UNIVERSAL ROLLOVER ACCOUNT

• US 20090006251A1
• Filed: 06/28/2007
• Published: 01/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Liberty Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (American Express Company)
• Inventors: HAASE, Staci M., CRACCHIOLO, Christopher P., KECK, Mark C., WILKINS, Alec S.
• Application Number:
  US11/770,367
• Publication Number:
  US 20090006251A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03

Abstract

A system, method and computer program product for allowing users to set-up a separate stored value account on their transaction instrument to fund expenses. The stored value account, referred to herein as a Universal Rollover Account (URA) system, can be funded by check, an Automated Clearing House (ACH), or by charging another card or transaction instrument. Users and/or card-members will be given access to a web portal to manage their Universal Rollover Accounts, including changing their funding method, adding or withdrawing funds, and changing their configuration such that the URA bucket can come before or after other funding accounts in a payment hierarchy.

Claims

1. A payment account system associated with a transaction instrument to pay for items purchased by a card member from a provider, comprising:

a tax-advantaged funding source to provide a first part of funds for payment to the provider using the transaction instrument; and

a non-tax-advantaged funding source to provide a second part of the funds for payment to the provider using the transaction instrument.

2. The payment account system of claim 1, wherein the transaction instrument is at least one of a multi-purse card and a healthcare card.

3. The payment account system of claim 1, wherein the payment account system is a universal rollover account system.

4. The payment account system of claim 1, wherein the tax-advantaged funding source is at least one of a Healthcare Savings Account (HSA), a Flexible Savings Account (FSA), a Healthcare Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), and a Medical Savings Account (MSA).

5. The payment account system of claim 1, wherein the non-tax-advantaged funding source is at least one of a checking account, a line of credit account, a credit card account, an Automated Clearing House (ACH) account, a savings account and a debit card account.

6. The payment account system of claim 2, wherein the payment account system is manageable by the member via a web-portal.

7. The payment account system of claim 1, wherein the payment account is operable at a valid Merchant Category Code (MCC) provider.

8. A method of funding a payment account associated with a transaction instrument, comprising:

(a) loading funds from a tax-advantaged funding source into the payment account associated with the transaction instrument prior to a purchase of an item by a member;

(b) loading additional funds from a non-tax-advantaged funding source into the payment account associated with the transaction instrument prior to the purchase of the item by the member; and

(c) authorizing a payment for the purchased item up to a total amount of the funds available in the payment account.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

(d) drawing funds from the tax-advantaged funding source to load the payment account before drawing the additional funds from the non-tax-advantaged funding source in payment for the purchased item.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

(d) drawing all available funds in the tax-advantaged funding source to load the payment account before drawing the additional funds from the non-tax-advantaged funding source in the payment for the purchased item.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

(d) storing data associated with the purchase of the item on a web-portal; and

(e) providing the member access to the non-tax-advantaged funding source to modify information on the web-portal.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

(d) adding further additional funds from a funding source different from the tax-advantaged and the non-tax-advantaged funding source into the non-tax-advantaged funding source at regular and non-regular intervals as defined by the member.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein step (b) further comprises loading the additional funds when the total amount of the funds available in the combination of the tax-advantaged and non-tax-advantaged funding sources in the payment account falls below a pre-determined threshold value.

15. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

(d) configuring an order of selection of at least two separate funding sources that are non-tax-advantaged funding sources in payment for the purchased item based on the member'"'"'s preference.

16. The method of claim 8, wherein the transaction instrument is a healthcare card.

17. The method of claim 8, wherein the payment account is at least one of a healthcare related account and a universal rollover account.

18. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

(d) enrolling the member into the payment account prior to step (a);

(e) updating the member'"'"'s financial information;

(f) withdrawing funds from the payment account in payment for the purchase of the item by the member; and

(g) depositing unused funds in the payment account, after completing the purchase, back into at least one of the tax-advantaged and the non-tax-advantaged funding source.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein step (e) further comprises entering on a web-portal at least one of (1) the member'"'"'s name, (2) a member card number, (3) the member'"'"'s membership expiry date and (4) a card identification (CD) number.

21. The method of claim 8, wherein at least one of steps (a) and (b) can be accomplished using a telephone banking system.

13. (canceled)

19. (canceled)

22. A method for processing a healthcare related purchase, comprising:

(a) enrolling a card member into a universal rollover account;

(b) updating the card member'"'"'s financial information;

(c) linking the universal rollover account to at least one of a tax-advantaged and a non-tax-advantaged funding source;

(d) loading funds into the universal rollover account; and

(e) withdrawing the funds from the universal rollover account to pay for a healthcare item purchased by the card member.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

(f) depositing unused funds in the universal rollover account, following a completion of the healthcare related purchase, back into at least one of the tax-advantaged and the non-tax-advantaged funding source.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein step (b) further comprises entering on a web-portal at least one of (1) the card member'"'"'s name, (2) the card member'"'"'s card number, (3) the card member'"'"'s card expiry date and (4) a card identification (CD) number.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein step (d) can be accomplished using a telephone banking system.

24. (canceled)

27. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having control logic stored therein for causing a computer to maintain a card member'"'"'s universal healthcare rollover account bucket, said control logic comprising:

computer readable program code containing a set of instructions for enrolling the card member via a web-portal;

computer readable program code for linking the universal rollover account bucket to a tax-advantaged funding source database;

computer readable program code for linking the universal rollover account bucket to a non-tax-advantaged funding source database; and

computer readable code for causing the computer to load the universal rollover account bucket with funds from at least one of (1) the tax-advantaged funding source database and (2) the non-tax-advantaged funding source database.

28. The computer program product code of claim 27, further comprising:

computer program product code for updating information related to the card member'"'"'s tax-advantaged funding source database and non-tax-advantaged funding source database after a payment for a healthcare item purchased by the card member from a provider.