PERSONAL CHECK ACCEPTANCE SYSTEMS AND METHODS
First Claim
1. A method of accepting a presentation instrument, the method comprising:
- receiving, at a merchant and from a customer, a request for goods or services;
the merchant receiving at a first point in time, a first set of data sufficient to identify a presentation instrument to be used to pay for at least a portion of the goods or services and comprising an estimated payable amount of the presentation instrument, wherein the merchant does not receive the presentation instrument prior to providing the requested goods or services, wherein the presentation instrument is drawn upon an account at a financial institution;
the merchant providing the first set of data to a point of sale terminal at a location of the merchant;
receiving, at the point of sale terminal and from the merchant, the first set of data;
transmitting, from the point of sale terminal, the first set of data;
receiving the first set of data at a host computer;
storing the first set of data at the host computer;
evaluating the first set of data at the host computer,based on an evaluation of the set of data, preauthorizing, at the host computer, acceptance of the presentation instrument;
transmitting a preauthorization message from the host computer to the point of sale terminal, the preauthorization message evidencing a preauthorization of acceptance of the presentation instrument;
displaying, at the point of sale terminal, an indication of the preauthorization message;
delivering the goods or services to the customer, based at least in part on the preauthorization;
receiving, from the customer, the presentation instrument, upon delivery of the goods or services;
providing, at a second point in time and to the point of sale terminal, a second set of data from the presentation instrument, the second set of data comprising an actual payable amount of the presentation instrument;
transmitting the second set of data from the point of sale terminal to the host computer;
receiving the second set of data at the host computer;
evaluating the second set of data at the host computer, wherein evaluating the second set of data comprises comparing the estimated payable amount with the actual payable amount and comparing the first point in time with the second point in time;
automatically authorizing acceptance the payment instrument, based on the preauthorization, a determination that the actual payable amount does not exceed the estimated payable amount by more than a threshold amount, and a determination that the second point in time is within a threshold period of the first point in time; and
settling the payment instrument, based only on the second set of data, without requiring the merchant to deposit the payment instrument, such that the merchant receives an amount of funds specified by the payment instrument.
10 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Tools for facilitating the acceptance of personal checks and other presentation instruments. The tools, in some aspects, allow for preauthorization of a personal check (or other presentation instrument) prior to the merchant receiving the actual check, allowing a merchant, for example, to accept an order by phone, obtain details about the check that will be used to pay for the order, obtain preauthorization to accept the check, and arrange for delivery of the order. Upon delivering the order, the merchant can receive the check, and then obtain a full authorization to accept the check. The full authorization can be based primarily on the preauthorization, giving the merchant assurance that the check will in fact be authorized. In some cases, the tools of the invention also settle the check; in a particular aspect, the check can be settled without requiring the merchant to deposit the check.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method of accepting a presentation instrument, the method comprising:
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receiving, at a merchant and from a customer, a request for goods or services; the merchant receiving at a first point in time, a first set of data sufficient to identify a presentation instrument to be used to pay for at least a portion of the goods or services and comprising an estimated payable amount of the presentation instrument, wherein the merchant does not receive the presentation instrument prior to providing the requested goods or services, wherein the presentation instrument is drawn upon an account at a financial institution; the merchant providing the first set of data to a point of sale terminal at a location of the merchant; receiving, at the point of sale terminal and from the merchant, the first set of data; transmitting, from the point of sale terminal, the first set of data; receiving the first set of data at a host computer; storing the first set of data at the host computer; evaluating the first set of data at the host computer, based on an evaluation of the set of data, preauthorizing, at the host computer, acceptance of the presentation instrument; transmitting a preauthorization message from the host computer to the point of sale terminal, the preauthorization message evidencing a preauthorization of acceptance of the presentation instrument; displaying, at the point of sale terminal, an indication of the preauthorization message; delivering the goods or services to the customer, based at least in part on the preauthorization; receiving, from the customer, the presentation instrument, upon delivery of the goods or services; providing, at a second point in time and to the point of sale terminal, a second set of data from the presentation instrument, the second set of data comprising an actual payable amount of the presentation instrument; transmitting the second set of data from the point of sale terminal to the host computer; receiving the second set of data at the host computer; evaluating the second set of data at the host computer, wherein evaluating the second set of data comprises comparing the estimated payable amount with the actual payable amount and comparing the first point in time with the second point in time; automatically authorizing acceptance the payment instrument, based on the preauthorization, a determination that the actual payable amount does not exceed the estimated payable amount by more than a threshold amount, and a determination that the second point in time is within a threshold period of the first point in time; and settling the payment instrument, based only on the second set of data, without requiring the merchant to deposit the payment instrument, such that the merchant receives an amount of funds specified by the payment instrument. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. In a transaction in which a merchant receives a request from a customer for goods or services, at least a portion of the goods and services to be purchased using a presentation instrument to be received by the merchant after delivery of the goods or services, a method comprising:
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receiving, at a first point of sale device, a first set of data sufficient to identify a presentation instrument to be used to pay for at least a portion of the goods or services and comprising an estimated payable amount of the presentation instrument, wherein the presentation instrument is drawn upon an account at a financial institution; transmitting, from the first point of sale device, the first set of data; receiving the first set of data at a host computer; storing the first set of data at the host computer; evaluating the set of data at the host computer, based on an evaluation of the set of data, preauthorizing, at the host computer, acceptance of the presentation instrument; receiving, at a second point of sale device and upon receipt of the presentation instrument by the merchant, a second set of data derived from the presentation instrument, the second set of data comprising an actual payable amount; transmitting the second set of data from the second point of sale device to the host computer; receiving the second set of data at the host computer; evaluating the second set of data at the host computer, wherein evaluating the second set of data comprises comparing the estimated payable amount with the actual payable amount; and automatically authorizing acceptance of the payment instrument, based on the preauthorization and an evaluation of the second set of data. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. In a transaction in which a merchant receives a request from a customer for goods or services, at least a portion of the goods and services to be purchased using a presentation instrument to be received by the merchant after delivery of the goods or services, a method comprising:
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receiving, at a host computer and from a point of sale device, a first set of data sufficient to identify a presentation instrument to be used to pay for at least a portion of the goods or services and comprising an estimated payable amount of the presentation instrument, wherein the presentation instrument is drawn upon an account at a financial institution; storing the first set of data at the host computer; evaluating the first set of data at the host computer, based on an evaluation of the set of data, preauthorizing, at the host computer, acceptance of the presentation instrument; receiving, at the host computer and from a point of sale device, based upon receipt of the presentation instrument by the merchant, a second set of data derived from the presentation instrument, the second set of data comprising an actual payable amount; evaluating the second set of data at the host computer, wherein evaluating the second set of data comprises comparing the estimated payable amount with the actual payable amount; automatically authorizing acceptance of the payment instrument, based on the preauthorization and an evaluation of the second set of data; transmitting, from the host computer and to the point of sale device, an authorization message that instructs the point of sale device to display an authorization indication for a user. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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24. In a transaction in which a merchant receives a request from a customer for goods or services, at least a portion of the goods and services to be purchased using a presentation instrument to be received by the merchant after delivery of the goods or services, computer system, the computer system comprising:
a host computer, comprising; a processor; a communication interface in communication with the processor; and a computer readable medium in communication with the processor, the computer readable medium comprising a set of instructions executable by the processor to perform one or more operations, the set of instructions comprising; instructions for receiving, via the communication interface, a first set of data sufficient to identify a presentation instrument to be used to pay for at least a portion of the goods or services and comprising an estimated payable amount of the presentation instrument, wherein the presentation instrument is drawn upon an account at a financial institution; instructions for storing the first set of data; instructions for evaluating the first set of data; instructions for preauthorizing, based on an evaluation of the set of data, acceptance of the presentation instrument; instructions for receiving, via the communication interface and based upon receipt of the presentation instrument by the merchant, a second set of data derived from the presentation instrument, the second set of data comprising an actual payable amount; instructions for evaluating the second set of data, wherein evaluating the second set of data comprises comparing the estimated payable amount with the actual payable amount; and instructions for automatically authorizing acceptance of the payment instrument, based on the preauthorization and an evaluation of the second set of data. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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27. An apparatus, comprising computer readable medium having encoded thereon a set of instructions executable by a computer system to perform a set of one or more operations, the set of instructions comprising:
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instructions for receiving, at the computer system, a first set of data sufficient to identify a presentation instrument to be used to pay for at least a portion of the goods or services and comprising an estimated payable amount of the presentation instrument, wherein the presentation instrument is drawn upon an account at a financial institution; instructions for storing the first set of data; instructions for evaluating the first set of data; instructions for preauthorizing, based on an evaluation of the set of data, acceptance of the presentation instrument; instructions for receiving, at the computer system and based upon receipt of the presentation instrument by the merchant, a second set of data derived from the presentation instrument, the second set of data comprising an actual payable amount; instructions for evaluating the second set of data, wherein evaluating the second set of data comprises comparing the estimated payable amount with the actual payable amount; and instructions for automatically authorizing acceptance of the payment instrument, based on the preauthorization and an evaluation of the second set of data. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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Specification