Network based user-to-user payment service

• US 7,356,507 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2001
• Issued: 04/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Bezos, Jeffrey P., Leblang, Jonathan, Schooley, Shaun
• Primary Examiner(s): Kramer; James A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BORLINGHAUS, JASON M
• Application Number:
  US09/928,970
• Publication Number:
  US 20020152163A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,430 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• 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 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/123 Shopping for digital content
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0014 for vending, access and use of specific services not covered anywhere else in G07F17/00 meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity G07F15/00

Abstract

A network-based payment service provides various features for facilitating online, user-to-user payments. One feature involves the ability for users to define customized pay pages for receiving payments from other users. The pay pages are preferably hosted by a service provider site that handles the collection process, and may be created using pay page templates that specify the layouts and behaviors of the pay pages. In one embodiment, a pay page owner can also define one or more “pay boxes” to allow payments to be initiated from other web sites, which may include the web sites of associates who receive commissions on resulting payments. Another feature involves the ability for users to make single-action payments from web sites external to the service provider site. Also disclosed are various features for controlling access to content and services based on whether, or an extent to which, a visitor has made voluntary or mandatory payments.

Claims

1. A server system for providing a network-based user-to-user payment service, comprising:

a pay page generation module which provides functionality for payees to remotely create customized pay pages for receiving payments from other users;

a pay box generation module which provides functionality for the payees to remotely create pay boxes that provide links to their own pay pages from external web pages, wherein the pay box generation module is configured to generate, and output to a user, coding that is adapted to be incorporated into an external web page to cause the external web page to display a corresponding pay box, said coding configured to cause a browser that loads the external web page to retrieve a pay box display object from the server system and to display the pay box display object on the external web page, said pay box display object being selectable by visitors to access a corresponding pay page, said external web page hosted by a computer system that is separate from the server system;

a data repository that stores descriptions of the pay pages and the associated pay boxes created by payees;

a pay page display module which displays outputs pay pages as described in said data repository for display to visitors; and

a transaction processing module which is responsive to a payment request initiated by a visitor of a pay page by using payment information of the visitor to cause a transfer of funds from an account of the visitor to a payee account associated with the pay page.

2. The server system as in claim 1, wherein the pay box generation module provides functionality for payees to specify textual messages for display within their pay boxes.

3. The server system as in claim 1, wherein the pay box generation module provides functionality for a payee to specify a payment amount associated with a pay box such that visitor selection of the pay box causes the payment amount to be displayed within a payment amount field of a corresponding pay page.

4. The server system as in claim 1, wherein the pay pages include payment amount fields that enable visitors to specify payment amounts to pay to the corresponding payees.

5. The server system as in claim 1, wherein the pay box generation module includes within the coding an identifier of the user, and the transaction processing module uses the identifier to track resulting referrals of visitors to a corresponding pay page.

6. The server system as in claim 5, wherein the transaction processing module determines commissions for the user for visitor referrals that result in visitor payments.

7. The server system as in claim 1, farther comprising a module which provides functionality for third party users to locate and install pay boxes of other users, said functionality including a user interface that enables a third party to browse descriptions of payees having pay boxes that are available for syndication, and to select a particular pay box to install on an external web page.

8. The server system as in claim 1, farther comprising an object server that generates and serves the pay box display objects for display within the external web pages, wherein the object server customizes the pay box display objects for recognized visitors.

9. The server system as in claim 8, wherein the object server displays names of recognized visitors within the pay box display objects.

10. The server system as in claim 8, wherein the object server is responsive to a browser request for a pay box object by determining whether an external web page visitor associated with the request is recognized, and when the visitor is recognized, generating and returning a pay box image that is personalized for the recognized visitor.

11. The server system as in claim 8, wherein the object server generates and serves, for a recognized visitor, a customized pay box display object that is selectable by the recognized visitor to complete payment to the corresponding payee, whereby the visitor can complete payment to the payee directly from an external web page that displays the customized pay box display object, without viewing a corresponding pay page.

12. The server system as in claim 11, wherein the transaction processing module is responsive to selection of the customized pay box display object by redirecting a browser of the recognized visitor to an external destination pre-specified by the payee.

13. The server system as in claim 1, wherein the pay page display module customizes the pay pages based at least upon parameters passed with page request messages generated from pay box selection.

14. The server system of claim 1, wherein the server system hosts a service provider site of a payment service provider that collects payments for a plurality of payees, each of which has at least one pay page created via the pay page generation module, said service provider site including pages that implement functionality of said pay page generation module and said pay box generation module.

15. The server system of claim 1, wherein the pay page generation module enables a payee to specify a default payment amount that is displayed to pay page visitors in an amount field of a corresponding pay page.

16. The server system of claim 1, wherein the pay box generation module enables a payee to create multiple pay boxes for a given pay page, and to associate different payment amounts with different ones of said multiple pay boxes, such that a payment amount displayed in an amount field of the given pay page is dependent upon the particular pay box used to access the given pay page.

17. The server system of claim 1, wherein the pay page generation module provides an option to a payee to enable a pay page for syndication, wherein enabling a pay page for syndication causes the system to make a corresponding pay box available for other entities to host.

18. The server system of claim 17, wherein the pay page generation module additionally provides an option for a payee to specify a commission rate for a pay page enabled for syndication, wherein the system uses the commission rate to determine commissions to be paid to entities that host a corresponding pay box.

19. The server system of claim 1, wherein the server system hosts a pay page that is configured to collect voluntary payments from users who access a work provided by a corresponding payee.

20. The server system of claim 19, in combination with an external web site that hosts said work in association with a corresponding pay box created with said pay box generation module, such that a visitor who accesses the work on the external web site can select the associated pay box to access said pay page and make a voluntary payment.

21. The server system of claim 1, further comprising a user interface that enables operators of external sites to locate in said data repository, and to select for hosting, pay boxes for which commissions are paid by associated payees.

22. The server system of claim 1, wherein the transaction processing module is responsive to a payment event initiated from a pay box hosted on an external site by identifying a third party entity associated with the external site and causing a commission amount to be credited to an account of the third party entity.

23. The server system of claim 1, wherein the server system comprises computers that are geographically remote from one another.