Financial transaction system with integrated electronic messaging, control of marketing data, and user defined charges for receiving messages

• US 8,352,364 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2010
• Issued: 01/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: David C. Reardon
• Original Assignee: David C. Reardon
• Inventors: Reardon, David C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Hai
• Application Number:
  US12/974,921
• Publication Number:
  US 20110112966A1
• Time in Patent Office: 749 Days
• Field of Search: 705 15- 45, 705/64, 705/65, 705/306, 705/400
• 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 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• 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 20/403 Solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/42 Confirmation, e.g. check or permission by the legal debtor of payment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/425 using two different networks, one for transaction and one for security confirmation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/16 for devices exhibiting advertisements, announcements, pictures or the like

Abstract

A method of performing financial transactions between users of Summa accounts, each Summa account including an electronic messaging system that provides for crediting and debiting at least one financial account associated with each Summa account. The invention also allows each user to define a schedule of receipt charges associated with the identities of other users to be charged as compensation for accepting delivery of their messages. With the user'"'"'s permission, a record of purchases made from the Summa account may be maintained in a marketing database, increasing the value of use'"'"'s market identity and the corresponding value of receipt charges they user may collect. Major benefits of the invention include, but are not limited to: (1) electronic financial transactions are completed in a more secure manner with appropriate tracking and verification, (2) message recipients receive income from the value of their market identities, and (3) commercial enterprises can more readily identify individuals interested in receiving their commercial offers.

Claims

1. A method of collecting marketing information, the method comprising:

providing a processor for communication over a network with a user computer;

providing a memory in communication with the processor, the memory comprising a data structure, the data structure comprising data corresponding to a plurality of user accounts;

wherein each of the plurality of user accounts comprises a user account identifier and a financial account identifier corresponding to a financial account, each financial account comprising an account balance;

receiving, in the processor, a proposed electronic transaction comprising a first user account identifier associated with a first user account, a selection criteria, and a message;

identifying, in the processor, a second user account that meets the selection criteria;

wherein the first user account and the second user account are user accounts in the plurality of user accounts, and wherein the second user account comprises a market profile, and a message store;

determining, in the processor, whether a predetermined condition is met;

if the predetermined condition is not met;

rejecting the proposed electronic transaction;

if the predetermined condition is met;

(1) delivering the message to the message store associated with the second user account, (2) adjusting the account balance associated with the first user account by a first amount, and (3) after receiving, in the processor, a request to access the delivered message in the message store associated with the second user account, adjusting the account balance associated with the second user account by a second amount; and

storing, in the data structure, information related to the transaction in the market profile associated with the second user account.

2. The method of claim 1:

wherein the proposed electronic transaction further comprises a maximum charge;

wherein the second user account further comprises a receipt charge; and

wherein the predetermined condition is met if and only if the receipt charge does not exceed the maximum charge.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the first amount is negative and the absolute value of the first amount is greater than or equal to the receipt charge;

and

wherein the second amount is positive and less than or equal to the maximum charge.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the maximum charge depends on the data associated with the second user account.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the first user account comprises a commercial category identifier or the proposed electronic transaction comprises a first commercial category identifier;

wherein the second user account further comprises a schedule of receipt charges, the schedule comprising a plurality of commercial category identifiers, each commercial category identifier having a corresponding applicable receipt charge;

wherein the first commercial category identifier is in the plurality of commercial category identifiers in the schedule; and

wherein the processor is further configured to (4) determine a first applicable receipt charge based on the schedule of receipt charges and the first commercial category identifier, and (5) use the first applicable receipt charge when determining whether the predetermined condition is met.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising performing the following steps:

receiving, in the processor, a second proposed electronic transaction comprising a user account identifier corresponding to the second user account, selection criteria identifying the first user account, and a second message;

delivering the second message to the message store associated with the first user account;

receiving, in the processor, a request to access the second message in the message store associated with the first user account,

adjusting the account balance associated with the second user account by a third amount; and

adjusting the account balance associated with the first user account by a fourth amount.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving, in the processor, a second proposed electronic transaction comprising a user account identifier corresponding to the second user account, a second selection criteria, and a second message;

identifying, in the processor, a third user account that meets the second selection criteria, wherein the third user account is in the plurality of user accounts and the third user account comprises a message store;

delivering the second message to the message store associated with the third user account;

receiving, in the processor, a request to access the delivered second message in the message store associated with the third user account;

adjusting the account balance associated with the second user account by a third amount; and

adjusting the account balance associated with the third user account by a fourth amount.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the proposed electronic transaction comprises a third amount, and wherein the processor is further configured to calculate the second amount based on the first and the third amount.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the first amount is positive and the second amount is negative.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the selection criteria comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of name, zip code, and market profile data.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the first user account comprises a market profile, the method further comprising:

storing, in the data structure, information related to the transaction in the market profile associated with the first user account.

12. A system for collecting marketing information, the system comprising:

a processor for communication over a network with a user computer; and

a memory in communication with the processor, the memory comprising a data structure, the data structure comprising data corresponding to a plurality of user accounts;

wherein each of the plurality of user accounts comprises a user account identifier and a financial account identifier corresponding to a financial account, each financial account comprising an account balance;

wherein the processor is configured to execute a program, the program being configured to perform the following steps;

(1) receive a proposed electronic transaction comprising a first user account identifier associated with a first user account, a selection criteria, and a message;

(2) identify a second user account that meets the selection criteria;

wherein the first user account and the second user account are user accounts in the plurality of user accounts, and wherein the second user account comprises a market profile, and a message store;

(3) determine whether a predetermined condition is met;

(4) if the predetermined condition is not met;

reject the proposed electronic transaction;

(5) if the predetermined condition is met;

deliver the message to the message store associated with the second user account; and

(6) store, in the data structure, information related to the transaction in the market profile associated with the second user account.

13. The system of claim 12:

wherein the proposed electronic transaction comprises a maximum charge;

wherein the second user account comprises a receipt charge; and

wherein the predetermined condition is met if and only if the receipt charge does not exceed the maximum charge.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the program is further configured to:

(7) adjust the account balance associated with the first user account by a first amount;

(8) after receiving a request to access the delivered message in the message store associated with the second user account, adjust the account balance associated with the second user account by a second amount.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the first amount is positive and less than or equal to the second amount;

and

wherein the second amount is negative and the absolute value of the second amount is greater than or equal to the receipt charge.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein the first amount is negative and the absolute value of the first amount is less than or equal to the maximum charge;

and

wherein the second amount is positive and less than or equal to the receipt charge.

17. The system of claim 14 wherein the processor is further configured to perform the following steps:

receive a second proposed electronic transaction comprising an identifier corresponding to the second user account, a selection criteria identifying the first user account, and a second message;

deliver the second message to the message store associated with the first user account;

receive a request to access the second message in the message store associated with the first user account,

adjust the account balance associated with the second user account by a third amount; and

adjust the account balance associated with the first user account by a fourth amount.

18. The system of claim 14 wherein the processor is further configured to perform the following steps:

receive a second proposed electronic transaction comprising an identifier corresponding to the second user account, a second selection criteria, and a second message;

identify a third user account that meets the second selection criteria, wherein the third user account is in the plurality of user accounts and the third user account comprises a message store;

deliver the second message to the message store associated with the third user account;

receive a request to access the delivered second message in the message store associated with the third user account;

adjust the account balance associated with the second user account by a third amount; and

adjust the account balance associated with the third user account by a fourth amount.

19. The system of claim 13 wherein the message further comprises an expiration time, and wherein the program is further configured to perform the following steps:

(7) compare the expiration time associated with the delivered message in the message store associated with the second user account to the current time; and

(8) if the expiration time is less than the current time, to reject the proposed electronic transaction.

20. The system of claim 13 wherein the first user account comprises a commercial category identifier or the proposed electronic transaction comprises a first commercial category identifier;

wherein the second user account further comprises a schedule of receipt charges, the schedule comprising a plurality of commercial category identifiers, each commercial category identifier having a corresponding applicable receipt charge;

wherein the first commercial category identifier is in the plurality of commercial category identifiers in the schedule; and

wherein the program is further configured to (7) determine a first applicable receipt charge based on the schedule of receipt charges and the first commercial category identifier, and

(8) use the first applicable receipt charge when determining whether the predetermined condition is met.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein the second user account comprises data corresponding to the number of messages associated with the first commercial category previously received;

and

wherein the program is configured to determine the first applicable receipt charge based on the data corresponding to the number of messages associated with the first commercial category previously received.

22. The system of claim 13 wherein the maximum charge depends on the data associated with the second user account.

23. The system of claim 13, wherein the information related to the transaction that is stored in the data structure in the market profile associated with the second user account comprises information selected from the group consisting of purchase history, transaction history, survey responses, sent messages, and received messages.

24. The system of claim 13 wherein the proposed electronic transaction comprises a hyperlink, wherein the program is configured to receive an indication that the hyperlink has been activated by a user computer associated with the second user account, and wherein the predetermined condition is met only if the program has received the indication that the hyperlink has been activated.

25. The system of claim 13 wherein the proposed electronic transaction further comprises an identification of a payment amount;

wherein the program is further configured to;

(7) adjust the account balance associated with the first user account by a first amount, wherein the first amount is based on the payment amount and the receipt charge; and

(8) after receiving a request to access the delivered message in the message store associated with the second user account, adjusting the account balance associated with the second user account by a second amount, wherein the second amount is based on the payment amount and the receipt charge.