System and method for bill delivery and payment over a communications network
First Claim
1. A system for delivering and paying subscriber bills associated with a plurality of payees over a communications network comprising:
- a server computer connected to the network;
at least one subscriber computer connected to the network; and
a bill capture device coupled to the server computer, the bill capture device adapted to accept bill information from a plurality of payee computers each associated with one or more of the plurality of payees, to format the bill information into bill images and to forward the bill images to the server computer,the server computer including a memory for storing subscriber payment data and adapted to transmit the bill images over the network to the at least one subscriber computer,each subscriber computer including a processor, communication means for receiving the bill images, a server access program for viewing the bill images, a display for displaying the bill images and input means for selecting at least one bill payment option,wherein the processor, responsive to the input means, causes the communication means to transmit a bill payment record to the server computer which, in response, forwards the bill payment record to the bill capture device which routes the bill payment signal to a corresponding one or more of the payee computers.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In a bill delivery and payment system, users are able to access a server computer on a communications network to obtain bill information and pay bills. For example, such a communications network may be the Internet or the World Wide Web thereof. Using a personal computer, a user can access a Web site provided by the server computer to view the bill information and instruct the server computer as to the details of the bill payment. In a second embodiment, without visiting the web site, users are provided with electronic bills containing bill information in the form of electronic mail (e-mail) at their e-mail addresses. After opening an electronic bill, a user can make the bill payment by replying to the electronic bill.
1758 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A system for delivering and paying subscriber bills associated with a plurality of payees over a communications network comprising:
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a server computer connected to the network; at least one subscriber computer connected to the network; and a bill capture device coupled to the server computer, the bill capture device adapted to accept bill information from a plurality of payee computers each associated with one or more of the plurality of payees, to format the bill information into bill images and to forward the bill images to the server computer, the server computer including a memory for storing subscriber payment data and adapted to transmit the bill images over the network to the at least one subscriber computer, each subscriber computer including a processor, communication means for receiving the bill images, a server access program for viewing the bill images, a display for displaying the bill images and input means for selecting at least one bill payment option, wherein the processor, responsive to the input means, causes the communication means to transmit a bill payment record to the server computer which, in response, forwards the bill payment record to the bill capture device which routes the bill payment signal to a corresponding one or more of the payee computers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of delivering and paying bills over a communications network to which are coupled a server computer and at least one subscriber computer, the server computer comprising a memory for storing subscriber payment data and the at least one subscriber computer comprising a communications means, a server access program, a display and an input means, the method comprising the steps of:
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accepting at a bill capture device bill information from a plurality of payee computers; formatting the bill information into bill images; forwarding the bill images to the server computer; transmitting the bib images over the communications network to at least one of the subscriber computer via the communication means; displaying the bill images on the display with the server access program; selecting with the input means a bill for payment and payment particulars; transmitting to the server computer, responsive to the input means, a bill payment record with the communication means; forwarding the bill payment record to the bill capture device; and routing the bill payment record to a corresponding payee computer. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for presenting subscriber bill information associated with plurality of payees over a network comprising:
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at least one subscriber computer connected to the network; a plurality of payee computers each associated with one or more of the plurality of payees; a server computer connected to the network for providing the bill information received from the at least one payee computer to the at least one subscriber computer; and a bill capture device coupled to the server computer, the bill capture device adapted to accept the bill information from the at least one payee computer to format the bill information into bill images and to forward the bill images to the server computer; wherein each subscriber computer includes a display for displaying the bill images. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method of presenting and paying bills over a communications network to which are coupled a server computer and at least one subscriber computer, the server computer comprising a memory for storing subscriber payment data and the at least one subscriber computer comprising a communications means, a server access program, a display, the method comprising the steps of:
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accepting at a bill capture device bill information from a plurality of payee computers; formatting the bill information into bill images; transmitting the bill images over the communications network to at least one of the subscriber computer via the communication means; displaying the bill images on the display with the server access program; accepting bill payment information from one at least one of the subscriber computer; and routing the bill payment record to at least one corresponding payee computer. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification