Changing email text based on payment status

• US 9,805,358 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2012
• Issued: 10/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Green, Travis Harrison Kroll, Sharp, Phillip Neal, Salay, Brian Maximilian
• Primary Examiner(s): Rankins, William
• Application Number:
  US13/731,106
• Publication Number:
  US 20140188702A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,766 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• 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 20/223 based on the use of peer-to-peer networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

An email payment system and method to provide users with the ability to initiate and send payments to one more recipients via email messaging. A user interface is provided in an email client that allows a user to insert payment with the email. Payment details are collected through one or more payment modals displayed in the email client. A payment object is inserted into the body of the email and is displayed to both the sender and recipient. The payment details captured in the payment object are communicated to a payment processor. The payment processor uses electronic payment accounts associated with the corresponding sender and recipient email addresses to identify the relevant electronic payment accounts and transfer the payment between said accounts. A status of the payment transaction is tracked and displayed within the payment object of the emails residing in both the sender and recipient email client.

Claims

1. A method to communicate email payment objects in email messages to recipients identified in a To field while restricting redeemable email payment objects from being communicated to recipients identified in CC or BCC fields, comprising:

receiving, using one or more computing devices, a request from a sender email client to insert one or more payment objects in an email message composed in the sender email client and addressed to one or more recipients;

receiving, using the one or more computing devices, from the sender email client, payment transaction details related to the one or more payment objects input to the sender email client;

inserting, by the one or more computing devices, the one or more payment objects into the email message composed in the sender email client, the inserted payment object comprising at least one interface object to allow the one or more recipients to accept the payment;

modifying, by the one or more computing devices, the payment object for each instance of the email addressed to each one of the one or more recipients identified in a CC field or a BCC field of the email message to remove the at least one interface object, wherein each instance of the email addressed to each one of the one or more recipients identified in a TO field of the email message includes the unmodified payment object; and

transmitting, by the one or more computing devices, the email message to the one or more recipients.

2. The method of claim 1, the one or more payment objects being coded in a hypertext mark-up language in a body of the email message.

3. A computer program product, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable storage device having computer-executable program instructions embodied thereon that when executed by a computer cause the computer to communicate email payment objects in email messages to certain recipients while restricting the email payment objects from being communicated to recipients in restricted geographic regions, the computer-executable program instructions comprising;

computer-executable program instructions to receive a request from a sender email client to insert one or more payment objects in an email message composed in the sender email client and addressed to one or more recipients;

computer-executable program instructions to insert the one or more payment objects into the email message composed in the sender email client, the inserted payment object comprising at least one interface object to allow the one or more recipients to accept the payment;

computer-executable program instructions to modify the payment object for each instance of the email addressed to each one of the one or more recipients identified in a CC field or a BCC field of the email message to remove the at least one interface object;

computer-executable program instructions to transmit the email message with the inserted payment objects to the one or more recipients that are not in a restricted geographic region.

4. The computer program product of claim 3, the payment object being coded in a hypertext mark-up language in a body of the email message.

5. A system to communicate email payment objects in email messages to groups with group administrators, comprising:

a storage device;

a network device; and

a processor communicatively coupled to the storage device and the network device, the processor executing application code instructions that are stored in the storage device to cause the system to;

receive a request from a sender email client to insert one or more payment objects in an email message composed in the sender email client and addressed to one or more recipients;

receive from the sender email client, payment transaction details related to the one or more payment objects input to the sender email client;

insert the one or more payment objects into the email message composed in the sender email client, the inserted payment object comprising at least one interface object to allow the one or more recipients to accept the payment;

modify the payment object for each instance of the email addressed to each one of the one or more recipients identified in a CC field or a BCC field of the email message to remove the at least one interface object; and

transmit the email message to the group of recipients.

6. The system of claim 5, the one or more payment objects being coded in a hypertext mark-up language in a body of the email message.