Decentralized electronic certified payment
First Claim
1. A method for deposit of an electronic payment order drawn on a deposit target processor, comprising:
- receiving the electronic payment order at a first intermediary processor over a network from a depositing processor;
signing the payment order with an electronic signature of the first intermediary processor;
conveying the signed payment order over the network from the first intermediary processor to at least a second intermediary processor;
adding to the signed payment order an electronic signature of at least the second intermediary processor so as to generate a signed deposit trail;
conveying the payment order with the signed deposit trail from the second intermediary processor over the network to the deposit target processor;
transferring payment from the first intermediary processor to the depositing processor responsive to the payment order; and
verifying validity of the payment order responsive to the signed deposit trail,wherein verifying the validity of the payment order comprises, when two or more duplicates of the payment order are received at one of the processors, determining which of the copies is valid responsive to the signed deposit trail, andwherein determining which of the duplicates is valid comprises determining whether the duplicates were generated accidentally due to a communication failure.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method for deposit of an electronic payment order by a first intermediary processor among a plurality of intermediary processors linked by a communication network. A routing message is received at the first intermediary processor, the message identifying one or more deposit target processors accessible through the network via the second intermediary processor and providing a respective secure identifier for each of the accessible deposit target processors. When the first intermediary processor receives the electronic payment order drawn on a specified one of the deposit target processors conveyed over the network from a depositing processor, it clears the payment order intermediary processor by checking the payment order against the secure identifier of the specified deposit target processor provided in the routing message. Responsive to clearing the order, the first intermediary processor transfers payment to the depositing processor, while conveying the payment order over the network to the specified deposit target.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method for deposit of an electronic payment order drawn on a deposit target processor, comprising:
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receiving the electronic payment order at a first intermediary processor over a network from a depositing processor; signing the payment order with an electronic signature of the first intermediary processor; conveying the signed payment order over the network from the first intermediary processor to at least a second intermediary processor; adding to the signed payment order an electronic signature of at least the second intermediary processor so as to generate a signed deposit trail; conveying the payment order with the signed deposit trail from the second intermediary processor over the network to the deposit target processor; transferring payment from the first intermediary processor to the depositing processor responsive to the payment order; and verifying validity of the payment order responsive to the signed deposit trail, wherein verifying the validity of the payment order comprises, when two or more duplicates of the payment order are received at one of the processors, determining which of the copies is valid responsive to the signed deposit trail, and wherein determining which of the duplicates is valid comprises determining whether the duplicates were generated accidentally due to a communication failure.
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2. A method for deposit of an electronic payment order drawn on a deposit target processor, comprising:
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receiving the electronic payment order at a first intermediary processor over a network from a depositing processor; signing the payment order with an electronic signature of the first intermediary processor; conveying the signed payment order over the network from the first intermediary processor to at least a second intermediary processor; adding to the signed payment order an electronic signature of at least the second intermediary processor so as to generate a signed deposit trail; conveying the payment order with the signed deposit trail from the second intermediary processor over the network to the deposit target processor; transferring payment from the first intermediary processor to the depositing processor responsive to the payment order; and verifying validity of the payment order responsive to the signed deposit trail, wherein verifying the validity of the payment order comprises, when two or more duplicates of the payment order are received at one of the processors, determining which of the copies is valid responsive to the signed deposit trail, and wherein determining which of the copies is valid comprises requesting that each of the processors that conveyed one of the two or more duplicates of the payment order provide the signed deposit trail for the respective duplicate, and clearing or canceling each of the duplicates responsive to the deposit trails provided. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for deposit of an electronic payment order drawn on a deposit target processor, comprising:
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receiving the electronic payment order at a first intermediary processor over a network from a depositing processor; signing the payment order with an electronic signature of the first intermediary processor; conveying the signed payment order over the network from the first intermediary processor to at least a second intermediary processor; adding to the signed payment order an electronic signature of at least the second intermediary processor so as to generate a signed deposit trail; conveying the payment order with the signed deposit trail from the second intermediary processor over the network to the deposit target processor; transferring payment from the first intermediary processor to the depositing processor responsive to the payment order; and verifying validity of the payment order responsive to the signed deposit trail, wherein verifying the validity of the payment order comprises clearing the order only if the deposit trail includes the electronic signatures of all of the intermediary processors that have conveyed the order.
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7. A method for deposit of an electronic payment order drawn on a deposit target processor, comprising:
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receiving the electronic payment order at a first intermediary processor over a network from a depositing processor; signing the payment order with an electronic signature of the first intermediary processor; conveying the signed payment order over the network from the first intermediary processor to at least a second intermediary processor; adding to the signed payment order an electronic signature of at least the second intermediary processor so as to generate a signed deposit trail; conveying the payment order with the signed deposit trail from the second intermediary processor over the network to the deposit target processor; and transferring payment from the first intermediary processor to the depositing processor responsive to the payment order, wherein signing the payment order comprises grouping the payment order with other payment orders to be conveyed to the same deposit target processor, and applying a single signature to the grouped payment orders.
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8. A method for deposit of an electronic payment order drawn on a deposit target processor comprising:
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receiving the electronic payment order at a first intermediary processor over a network from a depositing processor; signing the payment order with an electronic signature of the first intermediary processor; conveying the signed payment order over the network from the first intermediary processor to at least a second intermediary processor; adding to the signed payment order an electronic signature of at least the second intermediary processor so as to generate a signed deposit trail; conveying the payment order with the signed deposit trail from the second intermediary processor over the network to the deposit target processor; and transferring payment from the first intermediary processor to the depositing processor responsive to the payment order, wherein conveying the signed payment order comprises awaiting an acknowledgment for a predetermined length of time after conveying the payment order to the second intermediary processor and, if the acknowledgment is not received, conveying the signed payment order to a third intermediary processor for conveyance of the payment order from the third intermediary processor over the network to the deposit target processor. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. A method for deposit of an electronic payment order drawn on a deposit target processor, comprising:
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receiving the electronic payment order at a first intermediary processor over a network from a depositing processor; signing the payment order with an electronic signature of the first intermediary processor; conveying the signed payment order over the network from the first intermediary processor to at least a second intermediary processor; adding to the signed payment order an electronic signature of at least the second intermediary processor so as to generate a signed deposit trail; conveying the payment order with the signed deposit trail from the second intermediary processor over the network to the deposit target processor; and transferring payment from the first intermediary processor to the depositing processor responsive to the payment order, wherein conveying the payment order comprises conveying the order via an electronic post office within a specified time limit, which post office returns to the first intermediary processor a certification that the order was conveyed to the second intermediary processor within the specified time limit.
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11. A method for deposit of an electronic payment order drawn on a deposit target processor, comprising:
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receiving the electronic payment order at a first intermediary processor over a network from a depositing processor; signing the payment order with an electronic signature of the first intermediary processor; conveying the signed payment order over the network from the first intermediary processor to at least a second intermediary processor; adding to the signed payment order an electronic signature of at least the second intermediary processor so as to generate a signed deposit trail; conveying the payment order with the signed deposit trail from the second intermediary processor over the network to the deposit target processor; transferring payment from the first intermediary processor to the depositing processor responsive to the payment order; receiving at the first intermediary processor a routing message, the message identifying the deposit target processor and providing a respective secure identifier for the deposit target processor; and clearing the payment order at the first intermediary processor by checking the payment order against the secure identifier of the specified deposit target processor provided in the routing message. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for deposit of an electronic payment order drawn on a deposit target processor, comprising:
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receiving the electronic payment order at a first intermediary processor over a network from a depositing processor; signing the payment order with an electronic signature of the first intermediary processor; conveying the signed payment order over the network from the first intermediary processor to at least a second intermediary processor; adding to the signed payment order an electronic signature of at least the second intermediary processor so as to generate a signed deposit trail; conveying the payment order with the signed deposit trail from the second intermediary processor over the network to the deposit target processor; and transferring payment from the first intermediary processor to the depositing processor responsive to the payment order, wherein conveying the signed payment order comprises selecting the second intermediary processor to which the payment order from among a plurality of intermediary processors available to convey the payment order over the network to the deposit target processor, and wherein conveying the signed payment order comprises receiving notifications from the plurality of available intermediary processors indicative of different transaction terms respectively offered by the available intermediary processors to the first intermediary processor, and selecting the intermediary processor to which to convey the order responsive to the offered terms. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for deposit of an electronic payment order drawn on a deposit target processor, comprising:
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receiving the electronic payment order at a first intermediary processor over a network from a depositing processor; signing the payment order with an electronic signature of the first intermediary processor; conveying the signed payment order over the network from the first intermediary processor to at least a second intermediary processor; adding to the signed payment order an electronic signature of at least the second intermediary processor so as to generate a signed deposit trail; conveying the payment order with the signed deposit trail from the second intermediary processor over the network to the deposit target processor; and transferring payment from the first intermediary processor to the depositing processor responsive to the payment order, wherein conveying the signed payment order comprises selecting the second intermediary processor to which the payment order from among a plurality of intermediary processors available to convey the payment order over the network to the deposit target processor, wherein conveying the signed payment order comprises receiving notifications from the plurality of available intermediary processors indicative of different transaction terms respectively offered by the available intermediary processors to the first intermediary processor, and selecting the intermediary processor to which to convey the order responsive to the offered terms, and wherein conveying the signed payment order comprises conveying the order in accordance with peer-to-peer contracts between the first intermediary processor and each of the plurality of available intermediary processors, specifying terms under which the payment order is to be conveyed. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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Specification