Automated payment system
DCFirst Claim
1. An automated apparatus for generating a plurality of authorized drafts on financial accounts belonging to a plurality of payors, the drafts payable to one of a fixed set of one or more payees, comprising:
- input means for performing a manual input process wherein a system operator enters information specifying a new payor previously unknown to the apparatus and a draft to be generated on an account of that payor, said information including a financial institution identification number, payor account identifier, postal address of the payor, and an amount to be drafted from said payor'"'"'s account;
a postal zone code database of high-risk postal zone codes which have been empirically associated with an elevated risk of payment fraud;
zip code verification means connected to said input means and said postal zone code database for comparing said postal address of said payor with entries in said postal zone code database and providing an output indication during said manual input process when said payor'"'"'s postal address has one of said high-risk postal zone codes, whereby additional steps may be taken to verify the ability to process said draft;
processing means connected to said input means for receiving said input information and processing said information to format drafts on said financial account payable to said payee, said draft format including identification of said financial account, identification of said financial institution holding said financial account, said payor'"'"'s address, and an instruction to pay said amount to said payee including particular identification of said payee, and further including a signatory block for an authorizing signature other than said payor'"'"'s signature;
output means for transferring said draft formats to an external magnetic printing means connectable to said processing means for generating a paper copy of said drafts using magnetically encoded ink and printing fonts compatible with clearing house check processing equipment.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method of collecting payments uses an automated system to generate a draft, payable to the creditor and drawn on the payor'"'"'s checking account, pursuant to the payor'"'"'s authorization. The draft is then executed by the debt collector as authorized signatory for the payor, and deposited into the payee'"'"'s account to complete payment. The automated system has a simple input screen which receives the necessary information for generation of the draft, which may be read to the system operator over the telephone by the authorizing payor. The system verifies the bank and account information by comparing the input information to records in a database associated with the system. Optionally, the system may also generate an inquiry to the bank to determine the availability of funds in the payor'"'"'s account. When verification is complete, the system generates a paper bank draft payable to the payor, using MICR ink so that the draft can be processed in the banking system like an ordinary check. The signature block of the draft is made for the collection agent "as authorized signatory for" the payor.
673 Citations
47 Claims
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1. An automated apparatus for generating a plurality of authorized drafts on financial accounts belonging to a plurality of payors, the drafts payable to one of a fixed set of one or more payees, comprising:
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input means for performing a manual input process wherein a system operator enters information specifying a new payor previously unknown to the apparatus and a draft to be generated on an account of that payor, said information including a financial institution identification number, payor account identifier, postal address of the payor, and an amount to be drafted from said payor'"'"'s account; a postal zone code database of high-risk postal zone codes which have been empirically associated with an elevated risk of payment fraud; zip code verification means connected to said input means and said postal zone code database for comparing said postal address of said payor with entries in said postal zone code database and providing an output indication during said manual input process when said payor'"'"'s postal address has one of said high-risk postal zone codes, whereby additional steps may be taken to verify the ability to process said draft; processing means connected to said input means for receiving said input information and processing said information to format drafts on said financial account payable to said payee, said draft format including identification of said financial account, identification of said financial institution holding said financial account, said payor'"'"'s address, and an instruction to pay said amount to said payee including particular identification of said payee, and further including a signatory block for an authorizing signature other than said payor'"'"'s signature; output means for transferring said draft formats to an external magnetic printing means connectable to said processing means for generating a paper copy of said drafts using magnetically encoded ink and printing fonts compatible with clearing house check processing equipment. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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2. An automated apparatus for generating a plurality of authorized drafts on financial accounts belonging to a plurality of payors, the drafts payable to one of a fixed set of one or more payees, comprising:
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input means for performing a manual input process wherein a system operator enters information specifying a new payor previously unknown to the apparatus and a draft to be generated on an account of that payor, said information including a financial institution identification number, payor account identifier, and an amount to be drafted from said payor'"'"'s account; processing means connected to said input means for receiving said input information and processing said information to format drafts on said financial account payable to said payee, said draft format including identification of said financial account, identification of said financial institution holding said financial account, and an instruction to pay said amount to said payee including particular identification of said payee, and further including a signatory block for an authorizing signature other than said payor'"'"'s signature; output means for transferring said draft formats to an external magnetic printing means connectable to said processing means for generating a paper copy of said drafts using magnetically encoded ink and printing fonts compatible with clearing house check processing equipment; wherein said apparatus is implemented on a computer using software which incorporates security measures for preventing fraudulent draft production, said security measures comprising the coded imbedding of said identification of said payee in said software whereby that payee information appearing on said drafts cannot be readily modified by a person gaining unauthorized access to said software.
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3. An automated apparatus for generating a plurality of authorized drafts on financial accounts belonging to a plurality of payors, the drafts payable to one of a fixed set of one or more payees, comprising:
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input means for performing an electronic information input process wherein a system operator enters information specifying a new payor previously unknown to the system and a draft to be generated on an account of that payor, said information including a financial institution identification number, payor account identifier, and an amount to be drafted from said payor'"'"'s account; an institutional database comprising financial institution identification information; institution verification means for receiving said financial institution identification number and comparing said financial institution identification number to entries in said institutional database, wherein when said financial institution is found in the institutional database, the institution verification means retrieves identifying information about the institution and verifies the accuracy of said financial institution identification number, and wherein when said financial institution is not found in the institutional database, an error indication is generated; processing means connected to said input means for receiving said input information and processing said information to format a draft on said financial account payable to said payee, said draft format including identification of said financial account, identification of said financial institution holding said financial account, and an instruction to pay said amount to said payee including particular identification of said payee, and further including a signatory block for an authorizing signature other than said payor'"'"'s signature; output means for transferring said draft formats to an external magnetic printing means connectable to said processing means for generating a paper copy of said drafts using magnetically encoded ink and printing fonts compatible with clearing house check processing equipment; a database of high-risk postal zone codes which have been empirically associated with an elevated risk of payment fraud; and zone warning means for comparing said postal address of said payor with said postal zone code database and providing an output indication when said payor'"'"'s postal address is one of said high-risk postal zone codes, whereby additional steps may be taken to verify the ability to process said draft. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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22. An automated apparatus for generating a plurality of authorized drafts on financial accounts belonging to a plurality of payers, the drafts payable to one of a fixed set of one or more payees, comprising:
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input means for performing an electronic information input process wherein a system operator enters information specifying a new payer previously unknown to the system and a draft to be generated on an account of that payer, said information including a financial institution identification number, payer account identifier, and an amount to be drafted from said payer'"'"'s account; an institutional database comprising financial institution identification information; institution verification means for receiving said financial institution identification number and comparing said financial institution identification number to entries in said institutional database, wherein when said financial institution is found in the institutional database, the institution verification means retrieves identifying information about the institution and verifies the accuracy of said financial institution identification number, and wherein when said financial institution is not found in the institutional database, an error indication is generated; processing means connected to said input means for receiving said input information and processing said information to format a draft on said financial account payable to said payee, said draft format including identification of said financial account, identification of said financial institution holding said financial account, and an instruction to pay said amount to said payee including particular identification of said payee, and further including a signatory block for an authorizing signature other than said payer'"'"'s signature; and output means for transferring said draft formats to an external magnetic printing means connectable to said processing means for generating a paper copy of said drafts using magnetically encoded ink and printing fonts compatible with clearing house check processing equipment; wherein said system is implemented on a computer using software which incorporates security measures for preventing fraudulent draft production, said security measures comprising the coded imbedding of said payee identification information in said software so that payee information appearing on said drafts cannot be readily modified by a person gaining unauthorized access to said software.
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23. An automated apparatus for generating a plurality of authorized drafts on financial accounts belonging to a plurality of payors, the drafts payable to a payee, comprising:
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input means for performing an electronic information input process wherein a system operator enters information specifying a new payor previously unknown to the system and a draft to be generated on an account of that payor, said information including a financial institution identification number, payor account identifier, and an amount to be drafted from said payor'"'"'s account; an institutional database comprising financial institution identification information; institution verification means for receiving said financial institution identification number and comparing said financial institution identification number to entries in said institutional database, wherein when said financial institution is found in the institutional database, the institution verification means retrieves identifying information about the institution and verifies the accuracy of said financial institution identification number, and wherein when said financial institution is not found in the institutional database, an error indication is generated; processing means connected to said input means for receiving said input information and processing said information to format a draft on said financial account payable to said payee, said draft format including identification of said financial account, identification of said financial institution holding said financial account, and an instruction to pay said amount to said payee including particular identification of said payee, and further including a signatory block for an authorizing signature other than said payor'"'"'s signature; output means for transferring said draft formats to a local magnetic printing means connected to said processing means for generating a paper copy of said drafts using magnetically encoded ink and printing fonts compatible with clearing house check processing equipment; a database of high-risk postal zone codes which have been empirically associated with an elevated risk of payment fraud; and zone warning means for comparing said postal address of said payor with said postal zone code database and providing an output indication when said payor'"'"'s postal address is one of said high-risk postal zone codes, whereby additional steps may be taken to verify the ability to process said draft. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. An automated apparatus for generating a plurality of authorized drafts on financial accounts belonging to a plurality of payors, the drafts payable to a payee, comprising:
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input means for performing an electronic information input process wherein a system operator enters information specifying a new payor previously unknown to the system and a draft to be generated on an account of that payor, said information including a financial institution identification number, payor account identifier, and an amount to be drafted from said payor'"'"'s account; an institutional database comprising financial institution identification information; institution verification means for receiving said financial institution identification number and comparing said financial institution identification number to entries in said institutional database, wherein when said financial institution is found in the institutional database, the institution verification means retrieves identifying information about the institution and verifies the accuracy of said financial institution identification number, and wherein when said financial institution is not found in the institutional database, an error indication is generated; processing means connected to said input means for receiving said input information and processing said information to format a draft on said financial account payable to said payee, said draft format including identification of said financial account, identification of said financial institution holding said financial account, and an instruction to have said amount to said payee including particular identification of said payee, and further including a signatory block for an authorizing signature other than said payor'"'"'s signature; and output means for transferring said draft formats to a local magnetic printing means connected to said processing means for generating a paper copy of said drafts using magnetically encoded ink and printing fonts compatible with clearing house check processing equipment; wherein said system is implemented on a computer using software which incorporates security measures for preventing fraudulent draft production, said security measures comprising the coded imbedding of said payee identification information in said software so that payee information appearing on said drafts cannot be readily modified by a person gaining unauthorized access to said software.
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38. An automated apparatus for generating a plurality of authorized drafts on financial accounts belonging to a plurality of payors, the drafts payable to a payee, comprising:
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input means for performing a manual input process wherein a system operator enters information specifying a new payor previously unknown to the apparatus and a draft to be generated on an account of that payor, said information including a financial institution identification number, payor account identifier, postal address of the payor, and an amount to be drafted from said payor'"'"'s account; a postal zone code database of high-risk postal zone codes which have been empirically associated with an elevated risk of payment fraud; zip code verification means connected to said input means and said postal zone code database for comparing said postal address of said payor with entries in said postal zone code database and providing an output indication during said manual input process when said payor'"'"'s postal address has one of said high-risk postal zone codes, whereby additional steps may be taken to verify the ability to process said draft; processing means connected to said input means for receiving said input information and processing said information to format drafts on said financial account payable to said payee, said draft format including identification of said financial account, identification of said financial institution holding said financial account, said payor'"'"'s address, and an instruction to pay said amount to said payee including particular identification of said payee, and further including a signatory block for an authorizing signature other than said payor'"'"'s signature; output means for transferring said draft formats to an external magnetic printing means connectable to said processing means for generating a paper copy of said drafts using magnetically encoded ink and printing fonts compatible with clearing house check processing equipment.
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39. An automated apparatus for generating a plurality of authorized drafts on financial accounts belonging to a plurality of payors, the drafts payable to a payee, comprising:
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input means for performing a manual input process wherein a system operator enters information specifying a new payor previously unknown to the apparatus and a draft to be generated on an account of that payor, said information including a financial institution identification number, payor account identifier, and an amount to be drafted from said payor'"'"'s account; processing means connected to said input means for receiving said input information and processing said information to format drafts on said financial account payable to said payee, said draft format including identification of said financial account, identification of said financial institution holding said financial account, and an instruction to pay said amount to said payee including particular identification of said payee, and further including a signatory block for an authorizing signature other than said payor'"'"'s signature; output means for transferring said draft formats to an external magnetic printing means connectable to said processing means for generating a paper copy of said drafts using magnetically encoded ink and printing fonts compatible with clearing house check processing equipment; wherein said apparatus is implemented on a computer using software which incorporates security measures for preventing fraudulent draft production, said security measures comprising the coded imbedding of said identification of said payee in said software whereby that payee information appearing on said drafts cannot be readily modified by a person gaining unauthorized access to said software. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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Specification