System and method for effecting auction item payments through a network portal

• US 8,577,744 B2
• Filed: 12/27/2006
• Issued: 11/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Datascape Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Datascape Incorporated
• Inventors: Wagner, Richard H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Subramanian, Narayanswamy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Puttaiah, Asha
• Application Number:
  US11/646,028
• Publication Number:
  US 20080162347A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,505 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/37
• US Class Current: 705/26.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• 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 30/08 Auctions

Abstract

A merchant/seller portal enables sellers of auction items on Internet auction sites to obtain cash payments from buyers identified only by their buyer pseudonyms. The portal includes an open network interface, a seller database in which data associated with a seller are stored, a buyer manager for verifying auction purchase data received from a merchant terminal, an auction site manager for verifying auction transaction data with an auction site server, and an auction payment manager for communicating data messages with an auction payment server to transfer funds for a verified auction transaction.

Claims

1. An auction buyer payment support system comprising:

an open network interface configured to communicate electronic data messages with other computers over an open network;

a seller database having a processor and memory in which data associated with a seller are stored; and

one or more computers operatively connected to the open network interface and the seller database, the one or more computers being programmed with instructions stored on at least one hard drive associated with at least one computer of the one or more computers to enable;

a buyer manager software module executing on the one or more computers to verify a merchant terminal communicating with the buyer manager through the open network interface is registered with the auction buyer payment support system, and to verify auction purchase data for a concluded auction purchase received from the merchant terminal, the auction purchase data being associated with an auction buyer of the concluded auction purchase and communicated in a data message sent from the merchant terminal to the one or more computers through the open network interface;

an auction site manager software module executing on the one or more computers to communicate with an auction server associated with the concluded auction purchase through the open network interface to verify that auction transaction data in the auction purchase data received from the merchant terminal corresponds with auction transaction data for the concluded auction purchase stored in a memory associated with the auction server; and

a transaction payment service manager software module executing on the one or more computers to communicate data messages with an auction payment service server through the open network interface to transfer funds from an account associated with a merchant associated with the merchant terminal to an account associated with the seller for payment of the concluded auction purchase corresponding to the verified auction transaction data without identifying financial account data associated with the auction buyer.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a seller authenticator software module of the buyer manager software module that executes on the one or more computers to compare seller data obtained from the auction server with seller data stored in the seller database and generate an auction confirmation signal in response to the seller data obtained from the seller database corresponding with the seller data obtained from the auction server; and

the auction site manager software module executing on the one or more computers verifies the auction transaction data in response to the auction confirmation signal and generates a transaction approval form for transmission to the merchant terminal in response to the auction purchase data being verified by the auction server.

3. The system of claim 2, the auction site manager software module executing on the one or more computers further comprising:

a transaction manager software module that executes on the one or more computers to generate an open transaction record in response to receipt of an approved transaction approval form received from the merchant terminal.

4. The system of claim 3, the transaction payment service manager software module executing on the one or more computers further comprising:

a merchant payment manager software module that executes on the one or more computers to generate and communicate through the open network interface electronic messages for effecting funds transfers to an account associated with the auction buyer payment support system from the account associated with the merchant to enable payment for the verified auction purchase without use of financial account data associated with the auction buyer; and

an auction payment service manager software module that executes on the one or more computers to generate payment instruction messages for transferring funds to the account associated with the seller through the auction payment service to enable the payment of the concluded auction purchase without identifying financial account data associated with the auction buyer.

5. The system of claim 4, the buyer manager software module that executes on the one or more computers further comprising:

a payment receipt manager software module that executes on the one or more computers to generate payment receipt messages in response to payment acknowledgement messages received through the open network interface from the auction payment service server and to communicate the payment receipt messages to the merchant terminal through the open network interface.

6. The system of claim 5, the payment receipt manager software module that executes on the one or more computers further comprising:

an email message manager software module that executes on the one or more computers to send payment notification messages to seller email addresses.

7. The system of claim 4 wherein the merchant payment manager software module that executes on the one or more computers also generates and communicates electronic messages for transferring funds to the account associated with the auction buyer payment support system with the auction payment service;

and

the auction payment service manager software module that executes on the one or more computers also generates and communicates through the open network interface payment instructions for pushing funds from the account associated with the auction buyer payment support system with the auction payment service to the account associated with the seller.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the payment instructions are configured to cause a computer associated with an auction payment service to provide a predetermined auction payment service method and the account associated with the seller is accessed through the auction payment service.

9. A method for operating a computer network system having one or more computers to provide auction buyer payment support comprising:

storing with the one or more computers of the computer network system data associated with a seller in a database that is coupled to the one or more computers of the computer network system;

verifying with the one or more computers of the computer network system that seller data in auction purchase data for a concluded auction purchase received from a merchant terminal that is registered with the computer network system corresponds with data retrieved from the database coupled to the one or more computers of the computer network system;

verifying with the one or more computers of the computer network system that auction transaction data in the auction purchase data for the concluded auction purchase received from the merchant terminal corresponds with auction transaction data for the concluded auction purchase stored in a memory at an auction server through communication of data messages between the one or more computers and the auction server; and

communicating data messages without identifying financial account data associated with an auction buyer between the one or more computers of the computer network system and an auction payment service server to transfer funds to the seller corresponding to the auction purchase data received from the merchant terminal for the concluded auction purchase corresponding to the verified auction purchase data.

10. The method of claim 9, the auction purchase data verification further comprising:

receiving at the one or more computers of the computer network system an auction transaction data confirmation signal in response to the auction transaction data in the auction purchase data received by the one or more computers of the computer network system corresponding to auction transaction data stored at the auction server;

generating with the one or more computers of the computer network system a transaction approval form in response to the auction transaction data confirmation signal being received; and

sending the transaction approval form from the one or more computers of the computer network system to the merchant terminal.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

generating with the one or more computers of the computer network system an open transaction record in response to receipt of a payment received signal from the merchant terminal.

12. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

generating and communicating a first plurality of electronic messages with the one or more computers of the computer network system, the first plurality of electronic messages transferring funds to an account associated with an operator of the computer network system from an account associated with the merchant terminal; and

generating and communicating a second plurality of electronic messages with the one or more computers of the computer network system, the second plurality of electronic messages transferring funds to an account associated with an auction payment service from the account associated with the operator of the computer network system.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

generating with the one or more computers of the computer network system payment receipt messages in response to payment acknowledgement messages received from the auction payment service server; and

communicating the payment receipt messages from the one or more computers of the computer network system to the merchant terminal.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

sending the payment receipt messages as email messages from the one or more computers of the computer network system to an email address associated with a seller.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the generation and communication of the second plurality of electronic messages that transfers funds to the account associated with the auction payment service from the account associated with the operator of the computer network system transfers funds to an account associated by the auction payment service with the operator of the computer network system;

and

the method further comprises;

generating and communicating payment instructions with the one or more computers of the computer network system, the payment instructions are configured to push funds from the account associated with the operator of the computer network system by the auction payment service to an account associated with a seller by the auction payment service.

16. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

generating and communicating payment instructions with the one or more computers of the computer network system that push funds using a method supported by the auction payment service.

17. A system for implementing transactions between a registered terminal at a merchant location and a vendor comprising:

a registered terminal at a location associated with a merchant that is registered with a computer network system of one or more computers, the registered terminal including a memory in which data are stored that verify registration of the terminal with a computer network system of one or more computers;

a seller database having a memory in which data associated with sellers are stored;

the one or more computers of the computer network system being communicatively coupled to the seller database and to the registered terminal and programmed with instructions stored in a memory for a buyer manager software module that executes on the computer network system to verify seller data in auction purchase data for a concluded auction purchase received from the registered terminal corresponds to seller data stored in the seller database;

the one or more computers of the computer network system also being programmed with instructions stored in a memory for an auction site manager software module that executes on the computer network system to verify the auction purchase data received from the registered terminal corresponds with auction purchase data stored in a memory associated with an auction server communicatively coupled to the computer network system; and

the one or more computers of the computer network system also being programmed with instructions stored in a memory for a transaction payment service manager software module that executes on the computer network system to communicate data messages with an auction payment service server to transfer funds electronically for the concluded auction purchase that corresponds to the verified auction purchase data without identifying financial account data associated with an auction buyer.

18. The system of claim 17, the one or more computers of the computer network system programmed with instructions stored in a memory for the transaction payment manager software module including instructions for a merchant payment manager software module that executes on the computer network system to generate and communicate electronic messages that transfer funds from a merchant account to an account associated with the computer network system by the auction payment service server;

and

the one or more computers of the computer network system programmed with instructions stored in a memory for the transaction payment manager software module also including instructions for an auction payment service manager software module that executes on the computer network system to generate and communicate electronic payment instructions that push funds from the account associated with the computer network system by the auction payment service server to an account associated with a seller corresponding to seller data in the seller database by the auction payment service server.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the electronic payment instructions cause a computer associated with a payment service to implement a method for a payment service to push funds from the account associated with the computer network system by the auction payment service server to the account associated with the seller by the auction payment service server.