Multi-party transaction processing system and approach
First Claim
1. An automated transaction arrangement for processing payment for transactions characterized by contract terms between a buyer and an intermediary seller and by contract terms between the intermediary seller and a performing seller, the arrangement comprising:
- a data storage arrangement adapted to store contract terms and business rules for transaction parties, the contract terms including data for auditing and effecting payment to intermediary and performing sellers involved in a common transaction, the business rules including financial processing data for effecting funds transfer for the parties to each transaction; and
an automatic transaction processor adapted to automatically process payment for each transaction using funds designated to the buyer in the transaction, by paying intermediary and performing seller parties as a function of the stored contract terms for the transaction and the business rules information for the buyer and at least one of the intermediary seller and the performing seller.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Transaction management for processing payment-related aspects of transactions is facilitated. According to an example embodiment of the present invention, a transaction management approach involves the automatic processing of payments to multiple parties with payment chains extending through intermediary sellers. In some instances, an intermediary seller contracts with a buyer for goods and/or services, and further contracts with one or more performing sellers (e.g., suppliers) for the provision of the goods and/or services. In these instances, funds designated to the buyer (e.g., from a buyer'"'"'s account or credit line) are transferred to the performing seller or parties in a manner commensurate with the contract between the intermediary seller and the performing seller or sellers. Additional funds are transferred from the buyer to the intermediary seller commensurate with the contract between the buyer and the intermediary seller, less any amount paid to the performing seller or sellers for a particular transaction.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. An automated transaction arrangement for processing payment for transactions characterized by contract terms between a buyer and an intermediary seller and by contract terms between the intermediary seller and a performing seller, the arrangement comprising:
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a data storage arrangement adapted to store contract terms and business rules for transaction parties, the contract terms including data for auditing and effecting payment to intermediary and performing sellers involved in a common transaction, the business rules including financial processing data for effecting funds transfer for the parties to each transaction; and
an automatic transaction processor adapted to automatically process payment for each transaction using funds designated to the buyer in the transaction, by paying intermediary and performing seller parties as a function of the stored contract terms for the transaction and the business rules information for the buyer and at least one of the intermediary seller and the performing seller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An automated transaction system for processing business transactions involving a plurality of transaction parties including a buyer, an intermediary seller and at least one performing seller, wherein the buyer contracts for a transaction with the intermediary seller and wherein the intermediary seller contracts with the one or more performing sellers to fulfill at least part of the contract between the buyer and the intermediary seller, the system comprising:
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data storage means configured and arranged to store contract terms and business rules for the transaction parties;
a pay-through payment processing arrangement adapted to process payment for the transaction by;
determining an amount that each performing seller is owed as a function of the contract between the intermediary seller and the performing seller;
determining an amount that the intermediary seller is owed as a function of the contract between the intermediary seller and the at least one performing seller; and
effecting payment on behalf of the intermediary seller to the at least one performing seller and on behalf of the buyer to the intermediary seller as a function of the determined amounts that each respective party is owed and the stored business rules. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. An automated transaction arrangement for processing payment for a transaction involving a contract between a buyer and an intermediary seller and a contract between the intermediary seller and a performing seller, the arrangement comprising:
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means for storing contract and business rules information for parties to the transaction, the contract terms including information relating to the contracts and the business rules information including financial processing information for parties to the transaction; and
processing means for automatically processing payment for the transaction by paying both the intermediary seller and the performing seller, using funds designated to the buyer, as a function of the stored contract terms and the business rules information for the buyer and at least one of the intermediary seller and the performing seller.
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23. A method for processing business transactions involving a contract between a buyer and an intermediary seller and a contract between the intermediary seller and a performing seller, the method comprising:
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storing contract and business rules information for parties to the transaction, the contract terms including information relating to the contracts and the business rules information including financial processing information for parties to the transaction; and
using an automatic transaction processor, automatically processing payment for the transaction by paying both the intermediary seller and the performing seller, using funds designated to the buyer, as a function of the stored contract terms and the business rules information for the buyer and at least one of the intermediary seller and the performing seller. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification