Method and apparatus for computer-implemented processing of payment entries

• US 7,636,874 B2
• Filed: 05/17/2004
• Issued: 12/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Schroter, Martin Walter, Haas, Rolf W., Scheuermann, Hans-Dieter, Gutbrod, Roger
• Primary Examiner(s): Puente; Emerson C
• Application Number:
  US10/846,570
• Publication Number:
  US 20050004850A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,045 Days
• Field of Search: 714/48, 714/2
• US Class Current: 714/48
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/56 Natural language generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4016 involving fraud or risk level assessment in transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/405 Establishing or using transaction specific rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

Method and apparatus for the computer-implemented processing of payment entries which are intended to move money in an account, wherein a payment entry is automatically checked for errors as it is received and if at least one error occurs an error sequence is decided upon from a list of error routines by means of an error routine, all the errors occurring in a given payment entry being supplied collectively to the error routine, and within the scope of the error routine the errors which have occurred are weighted and appropriate error follow-up measures are initiated depending on the results of the error weighting.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for processing a payment entry from a customer to a third party, comprising:

automatically checking, by the computer, the payment entry for errors as the payment entry is received;

upon detecting one or more errors with the payment entry, assigning, by the computer, a weight to each of the one or more errors; and

initiating, by the computer, appropriate follow-up measures depending on the weight assigned to the one or more errors, the appropriate follow-up measures including;

rejecting the payment entry,

returning notice of the error to an account associated with the customer when the payment entry has been rejected,

diverting the payment entry to a posting control system to process the payment,

finishing the payment by appending the payment to the account associated with the customer, without updating objects within the account associated with the customer and issuing posting instructions to the posting control system,

initiating a subsequent disposition of the payment by booking the entry into the account associated with the customer, and sending posting control instruction for posting the payment to the account of the customer to the posting control system, and

booking the payment entry to the account associated with the customer.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the initiated follow-up measures are carried out automatically.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein an operator is presented with a display based on the weight assigned to the one or more errors, the display including data needed to process a given error.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the payment entry is automatically postponed for a given length of time if an error has occurred and is re-examined after the length of time has elapsed.

5. A apparatus for processing a payment entry from a customer to a third party, comprising:

a processor directed to;

automatically check the payment entry for errors as the payment entry is received;

upon detecting all of the errors with the payment entry, assign a weight to each of the errors;

initiate appropriate follow-up measures depending on the weight assigned to each of the errors; and

process the payment entry according to the initiated follow-up measure, the appropriate follow-up measures including;

rejecting the payment entry,

returning notice of the error to an account associated with the customer when the payment entry has been rejected,

diverting the payment entry to a posting control system to process the payment,

finishing the payment by appending the payment to the account associated with the customer, without updating objects within the account associated with the customer and issuing posting instructions to the posting control system,

initiating a subsequent disposition of the payment by booking the entry into the account associated with the customer, and sending posting control instruction for posting the payment to the account of the customer to the posting control system, and

booking the payment entry to the account associated with the customer.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the initiated follow-up measures are carried out automatically.

7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein an operator is presented with a display based on the weight assigned to each of the errors, the display including data needed to process a given error.

8. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the payment entry is automatically postponed for a given length of time if an error has occurred and is re-examined after the length of time has elapsed.

9. A computer-implemented method for processing an erroneous payment entry from a customer to a third party by a computer system, comprising:

storing, by the computer, data related to a customer account in a memory system;

generating, by the computer, a set of posting control rules for the customer account based on the stored data;

receiving, by the computer, a payment entry, wherein the payment entry is submitted by a customer whose account data has been stored in the memory system;

identifying, by the computer, all errors in the payment entry;

in response to the identified errors, accessing, by the computer, the stored data and generated set of posting control rules for the customer submitting the payment entry; and

executing, by the computer, a reaction to the payment entry based on the stored data, the generated set of posting control rules and the identified errors, the reaction including;

rejecting the payment entry,

returning notice of the error to an account associated with the customer when the payment entry has been rejected,

diverting the payment entry to a posting control system to process the payment,

finishing the payment by appending the payment to the account associated with the customer, without updating objects within the account associated with the customer and issuing posting instructions to the posting control system,

initiating a subsequent disposition of the payment by booking the entry into the account associated with the customer, and sending posting control instruction for posting the payment to the account of the customer to the posting control system, and

booking the payment entry to the account associated with the customer.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, the storing comprises:

inputting a customer identification, a type of financial product related to the customer account, a customer role, customer instructions regarding customer accounts, and customer agreements.

11. A computer-implemented method for processing a payment, comprising:

receiving, by thee computer, information corresponding to a payment from a customer to a third party and entering the received payment information in a database stored in a memory system;

associating, by the computer, the entered payment information with an account corresponding to the customer;

automatically checking, by the computer, the associated payment information for errors;

upon detecting one or more errors with the payment information, assigning, by the computer, a weight to each of the one or more errors; and

initiating appropriate follow-up measures depending on the weight assigned to the one or more errors, the appropriate follow-up measures including;

rejecting the payment entry,

returning notice of the error to an account associated with the customer when the payment entry has been rejected,

diverting the payment entry to a posting control system to process the payment,

finishing the payment by appending the payment to the account associated with the customer, without updating objects within the account associated with the customer and issuing posting instructions to the posting control system,

initiating a subsequent disposition of the payment by booking the entry into the account associated with the customer, and sending posting control instruction for posting the payment to the account of the customer to the posting control system, and booking the payment entry to the account associated with the customer.

12. The computer-implemented method according to claim 11, wherein the payment from the customer to the third party was made via a credit card, a check or an automatic debit from the account corresponding to the customer.

13. The computer-implemented method according to claim 11, wherein the follow-up measure includes informing the customer that a scheduled automatic debit from the account corresponding to the customer was blocked.

14. The computer-implemented method according to claim 11, wherein the follow-up measure includes placing a lock on the account corresponding to the customer.