, a percentage of the transaction amount, or items included in the payment transaction; and

an itemization indicating items included in the payment transaction, and for enabling the consumer to apportion a cost of any of said items to a specified person;

based on the indicator included in the second message, receiving a third message at the processor, wherein the third message is representative of a wireless message transmitted from the mobile device via the second network in response to the consumer having specified the apportionment of the transaction amount at the mobile device, the third message including data indicative of the apportionment of the transaction amount and the third financial account of the person other than the consumer; and

in response to the third message and based on the data indicative of the apportionment of the transaction amount, executing, by the processor, a second electronic transfer of funds to the first financial account of the consumer from the third financial account of the person other than the consumer.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the second message is generated so as to cause the mobile device to determine the suggestion of the one or more persons from a stored contact list of the consumer.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the second message is generated so as to cause the mobile device to determine the suggestion of the one or more persons by identifying users of a particular payment mechanism who are within a range of a short-range wireless communication feature of the mobile device.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the second message is generated so as to cause the mobile device to prompt the consumer to provide an electronic messaging address of each person, other than the consumer, to whom a portion of the transaction amount is to be apportioned.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein executing the steps is triggered only when the first message contains the MCC.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the prompt caused by the second message, based on the determined type of merchant, comprises:

a list of suggested financial accounts;

a text box for receiving information associated with a financial account;

or

a combination thereof.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message further includes the MCC.

6. A method comprising:

receiving, at a mobile processing device associated with a consumer via a first network, a first message indicative of a first electronic transfer of funds from a first financial account of the consumer to a second financial account of a merchant caused by a remote payment service system operated by a third-party payment service, the remote payment service system causing the first electronic transfer in response to receiving another message from a point-of-sale system of the merchant via a second network, wherein the another message is indicative of a financial transaction in which the consumer has used a payment object associated with the first financial account of the consumer, the another message including merchant data associated with the point-of-sale system, wherein the first message comprises an indicator included by the remote payment service system, wherein the indicator indicates whether or not to output a prompt to apportion a transaction amount of the financial transaction, the indicator corresponding to a determination of a type of merchant based on the merchant data, wherein the third-party payment service is not the merchant, the consumer, or an issuer of the payment object, wherein the first message is generated, based on the determined type of merchant, causing the mobile processing device to output a suggestion of one or more payers of a plurality of payers among whom the transaction amount is to be apportioned, and wherein the first message is generated further causing the mobile processing device to output to the consumer one of;

a user interface for enabling the consumer to apportion the transaction amount by at least one of;

an amount, a percentage of the transaction amount, or items included in a payment transaction; and

an itemization indicating items included in the payment transaction, and for enabling the consumer to apportion a cost of any of said items to a specified person;

in response to the first message and the indicator, causing the mobile processing device, associated with the consumer, to output an indication of the financial transaction and the prompt to apportion the transaction amount of the financial transaction among a plurality of financial accounts, wherein each financial account of the plurality of financial accounts is associated with a different payer of the plurality of payers, and wherein the plurality of financial accounts include at least the first financial account of the consumer and a third financial account of the person other than the consumer;

receiving, at the mobile processing device associated with the consumer, user input specifying the apportionment of the transaction amount among the plurality of financial accounts; and

in response to the user input, causing the mobile processing device, associated with the consumer, to transmit a message indicative of the apportionment and the plurality of financial accounts to the remote payment service system via the first network, wherein in response to the message indicative of the apportionment, the remote payment service causes a second electronic transfer of funds to the first financial account of the consumer from the third financial account of the person other than the consumer.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the payment object is a payment card.

8. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

in response to the first message and the indicator, causing the mobile processing device associated with the consumer to determine the suggestion of the one or more payers from a stored contact list of the consumer.

9. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

in response to the first message and the indicator, causing the mobile processing device associated with the consumer to determine the suggestion of the one or more payers by causing an instance of a mobile application running on the mobile processing device to use a short-range communication feature of the mobile processing device to identify other users of the mobile application who are within a range of the mobile processing device.

10. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

in response to the first message and the indicator, causing the mobile processing device associated with the consumer to prompt the consumer to provide an electronic messaging address of each person, other than the consumer, to whom a portion of the transaction amount is to be apportioned.

11. A machine-readable non-transitory storage medium storing program code that, when stored in a mobile processing device associated with a consumer, configures the mobile processing device associated with the consumer to perform operations comprising:

receiving, at the mobile processing device associated with the consumer via a first network, a first message indicative of a first electronic transfer of funds from a first financial account of the consumer to a second financial account of a merchant caused by a remote payment service system operated by a third-party payment service, the remote payment service system causing the first electronic transfer in response to receiving another message from a point-of-sale system of the merchant via a second network, wherein the another message is indicative of a financial transaction in which the consumer has used a payment object, wherein the payment object is associated with the first financial account of the consumer, the another message including a merchant category code (MCC) associated with the point-of-sale system, wherein the first message comprises an indicator included by the remote payment service system, wherein the indicator indicates whether or not to output a prompt to apportion a transaction amount of the financial transaction, the indicator corresponding to a determination of a type of merchant associated with the point-of-sale system based on the MCC, and wherein the third-party payment service is not the merchant, the consumer, or an issuer of the payment object;

in response to the first message and the indicator, causing the mobile processing device associated with the consumer to output an indication of the financial transaction and the prompt to input the apportionment of the transaction amount of the financial transaction among a plurality of persons, including causing the mobile processing device associated with the consumer to output a suggestion of one or more persons of the plurality of persons among whom the transaction amount can be apportioned;

in response to the first message and the indicator, further causing the mobile processing device associated with the consumer to output to the consumer one of;

a user interface for enabling the consumer to apportion the transaction amount by at least one of;

an amount, a percentage of the transaction amount, or items included in a payment transaction; and

an itemization indicating items included in the transaction, and for enabling the consumer to apportion a cost of any of said items to a specified person;

receiving, at the mobile processing device associated with the consumer, user input specifying the apportionment of the transaction amount, in response to the outputting to the consumer; and

in response to the user input, causing the mobile processing device, associated with the consumer to transmit a message indicative of the apportionment over a wireless first network, wherein based on the message indicative of the apportionment, the remote payment service causes a second electronic transfer of funds to the first financial account of the consumer from the third financial account of the person other than the consumer.

12. The machine-readable non-transitory storage medium as recited in claim 11, wherein the payment object is a payment card.

13. The machine-readable non-transitory storage medium as recited in claim 11, said operations further comprising:

in response to the first message and the indicator, causing the mobile processing device associated with the consumer to determine the suggestion of the one or more persons from a stored contact list of the consumer.

14. The machine-readable non-transitory storage medium as recited in claim 11, said operations further comprising:

in response to the first message and the indicator, causing the mobile processing device associated with the consumer to determine the suggestion of the one or more persons by causing an instance of a processing application running on the mobile processing device to use a short-range communication feature of the mobile processing device to identify other users of the processing application who are within a range of the mobile processing device.

15. The machine-readable non-transitory storage medium as recited in claim 11, said operations further comprising:

in response to the first message and the indicator, causing the mobile processing device associated with the consumer to prompt the consumer to provide an electronic messaging address of each person, other than the consumer, to whom a portion of the transaction amount is to be apportioned.

16. A computer system comprising:

a communication device through which the computer system can communicate with remote devices over a network;

a memory; and

a processor, coupled to the communication device and the memory, to control the computer system, the processor configured to cause the computer system to perform operations that include;

receiving, by the processor, a first message sent from a point-of-sale system via a first network, wherein the first message is indicative of a request for approval of a payment transaction between a consumer and a merchant, in which a payment object associated with a first financial account of the consumer is used, the first message including a transaction amount for the payment transaction, the processor being operated by a third-party payment service that is not the merchant, the consumer, or an issuer of the payment object;

receiving, by the processor, a merchant category code (MCC) associated with the point-of-sale system;

determining, by the processor, a type of merchant associated with the point-of-sale system based on the MCC provided by the point-of-sale system;

based on the determined type of merchant, identifying the first financial account of the consumer and a second financial account of the merchant and causing a first electronic transfer of funds to the second financial account of the merchant from the first financial account of the consumer; and

further based on the determined type of merchant, executing steps including;

determining information usable to communicate with a mobile device associated with the consumer, based on stored data representing an association previously created by the consumer between the payment object and the mobile device;

causing a second message to be sent to the mobile device associated with the consumer via a second network;

including, by the processor in the second message, an indicator indicating whether or not to prompt the consumer to specify an apportionment of the transaction amount among a plurality of financial accounts, wherein each financial account of the plurality of financial accounts is associated with a different person of a plurality of persons, the plurality of financial accounts including at least the first financial account of the consumer and a third financial account of a person other than the consumer, wherein the indicator corresponds to the determination of the type of merchant based on the MCC, wherein the second message is generated, based on the determined type of merchant, causing the mobile device to output a suggestion of one or more persons of the plurality of persons among whom the transaction amount is to be apportioned, and wherein the second message is generated further causing the mobile device to output to the consumer one of;

a user interface for enabling the consumer to apportion the transaction amount by at least one of;

an amount, a percentage of the transaction amount, or items included in the payment transaction; and

an itemization indicating items included in the payment transaction and for enabling the consumer to apportion a cost of any of said items to a specified person;

based on the indicator included in the second message, receiving, by the processor, a third message representative of a wireless message transmitted from the mobile device via the second network in response to the consumer having specified the apportionment of the transaction amount at the mobile device, the third message including data indicative of the apportionment of the transaction amount and the third financial account of the person other than the consumer; and

in response to the third message and based on the data indicative of the apportionment of the transaction amount, executing a second electronic transfer of funds to the first financial account of the consumer from the third financial account of the person other than the consumer.

17. The computer system as recited in claim 16, wherein the second message is generated so as to cause the mobile device to determine the suggestion of one or more persons from a stored contact list of the consumer.

18. The computer system as recited in claim 16, wherein the second message is generated so as to cause the mobile device to determine the suggestion of the one or more persons by identifying users of a particular payment mechanism who are within a range of a short-range wireless communication feature of the mobile device.

19. The computer system as recited in claim 16, wherein the second message is generated so as to cause the mobile device to prompt the consumer to provide an electronic messaging address of each person, other than the consumer, to whom a portion of the transaction amount is to be apportioned.

20. The computer system as recited in claim 16, wherein executing the steps is triggered only when the first message contains the MCC.

23. The computer system of claim 16, wherein the first message further includes the MCC.