Multicurrency exchanges between participants of a network-based transaction facility

• US 7,742,985 B1
• Filed: 06/26/2003
• Issued: 06/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Digrigoli, Giacomo, Lee, George
• Primary Examiner(s): Poinvil; Frantzy
• Application Number:
  US10/608,525
• Time in Patent Office: 2,553 Days
• Field of Search: 705 10- 44
• US Class Current: 705/39
• 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 20/381 Currency conversion
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A method and apparatus for facilitating online payment transactions in multiple currencies between participants of a network-based transaction facility are described. In one embodiment, a user interface is communicated to a sender via a communications network. The user interface facilitates sender input with respect to a desired currency in which a payment to a recipient is to be made. Further, data identifying a sender-selected currency is received from the sender via the communications network. In response, information identifying a current exchange rate for conversion between the sender-selected currency and a sender primary currency is communicated to the sender via the communications network. If the sender confirms the payment in the sender-selected currency, the recipient is informed about the payment in the sender-selected currency.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating online multi-currency payment transactions between participants of a network-based transaction facility, the method comprising:

communicating to a sender via a communications network a user interface that facilitates sender input with respect to a desired currency in which a payment is to be made;

receiving data identifying a sender-selected currency from the sender via the communications network;

communicating to the sender via the communications network information identifying a current exchange rate for conversion between the sender-selected currency and a sender primary currency; and

if receiving a confirmation of the payment in the sender-selected currency from the sender, informing a recipient via the communications network about the payment in the sender-selected currency, the informing the recipient via the communications network including communicating a user interface to the recipient, the user interface to enable a receiving of a selection from the recipient, the selection from the recipient is selected from a group consisting of an acceptance of the payment in the sender-selected currency and a denial of the payment in the sender-selected currency.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the sender primary currency is a currency used in a majority of transactions involving the sender.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the payment is to be funded from a balance in the sender-selected currency that is maintained within a sender account.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining that the sender does not have a balance in the sender selected currency within the sender account; and

converting an equivalent value in the sender primary currency into the sender-selected currency to fund the payment.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising displaying the equivalent value in the sender primary currency to the sender prior to converting.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising updating the current exchange rate at predefined time intervals.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein updating the current exchange rate comprises:

upon determining that a predefined time interval has expired, retrieving current exchange rates from a third party system;

applying a set of rules to the retrieved rates to verify that the retrieved rates are correct; and

replacing existing rates stored in a database with the retrieved rates.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the retrieved rates are guaranteed by a third party during the predefined time interval.

9. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

accumulating payment transactions in each of a plurality of currencies used during the predefined time interval;

requesting the third party system to trade the accumulated payment transactions; and

receiving confirmation from the third party system that trades of the accumulated payment transactions have been completed.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining that the recipient did not accept the payment in the sender-selected currency; and

displaying an error message to the sender, the error message offering the sender to select a different currency for the payment.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a request to return the payment to the sender; and

returning funds to a sender account in the sender-selected currency.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

in response to a sender request, displaying a history of currency conversion calculations from previous transactions involving the sender.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface further includes a selection from the recipient to accept the payment in the sender-selected currency and convert the payment from the sender selected currency to a recipient primary currency.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface includes a payment amount in the sender-selected currency and an equivalent amount in the recipient primary currency.

15. A method for facilitating online multi-currency payment transactions between participants of a network-based transaction facility, the method comprising:

communicating to a recipient via a communications network information identifying a payment in a sender-selected currency and conversion data pertaining to a payment amount in the sender-selected currency;

receiving from the recipient via the communications network data indicating a recipient decision with respect to an acceptance of the payment in the sender-selected currency; and

notifying the sender via the communications network of the recipient decision.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the conversion data pertaining to a payment amount in the sender-selected currency comprises an equivalent value in a recipient primary currency for a payment amount in the sender-selected currency, the recipient primary currency being a currency used in a majority of transactions involving the recipient.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the sender-selected currency is a currency for which the recipient does not have a balance within a recipient account.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

determining that the recipient denies the payment in the sender-selected currency; and

asking the sender to select a different currency for the payment.

19. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

determining that the recipient accepts the payment in the sender-selected currency;

determining whether the recipient requests a conversion of the payment amount into the recipient primary currency;

if the recipient requests the conversion, performing the conversion and adding the payment amount to a balance in the recipient primary currency within the recipient account; and

if the recipient does not request the conversion, creating a new balance in the sender-selected currency within the recipient account and adding the payment amount to the new balance.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein receiving data indicating a recipient decision with respect to an acceptance of the payment in the sender-selected currency comprises:

communicating to the recipient via the communications network a payment receiving preference user interface that facilitates recipient input with respect to future payments in currencies for which the recipient does not have a balance within a recipient account;

receiving from the recipient via the communications network the recipient input with respect to future payments; and

utilizing the recipient input to determine a recipient preference with respect to an acceptance of the current payment in the sender-selected currency.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the recipient input is any one of a request to automatically block payments in currencies for which the recipient does not have a balance, a request to automatically accept and convert, into the recipient primary currency, payments in currencies for which the recipient does not have a balance, and a request to let the recipient to make a decision every time a payment is received in a currency for which the recipient does not have a balance.

22. The method of claim 19 further comprising assessing a receiving fee in the sender-selected currency.

23. The method of claim 15 wherein the conversion data pertaining to the payment amount in the sender-selected currency is based on a current exchange rate that is updated at predefined time intervals.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the updated exchange rate is guaranteed by a third party during a predefined time interval.

25. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

in response to a recipient request, displaying a history of currency conversion calculations from previous transactions involving the recipient.

26. An apparatus comprising:

a transaction information receiver to communicate to a sender via a communications network a user interface that facilitates sender input with respect to a desired currency in which a payment is to be made, and to receive data identifying a sender-selected currency from the sender via the communications network;

a sender funds analyzer to communicate to the sender via the communications network information identifying a current exchange rate for conversion between the sender-selected currency and a sender primary currency; and

a recipient communicator to communicate a user interface to the recipient to inform the recipient via the communications network about the payment in the sender-selected currency if receiving a confirmation of the payment in the sender-selected currency from the sender, the user interface to enable a receipt of a selection from the recipient, the selection from the recipient is selected from a group consisting of an acceptance of the payment in the sender-selected currency and a denial of the payment in the sender-selected currency.

27. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the sender primary currency is a currency used in a majority of transactions involving the sender.

28. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the payment is to be funded from a balance in the sender-selected currency that is maintained within a sender account.

29. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the sender funds analyzer is to determine that the sender does not have a balance in the sender selected currency within the sender account, and to convert an equivalent value in the sender primary currency into the sender-selected currency to fund the payment.

30. The apparatus of claim 26 further comprising a rate controller to update the current exchange rate at predefined time intervals.

31. The apparatus of claim 30 wherein the updated rate is guaranteed by a third party during a predefined time interval.

32. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the recipient communicator is to determine that the recipient did not accept the payment in the sender-selected currency, and to display an error message to the sender, the error message offering the sender to select a different currency for the payment.

33. An apparatus comprising:

a transaction information receiver to communicate to a recipient via a communications network information identifying a payment in a sender-selected currency and conversion data pertaining to a payment amount in the sender-selected currency;

a recipient decision determinator to receive from the recipient via the communications network data indicating a recipient decision with respect to an acceptance of the payment in the sender-selected currency; and

a sender notifier to notify the sender via the communications network of the recipient decision.

34. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein the conversion data pertaining to a payment amount in the sender-selected currency comprises an equivalent value in a recipient primary currency for a payment amount in the sender-selected currency, the recipient primary currency being a currency used in a majority of transactions involving the recipient.

35. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein the sender-selected currency is a currency for which the recipient does not have a balance within a recipient account.

36. A system for facilitating online multicurrency payment transactions between participants in a network-based transaction facility, the system comprising:

the network-based transaction facility to implement a transaction system that facilitates business transactions between a sender and a recipient;

a client, coupled to the network-based transaction facility, to present user interface information that facilitates sender input with respect to a desired currency in which a payment is to be made; and

an online payment service, coupled to the network-based transaction facility and the client via the communications network, to receive data identifying a sender-selected currency, to send information identifying a current exchange rate for conversion between the sender-selected currency and a sender primary currency to the client, and to communicate a user interface to the recipient to inform the recipient via the communications network about the payment in the sender-selected currency if receiving a confirmation of the payment in the sender-selected currency from the sender, the user interface to enable a receipt of a selection from the recipient, the selection from the recipient is selected from a group consisting of an acceptance of the payment in the sender-selected currency and a denial of payment in the sender-selected currency.

37. A system for facilitating online multicurrency payment transactions between participants in a network-based transaction facility, the system comprising:

the network-based transaction facility to implement a transaction system that facilitates business transactions between a sender and a recipient;

a client, coupled to the network-based transaction facility, to present information identifying a payment in a sender-selected currency and conversion data pertaining to a payment amount in the sender-selected currency; and

an online payment service, coupled to the network-based transaction facility and the client via the communications network, to receive from the client data indicating a recipient decision with respect to an acceptance of the payment in the sender-selected currency, and to notify the sender via the communications network of the recipient decision.

38. A computer readable medium comprising instructions, which when executed on a processor, cause the processor to perform a method comprising:

communicating to a sender via a communications network a user interface that facilitates sender input with respect to a desired currency in which a payment is to be made;

receiving data identifying a sender-selected currency from the sender via the communications network;

communicating to the sender via the communications network information identifying a current exchange rate for conversion between the sender-selected currency and a sender primary currency; and

informing a recipient via the communications network about the payment in the sender-selected currency if receiving a confirmation of the payment in the sender-selected currency from the sender, the informing the recipient via the communications network including communicating a user interface to the recipient, the user interface enabling a receiving of a selection from the recipient, the selection from the recipient is selected from a group consisting of an acceptance of the payment in the sender-selected currency and a denial of payment in the sender-selected currency.

39. A computer readable medium comprising instructions, which when executed on a processor, cause the processor to perform a method comprising:

communicating to a recipient via a communications network information identifying a payment in a sender-selected currency and conversion data pertaining to a payment amount in the sender-selected currency;

receiving from the recipient via the communications network data indicating a recipient decision with respect to an acceptance of the payment in the sender-selected currency; and

notifying the sender via the communications network of the recipient decision.