System and method of fulfilling a transaction

• US 8,370,264 B1
• Filed: 06/01/2011
• Issued: 02/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wei, Danny, Howard, Craig W., Sawers, Robert H., Gellman, David I., Ward, Charles L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Badii, Behrang
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHEUNG, CALVIN K
• Application Number:
  US13/151,153
• Time in Patent Office: 615 Days
• Field of Search: 705 64- 65, 705 75- 77
• US Class Current: 705/65
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3676 Balancing accounts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0215 Including financial accounts

Abstract

A method is disclosed that includes receiving a request for a transaction from a customer at a seller server system via an electronic-commerce website and identifying a customer account stored at the seller server system based on an identity of the customer. A plurality of financial instruments is associated with the customer account. The plurality of financial instruments has a customer-specific sequence including at least a first financial instrument pre-selected by the customer and a second financial instrument. The method includes automatically attempting to collect a particular payment associated with the transaction from a first financial service provider corresponding to the first financial instrument and automatically attempting to collect the particular payment from a second financial service provider corresponding to the second financial instrument in response to data received at the seller server system indicating a denial of the payment.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

under control of a configured server computer system associated with an electronic commerce website of a retailer, providing information for a graphical user interface (GUI) that enables customers of the retailer to create electronic wallets for use in later transactions with the electronic commerce website;

creating, by the configured server computer system, a first electronic wallet for a first customer by;

receiving information from the first customer that is specified via the GUI, the received information designating a plurality of financial instruments for the first customer and indicating a designated sequence of the plurality of financial instruments; and

storing the received information from the first customer as part of the created first electronic wallet, to enable payment for later transactions by the first customer with the electronic commerce website to be obtained using the stored information for the created first electronic wallet; and

after the creating of the first electronic wallet for the first customer;

receiving, by the configured server computer system, an indication of a first transaction involving the first customer purchasing a first product from the electronic commerce website;

retrieving, by the configured server computer system, the stored information for the created first electronic wallet of the first customer, the stored information indicating the designated sequence of the designated plurality of financial instruments for the first customer, the designated sequence including at least a first financial instrument that is first in the designated sequence and a distinct second financial instrument that is second in the designated sequence;

automatically attempting, by the configured server computer system, to obtain payment for the first transaction using the first financial instrument in the designated sequence of the designated plurality of financial instruments for the first customer; and

if the attempting to obtain the payment for the first transaction using the first financial instrument does not succeed, attempting, by the configured server computer system, to obtain the payment for the first transaction using the second financial instrument in the designated sequence of the designated plurality of financial instruments for the first customer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the attempting to obtain the payment for the first transaction using the first financial instrument does not succeed based at least in part on a failure event that occurs with respect to the attempting to obtain the payment using the first financial instrument.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the failure event includes receiving data indicating at least one of the first financial instrument having expired, of the first financial instrument having been reported lost, of the first financial instrument having been reported stolen, of the first financial instrument having been canceled, of the first financial instrument having exceeded a spending limit, and of the first financial instrument having been restricted to prevent use with online transactions.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the first transaction includes a plurality of periodic payments.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the plurality of periodic payments corresponds to an installment payment plan for the first product.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the GUI includes a selectable indicator to enable activation of a created electronic wallet, wherein the retrieved stored information for the created first electronic wallet of the first customer includes an indication that the created first electronic wallet for the first customer is activated based on the first customer having previously selected the selectable indicator, and wherein the automatic attempting to obtain the payment for the first transaction using the first financial instrument is performed based on the indication in the retrieved stored information that the created first electronic wallet for the first customer is activated.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the GUI further includes a second selectable indicator to enable de-activation of an activated electronic wallet, and wherein the method further comprises:

after the automatic attempting to obtain the payment for the first transaction using the first financial instrument, receiving information about selection by the first customer of the second selectable indicator, and updating the stored information for the created first electronic wallet of the first customer to include an indication that the created first electronic wallet for the first customer is de-activated;

after the updating of the stored information for the created first electronic wallet of the first customer to include the indication that the created first electronic wallet for the first customer is de-activated, receiving an indication of a second transaction involving the first customer purchasing a second product from the electronic commerce website; and

querying the first customer to obtain payment information for the second transaction rather than using the created first electronic wallet of the first customer based at least in part on the included indication that the created first electronic wallet for the first customer is de-activated.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

receiving an indication of a second transaction involving a second customer purchasing a second product from the electronic commerce website;

retrieving stored second information for a created second electronic wallet of the second customer, the stored second information lacking an indication that the created second electronic wallet for the second customer is activated based on the second customer having previously selected the selectable indicator; and

querying the second customer to obtain payment information for the second transaction rather than using the created second electronic wallet of the second customer based at least in part on the lack of the indication that the created second electronic wallet for the second customer is activated.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the GUI enables customers to set a notification preference to be notified if payment using a financial instrument fails, wherein the retrieved stored information for the created first electronic wallet of the first customer includes an indication that the first customer previously set the notification preference, wherein the automatic attempting to obtain the payment for the first transaction using the first financial instrument fails, and wherein the method further comprises automatically providing notification to the first customer that the automatic attempting to obtain the payment for the first transaction using the first financial instrument has failed based at least in part on the previously set notification preference.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the GUI enables customers to set a notification preference to be notified to approve use of a payment instrument that is not first in a designated sequence if payment using a financial instrument earlier in the designated sequence fails, wherein the automatic attempting to obtain the payment for the first transaction using the first financial instrument fails, and wherein the method further comprises, before the attempting to obtain the payment for the first transaction using the second financial instrument, automatically providing notification to the first customer to approve use of the second financial instruction and receiving an approval response from the first customer.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the GUI enables customers to designate a maximum amount for each financial instrument, the designated maximum amount being at least one of a maximum per purchase amount and a maximum total purchase amount, wherein the retrieved stored information for the created first electronic wallet of the first customer includes an indication that the first customer previously provided a designated maximum amount for the first financial instrument, and wherein the automatic attempting to obtain the payment for the first transaction using the first financial instrument fails based on an amount of the payment exceeding the designated maximum amount for the first financial instrument.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising, after the creating of the first electronic wallet, performing at least one fraud detection procedure with respect to at least one of the designated plurality of financial instruments for the first customer.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the at least one fraud detection procedure includes at least one of determining whether each of the at least one financial instruments is registered in a name of the first customer, of determining whether at least part of an address received from the first customer matches at least part of a billing address maintained by a financial service provider associated with each of the at least one financial instruments, of determining whether identification data received from the first customer matches identification data maintained by the financial service provider associated with each of the at least one financial instruments, and of determining whether each of the at least one financial instruments is subject to an online transaction restriction.

14. A computer system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more modules configured to, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors;

receive information from a customer of a seller that is specified via a graphical user interface (GUI) provided by the seller, the received information indicating a designated plurality of financial instruments for the customer and corresponding to a designated sequence of the designated plurality of financial instruments;

initiate storing of the received information from the customer for use with one or more later transactions by the customer with the seller, the stored received information enabling payment for the later transactions to be obtained using the stored received information, wherein the initiating of the storing of the received information from the customer includes creating an electronic wallet for the customer that includes stored information about the designated sequence of the designated plurality of financial instruments for the customer; and

after the creating of the electronic wallet for the customer, use the created electronic wallet to obtain the payment for the later transactions by the customer with the seller, the using of the created electronic wallet including, for one of the later transactions;

receiving an indication of the transaction, the transaction involving the customer purchasing a product from the seller;

retrieving the stored information for the created electronic wallet of the customer, the stored information indicating the designated sequence of the designated plurality of financial instruments for the customer, the designated sequence including at least a first financial instrument that is first in the designated sequence and a distinct second financial instrument that is second in the designated sequence;

automatically attempting to obtain payment for the transaction using the first financial instrument in the designated sequence of the designated plurality of financial instruments for the customer; and

if the attempting to obtain the payment for the transaction using the first financial instrument does not succeed, attempting to obtain the payment for the transaction using the second financial instrument in the designated sequence of the designated plurality of financial instruments for the customer.

15. The computer system of claim 14 wherein the seller is a retailer who has an electronic commerce website that offers a plurality of products, and wherein the computer system is a server computer system operated by the retailer.

16. The computer system of claim 15 wherein the one or more modules are further configured to provide the GUI to multiple customers of the retailer to enable the multiple customers to create electronic wallets for use in later transactions with the electronic commerce website.

17. The computer system of claim 14 wherein the attempting to obtain the payment for the transaction using the first financial instrument does not succeed based at least in part on a failure event that occurs with respect to the attempting to obtain the payment using the first financial instrument, the failure event including receiving data indicating at least one of the first financial instrument having expired, of the first financial instrument having been reported lost, of the first financial instrument having been reported stolen, of the first financial instrument having been canceled, of the first financial instrument having exceeded a spending limit, and of the first financial instrument having been restricted to prevent use with online transactions.

18. The computer system of claim 14 wherein the transaction includes a plurality of periodic payments.

19. The computer system of claim 14 wherein the GUI includes a selectable indicator to enable activation of the created electronic wallet of the customer, wherein the retrieved stored information for the created electronic wallet of the customer includes an indication that the created electronic wallet for the customer is activated based on the customer having previously selected the selectable indicator, and wherein the automatic attempting to obtain the payment for the transaction using the first financial instrument is performed based on the indication in the retrieved stored information that the created electronic wallet for the customer is activated.

20. The computer system of claim 19 wherein the GUI further includes a second selectable indicator to enable de-activation of an activated electronic wallet, and wherein one or more modules are further configured to:

after the automatic attempting to obtain the payment for the transaction using the first financial instrument, receive information about selection by the customer of the second selectable indicator, and update the stored information for the created electronic wallet of the customer to include an indication that the created electronic wallet for the customer is de-activated;

after the updating of the stored information for the created electronic wallet of the customer to include the indication that the created electronic wallet for the customer is de-activated, receive an indication of a second transaction involving the customer purchasing a second product from the seller; and

obtain payment information for the second transaction from the customer as part of the second transaction rather than using the created electronic wallet of the customer based at least in part on the included indication that the created electronic wallet for the customer is de-activated.

21. The computer system of claim 14 wherein the automatic attempting to obtain the payment for the transaction using the first financial instrument fails, and wherein the one or more modules are further configured to automatically provide notification to the customer that the automatic attempting to obtain the payment for the transaction using the first financial instrument has failed.

22. The computer system of claim 14 wherein the automatic attempting to obtain the payment for the transaction using the first financial instrument fails, and wherein the one or more modules are further configured to, before the attempting to obtain the payment for the transaction using the second financial instrument, automatically provide notification to the customer to approve use of the second financial instruction and receive an approval response from the customer.

23. The computer system of claim 14 wherein the automatic attempting to obtain the payment for the transaction using the first financial instrument fails based on an amount of the payment exceeding a designated maximum amount for the first financial instrument.

24. The computer system of claim 14 wherein the computer system is a computer system of the customer, and wherein the one or more modules are further configured to display the GUI on the computer system.

25. The computer system of claim 14 wherein the seller is a wholesaler.

26. The computer system of claim 14 wherein the seller has a website that displays offers for one or more of products, services, auctions and subscriptions.