Invoice financing and repayment

• US 9,779,432 B1
• Filed: 03/31/2015
• Issued: 10/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Square Inc (Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.))
• Inventors: Shearer, Douglas Justin, Todd, Matthew Allen
• Primary Examiner(s): Goyea, Olusegun
• Application Number:
  US14/675,257
• Time in Patent Office: 917 Days
• Field of Search: 705 4, 705 37, 705 38, 705 45, 705 1438, 705 732, 705 712, 705 39, 705 40
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing

Abstract

A payment processing system for processing point-of-sale transactions and extending financing to merchants for invoice payment is disclosed. The payment processing system receives a request from a first merchant to generate an invoice for a second merchant. The payment processing system calculates financing terms for payment of the invoice, wherein the financing terms include repayment terms designating a portion of each transaction processed by the payment processing system for the second merchant to withhold for payment of the invoice. The payment processing system may advance payment of the invoice to the first merchant and take repayment from the portion of the withheld portion of transactions or transmit the withheld portion to the first merchant for payment of the invoice.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, by a payment processing system, via a plurality of mobile computing devices associated with a plurality of merchants, respectively, transaction information of transactions performed between the plurality of merchants and a plurality of buyers, the mobile computing devices having respective instances of a merchant application installed thereon for configuring the plurality of mobile computing devices as a plurality of mobile point-of-sale (POS) terminals, respectively, the respective instances of the merchant application configuring the mobile POS terminals to communicate the transaction information over a network to the payment processing system, the respective instances of the merchant application further configuring the mobile POS terminals to communicate requests for generating invoices to the payment processing system, the plurality of mobile POS terminals including a first mobile POS terminal associated with a first merchant, a second mobile POS terminal associated with a second merchant, and at least one third mobile POS terminal associated with at least one third merchant,

receiving, by the payment processing system from the first mobile POS terminal associated with the first merchant, a request from the first merchant to generate an invoice to be sent to the second merchant for an amount owed by the second merchant to the first merchant, the first merchant and the second merchant having respective accounts with a payment processing service provider that operates the payment processing system, wherein the payment processing system is configured to process the transaction information for the plurality of transactions received via the plurality of mobile POS terminals, wherein the request from the first merchant to generate the invoice to the second merchant includes an invoice amount, a plurality of weights indicating importance of a plurality of factors for determining invoice terms, including a first weight indicating importance of quick repayment and a second weight indicating importance of full repayment, and identifying information for the second merchant;

determining, by the payment processing system, invoice terms for the first merchant using a transaction history of the second merchant, including a payment processing history for the second merchant, an invoice payment history for the second merchant, the invoice amount, the plurality of weights, the identifying information for the second merchant, and a transaction history of the at least one third merchant, wherein the at least one third merchant is determined based on at least one of;

a geographic location related to the second merchant, or a business type related to the second merchant;

transmitting, by the payment processing system, the invoice terms to the first mobile POS terminal, wherein the first mobile POS terminal presents the invoice terms;

receiving, by the payment processing system via the first mobile POS terminal, an acceptance of the invoice terms from the first merchant, wherein the first mobile POS terminal sends the acceptance based on a received input; and

transmitting, by the payment processing system, an invoice according to the invoice terms to the second mobile computing device, wherein the second mobile POS terminal presents the invoice terms.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of weights are received through an interface presented to the first merchant via the first mobile POS terminal.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of weights include a third weight indicating a willingness to offer a discount on the invoice.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the invoice terms include a discount on the invoice for the second merchant.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the invoice terms are further based on

an invoice payment history of other invoices by a plurality of the third merchants, wherein the plurality of the third merchants is located in a geographical area of the second merchant.

6. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, by a payment processing system, from a first computing device having a first instance of a merchant application installed thereon to configure the first computing device as a first point-of-sale (POS) terminal, a request from a first merchant to generate an invoice for an amount owed by a second merchant, the request for the invoice including a plurality of weights received through the first instance of the merchant application on the first POS terminal, the plurality of weights indicating importance of a plurality of factors for determining invoice terms, the plurality of weights including a first weight indicating importance of quick repayment and a second weight indicating importance of full repayment;

determining, by the payment processing system, invoice terms for the invoice using a transaction history of at least one third merchant and the plurality of weights, wherein the at least one third merchant is determined based on at least one of;

a geographic location related to the second merchant, or a business type related to the second merchant;

transmitting, by the payment processing system via the first POS terminal, the invoice terms to the first merchant;

receiving, by the payment processing system via the first POS terminal, an acceptance of the invoice terms from the first merchant; and

transmitting, by the payment processing system, the invoice according to the invoice terms to a second computing device associated with the second merchant, the second computing device including a second instance of the merchant application installed thereon to configure the second computing device as a second POS terminal.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the request includes an invoice amount and identifying information for the second merchant.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 6 wherein the plurality of weights are received through an interface presented to the first merchant via the first POS terminal.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of weights include a third weight indicating a willingness to offer a discount on the invoice.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising receiving the transaction history of the at least one third merchant from at least one third computing device having a respective third instance of the merchant application installed thereon to configure the at least one third computing device as at least one third POS terminal configured to send transaction information to the payment processing system for processing transactions between the at least one third merchant and buyers.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the invoice terms are further based on one or more of:

merchant account information for the second merchant,

a transaction history of the second merchant,

an invoice payment history of the second merchant, or

an invoice payment history of invoices paid by a plurality of the third merchants, wherein the plurality of the third merchants is in a geographical area of the second merchant.

12. A payment processing system comprising:

one or more processors;

a memory storing instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to;

receive, via a first computing device having a first instance of a merchant application installed thereon to configure the first computing device as a first point-of-sale (POS) terminal, a request from a first merchant to generate an invoice for an amount owed by a second merchant, the request for the invoice including a plurality of weights received through the first instance of the merchant application on the first POS terminal, the plurality of weights indicating importance of a plurality of factors for determining invoice terms, the plurality of weights including a first weight indicating importance of quick repayment and a second weight indicating importance of full repayment;

determine invoice terms for the invoice using a transaction history of at least one third merchant and the plurality of weights, wherein the at least one third merchant is determined based on at least one of;

a geographic location related to the second merchant, or a business type related to the second merchant;

transmit, via the first POS terminal, the invoice terms to the first merchant;

receive, via the first POS terminal, an acceptance of the invoice terms from the first merchant; and

transmit the invoice according to the invoice terms to a second computing device associated with the second merchant, the second computing device including a second instance of the merchant application installed thereon to configure the second computing device as a second POS terminal.

13. The payment processing system of claim 12, wherein the request includes an invoice amount and identifying information for the second merchant.

14. The payment processing system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of weights include a third weight indicating a willingness to offer a discount on the invoice.

15. The payment processing system of claim 12, wherein the invoice terms are further based on one or more of:

merchant account information for the second merchant,

a transaction history of the second merchant,

an invoice payment history of the second merchant, or

an invoice payment history of invoices paid by a plurality of the third merchants, wherein the plurality of the third merchants is in a geographical area of the second merchant.

16. A point-of-sale (POS) terminal for processing a financial transaction between a customer and a first merchant, the POS terminal comprising:

a payment instrument reader comprising a reader interface configured to receive financial information from a payment instrument of the customer for enabling payment for a transaction between the customer and the first merchant; and

a mobile computing device coupled with the payment instrument reader, the mobile computing device comprising;

one or more processors;

a memory storing instructions for a first instance of a merchant application, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to;

receive an input from the first merchant to generate an invoice for an amount owed by a second merchant, the input including a plurality of weights received via a first user interface presented by the first instance of the merchant application, the plurality of weights indicating importance of a plurality of factors for determining invoice terms, the plurality of weights including a first weight indicating importance of quick repayment and a second weight indicating importance of full repayment;

transmit a request for the invoice to a payment processing system to calculate invoice terms for the first merchant;

receive the invoice terms from the payment processing system, wherein the invoice terms are at least partially based on the plurality of weights and a transaction history of at least one third merchant, wherein the at least one third merchant is determined based on at least one of;

a geographic location related to the second merchant, or a business type related to the second merchant;

receive, via a second user interface presented by the first instance of the merchant application, an acceptance of the invoice terms from the first merchant; and

transmit the invoice according to the invoice terms to another computing device associated with the second merchant, the other computing device including a second instance of the merchant application installed thereon to configure the other computing device as another POS terminal.

17. The POS terminal of claim 16, wherein the request includes an invoice amount and identifying information for the second merchant.

18. The POS terminal of claim 16, wherein the instructions cause the one or more processors to generate the first user interface for receiving the input from the first merchant, wherein the first user interface includes a plurality of slider bars for indicating the plurality of weights for the plurality of factors.

19. The POS terminal of claim 16, wherein the plurality of weights include a third weight indicating a willingness to offer a discount on the invoice.

20. The POS terminal of claim 16, wherein to transmit the invoice to the second merchant, the instructions cause the one or more processors to transmit the invoice directly to the other POS terminal associated with the second merchant, wherein the second instance of the merchant application causes the other POS terminal to present the invoice on a display.

21. The POS terminal of claim 16, wherein the invoice terms are based on one or more of:

merchant account information for the second merchant,

a transaction history of the second merchant,

an invoice payment history of the second merchant, or

an invoice payment history of invoices paid by a plurality of the third merchants, wherein the plurality of the third merchants is in a geographical area of the second merchant.