Recurrent billing maintenance system

• US 6,997,378 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2004
• Issued: 02/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Liberty Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (American Express Company)
• Inventors: Bailey, Maria S., Ganoe, Nancy S., Peters, Patricia K., Cruz, Alicia, Petersen, Paul M., Holt, Donald H., Phillips, Susan, Griggs, Fred, Freeman, Tina, Zinky, Allan T., Milton, Charles, Cato, Lloyd G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D.
• Application Number:
  US10/843,732
• Publication Number:
  US 20040243638A1
• Time in Patent Office: 643 Days
• Field of Search: 235/379, 705/30, 705/34, 705/67
• US Class Current: 235/379
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A system for updating a merchant customer account database is provided, wherein the system may be used to update a merchant'"'"'s customer database in response to changes made to a customer transaction account. The system provides a remote database location which stores a merchant'"'"'s customer transaction account information for customers using the transaction account for recurring billing purposes. A server is used to manage the remote database information to update the remote database in response to changes in transaction account information. The updated transaction account information is then periodically provided to the merchant for use in updating the merchant'"'"'s customer account database.

Claims

1. A method of updating a merchant customer transaction account database using a computer network, comprising:

receiving a first plurality of customer transaction account records;

pre-authorizing said first plurality of customer transaction account records, storing said pre-authorized said first plurality of customer transaction account records on a local database, said local database being maintained by a local process server;

storing said pre-authorized said first plurality of customer transaction account records in a remote database, said remote database being accessed through a remote process server;

providing a periodic registry file to said remote process server, said periodic registry file comprising a update request to said pre-authorized plurality of customer transaction account records, said process server comparing said periodic registry file to said pre-authorized said first plurality of customer transaction account record, and updating said pre-authorized said first plurality of customer transaction account records according to a predetermined order of process steps, said remote process server generating a maintenance file in response to said comparison of said periodic registry file to said pre-authorized said first plurality of customer transaction account record;

providing said maintenance file to said local process server, said local process server comparing said maintenance file to said pre-authorized said first plurality of customer transaction account records on a local database; and

updating said pre-authorized said first plurality of customer transaction account records on a local database in response to said maintenance file.

2. A method of updating a merchant customer transaction account database using a computer network, comprising:

receiving a first plurality of customer transaction account records;

storing said first plurality of customer transaction account records on a local database, said local database being maintained by a local process server;

storing said first plurality of customer transaction account records in a remote database, said remote database being accessed through a remote process server;

providing a periodic registry file to said remote process server, said daily registry file comprising a update request to said plurality of customer transaction account records, said process server comparing said plurality registry file to said first plurality of customer transaction account record, and updating said first plurality of customer transaction account records according to a order of process steps, said remote process server generating a maintenance file in response to said comparison of said periodic registry file to said first plurality of customer transaction account records;

providing said maintenance file to said local process server, said local process server comparing said maintenance file to said first plurality of customer transaction account records on a local database; and

updating said pre-authorized said first plurality of customer transaction account records on a local database in response to said maintenance file.