Credit card billing method and system
First Claim
1. A method of processing a plurality of charges to an account for a purchase by a customer of a plurality of items during a single transaction, said method performed over a communications network and comprising the steps of:
- receiving an authorization request from a merchant to allocate a block of credit associated with said account for a total cost corresponding to said purchase;
providing said merchant with an authorization code for said purchase in response to said authorization request;
receiving a plurality of charge requests from said merchant, each of said charge requests associated with a different one of said plurality of items of said purchase;
generating an account statement for said customer separately listing each of said charge requests associated with one of said items; and
transmitting said account statement to said customer.
9 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An improved credit card billing method and system is disclosed which permits multiple items purchased as part of a single transaction or order to be separately billed on a credit card in accordance with a payment schedule designed to minimize inquiries regarding the overall order by the customer. The billing system permits the billing descriptor appearing on the credit card billing statement to have sufficient detail to minimize subsequent customer inquiries. The billing descriptor preferably includes a different customer service number for each individual item. Goods or services are purchased from a merchant in a conventional manner. The customer provides the merchant with a list of the multiple items included in the order, as well as credit card information. The merchant will preferably establish a staggered schedule for billing each individual item in the order and submit the charge requests to the credit card issuer in accordance with the established billing schedule.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of processing a plurality of charges to an account for a purchase by a customer of a plurality of items during a single transaction, said method performed over a communications network and comprising the steps of:
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receiving an authorization request from a merchant to allocate a block of credit associated with said account for a total cost corresponding to said purchase; providing said merchant with an authorization code for said purchase in response to said authorization request; receiving a plurality of charge requests from said merchant, each of said charge requests associated with a different one of said plurality of items of said purchase; generating an account statement for said customer separately listing each of said charge requests associated with one of said items; and transmitting said account statement to said customer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A device for processing over a communication network, a plurality of charges to an account for a purchase by a customer of a plurality of items during a single transaction, the device comprising:
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a storage device; and a processor connected to the storage device; the storage device storing a program for controlling the processor; and the processor operative with the program to; receive an authorization request from a merchant to allocate a block of credit associated with said account for a total cost corresponding to said purchase; provide said merchant with an authorization code for said purchase in response to said authorization request; receive a plurality of charge requests from said merchant, each of said charge requests associated with a different one of said plurality of items of said purchase; generate an account statement for said customer separately listing each of said charge requests associated with one of said items; and transmit said account statement to said customer. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification