Allocating partial payment of a transaction amount using an allocation rule

• US 8,458,086 B2
• Filed: 12/01/2008
• Issued: 06/04/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Liberty Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Lead Core Fund LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Thomas, Tracey R., Sharma, Bansi L., Bishop, Fred A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Jagdish
• Application Number:
  US12/325,610
• Publication Number:
  US 20090076957A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,646 Days
• Field of Search: 705 38- 40
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

A financial account issuer facilitating transactions between accounts is disclosed. The invention provides sellers with an irrevocable method of receiving funds from a purchaser and for improving purchaser willingness to transact with an unknown party. The invention also enables the allocation of a portion or all of a charge or loyalty points to different transaction accounts issued by different issuers, or to sub-accounts.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a first computer system associated with a first entity, a transaction authorization request that specifies an amount owed to a receiving party and that specifies a first financial account identifier issued by the first entity;

the first computer system applying an allocation rule to the transaction authorization request to determine first and second portions of the amount owed to the receiving party, wherein the first portion is to be funded by a first financial account and the second portion is to be funded by a second financial account;

the first computer system sending a partial payment request to a second computer system, wherein the partial payment request specifies a second financial account identifier and the second portion of the amount owed to the receiving party;

the first computer system sending a message to the receiving party, wherein the message indicates authorization of payment for the first and second portions of the amount owed to the receiving party.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

collecting, by the by the first computer system and from a second entity, the second portion of the amount owed to the receiving party; and

causing the second portion of the amount owed to the receiving party to be distributed to the receiving party.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first entity is a credit card issuer that issued a first credit card associated with the first financial account, and wherein the transaction authorization request includes an account number associated with the first credit card.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first financial account identifier is for the first financial account.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first financial account identifier is for a financial account other than the first financial account.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising

applying the allocation rule to the transaction authorization request to determine a third computer system;

and,

authorizing the first portion of the amount owed to the receiving party by sending a different partial payment request for the first portion to a third computer system.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

the first computer system receiving a denial of the partial payment request from the second computer system;

in response to the denial of the partial payment request, the first computer system applying the allocation rule to the transaction authorization request to determine a third computer system; and

,

the first computer system sending an additional partial payment request to the third computer system, wherein the additional partial payment request specifies the first portion of the amount owed to the receiving party.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the first computer system causing at least the first and second portions of the specified amount owed to the receiving party to be transferred to the receiving party, wherein the receiving party receives at least one of a monetary amount, a non-monetary amount, a loyalty point amount, or a monetary equivalent value.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a same consumer is associated with the first and second financial accounts.

10. A first computer system associated with a first entity that issued a first financial account, comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that are executable by the processor to cause the first computer system to perform operations comprising;

receiving a transaction authorization request that specifies an amount owed to a receiving party and that specifies a first financial account identifier;

retrieving an allocation rule;

applying the allocation rule to the transaction authorization request to determine first and second portions of the amount owed to the receiving party, wherein the first portion is to be funded by a first financial account and the second portion is to be funded by a second financial account;

respectively sending first and second partial payment requests to at least one other computer system, wherein the first and second partial payment requests respectively specify the first and second portions of the amount owed to the receiving party, and wherein the first and second partial payment requests respectively specify second and third financial account identifiers issued by at least one of a second entity or a third entity; and

based on receiving a response to the first and second partial payment requests, transmitting a message to the receiving party, wherein the message indicates authorization of payment for the first and second portions of the amount owed.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein retrieving the allocation rule includes at least one of:

reading the allocation rule from a storage device accessible to the first computer system, or using a network communication device of the first computer system to send a request for the allocation rule to a remote computer system.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the request for the allocation rule specifies the first financial account identifier.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein applying the allocation rule includes determining a third portion of the amount owed to the receiving party;

and

wherein the operations further comprise using one or more rules specified by the first entity to authorize payment for the third portion of the amount.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein receiving the response to the first and second partial payment requests includes receiving a first response corresponding to the first partial payment request and includes receiving a second response corresponding to the second partial payment request.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that are executable by a processor of a first computer system associated with a first entity to cause the first computer system to perform operations comprising:

receiving a transaction authorization request that specifies an amount owed to a receiving party and that specifies a first financial account identifier issued by the first entity;

applying an allocation rule to the transaction authorization request to determine first and second portions of the amount owed to the receiving party, wherein the first portion is to be funded by a first financial account and the second portion is to be funded by a second financial account;

sending a partial payment request to a second computer system, wherein the partial payment request specifies a second portion of the amount owed to the receiving party and a second financial account identifier associated with a second entity; and

sending a message to the receiving party, wherein the message indicates authorization of payment for the first and second portions of the amount owed to the receiving party.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise authorizing the first portion of the amount based on one or more rules specified by the first entity.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the first entity is at least one of a credit card issuer or a debit card issuer.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise retrieving the allocation rule from a third entity prior to applying the allocation rule but subsequent to receiving the transaction authorization request.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise retaining a third portion of the amount owed to the receiving party as a transaction fee.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the first financial account identifier is for the first financial account.