Approaches to location based merchant financing

• US 9,984,412 B1
• Filed: 09/19/2014
• Issued: 05/29/2018
• 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: Poursartip, Ariana, Scott, John Bryan, Teh, Kevin
• Primary Examiner(s): Ade, Garcia
• Application Number:
  US14/491,965
• Time in Patent Office: 1,348 Days
• Field of Search: 705 16
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• 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 (POS) 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;

providing, by the one or more server computing devices, to a first merchant computing device of a first merchant of the plurality of merchants, via a wireless communication channel included in the network, at a first business location of the first merchant, an offer for a cash advance including terms for the cash advance that describe a repayment time, a fee for the cash advance, a first rate of repayment for the first business location of the first merchant, and a second rate of repayment for a second business location of the first merchant, wherein the terms for the cash advance are determined based at least in part on the transaction information received by the one or more server computing devices;

receiving, by the one or more server computing devices, via the wireless communication channel, from the first merchant computing device of the first merchant at the first business location of the first merchant, an acceptance of the offer for the cash advance;

receiving, by the one or more server computing devices, via the wireless communication channel, from the first merchant computing device, a request to process a first financial payment transaction, wherein receiving the request includes receiving global positioning system (GPS) information from the first merchant computing device indicating that a location of the transaction being conducted by the first merchant is at the first business location using the first merchant computing device;

processing, by the one or more server computing devices, the first financial payment transaction for the first merchant;

determining, by the one or more server computing devices, based at least in part on the GPS information from the first merchant computing device, that the first financial payment transaction is conducted at the first business location;

deducting, by the one or more server computing devices, a first portion of funds from the first financial payment transaction for repayment of the cash advance, the first portion of funds being based on the first rate for repayment;

receiving, by the one or more server computing devices, via the wireless communication channel, from a second merchant computing device, a request to process a second financial payment transaction, wherein receiving the request to process the second financial payment transaction includes receiving GPS information from the second merchant computing device indicating that a location of the transaction being conducted by the first merchant is at the second business location using the second merchant computing device;

processing, by the one or more server computing devices, the second financial payment transaction for the first merchant;

determining, by the one or more server computing devices, based at least in part on the GPS information from the second merchant computing device, that the second financial payment transaction is conducted at the second business location;

deducting, by the one or more server computing devices, a second portion of funds from the second financial payment transaction for repayment of the cash advance, the second portion of funds being based on the second rate for repayment;

evaluating, by the one or more server computing devices, the first portion of funds and the second portion of funds to determine whether the first merchant is on track for repayment of the cash advance in the repayment time;

dynamically adjusting, by the one or more server computing devices, the first rate of repayment based in part on earnings collected by the first merchant through the first financial transaction conducted at the first business location;

dynamically adjusting, by the one or more server computing devices, the second rate of repayment based in part on earnings collected by the first merchant through the second financial transaction conducted by the first merchant at the second business location; and

transmitting, by the one or more server computing devices, to at least one of the first merchant computing device or the second merchant computing device, via the wireless communication channel, the adjusted first rate of repayment and/or the adjusted second rate of repayment for presentation to the first merchant.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first rate of repayment is subsequently dynamically adjusted based in part on subsequent earnings collected by the first merchant through subsequent financial transactions conducted by the first merchant at the second business location, and wherein the second rate of repayment is subsequently dynamically adjusted based in part on subsequent earnings collected by the first merchant through subsequent financial transactions conducted by the first merchant at the first business location.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more server computing devices are configured to deduct funds from financial payment transactions conducted by the first merchant at the first business location and by the first merchant at the second business location until the first merchant has repaid the cash advance and a fee for the cash advance.

4. A payment and financing system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, 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 (POS) 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;

providing, by the one or more processors, to a first merchant computing device of a first merchant of the plurality of merchants, via the network, at a first business location of the first merchant, an offer for a cash advance including terms for the cash advance that describe a repayment time, a fee for the cash advance, a first rate of repayment for the first business location of the first merchant, and a second rate of repayment for a second business location of the first merchant, wherein the terms for the cash advance are determined based at least in part on the transaction information received by the one or more server computing devices;

receiving, by the one or more processors, via the network, from the first merchant computing device of the first merchant at the first business location of the first merchant, an acceptance of the offer for the cash advance;

receiving, by the one or more processors, via the network, from the first merchant computing device, a request to process a first financial payment transaction, wherein receiving the request includes receiving global positioning system (GPS) information from the first merchant computing device indicating that a location of the transaction being conducted by the first merchant is at the first business location using the first merchant computing device;

processing, by the one or more processors, the first financial payment transaction for the first merchant;

determining, by the one or more processors, based at least in part on the GPS information from the first merchant computing device, that the first financial payment transaction is conducted at the first business location;

deducting, by the one or more processors, a first portion of funds from the first financial payment transaction for repayment of the cash advance, the first portion of funds being based on the first rate for repayment;

receiving, by the one or more processors, via the network, from a second merchant computing device, a request to process a second financial payment transaction, wherein receiving the request to process the second financial payment transaction includes receiving GPS information from the second merchant computing device indicating that a location of the transaction being conducted by the first merchant is at the second business location using the second merchant computing device;

processing, by the one or more processors, the second financial payment transaction for the first merchant;

determining, by the one or more processors, based at least in part on the GPS information from the second merchant computing device, that the second financial payment transaction is conducted at the second business location; and

deducting, by the one or more processors, a second portion of funds from the second financial payment transaction for repayment of the cash advance, the second portion of funds being based on the second rate for repayment.

5. The payment and financing system as recited in claim 4, the operations further comprising:

evaluating, by the one or more processors, the first portion of funds and the second portion of funds to determine whether the first merchant is on track for repayment of the cash advance in the repayment time;

adjusting, by the one or more processors, at least one of;

the first rate of repayment based in part on earnings collected by the first merchant through the first financial transaction conducted at the first business location;

or

the second rate of repayment based in part on earnings collected by the first merchant through the second financial transaction conducted by the first merchant at the second business location; and

transmitting, by the one or more processors, to at least one of the first merchant computing device or the second merchant computing device, via the network, the adjusted first rate of repayment and/or the adjusted second rate of repayment for presentation to the first merchant.

6. The payment and financing system as recited in claim 4, the operations further comprising:

evaluating, by the one or more server computing devices, the first portion of funds and the second portion of funds to determine whether the first merchant is on track for repayment of the cash advance in the repayment time;

adjusting, by the one or more processors, at least one of;

the first rate of repayment based in part on earnings collected by the first merchant through the first financial transaction conducted at the second business location;

or

the second rate of repayment based in part on earnings collected by the first merchant through the second financial transaction conducted by the first merchant at the first business location; and

transmitting, by the one or more server computing devices, to at least one of the first merchant computing device or the second merchant computing device, via the network, the adjusted first rate of repayment and/or the adjusted second rate of repayment for presentation to the first merchant.

7. The payment and financing system as recited in claim 4, the operations further comprising:

determining, by the one or more processors, the terms for the cash advance based at least in part on an evaluation of an amount collected by the first merchant over a specified period of time through previous financial transactions that were conducted by the first merchant at at least one of the business locations at which the merchant conducts financial transactions.

8. The payment and financing system as recited in claim 4, wherein the one or more processors are configured to deduct funds from financial payment transactions conducted by the first merchant at the first business location and by the first merchant at the second business location until the first merchant has repaid the cash advance and a fee for the cash advance.

9. 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 (POS) 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;

providing, by the one or more server computing devices, to a first merchant computing device of a first merchant of the plurality of merchants, via the network, at a first business location of the first merchant, an offer for a cash advance including terms for the cash advance that describe a repayment time, a fee for the cash advance, a first rate of repayment for the first business location of the first merchant, and a second rate of repayment for a second business location of the first merchant, wherein the terms for the cash advance are determined based at least in part on the transaction information received by the one or more server computing devices;

receiving, by the one or more server computing devices, via the network, from the first merchant computing device of the first merchant at the first business location of the first merchant, an acceptance of the offer for the cash advance;

receiving, by the one or more server computing devices, via the network, from the first merchant computing device, a request to process a first financial payment transaction, wherein receiving the request includes receiving global positioning system (GPS) information from the first merchant computing device indicating that a location of the transaction being conducted by the first merchant is at the first business location using the first merchant computing device;

processing, by the one or more server computing devices, the first financial payment transaction for the first merchant;

determining, by the one or more server computing devices, based at least in part on the GPS information from the first merchant computing device, that the first financial payment transaction is conducted at the first business location;

deducting, by the one or more server computing devices, a first portion of funds from the first financial payment transaction for repayment of the cash advance, the first portion of funds being based on the first rate for repayment;

receiving, by the one or more server computing devices, via the network, from a second merchant computing device, a request to process a second financial payment transaction, wherein receiving the request to process the second financial payment transaction includes receiving GPS information from the second merchant computing device indicating that a location of the transaction being conducted by the first merchant is at the second business location using the second merchant computing device;

processing, by the one or more server computing devices, the second financial payment transaction for the first merchant;

determining, by the one or more server computing devices, based at least in part on the GPS information from the second merchant computing device, that the second financial payment transaction is conducted at the second business location; and

deducting, by the one or more server computing devices, a second portion of funds from the second financial payment transaction for repayment of the cash advance, the second portion of funds being based on the second rate for repayment.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, the method further comprising:

evaluating, by the one or more server computing devices, the first portion of funds and the second portion of funds to determine whether the first merchant is on track for repayment of the cash advance in the repayment time;

adjusting, by the one or more server computing devices, at least one of;

the first rate of repayment based in part on earnings collected by the first merchant through the first financial transaction conducted at the first business location;

or

the second rate of repayment based in part on earnings collected by the first merchant through the second financial transaction conducted by the first merchant at the second business location; and

transmitting, by the one or more server computing devices, to at least one of the first merchant computing device or the second merchant computing device, via the network, the adjusted first rate of repayment and/or the adjusted second rate of repayment for presentation to the first merchant.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, the method further comprising:

evaluating, by the one or more server computing devices, the first portion of funds and the second portion of funds to determine whether the first merchant is on track for repayment of the cash advance in the repayment time;

adjusting, by the one or more server computing devices, at least one of;

the first rate of repayment based in part on earnings collected by the first merchant through the first financial transaction conducted at the second business location;

or

the second rate of repayment based in part on earnings collected by the first merchant through the second financial transaction conducted by the first merchant at the first business location; and

transmitting, by the one or more server computing devices, to at least one of the first merchant computing device or the second merchant computing device, via the network, the adjusted first rate of repayment and/or the adjusted second rate of repayment for presentation to the first merchant.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the one or more server computing devices are configured to deduct funds from financial payment transactions conducted by the first merchant at the first business location and by the first merchant at the second business location until the first merchant has repaid the cash advance and a fee for the cash advance.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, the method further comprising:

determining, by the one or more server computing devices, the terms for the cash advance based at least in part on an evaluation of an amount collected by the first merchant over a specified period of time through previous financial transactions that were conducted by the first merchant for at least one of the business locations at which the merchant conducts financial transactions.