Approaches for merchant financing

• US 9,727,912 B1
• Filed: 09/19/2014
• Issued: 08/08/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Inventors: Scott, John Bryan, Teh, Kevin, Poursartip, Ariana
• Primary Examiner(s): Ade, Garcia
• Application Number:
  US14/491,967
• Time in Patent Office: 1,054 Days
• Field of Search: 705 16
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof

Abstract

A payment system can determine whether a merchant is eligible for a cash advance for a particular amount, along with a fee for the cash advance. The particular amount can be determined by evaluating previous financial transactions that were conducted by the merchant through the payment system. Once a determination is made that the merchant is eligible for the cash advance, the payment system can send an offer for the cash advance in the particular amount to the merchant, for example, in the form of an e-mail or text. The merchant can accept the offer for the cash advance by sending an acceptance to the payment system, for example, through a financing interface provided by the payment system. Upon accepting the offer, the merchant is provided the cash advance for the particular amount, for example, in the form of an electronic deposit in a financial account of the merchant.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, by one or more server computing devices of a payment and financing system, from a plurality of merchant computing devices associated with a plurality of merchants, transaction information of transactions performed between the plurality of merchants and a plurality of customers, each merchant computing device having a respective instance of a merchant application installed thereon for configuring the merchant computing device as a point-of-sale device, the merchant application further configuring the merchant computing device to communicate the transaction information over a network to the one or more server computing devices;

comparing, by the one or more server computing devices, the transaction information received from the plurality of merchant computing devices with one or more factors associated with respective ones of the plurality of merchants to generate a custom financing offer for a first merchant of the plurality of merchants, wherein the first merchant is associated with a first merchant computing device;

providing, by the one or more server computing devices, the custom financing offer for a cash advance to the first merchant computing device, the custom financing offer including terms for the cash advance that describe a repayment time, a fee for the cash advance, and a rate of repayment;

receiving, by the one or more server computing devices, from the first merchant computing device used to conduct transactions between the first merchant and customers of the first merchant, an acceptance of the custom financing offer for the cash advance;

providing, by the one or more server computing devices, the cash advance to a financial account of the first merchant with a financial institution, wherein the financial institution and the payment and financing system are separate entities;

performing, by the one or more server computing devices, subsequent to providing the cash advance, payment processing for a plurality of transactions conducted with customers of the first merchant via the first merchant computing device;

deducting, by the one or more server computing devices, a portion of funds from the plurality of transactions for repayment of the cash advance and the fee;

determining, by the one or more server computing devices, based on the payment processing for the plurality of transactions conducted with the customers of the first merchant via the first merchant computing device, first merchant transaction information indicating that the first merchant is not on schedule for repaying the cash advance and the fee within the repayment time;

determining, by the one or more server computing devices, based on the first merchant transaction information, a set of adjusted terms for repayment of the cash advance and the fee for the cash advance, the set of adjusted terms including at least an adjusted rate of repayment of the cash advance and the fee, the terms being adjusted so that the first merchant is on schedule for repaying the cash advance and the fee for the cash advance within the repayment time; and

deducting, by the one or more server computing devices, a portion of funds from future transactions between the first merchant and customers of the first merchant, conducted using the first merchant device through the payment and financing system, for repayment of the cash advance and the fee, the portion of funds deducted from the future transactions being based on the adjusted rate of repayment of the cash advance determined based on the first merchant transaction information.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

evaluating, by the one or more server computing devices, additional transaction information for another plurality of transactions conducted between the first merchant and another plurality of customers, that was received from the first merchant computing device for payment processing by the payment and financing system;

determining, based on the additional transaction information, that the first merchant is ahead of schedule for repaying the cash advance and the fee within the repayment time; and

determining, by the one or more server computing devices, a next set of adjusted terms for repayment of the cash advance and the fee, the next set of adjusted terms including a next adjusted rate of repayment of the cash advance and the fee, so that the first merchant is on schedule for repaying the cash advance and the fee within the repayment time.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

evaluating, by the one or more server computing devices, additional transaction information for another plurality of transactions conducted between first the merchant and another plurality of customers, that was received from the first merchant computing device for payment processing by the payment and financing system;

determining, by the one or more server computing devices, that the first merchant has repaid the cash advance and the fee before the repayment time; and

providing, by the one or more server computing devices, to the first merchant computing device, another custom financing offer for a second cash advance.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

evaluating, by the one or more server computing devices, additional transaction information for another plurality of transactions conducted between the first merchant and another plurality of customers, that was received from the first merchant computing device for payment processing by the payment and financing system;

determining, by the one or more server computing devices, based on the additional transaction information, that the first merchant is ahead of schedule for repaying the cash advance and the fee within the repayment time; and

sending, by the one or more server computing devices, a notification to a first merchant computing device of the first merchant indicating that the first merchant is ahead of schedule for repayment of the cash advance and the fee.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving, by the one or more server computing devices, from the first merchant computing device of the first merchant, instructions for dynamically restructuring the rate of repayment for the cash advance and the fee for the cash advance so that the repayment completes within the repayment time; and

based on the instructions, changing by the one or more server computing devices, an amount deducted from subsequent transactions processed by the payment and financing system between the first merchant and customers using the first merchant computing device.

6. A payment and financing system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors of the payment and financing system, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;

receiving, by the one or more processors, from a plurality of merchant computing devices associated with a plurality of merchants, transaction information of transactions performed between the plurality of merchants and a plurality of customers, each merchant computing device having a respective instance of a merchant application installed thereon for configuring the merchant computing device as a point-of-sale device, the merchant application further configuring the merchant computing device to communicate the transaction information over a network to the one or more processors;

comparing, by the one or more processors, the transaction information received from the plurality of merchant computing devices with one or more factors associated with respective ones of the plurality of merchants to generate a custom financing offer for a first merchant of the plurality of merchants, wherein the first merchant is associated with a first merchant computing device;

providing, by the one or more processors, the custom financing offer for a cash advance to the first merchant computing device, the custom financing offer including terms for the cash advance that describe a repayment time, a fee for the cash advance, and a rate of repayment;

receiving, by the one or more processors, from the first merchant computing device used to conduct transactions between the first merchant and customers of the first merchant, an acceptance of the custom financing offer for the cash advance;

providing, by the one or more processors, the cash advance to a financial account of the first merchant with a financial institution, wherein the financial institution and the payment and financing system are separate entities;

performing, by the one or more processors, subsequent to providing the cash advance, payment processing for a plurality of transactions conducted with customers of the first merchant via the first merchant computing device;

deducting, by the one or more processors, a portion of funds from the plurality of transactions for repayment of the cash advance and the fee;

determining, by the one or more processors, based on the payment processing for the plurality of transactions conducted with the customers of the first merchant via the first merchant computing device, first merchant transaction information indicating that the first merchant is not on schedule for repaying the cash advance and the fee within the repayment time;

determining, by the one or more processors, based on the first merchant transaction information, a set of adjusted terms for repayment of the cash advance and the fee for the cash advance, the set of adjusted terms including at least an adjusted rate of repayment of the cash advance and the fee, the terms being adjusted so that the first merchant is on schedule for repaying the cash advance and the fee for the cash advance within the repayment time; and

deducting, by the one or more processors, a portion of funds from future transactions between the first merchant and customers of the first merchant, conducted using the first merchant device through the payment and financing system, for repayment of the cash advance and the fee, the portion of funds deducted from the future transactions being based on the adjusted rate of repayment of the cash advance determined based on the first merchant transaction information.

7. The payment and financing system as recited in claim 6, the operations further comprising:

evaluating, by the one or more processors, additional transaction information for another plurality of transactions conducted between the first merchant and another plurality of customers, that was received from the first merchant computing device for payment processing by the payment and financing system;

determining, by the one or more processors, based on the additional transaction information, that the first merchant is ahead of schedule for repaying the cash advance and the fee within the repayment time; and

determining, by the one or more processors, a next set of adjusted terms for repayment of the cash advance and the fee, the next set of adjusted terms including a next adjusted rate of repayment of the cash advance and the fee, so that the first merchant is on schedule for repaying the cash advance and the fee within the repayment time.

8. The payment and financing system as recited in claim 6, the operations further comprising:

evaluating, by the one or more processors, additional transaction information for another plurality of transactions conducted between first the merchant and another plurality of customers, that was received from the first merchant computing device for payment processing by the payment and financing system;

determining, by the one or more processors, that the first merchant has repaid the cash advance and the fee before the repayment time; and

providing, by the one or more processors, to the first merchant computing device, another custom financing offer for another cash advance.

9. The payment and financing system as recited in claim 6, the operations further comprising:

evaluating, by the one or more processors, additional transaction information for another plurality of transactions conducted between the first merchant and another plurality of customers, that was received from the first merchant computing device for payment processing by the payment and financing system;

determining, by the one or more processors, based on the additional transaction information, that the first merchant is ahead of schedule for repaying the cash advance and the fee within the repayment time; and

sending, by the one or more processors, a notification to a first merchant computing device of the first merchant indicating that the first merchant is ahead of schedule for repayment of the cash advance and the fee.

10. The payment and financing system as recited in claim 9, the operations further comprising:

receiving, by the one or more processors, from the first merchant computing device of the first merchant, instructions for dynamically restructuring the rate of repayment for the cash advance and the fee for the cash advance so that the repayment completes within the repayment time; and

based on the instructions, changing, by the one or more processors, an amount deducted from subsequent transactions processed by the payment and financing system between the first merchant and the customers using the first merchant computing device.

11. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors of a payment and financing system, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;

receiving, by the one or more processors, from a plurality of merchant computing devices associated with a plurality of merchants, transaction information of transactions performed between the plurality of merchants and a plurality of customers, each merchant computing device having a respective instance of a merchant application installed thereon for configuring the merchant computing device as a point-of-sale device, the merchant application further configuring the merchant computing device to communicate the transaction information over a network to the one or more processors;

comparing, by the one or more processors, the transaction information received from the plurality of merchant computing devices with one or more factors associated with respective ones of the plurality of merchants to generate a custom financing offer for a first merchant of the plurality of merchants, the custom financing offer including terms for a cash advance and a repayment time;

sending, by the one or more processors, to a first merchant computing device associated with the first merchant, the custom financing offer for presentation on a user interface on the first merchant computing device;

in response to an indication of acceptance of the custom financing offer, providing, by the one or more processors, the cash advance to a financial account of the first merchant with a financial institution;

subsequent to providing the cash advance, deducting, by the one or more processors, for repayment of the cash advance, a portion of funds from a plurality of transactions conducted between customers and the first merchant via the first merchant computing device;

subsequent to providing the cash advance, determining, by the one or more processors, based on the plurality of transactions conducted between the customers and the first merchant via the first merchant computing device, that the first merchant is ahead of schedule for repaying the cash advance and within the repayment time; and

sending, by the one or more processors, a notification to the first merchant computing device indicating that the first merchant is ahead of schedule for repayment of the cash advance.

12. The system as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

receiving, by the one or more processors, from the first merchant computing device, instructions for dynamically restructuring the rate of repayment for the cash advance so that the repayment completes within the repayment time; and

based on the instructions, changing, by the one or more processors, an amount deducted from subsequent transactions processed by the payment and financing system between the first merchant and the customers using the first merchant computing device.

13. The system as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

determining, by the one or more processors, that the first merchant has repaid the cash advance before the repayment time; and

providing, by the one or more processors, to the first merchant computing device, another custom financing offer for another cash advance.

14. The system as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

receiving, by the one or more processors, from the first merchant computing device, instructions for dynamically restructuring the rate of repayment for the cash advance so that the repayment completes within the repayment time;

determining, by the one or more processors, based on the first merchant transaction information, a set of adjusted terms for repayment of the cash advance, the set of adjusted terms including at least an adjusted rate of repayment of the cash advance; and

deducting, by the one or more processors, based on the adjusted rate of repayment, a portion of funds from future transactions between the first merchant and customers of the first merchant conducted using the first merchant device.

15. The system as recited in claim 14, further comprising:

evaluating, by the one or more processors, additional transaction information for another plurality of transactions conducted between the first merchant and another plurality of customers;

determining, based on the additional transaction information, that the first merchant is not on schedule for repaying the cash advance within the repayment time; and

determining, by the one or more processors, a next adjusted rate of repayment of the cash advance and the fee, so that the first merchant is on schedule for repaying the cash advance and the fee within the repayment time.