Systems and methods for managing client accounts

• US 7,672,886 B2
• Filed: 06/10/2005
• Issued: 03/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Island Intellectual Property LLC (Double Rock Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Island Intellectual Property LLC (Double Rock Corporation)
• Inventors: Bent, Bruce, Bent, Bruce II
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell; James P
• Assistant Examiner(s): AMELUNXEN, BARBARA J
• Application Number:
  US11/149,278
• Publication Number:
  US 20050228733A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,726 Days
• Field of Search: 235/379, 705/4, 705/35, 705/38, 705/40, 705/42, 705/39
• US Class Current: 705/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/042 characterized in that the payment protocol involves at least one cheque
• 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 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

Providing interest to clients'"'"' deposited funds without limitation on the number of demand withdrawals from deposit accounts is accomplished by an administration system that keeps all of the records for the clients'"'"' deposits and withdrawals, calculates the total of the deposits and withdrawals for all clients, and uses the calculation to determine whether funds are deposited to or withdrawn from one or more deposit accounts in which all clients'"'"' deposit funds are kept. Clients can make unlimited withdrawals, such as by check, credit card, debit card, or electronic transfer, through the administrator. By placing the administrator as the holder of the deposit account(s), exemptions to the limitation on earning interest in demand accounts is facilitated; additionally, dispersing the deposit account funds among multiple banks allows the client to obtain FDIC insurance for all of the deposited funds, which may amount to insurance in excess of the statutory maximum allowed (presently $100,000.00).

Claims

1. A computer system for managing a plurality of client transaction accounts associated with a plurality of respective clients for a plurality of transactions, said system comprising:

one or more electronic databases, stored on one or more computer-readable media, comprising;

(i) client account information for each of the respective client transaction accounts;

(ii) aggregated transaction account information for a plurality of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-insured and interest-bearing aggregated deposit accounts held in a plurality of banks in a program, wherein funds from client transaction accounts of a plurality of clients are aggregated with funds of other client transaction accounts in the aggregated deposit accounts held in the banks in the program; and

(iii) information on each client'"'"'s funds held in said plurality of the insured and interest-bearing aggregated deposit accounts; and

one or more computers comprising memory wherein the memory stores computer-readable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more computers to perform the steps;

(a) administering clients'"'"' deposits/transfers to and withdrawals/transfers from each of said client transaction accounts, said administering comprising processing transaction data comprising data for one or more deposits/transfers for one or more client transaction accounts and transaction data for each of more than six (6) withdrawals/transfers to be paid to third parties by check and/or debit cards, within a month from each of a plurality of said client transaction accounts, with the transaction data comprising a respective amount for each respective withdrawal/transfer;

(b) determining on a regular basis, one or more net transactions for a plurality of clients'"'"' accounts for a plurality of said clients comprising a sum of said plurality of clients'"'"' deposits/transfers to and/or withdrawals/transfers from a plurality of said respective client transaction accounts;

(c) determining, based on one or more of said net transactions, whether to deposit/transfer funds to or withdraw/transfer funds from said one or more FDIC-insured and interest-bearing aggregated deposit accounts, comprising;

(i) determining whether each client'"'"'s funds held in one of the banking institutions in the one or more FDIC-insured interest bearing aggregated deposit accounts held therein is more than a specified amount; and

(ii) generating data for distribution of any amounts over said specified amount into at least one other FDIC-insured interest bearing aggregated deposit account at least one other of the banking institutions in which the total of said client'"'"'s funds will not exceed the specified amount;

(d) processing, during the month, needed deposits/transfers to, or needed withdrawals/transfers from said one or more FDIC-insured and interest-bearing aggregated deposit accounts based on one or more of the net transactions, so that more than six (6) withdrawals/transfers are made during a month from at least one of said FDIC-insured and interest-bearing aggregated deposit accounts; and

(e) updating one or more of the electronic databases with each client'"'"'s deposits/transfers to and withdrawals/transfers from said each client'"'"'s respective transaction account.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause one or more of the computers to perform the steps of making more than six (6) withdrawals/transfers during a month from each of two of said FDIC-insured interest-bearing aggregated deposit accounts.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause one or more of the computers to perform the steps of making more than six (6) withdrawals/transfers during a month from only one of said FDIC-insured interest-bearing aggregated deposit accounts.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause one or more of the computers to perform the steps of

causing distribution of interest from said FDIC-insured interest-bearing aggregated deposit accounts to said client transaction accounts;

and

updating the database based on interest distributed to and client'"'"'s deposits/transfers to and withdrawals/transfers from each of their respective transaction accounts.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause one or more of the computers to perform the step of generation of one or more instructions to facilitate one or more of said withdrawals/transfers from at least one of said one or more FDIC-insured interest-bearing aggregated deposit accounts to be requested in person.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause one or more of the computers to perform the step of generation of one or more instructions to facilitate one or more of said withdrawals/transfers from at least one of said one or FDIC-insured interest-bearing aggregated deposit accounts to be requested by mail.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause one or more of the computers to perform the step of generation of one or more instructions to facilitate one or more of said withdrawals/transfers from at least one of said one or more FDIC-insured interest-bearing aggregated deposit accounts to be requested by messenger.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause one or more of the computers to perform the step of generation of one or more instructions to facilitate one or more of said withdrawals/transfers from at least one of said one or more FDIC-insured interest-bearing aggregated deposit accounts to be requested by telephone and distributed by mail.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause one or more of the computers to perform the step of generation of one or more instructions to facilitate one or more of said withdrawals/transfers from at least one of said one or more FDIC-insured interest-bearing aggregated deposit accounts to be requested by automated teller machine.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more electronic databases maintain aggregated transaction account information for a plurality of FDIC-insured and interest-bearing aggregated deposit accounts held in a fixed number of banks in the program, and

wherein the steps are performed using the fixed number of banks in the program.

11. The system of claim 1,

wherein one or more of the electronic databases includes client preference and/or exclusion information comprising a client'"'"'s one or more preferences and/or one or more exclusions of one or more banks to hold its funds;

and

wherein the computer-readable instructions stored in the memory determines the other bank in the program for distribution of the deposit/transfer, when the balance of funds for the respective client in the aggregated deposit account at the one banking institution equals or exceeds the specified amount, based at least in part on the client preference and/or exclusion information.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed, cause one or more of the computers to perform the step of depositing/transferring of client funds to said client transaction accounts by at least one method selected from the group consisting of check, draft, wire transfer, ACH credit, third party credits, and a sweep from another account.

13. The system of claim 1,

wherein the client account information for each of the respective client transaction accounts comprises a maximum percentage of client funds to be deposited in each of a first plurality of the banking institutions, and

wherein the determining, based on one or more of said net transactions, whether to deposit/transfer funds to or withdraw/transfer funds from said one or more FDIC-insured and interest-bearing aggregated deposit accounts, comprises makes the determination so that no more than the maximum percentage for the respective client of the respective client funds for deposit is deposited in an aggregated deposit account in each of the first plurality of the banking institutions.