Electronic bill payment system with merchant identification

• US 7,296,004 B1
• Filed: 12/19/1997
• Issued: 11/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Checkfree Corporation (Fiserv Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Checkfree Corporation (Fiserv Incorporated)
• Inventors: Lawson, Mary Elizabeth, Perkins, Brad, Garrison, David Lee, Kight, Patricia A., Kerin, Amy Lynn, Ward, Cheryl Lynn
• Primary Examiner(s): ALLEN, AKIBA KANELLE
• Application Number:
  US08/994,047
• Time in Patent Office: 3,616 Days
• Field of Search: 705/40, 705/35, 705/45, 705/404, 705/405, 705/408, 705/410, 705/401, 364/478.13, 364/478.14, 364/478.15, 707/2, 707/3, 707/1, 382/102, 235/375
• US Class Current: 705/404
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• 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 20/385 using an alias or single-use codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

A computer implemented system and method for payment remittance receives a payor'"'"'s payment information, processes this payment information, other than a received zip code, to identify an eleven digit zip code for a payee. The system and method then accesses a database of payee records to locate a payee record corresponding to the eleven digit zip code.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for payment remittance processing, comprising the steps of:

establishing a database having a plurality of payee records associated with a plurality of payees, each payee record including stored name information and stored address information, including a zip code, of its associated payee;

receiving a payee name information and a payee address information, including a zip code;

determining if the stored payee name information and the stored payee address information included in any of the plurality of payee records correspond to the received payee name information and the received payee address information;

directing payment in accordance with a first of the plurality of payee records if the stored payee name information and the stored payee address information included in the first payee record is determined to correspond to the received payee name information and the received payee address information;

processing the received payee address information to identify an eleven-digit zip code if none of the plurality of payee records include stored payee name information and stored payee address information which is determined to correspond to the received payee name information and the received payee address information;

determining if the stored payee zip code included in any of the plurality of payee records corresponds to the identified eleven-digit zip code; and

directing payment in accordance with a second of the plurality of payee records if the stored payee zip code included in the second payee record is determined to correspond to the identified eleven-digit zip code.