Payment entity device reconciliation for multiple payment methods

• US 8,341,046 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2008
• Issued: 12/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Marchetti, John N., Mullen, Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TIEN C
• Application Number:
  US12/030,824
• Publication Number:
  US 20090112662A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,777 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/7, 705 30- 45, 705/64
• US Class Current: 705/35
• 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 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/10 Tax strategies
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A method begins by storing payment request data, which, for a client, includes a payables profile and an accounts payable data file. The method continues by receiving payment remittance information subsequent to initiation of a payment in accordance with the payment request data. The method continues by storing the payment remittance information. The method continues by consolidating the payment remittance information and the payment request data to produce consolidated payment data. The method continues by generating at least one report based on the consolidated payment data.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, from a client device that is operated by a client that pays a plurality of creditors, an accounts payable data file, wherein the accounts payable data file includes a plurality of accounts payable entries, and wherein each of the plurality of accounts payable entries has associated creditor information and a payment amount;

determining, by a payment entity device that is configured to facilitate payment and reconciliation of accounts payable, a payment scheme for each of the plurality of accounts payable entries in response to the accounts payable data file and a payables profile for the client;

initiating payment transactions by the payment entity device for the plurality of accounts payable entries in the accounts payable data file in accordance with the payment schemes associated therewith, wherein the payment schemes include two or more of;

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

receiving payment remittance information by the payment entity device in response to the initiated payment transactions;

storing the payment remittance information by the payment entity device;

consolidating by the payment entity device the payment remittance information and the accounts payable data file to produce consolidated payment data, wherein the consolidating the payment remittance information and the accounts payable data file comprises entering a loop, the loop including;

comparing one of the accounts payable entries of the accounts payable data file with the remittance information;

determining that an item in the remittance information compares favorably with the accounts payable entry;

determining that the accounts payable entry was paid in accordance with the payables profile, and reconciling the accounts payable entry with the item in the remittance data to produce a reconciled account payable;

storing the reconciled account payable;

proceeding to a next accounts payable entry of the accounts payable data file; and

exiting the loop when a last or other designated accounts payable entry of the accounts payable data file is reached;

generating by the payment entity device a report for each of the plurality of accounts payable entries based on the consolidated payment data; and

transmitting the report by the payment entity device to the client device.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing a plurality of payment method programs from a plurality of financial institutions, wherein a payment method program of the plurality of payment methods includes at least some of;

identity of at least one of the plurality of financial institutions, at least one payment method, at least one associated processing fee for the at least one payment method, and at least one associated offer for the at least one payment method, wherein the at least one payment method includes one or more of credit card, a funds transfer, commercial paper, tangible consideration, and a debit account.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

analyzing the consolidated data with reference to the plurality of payment method programs; and

further includes at least one of;

with respect to the client, when the analyzing identifies a payment method option regarding at least one of;

one or more account payables, transaction amount, a creditor, alternate creditor for service or goods, payment terms, and a creditor'"'"'s financial institution that is favorable to the payment scheme for one of the plurality of accounts payable entries in the accounts payable data file, generating a recommended alternative payment method report;

with respect to a financial institution of the plurality of financial institutions, when the analyzing identifies a payment method option regarding at least one of;

one or more of a plurality of clients, a volume of transactions, an amount of a transaction, terms of payment, and one or more of a plurality of creditors that is favorable to one or more payment methods offered by the financial institution, generating a recommended payment method program report; and

with respect to the creditor, when the analyzing identifies a payment method option regarding at least one of;

the creditor'"'"'s financial institution, client spending trends, the one or more of the plurality of clients, a volume of transactions with the one or more of the plurality of clients, the amount of a transaction, and the terms of payment, generating a recommended payment offer report.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the analyzing comprises:

entering a loop, the loop including;

comparing at least one of the payment schemes for one of the plurality of accounts payable entries in the accounts payable data file with the plurality of payment method programs;

when at least one of the plurality of payment method programs compares favorably to the at least one payment scheme, compiling the at least one of the plurality of payment method programs in an options list;

proceeding to a next account payable entry of the accounts payable data file;

exiting the loop when a last or other designated account payable of the accounts payable data file is reached.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the report comprises at least one of:

generating a reconciled client payment report;

generating a reconciled payment entity payment report;

generating a reconciled financial institution payment report;

generating a reconciled creditor payment report; and

generating a client alternate payment method report, wherein the alternate payment method report identifies at least one accounts payable entry of the accounts payable data file that was paid using a payment method that differed from a payment method indicated in the payables profile.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

when the item in the remittance data compares unfavorably with the accounts payable entry, flagging the account payable as not paid to produce a non-reconciled account payable; and

storing the non-reconciled account payable.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the consolidating the payment remittance information and the accounts payable data file further comprises:

determining that an accounts payable entry was not paid in accordance with the payables profile, and correlating the accounts payable entry with the item in the remittance information to produce a correlated account payable;

storing the correlated account payable;

determining a payment difference between the correlated account payable and the payables profile;

storing the payment difference; and

reconciling the payment difference with the correlated account payable to produce the reconciled account payable.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the payment remittance information is received from a financial institution associated with a creditor.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least a portion of the remittance data includes:

identification of the creditor, identification of the financial institution associated with the creditor, identification of a financial account number associated with the creditor, the amount paid, the method of payment, and payment routing information.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the payment entity device is part of a proprietary payment network.

11. A method comprising:

accessing an accounts payable data by a payment entity device that is configured to facilitate payment and reconciliation of accounts payable, wherein the accounts payable data file includes a plurality of accounts payable entries and wherein each of the plurality of accounts payable entries has associated creditor information and a payment amount;

initiating payment transactions by the payment entity device for the plurality of accounts payable entries in the accounts payable data file in accordance with a payment scheme associated therewith, wherein the payment scheme includes two or more of;

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

accessing payment remittance information of the initiated payment transactions and accessing the accounts payable data file by the payment entity device;

consolidating the accounts payable data file with the payment remittance information to produce a consolidated account payable by the payment entity device that includes a determination of the payment remittance information for each of the respective accounts payable, wherein the determination indicates whether the account payable was paid in accordance with the payables profile, and wherein the consolidating the accounts payable data file with the payment remittance information to produce a consolidated account payable comprises;

comparing the accounts payable entries of the accounts payable data file with the remittance information;

determining that an item in the remittance information compares favorably with one of the accounts payable entries;

determining that the one of the accounts payable entries was paid in accordance with the payables profile, and reconciling the one of the accounts payable entries with the item in the remittance data to produce a reconciled account payable;

storing the reconciled account payable as the consolidated account payable;

determining that an accounts payable entry was not paid in accordance with the payables profile, and flagging the account payable as not paid to produce a non-reconciled account payable; and

storing the non-reconciled account payable;

compiling the consolidated account payable by the payment entity device to produce a consolidated accounts payable data;

generating by the payment entity device a report for each of the plurality of accounts payable entries based on the consolidated accounts payable data, and

transmitting the report by the payment entity device to a client device operated by a client that pays a plurality of creditors.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

analyzing the consolidated accounts payable data with reference to a plurality of payment method programs, wherein the analyzing includes;

with respect to the client, when the analyzing identifies a payment method option regarding at least one of;

one or more account payables, transaction amount, a creditor, alternate creditor for service or goods, payment terms, and a creditor'"'"'s financial institution that is favorable to the payment scheme for one of the plurality of accounts payable entries in the accounts payable data file, generating a recommended alternative payment method report;

with respect to a financial institution of the plurality of financial institutions, when the analyzing identifies a payment method option regarding at least one of;

one or more of a plurality of clients, a volume of transactions, an amount of a transaction, terms of payment, and one or more of a plurality of creditors that is favorable to one or more payment methods offered by the financial institution, generating a recommended payment method program report; and

with respect to the creditor, when the analyzing identifies a payment method option regarding at least one of;

the creditor'"'"'s financial institution, client spending trends, the one or more of the plurality of clients, a volume of transactions with the one or more of the plurality of clients, the amount of a transaction, and the terms of payment, generating a recommended payment offer report.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the generating the report comprises:

generating a reconciled client payment report;

generating a reconciled payment entity payment report;

generating a reconciled financial institution payment report;

generating a reconciled creditor payment report; and

generating a client alternate payment method report, wherein the alternate payment method report identifies at least one accounts payable entry of the accounts payable data file that was paid using a payment method that differed from a payment method indicated in the payables profile.

14. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

when the one of the accounts payable entries was not paid in accordance with the payables profile, correlating the one of the accounts payable entries with the item in the remittance information to produce a correlated account payable;

storing the correlated account payable;

determining a payment difference between the correlated account payable and the payables profile;

storing the payment difference; and

reconciling the payment difference with the correlated account payable to produce the reconciled account payable.

15. An apparatus comprising:

a processing module; and

memory coupled to the processing module, wherein the processing module functions, at least partially based on operational instructions stored in the memory, to;

store payment request data for a client that pays a plurality of creditors, wherein the payment request data includes an accounts payable data file, wherein the accounts payable data file includes a plurality of accounts payable, and wherein each of the plurality of accounts payable has associated creditor information and a payment amount;

initiate a plurality of payment transactions for the plurality of accounts payable in the accounts payable data file in accordance with a payment scheme associated with each of the plurality of accounts payable, wherein the payment schemes include two or more of;

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

receive payment remittance information for the plurality of payment transactions in response to initiation of the plurality of payments;

store the payment remittance information such that the stored information includes a determination if the payment remittance information for each of the respective accounts payable indicates that the account payable was paid in accordance with the payables profile;

consolidate the payment remittance information and the payment request data to produce consolidated payment data, wherein the processing module further functions to consolidate the payment remittance information and the payment request data by entering a loop, the loop including;

comparing an account payable of the accounts payable data file with the remittance information;

determining that an item in the remittance information compares favorably with the account payable;

determining that the account payable was paid in accordance with the payables profile, and reconciling the account payable with the item in the remittance data to produce a reconciled account payable;

storing the reconciled account payable;

proceeding to a next account payable of the accounts payable data file;

exiting the loop when a last or other designated account payable of the accounts payable data file is reached;

determining that one of the accounts payable entries was not paid in accordance with the payables profile, and flagging the account payable as not paid to produce a non-reconciled account payable; and

storing the non-reconciled account payable;

generate a report for each of the plurality of accounts payable based on the consolidated payment data; and

transmit the report to a client device operated by the client.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processing module further functions to:

store a plurality of payment method programs from a plurality of financial institutions, wherein a payment method program of the plurality of payment methods includes at least some of;

identity of at least one of the plurality of financial institutions, at least one payment method, at least one associated processing fee for the at least one payment method, and at least one associated offer for the at least one payment method, wherein the at least one payment method includes one or more of credit card, a funds transfer, commercial paper, tangible consideration, and a debit account.

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

analyze the consolidated data with reference to the plurality of payment method programs; and

further functions to perform at least one of;

with respect to the client, when the analyzing identifies a payment method option regarding at least one of;

one or more account payables, transaction amount, a creditor, alternate creditor for service or goods, payment terms, and a creditor'"'"'s financial institution that is favorable to a payment scheme associated with one of the plurality of accounts payable, generate a recommended alternative payment method report;

with respect to a financial institution of the plurality of financial institutions, when the analyzing identifies a payment method option regarding at least one of;

one or more of a plurality of clients, a volume of transactions, an amount of a transaction, terms of payment, and one or more of a plurality of creditors that is favorable to one or more payment methods offered by the financial institution, generate a recommended payment method program report; and

with respect to the creditor, when the analyzing identifies a payment method option regarding at least one of;

the creditor'"'"'s financial institution, client spending trends, the one or more of the plurality of clients, a volume of transactions with the one or more of the plurality of clients, the amount of a transaction, and the terms of payment, generate a recommended payment offer report.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the processing module further functions to analyze the consolidated data with reference to the plurality of payment method programs by:

entering a loop, the loop including;

comparing at least one of the payment schemes associated with one of the plurality of accounts payable in the accounts payable data file with the plurality of payment method programs;

when at least one of the plurality of payment method programs compares favorably to the at least one payment scheme, compiling the at least one of the plurality of payment method programs in an options list;

proceeding to a next account payable of the accounts payable data file;

exiting the loop when a last or other designated account payable of the accounts payable data file is reached.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processing module further functions to generate the report by at least one of:

generating a reconciled client payment report;

generating a reconciled payment entity payment report;

generating a reconciled financial institution payment report;

generating a reconciled creditor payment report; and

generating a client alternate payment method report, wherein the alternate payment method report identifies at least one account payable of the accounts payable data file that was paid using a payment method that differed from the payment scheme associated with the account payable.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processing module further functions to:

when the account payable was not paid in accordance with the payables profile, correlating the account payable with the item in the remittance information to produce a correlated account payable;

storing the correlated account payable;

determining a payment difference between the correlated account payable and the payables profile;

storing the payment difference; and

reconciling the payment difference with the correlated account payable to produce the reconciled account payable.

21. An apparatus comprising:

a processing module; and

memory coupled to the processing module, wherein the processing module functions, at least partially based on operational instructions stored in the memory, to;

access an accounts payable data file, wherein the accounts payable data file includes a plurality of accounts payable entries and wherein each of the plurality of accounts payable entries has associated creditor information and a payment amount;

initiate payment transactions for the plurality of accounts payable entries in the accounts payable data file in accordance with a payment scheme associated therewith, wherein the payment scheme includes two or more of;

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

access payment remittance information and the accounts payable data file;

consolidate the accounts payable data file with the payment remittance information to produce a consolidated account payable that includes a determination of the payment remittance information for each of the respective accounts payable, wherein the determination indicates whether the account payable was paid in accordance with the payables profile, wherein the processing module further functions to consolidate the account payable with the payment remittance information to produce a consolidated account payable by;

comparing one of the accounts payable entries of the accounts payable data file with the remittance information;

determining that an item in the remittance information compares favorably with the accounts payable entry;

determining that the accounts payable entry was paid in accordance with the payables profile, and reconciling the accounts payable entry with the item in the remittance data to produce a reconciled account payable;

storing the reconciled account payable as the consolidated account payable;

determining that an accounts payable entry was not paid in accordance with the payables profile, and flagging the account payable as not paid to produce a non-reconciled account payable; and

storing the non-reconciled account payable;

compile the consolidated account payable to produce consolidated accounts payable data;

generate a report for each of the plurality of accounts payables entries based on the consolidated accounts payable data; and

transmit the report to a client device operated by a client that pays a plurality of creditors.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processing module further functions to:

analyze the consolidated accounts payable data with reference to a plurality of payment method programs; and

further functions to perform at least one of;

with respect to the client, when the analyzing identifies a payment method option regarding at least one of;

one or more account payables, transaction amount, a creditor, alternate creditor for service or goods, payment terms, and a creditor'"'"'s financial institution that is favorable to the payment scheme for one of the plurality of accounts payable entries in the accounts payable data file, generating a recommended alternative payment method report;

with respect to a financial institution of the plurality of financial institutions, when the analyzing identifies a payment method option regarding at least one of;

one or more of a plurality of clients, a volume of transactions, an amount of a transaction, terms of payment, and one or more of a plurality of creditors that is favorable to one or more payment methods offered by the financial institution, generating a recommended payment method program report; and

with respect to the creditor, when the analyzing identifies a payment method option regarding at least one of;

the creditor'"'"'s financial institution, client spending trends, the one or more of the plurality of clients, a volume of transactions with the one or more of the plurality of clients, the amount of a transaction, and the terms of payment, generating a recommended payment offer report.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processing module further functions to generate the report by at least one of:

generating a reconciled client payment report;

generating a reconciled payment entity payment report;

generating a reconciled financial institution payment report;

generating a reconciled creditor payment report; and

generating a client alternate payment method report, wherein the alternate payment method report identifies at least one accounts payable entry of the accounts payable data file that was paid using a payment method that differed from a payment method indicated in the payables profile.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the processing module further functions to:

when the accounts payable entry was not paid in accordance with the payables profile, correlating the accounts payable entry with the item in the remittance information to produce a correlated account payable;

store the correlated account payable;

determine a payment difference between the correlated account payable and the payables profile;

store the payment difference; and

reconcile the payment difference with the correlated account payable to produce the reconciled account payable.