GRADUAL CONVERSION OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS

• US 20080228615A1
• Filed: 04/28/2008
• Published: 09/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Inventors: Scipioni, German, Poling, Amy, Tiritoglu, Alp, Black, Joseph Edward, Fotsch, Donald James
• Granted Patent: US 8,626,650 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/22 Payment schemes or models
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/227 characterised in that multiple accounts are available, e.g. to the payer
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

Embodiments describe a method and a system to link a secondary account to a primary account with an account management module associated with the primary account and to control access to funds in the secondary account with respect to a secondary account holder through the account management module. The secondary account includes a spending account and a savings account.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a processor;

an account set-up module coupled to the processor and to set up a primary account associated with a primary account holder and a secondary account associated with a secondary account holder; and

an account management module to link the secondary account to the primary account and to adjust features associated with the secondary account based on performance of the secondary account holder, wherein the features associated with the secondary account is less than or equal to features associated with the primary account.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein adjustment of the features associated with the secondary account is controlled by the primary account holder.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the features associated with the secondary account is adjusted by comparing the performance of the secondary account holder with a graduated track.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the graduated track comprises step by step progress of the secondary account holder.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the graduated track is related to one or more of graduating from a school, demonstrating financial responsibility, and demonstrating maturity and trust.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the adjustment of the features associated with the secondary account is related to one or more of accessing, spending, purchasing, depositing, debiting, transferring, and advertising.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the features associated with the secondary account are adjusted closer to or away from the features associated with the primary account depending on the performance of the secondary account holder.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the account setup module is to convert the secondary account into a new primary account when the features of the secondary account are equal to the features of the primary account.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the account management module is to unlink the secondary account from the primary account when the secondary is converted into the new primary account.

10. A method comprising:

establishing a first account and a second account, the second account linked to the first account, the first account associated with a first set of features, the second account associated with a second set of features which is a subset of the first set of features; and

adjusting the second set of features responsive to instructions received from a first account holder associated with the first account, wherein the instructions are related to performance of a second account holder associated with the second account, the performance based on one or more gradual criteria.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

enabling the first account holder to monitor transactions associated with the second account.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the gradual criteria includes growth in maturity, financial responsibility and trust.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the gradual criteria includes graduation.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the instructions received from the first account holder comprises instructions to add features to and instructions to remove features from the second set of features based on the performance of the second account holder.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising enabling the second set of features to be equivalent to the first set of features when the one or more gradual criteria is satisfied by the second account holder.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising unlinking the second account from the first account.

17. A machine-readable medium comprising instructions, which when implemented by one or more processors perform the following operations:

enabling a primary account holder of a primary account to have control over features of a secondary account associated with a secondary account holder, wherein the secondary account is linked to the primary account, and wherein the features of the secondary account are less than or equal to features of the primary account; and

enabling the primary account holder to gradually relinquish the control over the features of the secondary account based on performance of the secondary account holder as measured against one or more criteria.

18. The machine-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the one or more criteria comprises graduation, financial responsibility, maturity, and trust.

19. The machine-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the control over the features of the secondary account is totally relinquished when the one or more criteria is met by the secondary account holder.

20. The machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein, responsive to the control over the features of the secondary account being totally relinquished, the secondary account is unlinked from the primary account.

21. The machine-readable medium of claim 20, wherein, responsive to the control over the features of the secondary account being totally relinquished, the secondary account is upgraded to a new account similar to the primary account.