Client supported multiple payment methods system

• US 8,311,937 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2008
• Issued: 11/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Mullen, Matthew, Marchetti, John N.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TIEN C
• Application Number:
  US12/030,771
• Publication Number:
  US 20090112658A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,735 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7, 705 30- 45
• 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 20/24 Credit schemes, i.e. "pay after"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3572 Multiple accounts on card
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/405 Establishing or using transaction specific rules
• 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: G07F 7/10 together with a coded signal , e.g. in the form of personal identification information, like personal identification number [PIN] or biometric data

Abstract

A method begins by providing at least one account level preference of a plurality of account level preferences based on a level of subscription. The method continues by receiving a selection of one of the at least one of the account level preference to produce a selected account level preference. The method continues by generating payables process data in accordance with the selected account level preference. The payables process data includes a list of a plurality of creditors and associated payment data. For a creditor of the plurality of creditors, the associated payment data includes at least one payment scheme for paying at least a portion of debt owed to the creditor via at least one of: a business credit card, a funds transfer, commercial paper, tangible consideration, and a debit account. The method continues by transmitting the payable process data to a payment entity device.

Claims

1. A method for an automated accounts payable process, comprising:

receiving, at a client device that is operated by a client that pays a plurality of creditors, a selection of one of a plurality of account level preferences, wherein the selection includes one of a first account level preference and a second account level preference;

generating payables process data in accordance with the selected account level preference, wherein the generating comprises;

when the selected account level preference corresponds to a first account level preference;

determining one or more existing payment schemes for the plurality of creditors; and

generating the payables process data, wherein the payables process data includes identification information and the one or more existing payment schemes for the plurality of creditors; and

when the selected account level preference corresponds to a second account level preference;

determining the one or more existing payment schemes for the plurality of creditors;

generating the payables process data, wherein the payables process data includes the identification information and the one or more existing payment schemes for the plurality of creditors;

comparing a data file including a plurality of payment programs with the one or more existing payment schemes to determine whether one or more of the plurality of payment programs provides a more optimal payment solution than at least one of the one or more existing payment schemes;

when the one or more of the plurality of payment programs provides a more optimal payment solution than the at least one of the one or more existing payment schemes, replacing, in accordance with a replacement protocol, the at least one of the one or more existing payment schemes with a replacement payment scheme including the one or more of the plurality of payment programs in the payables process data;

transmitting, by the client device, the payables process data to a payment entity device that is configured to facilitate payment and reconciliation of accounts payable, wherein the payables process data for a single identified one of the plurality of creditors includes a first payment scheme for a first category of accounts payable with the single identified one of the plurality of creditors and a second payment scheme for a second category of accounts payable with the same single identified one of the plurality of creditors;

wherein the first payment scheme includes payment by at least one of;

a credit card, a funds transfer, commercial paper, monetary consideration such as a rebate, refund, or exchange, and a debit account, and the second payment scheme includes payment by a different one of;

the credit card, the funds transfer, commercial paper, monetary consideration such as the rebate, refund, or exchange, and the debit account; and

wherein the first category of accounts payable portion includes at least one of;

individual transactions at or above a value threshold, individual transactions corresponding to a first category of services or goods, and individual transactions corresponding to the second category of services or goods, and wherein the second category of accounts payable includes a different one of;

individual transactions at or above the value threshold, individual transactions corresponding to the first category of services or goods, and individual transactions corresponding to the second category of services or goods.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitted payables process data further includes comprises at least one of:

a shipping payment scheme for paying shipping costs for the single identified one of the plurality of creditors; and

a tax payment scheme for paying taxes associated with goods or services received from the single identified one of the plurality of creditors.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the client device, a request to modify the payables process data, wherein the request includes an indication as to whether the modifying is adding a new creditor and one or more payment schemes associated with the new creditor, deleting an existing creditor and one or more payment schemes associated with the existing creditor, or editing the one or more payment schemes associated with the existing creditor;

processing the request in accordance with the indication to generate the modified payables process data; and

transmitting the modified payables process data to the payment entity device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein receiving the request comprises at least one of:

receiving the request via a graphical user interface; and

receiving the request from a payables program processing module.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first account level preference corresponds to a basic account, and wherein the second account level preference corresponds to an advanced account.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the plurality of payment programs included in the data file are provided by a plurality of financial institutions.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of payment programs include interest rates, payment terms, processing fees, bonuses, and rewards for a plurality of payment methods.

8. A method comprising:

receiving, at a client device that is operated by a client that pays a plurality of creditors, a selection of one of a plurality of account level preferences, wherein the selection includes one of a first account level preference and a second account level preference;

generating payables process data in accordance with the selected account level preference, wherein the payables process data includes identification information and one or more payment schemes for the plurality of creditors, and wherein the payables process data for a single identified one of the plurality of creditors includes a first payment scheme for a first category of accounts payable with the single identified one of the plurality of creditors and a second payment scheme for a second category of accounts payable with the same identified one of the plurality of creditors;

wherein the first payment scheme includes payment by a first method of payment and the second payment scheme includes payment by a second method of payment;

wherein the first category of accounts payable includes at least one of;

individual transactions at or above a value threshold, individual transactions corresponding to a first category of services or Roods, and individual transactions corresponding to a second category of services or goods, and wherein the second category of accounts payable includes a different one or;

individual transactions at or above the value threshold, individual transactions corresponding to the first category of services or goods, and individual transactions corresponding to the second category of services or goods;

transmitting the payable process data to a payment entity device that is configured to facilitate payment and reconciliation of accounts payable;

detecting activation of an auto payment processing trigger at the client device for payment to one or more of a the plurality of creditors;

generating accounts payable data at the client device for a present payment period, wherein the accounts payable data includes, for each of the one or more of the plurality of creditors, identification information, one or more invoice numbers corresponding to one or more invoices, a payment amount for each of the one or more plurality invoices, and a payment date for each of the one or more invoices;

generating altered accounts payable data at the client device for the present payment period, wherein the altered accounts payable data includes, for the single identified one of the plurality of creditors, identification information, one or more invoice numbers corresponding to one or more invoices, a payment amount for each of the one or more plurality of invoices, a payment date for each of the one or more invoices, and an alternate method of payment for at least one of the one or more invoices; and

transmitting the accounts payable data or the altered accounts payable data from the client device to the payment entity device for storage in a memory of the payment entity device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the generating the altered accounts payable data comprises:

receiving the alternate method of payment for the at least one of the one or more invoices; and

adding the alternate method of payment to the generated accounts payable data alternate associated payment data to generate the altered accounts payable data.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the alternate method of payment comprises at least one of:

receiving the alternate method of payment via a graphical user interface; and

receiving the alternate method of payment from a payables program processing module, wherein the payables program processing module functions to, for the present payment period;

compare a data file including a plurality of payment programs with the first and/or second payment schemes for the single identified one of the plurality of creditors, wherein the alternate method of payment is included in the plurality of payment programs;

determine whether the alternate method of payment provides a more optimal payment solution for the present payment period than the first and/or second payment schemes for the single identified one of the plurality of creditors; and

when the alternate method of payment provides a more optimal payment solution than the first and/or second payment schemes for the single identified one of the plurality of creditors, perform the adding of the alternate method of payment to the generated accounts payable data to generate the altered accounts payable data.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the auto payment processing trigger comprises a time elapsing tracking scheme.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the accounts payable data or the altered accounts payable data are transmitted in the form of an accounts payable data file including a creditor identification field, an invoice number field, an item field, a quantity field, a unit cost field, a subtotal field, a tax field, a shipping and handling field, a total field, and an alternate payment method field.

13. A method comprising:

receiving, at a client device that is operated by a client that pays a plurality of creditors, a selection of one of a plurality of account level preferences, wherein the selection includes one of a first account level preference and a second account level preference;

generating payables process data in accordance with the selected account level preference, wherein the generating comprises;

when the selected account level preference corresponds to a first account level preference;

determining one or more existing payment schemes for the plurality of creditors; and

generating the payables process data, wherein the payables process data includes identification information and the one or more existing payment schemes for the plurality of creditors; and

when the selected account level preference corresponds to a second account level preference;

determining the one or more existing payment schemes for the plurality of creditors;

generating the payables process data, wherein the payables process data includes the identification information and the one or more existing payment schemes for the plurality of creditors;

comparing a data file including a plurality of payment programs with the one or more existing payment schemes to determine whether one or more of the plurality of payment programs provides a more optimal payment solution than at least one of the one or more existing payment schemes;

when the one or more of the plurality of payment programs provides a more optimal payment solution than the at least one of the one or more existing payment schemes, replacing, in accordance with a replacement protocol, the at least one of the one or more existing payment schemes with a replacement payment scheme including the one or more of the plurality of payment programs in the payables process data;

transmitting, by the client device, the payables process data to a payment entity device configured to facilitate payment and reconciliation of accounts payable, wherein the payables process data for a single identified one of the plurality of creditors includes a first payment scheme for a first category of accounts payable with the single identified one of the plurality of creditors and a second payment scheme for a second category of accounts payable with the same single identified one of the plurality of creditors;

wherein the first payment scheme includes payment by at least one of;

a credit card, a funds transfer, commercial paper, monetary consideration such as a rebate, refund, or exchange, and a debit account, and wherein the second payment scheme includes payment by a different one of;

the credit card, the funds transfer, commercial paper, monetary consideration such as the rebate, refund, or exchange, and the debit account; and

wherein the first category of accounts payable portion includes at least one of;

individual transactions at or above a value threshold, individual transactions corresponding to a first category of services or goods, and individual transactions corresponding to the second category of services or goods, and wherein the second category of accounts payable includes a different one of;

individual transactions at or above the value threshold, individual transactions corresponding to the first category of services or goods, and individual transactions corresponding to the second category of services or goods,

detecting activation of an auto payment processing trigger at the client device;

generating accounts payable data at the client device for payment to at least the single identified one of the plurality of creditors based on the payables process data when the activation of the auto payment processing trigger is detected; and

transmitting the accounts payable data from the client device to the payment entity device for payment to at least the single identified one of the plurality of creditors in accordance with the first payment scheme for the first category of accounts payable and in accordance with the second payment scheme for the second category of accounts payable.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving, at the client device, a request to modify the payables process data, wherein the request includes an indication as to whether the modifying is adding a new creditor and one or more payment schemes associated with the new creditor, deleting an existing creditor and one or more payment schemes associated with the existing creditor, or editing the one or more payment schemes associated with the existing creditor;

processing the request in accordance with the indication to generate the modified payables process data, and

transmitting the modified payables process data to the payment entity device.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the generated accounts payable data for the single identified one of the plurality of creditors includes identification information, one or more invoice numbers corresponding to one or more invoices, a payment amount for each of the one or more invoices, and a payment date for each of the one or more invoices, and wherein the method further comprises:

generating altered accounts payable data at the client device to include, for the single identified one of the plurality of creditors, the one or more invoice numbers, the identification information, the one or more invoice numbers corresponding to the one or more invoices, the payment amount for each of the one or more invoices, the payment date for each of the one or more invoices, and an alternate method of payment for at least one of the one or more invoices.

16. An apparatus comprising:

a processing module; and

memory coupled to the processing module, wherein the processing module functions, at least partially in accordance with operating instructions stored in the memory, to;

receive a selection of one of a plurality of account level preferences, wherein the selection includes one of a first account level preference and a second account level preference;

generate payables process data in accordance with the selected account level preference, wherein the generating comprises;

when the selected account level preference corresponds to a first account level preference;

determining one or more existing payment schemes for a plurality of creditors; and

generating the payables process data, wherein the payables process data includes identification information and the one or more existing payment schemes for the plurality of creditors; and

when the selected account level preference corresponds to a second account level preference;

determining the one or more existing payment schemes for the plurality of creditors;

generating the payables process data, wherein the payables process data includes the identification information and the one or more existing payment schemes for the plurality of creditors;

comparing a data file including a plurality of payment programs with the one or more existing payment schemes to determine whether one or more of the plurality of payment programs provides a more optimal payment solution than at least one of the one or more existing payment schemes;

when the one or more of the plurality of payment programs provides a more optimal payment solution than the at least one of the one or more existing payment schemes, replacing, in accordance with a replacement protocol, the at least one of the one or more existing payment schemes with a replacement payment scheme including the one or more of the plurality of payment programs in the payables process data;

transmit the payables process data to a payment entity device, wherein the payables process data for a single identified one of the plurality of creditors includes a first payment scheme for a first category of accounts payable with the single identified one of the plurality of creditors and a second payment scheme for a second category of accounts payable with the same single identified one of the plurality of creditors;

wherein the first payment scheme includes payment by at least one of;

a credit card, a funds transfer, commercial paper, monetary consideration such as a rebate, refund, or exchange, and a debit account, and the second payment scheme includes a different one of;

the credit card, the funds transfer, commercial paper, monetary consideration such as the rebate, refund, or exchange, and the debit account; and

wherein the first category of accounts payable includes at least one of;

individual transactions at or above a value threshold, individual transactions corresponding to a first category of services or goods, and individual transactions corresponding to the second category of services or goods, and wherein the second category of accounts payable includes a different one of;

individual transactions at or above the value threshold, individual transactions corresponding to the first category of services or goods, and individual transactions corresponding to the second category of services or goods.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processing module further functions to:

receive a request to modify the payables process data, wherein the request includes an indication as to whether the modifying is adding a new creditor and one or more payment schemes associated with the new creditor, deleting an existing creditor and one or more payment scheme associated with the existing creditor, or editing the one or more payment schemes associated with the existing creditor;

process the request in accordance with the indication to generate the modified payables process data; and

transmit the modified payables process data to the payment entity device.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the processing module further functions to receive the request by at least one of:

receiving the request via a graphical user interface; and

receiving the request from a payables program processing module.

19. An apparatus comprising:

a processing module; and

memory coupled to the processing module, wherein the processing module functions, at least partially in accordance with operating instructions stored in the memory, to;

receive a selection of one of a plurality of account level preferences wherein the selection includes one of a first account level preference and a second account level preference;

generate payables process data in accordance with the selected account level preference, wherein the payables process data includes identification information and one or more payment schemes for a plurality of creditors, and wherein the payables process data for a single identified one of the plurality of creditors includes a first payment scheme for a first category of accounts payable with the single identified one of the plurality of creditors and a second payment scheme for a second category of accounts payable with the same identified one of the plurality of creditors;

wherein the first payment scheme includes payment by a first method of payment and the second payment scheme includes payment by a second method of payment;

wherein the first category of accounts payable includes at least one of;

individual transactions at or above a value threshold, individual transactions corresponding to a first category of services or Roods, and individual transactions corresponding to a second category of services or goods, and wherein the second category of accounts payable includes a different one or;

individual transactions at or above the value threshold, individual transactions corresponding to the first category of services or goods, and individual transactions corresponding to the second category of services or goods;

transmit the payable process data to a payment entity device configured to facilitate payment and reconciliation of accounts payable;

detect activation of an auto payment processing trigger at the client device for payment to one or more of a the plurality of creditors;

generate accounts payable data at the client device for a present payment period, wherein the accounts payable data includes, for each of the one or more of the plurality of creditors, identification information, one or more invoice numbers corresponding to one or more invoices, a payment amount for each of the one or more plurality invoices, and a payment date for each of the one or more invoices;

generate altered accounts payable data at the client device for the present payment period, wherein the altered accounts payable data includes, for the single identified one of the plurality of creditors, identification information, one or more invoice numbers corresponding to one or more invoices, a payment amount for each of the one or more plurality of invoices, a payment date for each of the one or more invoices, and an alternate method of payment for at least one of the one or more invoices; and

transmit the accounts payable data or the altered accounts payable data to the payment entity device.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the processing module further functions to generate the altered accounts payable data by:

receiving the alternate method of payment for the at least one of the one or more invoices; and

adding the alternate method of payment to the generate accounts payable data to generate the altered accounts payable data.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the processing module further functions to receive the alternate method of payment by at least one of:

receiving the alternate method of payment via a graphical user interface; and

receiving the alternate method of payment from a payables program processing module, wherein the payables program processing module functions to, for the present payment period;

compare a data file including a plurality of payment programs with the first and/or second payment schemes for the single identified one of the plurality of creditors, wherein the alternate method of payment is included in the plurality of payment programs;

determine whether the alternate method of payment one or more payment provides a more optimal payment solution for the present payment period than first and/or second payment schemes for the single identified one or the plurality of creditors; and

when the alternate method of payment provides a more optimal payment solution than the first and/or second payment schemes for the single identified one of the plurality of creditors, perform the adding of the alternate method of payment to the generated accounts payable data to generate the altered accounts payable data.