Integrated bill presentment and payment system and method of operating the same

• US 20050010523A1
• Filed: 05/08/2002
• Published: 01/13/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fidelity Information Services, LLC (Fidelity National Information Services Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Metavante Corporation (Fidelity National Information Services Incorporated)
• Inventors: Kaminski, Michael J., Myklebust, Hans E., Chirala, Murali, Watry, John L., Patneaude, Timothy J., Sharma, Dushyant, Srinivasan, Shankar
• Granted Patent: US 8,751,384 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing

Abstract

An integrated bill presentment and payment system and an associated method are disclosed which can accomplish the entire process of bill presentment and payment directly with billers, customers, and their respective financial institutions, but which are also capable of interfacing with independent biller service providers, independent customer service providers, independent consolidators, and/or independent payment providers. The integrated bill presentment and payment system and method of the present invention can link directly to billers and customers, and can also access and distribute billing information from third party biller service providers or consolidators and participate in the distribution of the billing information to customers through third party customer service providers and consolidators. The integrated bill presentment and payment system and method of the present invention can make payments on behalf of customers itself, and can also forward payment instructions to third party payment providers if required.

Claims

1. An integrated system for the presentation and payment of bills, comprising:

a first module which receives billing information from billers, biller service providers, and/or biller-side consolidators;

a second module which sends billing information to customers, customer service providers, and/or customer-side consolidators, wherein said second module is also capable of receiving payment instructions from customers, customer service providers, and customer-side consolidators;

a third module which initiates payment in response to payment instructions received from customers, customer service providers, and customer-side consolidators; and

a fourth module which interconnects said first, second, and third modules and facilitates communication therebetween.

2. An integrated system as defined in claim 1, wherein said first module is capable of receiving both digital billing data and paper bills.

3. An integrated system as defined in claim 2, wherein if said first module receives digital billing data, said first module converts said digital billing data into a desired format.

4. An integrated system as defined in claim 2, wherein if said first module receives paper bills, said paper bills are scanned and the billing information is extracted from the scanned data and placed in a desired format.

5. An integrated system as defined in claim 1, wherein said first module accepts billing information from any biller which will provide billing information to third parties.

6. An integrated system as defined in claim 1, wherein said first module accepts billing information from any biller service provider which will provide billing information to third parties.

7. An integrated system as defined in claim 1, wherein said first module obtains billing information from billers, biller service providers, and/or biller-side consolidators by screen scraping.

8. An integrated system as defined in claim 1, wherein said first module accepts billing information from any consolidator which will provide billing information to third parties.

9. An integrated system as defined in claim 1, wherein said billing information received from a biller, biller service provider, or biller-side consolidator includes summary information only, with detailed information being retained by the biller, biller service provider, or biller-side consolidator, respectively.

10. An integrated system as defined in claim 9, wherein the billing information sent to a customer, customer service provider, or customer-side consolidator includes summary information plus information enabling the customer, customer service provider, or customer-side consolidator, respectively, to obtain detailed billing information.

11. An integrated system as defined in claim 10, wherein said information enabling the customer, customer service provider, or customer-side consolidator, respectively, to obtain detailed billing information comprises a web link.

12. An integrated system as defined in claim 1, wherein said billing information received from a biller, biller service provider, or biller-side consolidator includes both summary and detailed information.

13. An integrated system as defined in claim 1, wherein said second module is capable of sending both electronic bills and paper bills.

14. An integrated system as defined in claim 13, wherein said second module is capable of sending both electronic bills and paper bills to selected customers who desire to receive both electronic bills and paper bills.

15. An integrated system as defined in claim 14, wherein said paper bills are printed and mailed to customers.

16. An integrated system as defined in claim 1, wherein said second module sends electronic billing information to customers.

17. An integrated system as defined in claim 16, wherein said electronic information sent to a customer comprises an electronic bill notice indicating that a bill for that customer has been received.

18. An integrated system as defined in claim 17, wherein said electronic bill notice comprises an e-mail indicating that a bill for that customer has been received.

19. An integrated system as defined in claim 17, wherein said electronic bill notice comprises an instant message indicating that a bill for that customer has been received.

20. An integrated system as defined in claim 17, wherein said electronic bill notice can indicate that a plurality of bills for that customer have been received.

21. An integrated system as defined in claim 17, wherein said electronic bill notice includes detailed billing information.

22. An integrated system as defined in claim 17, wherein said electronic bill notice includes summary information relating to the bill.

23. An integrated system as defined in claim 22, wherein said electronic bill notice includes information enabling the customer to obtain detailed billing information.

24. An integrated system as defined in claim 23, wherein said information enabling the customer to obtain billing information comprises a web link.

25. An integrated system as defined in claim 24, wherein said web link is directed to retrieve detailed billing information from said second module.

26. An integrated system as defined in claim 23, wherein said web link is directed to retrieve detailed billing information from said first module.

27. An integrated system as defined in claim 24, wherein said web link is directed to retrieve detailed billing information from the source of the billing information to said first module.

28. An integrated system as defined in claim 17, wherein said electronic bill notice includes information enabling the customer to obtain billing information.

29. An integrated system as defined in claim 28, wherein said information enabling the customer to obtain billing information comprises a web link.

30. An integrated system as defined in claim 29, wherein actuation of said web link enables the customer to obtain summary billing information.

31. An integrated system as defined in claim 30, wherein said web link is directed to retrieve summary billing information from said second module.

32. An integrated system as defined in claim 30, wherein said web link is directed to retrieve summary billing information from said first module.

33. An integrated system as defined in claim 30, wherein said web link is directed to retrieve summary billing information from the source of the billing information to said first module.

34. An integrated system as defined in claim 30, wherein actuation of said web link also enables the customer to obtain information enabling the customer to obtain detailed billing information.

35. An integrated system as defined in claim 34, wherein said information enabling the customer to obtain detailed billing information comprises a second web link.

36. An integrated system as defined in claim 35, wherein said web link is directed to retrieve detailed billing information from said second module.

37. An integrated system as defined in claim 35, wherein said web link is directed to retrieve detailed billing information from said first module.

38. An integrated system as defined in claim 35, wherein said web link is directed to retrieve detailed billing information from the source of the billing information to said first module.

39. An integrated system as defined in claim 17, wherein said electronic information sent to a customer further comprises a reminder electronic bill notice that a bill for that customer has been received or is due in the near future.

40. An integrated system as defined in claim 39, wherein said reminder electronic bill notice comprises an e-mail indicating that a bill for that customer has been received.

41. An integrated system as defined in claim 1, wherein payment instructions are forwarded by said system to a biller, a biller service provider, or a biller-side consolidator in accordance with a pre-existing agreements with the biller, the biller service provider, or the biller-side consolidator, respectively, to forward payment instructions to them for processing.

42. An integrated system as defined in claim 1, wherein said third module selects a payment type based upon payment type preference criteria maintained by said system.

43. An integrated system as defined in claim 42, wherein said payment type preference criteria are based at least in part upon payment type limitations provided by the biller associated with the bill for which payment is to be made.

44. An integrated system as defined in claim 42, wherein said payment type preference criteria are also based upon payment type limitations provided by the customer paying the bill.

45. An integrated system as defined in claim 42, wherein said payment type preference criteria are also based upon payment type preferences selected by said system.

46. An integrated system as defined in claim 1, wherein said third module is capable of making both electronic payments and paper payments.

47. An integrated system as defined in claim 46, wherein said paper payments are printed and mailed to billers.

48. An integrated system as defined in claim 46, wherein said electronic payments are initiated by said third module and executed by a payment processor which debits the appropriate customer'"'"'s account and credits the appropriate biller'"'"'s account.

49. An integrated system as defined in claim 48, wherein said payment processor is a third party payment processor.

50. An integrated system as defined in claim 46, additionally comprising:

a payment processing module, wherein said electronic payments are initiated by said third module and executed by said payment processing module which debits the appropriate customer'"'"'s account and credits the appropriate biller'"'"'s account.

51. An integrated system as defined in claim 1, wherein said first, second, third, and fourth modules are each implemented on a separate server, and wherein said servers are networked together.

52. An integrated system as defined in claim 1, wherein said first, second, third, and fourth modules are each implemented on a plurality of servers, and wherein more than one of said modules may exist on a single server and/or one of said modules may exist on more than one server, and wherein said servers are networked together.

53. An integrated system as defined in claim 1, wherein said first, second, third, and fourth modules are all implemented on a single computer system.

54. An integrated system as defined in claim 1, wherein said system functions at least in part as a service bureau for at least one institution having a plurality of businesses as clients, and wherein said system brands all communications with billers or customers with information identifying said institution.

55. An integrated system as defined in claim 1, wherein said system functions at least in part as a service bureau for at least one institution having a plurality of businesses as clients, and wherein said institution has at least one other service in addition to the presentation and payment of bills which at least one other is provided electronically to its clients, and wherein using either of said services requires a secure logon procedure, and wherein said integrated system allows said clients to move from the presentation and payment of bills to said at least one other service and from said at least one other service to the presentation and payment of bills without requiring a second secure logon procedure.

56. An integrated system as defined in claim 1, wherein targeted messages are delivered to customers of with billing information, said targeted messages relating either to the biller or to its products or services, or, alternately, to another company or to its products or services which are being marketed through a tie-in to the biller sending the billing information.

57. A system for facilitating the presentation and payment of bills through a single interface, comprising:

a first module which receives billing information from at least two from the group consisting of billers, biller service providers, and biller-side consolidators;

a second module which sends billing information to at least two from the group consisting of customers, customer service providers, and customer-side consolidators;

a third module which receives payment information from at least two from the group consisting of customers, customer service providers, and customer-side consolidators;

a fourth module for initiating the execution of payment in response to said payment information; and

a fifth module which interconnects said first, second, third, and fourth modules and facilitates communication therebetween.

58. A system which facilitates the interconnection of mutually incompatible electronic bill presentment and payment system components, comprising:

a biller-side module for receiving billing information from billers, biller service providers, and consolidators, said billing information being representative of discreet bills originating with a plurality of different billers;

a customer-side module for providing said billing information to customers, customer service providers, and/or consolidators, and for receiving payment information from customers, customer service providers, and/or consolidators, said payment information being in satisfaction of discreet bills originating with a plurality of different billers; and

a payment module for initiating the payment of at least some of the discreet bills originating with a plurality of different billers in response to said payment information.

59. A method of presenting and paying bills, comprising:

receiving billing information for a first plurality of customers from each of a plurality of billers, said billing information for each biller comprising either raw billing information, biller-hosted billing information, or independent biller service provider-hosted billing information;

presenting the billing information to a second plurality of customers either directly, via a portal, via an independent customer service provider, or via a consolidator;

receiving instructions from a third plurality of consumers to pay specified bills either directly, via a portal, via an independent customer service provider, or via an independent consolidator; and

paying said specified bills either directly, via a payment provider associated with a biller or a biller service provider, or via a customer service provider.

60. A method of facilitating connectivity between incompatible components or systems for the presentation and/or payment of bills, comprising:

receiving billing information from at least two from the group consisting of billers, biller service providers, and biller-side consolidators;

sending billing information to at least two from the group consisting of customers, customer service providers, and customer-side consolidators;

receiving payment information from at least two from the group consisting of customers, customer service providers, and customer-side consolidators; and

providing payment information to at least two from the group consisting of billers, customer service providers, and biller-side consolidators.

61. A method of facilitating the electronic presentation and payment of bills between billing parties and billed parties, comprising:

receiving billing information from at least two from the group consisting of billers, biller service providers, and consolidators, said billing information being representative of discreet bills originating with a plurality of different billers;

providing said billing information to at least two from the group consisting of customers, customer service providers, and consolidators;

receiving payment information from at least two from the group consisting of customers, customer service providers, and consolidators, said payment information being in complete or partial satisfaction of discreet bills originating with a plurality of different billers; and

initiating the payment of at least some of the discreet bills originating with a plurality of different billers in response to said payment information.

62. A method of facilitating the delivery of bills between mutually incompatible electronic bill presentment and payment system components, comprising:

receiving first billing information directly from a first biller;

receiving second billing information from a biller service provider, said second billing information originating at a second biller;

receiving third billing information from a consolidator, said third billing information originating at a third biller;

providing said first billing information to a first one of a first customer, a customer service provider, and a consolidator;

providing said second billing information to a second one of a first customer, a customer service provider, and a consolidator; and

providing said third billing information to a third one of a first customer, a customer service provider, and a consolidator.