METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ORDERING GOODS, SERVICES, AND CONTENT OVER AN INTERNETWORK USING A VIRTUAL PAYMENT ACCOUNT
First Claim
1. A method for creating a virtual payment account for a buyer which may be used to pay for products ordered over an internetwork, the method comprising:
- in response to receiving application data from said buyer, determining a credit score for said buyer based upon the application data;
determining whether the credit score exceeds a threshold credit score;
in response to determining that the credit score exceeds the threshold credit score, establishing a virtual payment account associated with the buyer at a commerce gateway; and
installing a digital certificate on a buyer computer associated with the buyer that uniquely identifies the buyer as the registered holder of the virtual payment account.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A secure, closed virtual payment system comprising registered buyers and sellers for ordering and paying for goods, services, and content over an internetwork is disclosed. A buyer becomes registered by applying for a virtual payment account. A seller becomes registered by applying for a seller account. A credit processing component (53) immediately evaluates the buyer'"'"'s application and assigns a credit limit to the account. Once an account is established, a digital certificate is stored on the registered participant'"'"'s computer. The buyer can then order goods, services, or content from a seller and charge it to the virtual payment account. When the product is shipped, the seller notifies a commerce gateway component (52), which, in turn, notifies the credit processing server, which applies the charges to the buyer'"'"'s virtual payment account.
50 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A method for creating a virtual payment account for a buyer which may be used to pay for products ordered over an internetwork, the method comprising:
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in response to receiving application data from said buyer, determining a credit score for said buyer based upon the application data; determining whether the credit score exceeds a threshold credit score; in response to determining that the credit score exceeds the threshold credit score, establishing a virtual payment account associated with the buyer at a commerce gateway; and installing a digital certificate on a buyer computer associated with the buyer that uniquely identifies the buyer as the registered holder of the virtual payment account. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification