METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ORDERING GOODS, SERVICES AND CONTENT OVER AN INTERNETWORK USING A VIRTUAL PAYMENT ACCOUNT
First Claim
1. Computer-readable medium having executable components stored on a buyer computer, a seller computer, and a commerce gateway for purchasing a product from a seller computer using a virtual payment account associated with the buyer computer, wherein the executable components purchase the product by:
- in response to receiving a purchase request from a buyer computer to purchase a product from a seller computer using a virtual payment account, the commerce gateway determining whether the buyer computer is associated with the virtual payment account and whether the virtual payment account is valid;
in response to the commerce gateway determining that the buyer computer is associated with the virtual payment account and that the virtual payment account is valid, the commerce gateway applying a cost of the product to the virtual payment account; and
the seller computer arranging to provide the product to a buyer associated with said buyer computer.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A virtual payment system for paying for goods, services and content ordered over an internetwork comprising a commerce gateway component and a credit processing server component (53) is disclosed. Buyers and sellers becomes registered participants by applying for virtual payment buyer and seller accounts. Once an account is established, a digital certificate is stored on the registered participant'"'"'s computer. A buyer can then order a product, i.e., goods, services or content from a seller and charge it to the virtual payment account. When the product is shipped, the seller notifies the commerce gateway component, which in turn notifies the credit processing server, which applies the charges to the buyer'"'"'s virtual payment account. The buyer can settle the charges using a prepaid account, a credit account, or by using reward points earned through use of the virtual payment card. A buyer may create sub-accounts.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. Computer-readable medium having executable components stored on a buyer computer, a seller computer, and a commerce gateway for purchasing a product from a seller computer using a virtual payment account associated with the buyer computer, wherein the executable components purchase the product by:
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in response to receiving a purchase request from a buyer computer to purchase a product from a seller computer using a virtual payment account, the commerce gateway determining whether the buyer computer is associated with the virtual payment account and whether the virtual payment account is valid; in response to the commerce gateway determining that the buyer computer is associated with the virtual payment account and that the virtual payment account is valid, the commerce gateway applying a cost of the product to the virtual payment account; and the seller computer arranging to provide the product to a buyer associated with said buyer computer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification