Systems and methods for processing transactions using multiple budgets

• US 8,073,772 B2
• Filed: 06/05/2009
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Liberty Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (American Express Company)
• Inventors: Bishop, Fred, Seth, Hitesh, Morgan, Robert E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Jagdish
• Application Number:
  US12/479,687
• Publication Number:
  US 20090299841A1
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• Field of Search: 705/35, 705/38, 705/39, 705/26.1
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/403 Solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/405 Establishing or using transaction specific rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0219 based on funds or budget
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0235 constrained by time limit or expiration date
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

Facilitating commercial transactions using a payment system directory are disclosed. A payment directory and/or wireless point of sale (POS) device may be configured to use predetermined rules, a multitude of data items and/or conditions to locate a payment system, and transmit a payment authorization request from a remote location to at least one payment system, either directly, or via a payment system directory and/or a SSL Gateway.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a payment directory computer, a payment request including a main account identifier for a transaction;

determining, by the payment directory computer and based upon the main account identifier, supplemental account identifiers;

obtaining, by the payment directory computer, budget information associated with the main account identifier and the supplemental account identifiers;

determining, by the payment directory computer and from the main account identifier and the supplemental account identifiers and based upon the budget information, a first account to at least partially fund an amount of the transaction;

determining, by the payment directory computer and based on the first account and the payment request, a payment system for processing at least a portion of the transaction; and

transmitting, by the payment directory computer, an authorization request to the payment system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the payment system comprises querying a payment system directory, wherein the payment system directory includes the payment system as one of a plurality of payment systems.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the querying the payment system directory comprises transmitting a payment directory request to the payment system directory with at least one selection parameter, wherein the selection parameter is associated with at least one of the budget information, an account owner associated with the payment request or a merchant associated with the transaction, wherein the payment system directory parses the payment directory request, creates a query based upon the parsed payment directory request and executes the query against a payment system database.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a second account to at least partially fund the transaction, from the main account identifier and the supplemental account identifiers and based upon the budget information.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first account is associated with a first budget and the second account is associated with a second budget, and wherein the budget information comprises information regarding the first budget and the second budget.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the payment request is received from a point of service (POS) device, and wherein a communication link exists between the POS device and the payment directory computer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting comprises obtaining an identification of the payment system based on the determining step and transmitting, from the payment directory computer, the identification of the payment system to a point of service (POS) device, wherein a communication link exists between the POS device and the payment directory computer.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the POS device generates the authorization request from data associated with the transaction and sends the authorization request to the payment directory computer, wherein a communication link exists between the POS device and the payment directory computer.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the POS device receives an authorization response from the payment system, wherein the authorization response relates to the at least partially funding the amount of the transaction, and wherein a communication link exists between the POS device and the payment system.

10. The method. of claim 1, wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting, by the payment directory computer, an authorization request to the payment system, wherein the payment system transmits an authorization response to at least one of a point of service (POS) and the payment directory computer, wherein a communication link exists between the POS device, the payment system and the payment directory computer.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining further comprises defining desired attributes for the first account, correlating the attributes with the first account and further considering at least one of a merchant system, a requesting device, a merchant who submitted a payment request, a purchaser transaction device attribute, a transaction amount, an account holder, a transaction account, a proxy account identifier, a transaction account issuer, an alternate account associated with a transaction account, an overdraft rule, an overdraft account, an acquiring financial institution, a point of sale device, a point of service (POS) device associated with the transaction, a POS device attribute, a merchant associated with a POS device, a geographic location, a geographic location associated with the transaction, a code, a product associated with the transaction, a merchant associated with the transaction, a date a user data input, a first budget associated with the first account and with budget information, budget information associated with the payment request, an expiration date associated with a rewards program, a points balance associated with a second rewards program, an expiration date associated with a rewards program, a points balance associated with a rewards account, or an allowance.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a second account for funding at least another portion of the amount of the transaction, in response to at least one of a budget amount associated with a first budget being less than a predetermined threshold, a budget amount exceeding an allowance or a transaction amount exceeding a certain amount.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising comparing the budget information to information in the payment request.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising determining based upon the second account a second payment system for processing at least a portion of the amount of the transaction.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising facilitating a second authorization request to the second payment system.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining an authorization request amount and a supplemental authorization request amount based upon the first budget and the second budget, wherein the authorization request comprises the authorization request amount and the supplemental authorization request comprises the supplemental authorization request amount.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the determining that at least a portion of the transaction should be funded by a second account is performed by at least one of the POS device or the payment system directory.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the determining that at least a portion of the transaction should be funded by a second account is based upon at least one of budget information associated with the payment request, the payment request, a merchant system, a requesting device, a merchant who submitted a payment request, a purchaser transaction device attribute, a transaction amount, an account holder, a transaction account, a proxy account identifier, a transaction account issuer, an alternate account associated with a transaction account, an overdraft rule, an overdraft account, an acquiring financial institution, a point of sale device, the POS device, a POS device attribute, a merchant associated with the POS device, a geographic location, a geographic location associated with the transaction, a code, a product associated with the transaction, a merchant associated with the transaction, a date a user data input, a first budget associated with a first account and with budget information, budget information associated with the payment request, an expiration date associated with a rewards program, a points balance associated with a second rewards program, an expiration date associated with a rewards program, a points balance associated with a rewards account, or an allowance.

17. A method, comprising:

transmitting, by a point of sale (POS) device, a payment request including a main account identifier for a transaction to a payment system directory, wherein the payment system directory;

determines supplemental account identifiers based upon the main account identifier;

obtains budget information associated with the main account identifier and the supplemental account identifiers;

determines, from the main account identifier and the supplemental account identifiers and based upon the budget information, a first account to at least partially fund the transaction;

determines a payment system for processing at least a portion of the amount of the transaction;

receiving at least one of an identification of the payment system from the payment system directory wherein the identification is obtained from the determination of the payment system or an authorization response for the transaction from the payment system, wherein the authorization response is based upon an authorization request sent to the payment system by the payment system directory.

20. An article of manufacture including a non-transitory, tangible computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a payment directory computer, cause the payment directory computer to perform operations comprising:

receiving, at the payment directory computer, a payment request including a main account identifier for a transaction;

determining, by the payment directory computer and based upon the main account identifier, supplemental account identifiers;

obtaining, by the payment directory computer, budget information associated with the main account identifier and the supplemental account identifiers;

determining, by the payment directory computer and from the main account identifier and the supplemental account identifiers and based upon the budget information, a first account to at least partially fund an amount of the transaction;

determining, by the payment directory computer and based on the first account and the payment request, a payment system for processing at least a portion of the transaction; and

transmitting, by the payment directory computer, an authorization request to the payment system.