Systems and methods for staging transactions, payments and collections

• US 20040107165A1
• Filed: 09/30/2003
• Published: 06/03/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.), Western Union
• Original Assignee: First Data Corporation (Fiserv Incorporated)
• Inventors: Hansen, Kurt, Blair, Paul, Moore, Gary
• Granted Patent: US 7,103,577 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/042 characterized in that the payment protocol involves at least one cheque
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/085 involving remote charge determination or related payment systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0855 involving a third party
• 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 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1085 involving automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/342 Cards defining paid or billed services or quantities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3433 the counter having monetary units
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3672 initialising or reloading thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3821 Electronic credentials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/383 Anonymous user system
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/385 using an alias or single-use codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 : Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 : Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 : Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 : Billing or invoicing
• 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 40/00 : Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/02 : by keys or other credit registering devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/025 : by means, e.g. cards, providing billing information at the time of purchase, e.g. identification of seller or purchaser, quantity of goods delivered or to be delivered

Abstract

The present invention relates to systems and methods for staging transactions and facilitating payments by consumers to a lender or merchant to consummate a financial transaction and/or to maintain a financial relationship. In one embodiment, a method for accepting payments from a consumer includes receiving a promise-to-pay record from a lender (210), receiving a payment from the consumer (220), associating the payment with the promise-to-pay record (230), and sending a notice to the lender (240), with the notice having an indicator that the payment has been received.

Claims

1. A method for accepting payments from a consumer, the method comprising:

receiving a promise-to-pay record from a lender;

receiving a payment from the consumer;

associating the payment with the promise-to-pay record; and

sending a notice to the lender, the notice comprising an indicator that the payment has been received.

2. The method as in claim 1 further comprising storing a record of the payment in a database.

3. The method as in claim 1 further comprising electronically sending at least a portion of the payment to the lender.

4. The method as in claim 1 wherein receiving the payment comprises receiving the payment if the consumer provides a transaction identifier.

5. The method as in claim 4 wherein associating the payment with the promise-to-pay record comprises matching the consumer-provided transaction identifier with the promise-to-pay record.

6. The method as in claim 1 wherein the promise-to-pay record comprises a time limit, and wherein associating the payment with the promise-to-pay record comprises accepting the payment if receiving the payment occurs within the time limit.

7. The method as in claim 6 further comprising sending a request for instructions to the lender if the time limit expires.

8. The method as in claim 6 further comprising sending a request for instructions to the lender if the consumer attempts payment after the time limit expires.

9. The method as in claim 1 wherein receiving the promise-to-pay record comprises electronically receiving the promise-to-pay record, and receiving the payment comprises physically receiving the payment.

10. The method as in claim 1 wherein the payment comprises a cash payment.

11. The method as in claim 1 wherein the payment comprises a debit card payment.

12. The method as in claim 1 further comprising verifying a consumer identity prior to receiving the payment.

13. A method for staging a transaction involving a payment from a customer to a lender, the method comprising:

receiving a promise-to-pay from the customer;

creating a promise-to-pay record, the promise-to-pay record including a payment amount and an expiration;

transmitting the promise-to-pay record to a payment service provider, the payment service provider adapted to accept a cash payment from the customer if the customer attempts payment prior to the expiration; and

receiving a notice of payment from the payment service provider if the payment service provider received from the customer a payment that equals or exceeds the payment amount.

14. The method as in claim 13 further comprising updating the promise-to-pay record with the notice of payment.

15. The method as in claim 13 further comprising receiving a notice of non-effective payment from the payment service provider, and updating the promise-to-pay record with the notice of non-effective payment.

16. The method as in claim 13 further comprising electronically receiving the payment amount from the payment service provider.

17. The method as in claim 13 wherein the customer comprises a borrower, and the promise-to-pay comprises a promise to pay a delinquent amount owed by the borrower.

18. The method as in claim 13 further comprising creating a transaction identifier associated with the promise-to-pay record.

19. The method as in claim 18 further comprising providing the transaction identifier to the customer.

20. The method as in claim 13 further comprising receiving a request for instructions from the payment service provider.

21. The method as in claim 20 further comprising providing the payment service provider with an instruction in response to the request for instructions.