Centralized Payment Method and System for Online and Offline Transactions
First Claim
1. A central electronic transaction method, comprising:
- a financial management system hosting a web site on behalf of a payee, wherein the web site displays information to customers of the payee, the information comprising invoices and payment options;
the financial management system receiving input from a customer of the payee, the input comprising;
customer information comprising an identification of at least one payment account, wherein the at least one payment account comprises an existing customer bank account;
a request to view customer invoices on the web site; and
and a request to pay a customer invoice; and
the financial management system executing a transaction in response to the received input, comprising transferring funds from the at least one payment account to a predetermined payee account.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments described herein include an electronic transaction service network (also referred to herein as a centralized electronic transaction (CET) service)=According to an embodiment, a financial management system hosts multiple CET web sites on behalf of multiple merchants. All transactions through any CET web site are executed and managed by the financial management system. Merchants may customize their web sites to include a branded look and feel. The merchant web sites are part of a CET service for which customer can register. Registered customers can then view and pay invoices from any merchants having CET web sites, whether purchases were made online or offline. Customers specify preferences for the CET service including choosing existing customer accounts from which the financial management system is to pay invoices on behalf of the customer. This eliminates the need for the customer to open and fund a separate payment account as in traditional methods.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A central electronic transaction method, comprising:
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a financial management system hosting a web site on behalf of a payee, wherein the web site displays information to customers of the payee, the information comprising invoices and payment options; the financial management system receiving input from a customer of the payee, the input comprising; customer information comprising an identification of at least one payment account, wherein the at least one payment account comprises an existing customer bank account; a request to view customer invoices on the web site; and and a request to pay a customer invoice; and the financial management system executing a transaction in response to the received input, comprising transferring funds from the at least one payment account to a predetermined payee account. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A financial management system comprising:
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a plurality of servers configurable to communicate with a plurality of financial institutions via at least one network; and a plurality of storage devices, comprising, databases that store customer information, merchant information, and financial institution information; and memory devices that store instructions that when executed, cause a central electronic transaction method to be executed, the method comprising, a financial management system hosting a web site on behalf of a merchant, wherein the web site displays information to customers of the merchant, the information comprising invoices and payment options; the financial management system receiving input from a customer of the merchant, the input comprising, customer information comprising an identification of at least one payment account, wherein the at least one payment account comprises an existing customer bank account; a request to view customer invoices on the web site; and and a request to pay a customer invoice; and the financial management system executing a transaction in response to the received input, comprising transferring funds from the at least one payment account to a predetermined merchant account. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method for central electronic transaction management, the method comprising:
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creating and hosting a merchant web site for each of multiple merchants; receiving merchant customization information for a merchant web site comprising a look and feel for the merchant web site; receiving merchant preferences comprising at least one designated merchant account in which funds are to be deposited by the financial management system on behalf of customers of the merchant in payment of merchant invoices; receiving registration input from a customer comprising customer personal information and customer payment account information; receiving input from the customer comprising, a request from the customer to view merchant information comprising merchant invoices, wherein the request is entered by the customer from at least one of the merchant web site and a central financial management system web site; and a request to pay a merchant invoice; and executing a transaction in response to the request to pay comprising transferring funds from the customer payment account to one of the at least one designated merchant accounts.
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Specification