Transfer account systems, computer program products, and associated computer-implemented methods

• US 8,589,295 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2008
• Issued: 11/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pathward National Association
• Original Assignee: MetaBank (Meta Financial Group Incorporated)
• Inventors: Sorbe, Trent, Larson, Troy
• Primary Examiner(s): Robinson, Kito R
• Application Number:
  US12/338,440
• Publication Number:
  US 20090164370A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,797 Days
• Field of Search: 705/40, 705/35, 705/38, 705/42
• US Class Current: 705/40
• 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 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/145 Payments according to the detected use or quantity
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network 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 30/02 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 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A financial institution computer maintains a list of account identifiers for accounts enrolled in a prioritized payment program including pre-authorization of certain payment requests by select creditors. The computer estimates a value of prioritized payments and authorizes a sweep payment to the customer account from a stand-in account at a payroll processor, so that the estimated value is held back in the stand-in account. The financial institution computer then receives an incoming ACH file, including an automatic deposit destined for the customer account. The computer generates an outgoing ACH file with both an entry for an automatic deposit destined for the customer account and an entry for a pre-authorized prioritized payment to a select creditor, so that the automatic deposit is credited and relatively instantaneously any prioritized payment is debited from the customer account. The customer account can be, for example, a demand deposit account or a prepaid card account.

Claims

1. A computer to provide prioritized payments from proceeds of automatic deposits and associated with a first financial institution defining a first financial institution computer, the first financial institution computer comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more input/output units for communicating with one or more of a plurality of second computers associated with a plurality of second financial institutions adapted to control a plurality of customer accounts to thereby define a plurality of second financial institution computers and with one or more of a plurality of third computers associated with a plurality of depository institutions each being a source of one or more automatic deposits to thereby define a plurality of depository institution computers; and

one or more non-transitory computer memories encoded with computer program operable by the one or more processors so that during operations thereof a first financial institution computer performs the following steps;

enrolling a plurality of enrollees in prioritized payments with a first financial institution so that the first financial institution computer is adapted to receive, process, and send one or more Automated Clearing House (ACH) files associated with one or more of the plurality of enrollees, each of the enrollees having one or more the plurality of customer accounts with one or more of the plurality of second financial institutions;

estimating a total value of prioritized payments associated with the plurality of first accounts enrolled in prioritized payments to define estimated prioritized payments, the estimation being based on at least one of the following;

one or more unfilled pre-authorized payment request by one or more select creditors and historical prioritized payments to one or more select creditors;

authorizing the one or more of the plurality of depository institution computers to withhold from one or more automatic deposits, associated with the one or more of the plurality of enrollees in prioritized payments, if the first financial institution computer is unavailable to receive one or more ACH files for real-time processing;

determining whether one or more incoming ACH files received from one or more of the plurality of depository institution computers is associated with one or more unfilled pre-authorized payment requests to one or more select creditors responsive to the first financial institution computer being available for real-time processing, the one or more incoming ACH files being associated with the estimated value of the one or more prioritized payments held back by one or more of the plurality of depository institution computers; and

appending to the one or more received ACH files one or more payments to one or more select creditors so that the estimated value of the prioritized payments is adapted to be credited to one or more of the plurality of customer accounts with one or more of the plurality of second financial institution and relatively instantaneously the one or more payments to the select creditors is adapted to be debited from the one or more of the plurality of customer accounts.

2. A first financial institution computer as defined in claim 1, wherein during operations the first financial institution computer further performs the step of:

matching one or more identifiers in one or more received ACH files from the one or more of the plurality of depository institution computers with one or more identifiers associated with one or more of the plurality of enrollees; and

wherein the determining step is responsive to the matching step.

3. A first financial institution computer as defined in claim 1, wherein the first financial institution computer is a primary authorization computer for the plurality of first accounts.

4. A first financial institution computer as defined in claim 1, wherein one or more of the plurality second financial institutions are prepaid card processors and one or more of the plurality of customer accounts are prepaid card accounts.

5. A first financial institution computer as defined in claim 1, wherein one or more of the plurality of customer accounts are one or more of the following:

a checking account, a savings account, a money market account, and a brokerage account.

6. A first financial institution computer as defined in claim 1, wherein during operations the first financial institution computer further performs the step of:

querying one or more third computers associated with one or more select creditors regarding one or more unfilled prioritized payment requests.

7. Non-transitory computer-readable mediums encoded with computer program operable on a first financial institution computers to provide prioritized payments from proceeds of automatic deposits, the computer program comprising the instructions of:

enrolling a plurality of enrollees in prioritized payments with a first financial institution so that a first financial institution computer is adapted to receive, process, and send one or more Automated Clearing House (ACH) files associated with one or more of the plurality of enrollees, each of the enrollees having one or more a plurality of customer accounts with one or more of a plurality of second financial institutions;

estimating a total value of prioritized payments associated with the plurality of first accounts enrolled in prioritized payments to define estimated prioritized payments, the estimation being based on at least one of the following;

one or more unfilled pre-authorized payment request by one or more select creditors and historical prioritized payments to one or more select creditors;

authorizing one or more of plurality of depository institution computers to withhold from one or more automatic deposits associated with the one or more of the plurality of enrollees in prioritized payments, if the first financial institution computer is unavailable to receive one or more ACH files for real-time processing; and

appending to one or more received ACH files one or more payments to one or more select creditors so that the estimated value of the prioritized payments is adapted to be credited to one or more of the plurality of customer accounts with one or more of the plurality of second financial institution and relatively instantaneously the one or more payments to the select creditors is adapted to be debited from the one or more of the plurality of customer accounts.

8. Non-transitory computer-readable memory as defined in claim 7, the computer program further comprising the instruction of:

determining whether one or more incoming ACH files received from one or more of the plurality of depository institution computers is associated with one or more unfilled pre-authorized payment requests to one or more select creditors responsive to the first financial institution computer being available for real-time processing, the one or more incoming ACH files being associated with the estimated value of the one or more prioritized payments held back by one or more of the plurality of depository institution computers; and

wherein the appending step is responsive to the determining step.

9. Non-transitory computer-readable memory as defined in claim 8, the computer program further comprising the instruction of:

matching one or more identifiers in one or more received ACH files from the one or more of the plurality of depository institution computers with one or more identifiers associated with one or more of the plurality of enrollees; and

wherein the determining step is responsive to the matching step.

10. Non-transitory computer-readable memory as defined in claim 7, wherein the first financial institution computer is a primary authorization computer for the plurality of first accounts.

11. Non-transitory computer-readable memory as defined in claim 7, wherein one or more of the plurality second financial institutions are prepaid card processors and one or more of the plurality of customer accounts are prepaid card accounts.

12. Non-transitory computer-readable memory as defined in claim 7, wherein one or more of the plurality of customer accounts are one or more of the following:

a checking account, a savings account, a money market account, and a brokerage account.

13. Non-transitory computer-readable memory as defined in claim 7, the computer program further comprising the instruction of:

querying one or more third computers associated with one or more select creditors regarding one or more unfilled prioritized payment requests.

14. A computer-implemented method to provide prioritized payments from proceeds of automatic deposits, the computer-implemented method comprising:

enrolling, by a first computer associated with a first financial institution computer to define a first financial institution computer, a plurality of enrollees in prioritized payments with the first financial institution so that the first financial institution computer is adapted to receive, process, and send one or more Automated Clearing House (ACH) files associated with one or more of the plurality of enrollees, each of the enrollees having one or more a plurality of customer accounts with one or more of a plurality of second financial institutions;

estimating, by the first financial institution computer, a total value of prioritized payments associated with the plurality of first accounts enrolled in prioritized payments to define estimated prioritized payments, the estimation being based on at least one of the following;

one or more unfilled pre-authorized payment request by one or more select creditors and historical prioritized payments to one or more select creditors;

authorizing, by the first financial institution computer, one or more of plurality of depository institution computers to withhold from one or more automatic deposits associated with the one or more of the plurality of enrollees in prioritized payments, if the first financial institution computer is unavailable to receive one or more ACH files for real-time processing; and

appending, by the first financial institution computer, to one or more received ACH files one or more payments to one or more select creditors so that the estimated value of the prioritized payments is adapted to be credited to one or more of the plurality of customer accounts with one or more of the plurality of second financial institution and relatively instantaneously the one or more payments to the select creditors is adapted to be debited from the one or more of the plurality of customer accounts.

15. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 14, the method further comprising:

determining, by the first financial institution computer, whether one or more incoming ACH files received from one or more of the plurality of depository institution computers is associated with one or more unfilled pre-authorized payment requests to one or more select creditors responsive to the first financial institution computer being available for real-time processing, the one or more incoming ACH files being associated with the estimated value of the one or more prioritized payments held back by one or more of the plurality of depository institution computers; and

wherein the appending step is responsive to the determining step.

16. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 15, the method further comprising:

matching, by the first financial institution computer, one or more identifiers in one or more received ACH files from the one or more of the plurality of depository institution computers with one or more identifiers associated with one or more of the plurality of enrollees; and

wherein the determining step is responsive to the matching step.

17. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 15, wherein the first financial institution computer is a primary authorization computer for the plurality of first accounts.

18. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 15, wherein one or more of the plurality second financial institutions are prepaid card processors and one or more of the plurality of customer accounts are prepaid card accounts.

19. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 15, wherein one or more of the plurality of customer accounts are one or more of the following:

a checking account, a savings account, a money market account, and a brokerage account.

20. A computer-implemented method as defined in claim 15, the method further comprising:

querying, by the first financial institution computer, one or more third computers associated with one or more select creditors regarding one or more unfilled prioritized payment requests.