Method and system for providing assurance and financing services

• US 20050283416A1
• Filed: 05/17/2005
• Published: 12/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Swackhammer, Craig, Lynch, Kerry, Lau, Johnson, Reid, William
• Granted Patent: US 8,571,978 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

A system for conducting commercial transactions between buyers and sellers is disclosed. The system includes a transaction processing system for facilitating payment for transactions between buyers and the sellers. In addition to the buyer and the seller, the transaction processing system also interacts with issuers and acquirers. The transaction processing system monitors and manages payment information relating to transactions conducted between buyers and sellers. Using such information, the transaction processing system further offers a number of additional financing services including, for example, buyer payment assurance, buyer bank payment assurance, buyer bank payable discounting, buyer bank payable discount aggregation, seller/receivable financing and seller bank receivable discount aggregation.

Claims

1. A system for providing financing services, comprising:

control logic configured to monitor a plurality of transactions between a buyer and a seller;

control logic configured to allow the buyer to assign a buyer-assured status to a transaction, wherein the buyer-assured status indicates that payment for the transaction is assured by the buyer;

control logic configured to allow the buyer to request assurance from a buyer bank for one or more transactions and control logic configured to determine whether to provide assurance to the one or more transactions requested by the buyer and assign a bank-assured status to each transaction for which assurance is to be provided, wherein the buyer bank handles processing of payables for the plurality of transactions on behalf of the buyer;

control logic configured to allow the buyer bank to offer buyer bank payable discounting to the seller;

control logic configured to allow the buyer bank to offer buyer bank payable discounting aggregation to the seller;

control logic configured to allow a seller bank to offer seller bank receivable discounting to the seller, wherein the seller bank handles processing of receivables from the plurality of transactions on behalf of the seller; and

control logic configured to allow the seller bank to offer seller bank receivable discounting aggregation to the seller.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein once the buyer-assured status is assigned to the transaction, all information relating to the transaction is locked down and protected against subsequent modification.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

control logic configured to maintain terms and conditions relating to the buyer-assured status.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein control logic configured to determine whether to provide assurance further comprises:

control logic configured to maintain terms and conditions relating to assurance; and

control logic configured to utilize the terms and conditions relating to assurance to determine whether to provide assurance to the one or more transactions requested by the buyer.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein control logic configured to determine whether to provide assurance further comprises:

control logic configured to forward to the buyer bank information relating to assurance requests for the one or more transactions requested by the buyer; and

control logic configured to process responses from the buyer bank with respect to the assurance requests.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein control logic configured to allow the buyer bank to offer buyer bank payable discounting (BBPD) to the seller further comprises:

control logic configured to display to the seller transactions that qualify for BBPD from the buyer bank and allow the seller to request BBPD for one or more transactions selected from the qualified transactions; and

control logic configured to allow the buyer bank to approve the selected one or more transactions for BBPD.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the transactions that qualify for BBPD include transactions having the bank-assured status and/or transactions that have been approved by the buyer bank for BBPD.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein control logic configured to allow the buyer bank to offer buyer bank payable discounting (BBPD) to the seller further comprises:

control logic configured to maintain general terms and conditions provided by the buyer bank for BBPD, wherein the general terms and conditions can be modified by the buyer bank;

control logic configured to allow the buyer bank to specify terms and conditions corresponding to each of the approved transactions for BBPD; and

control logic configured to present to the seller for acceptance the approved transactions, the general terms and conditions, and the specified terms and conditions corresponding to each of the approved transactions for BBPD.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein control logic configured to allow the buyer bank to offer buyer bank payable discounting aggregation (BBPDA) to the seller further comprises:

control logic configured to build a tranche based on a set of criteria specified by the buyer bank, wherein the tranche is associated with one or more payables corresponding to one or more of the plurality of transactions;

control logic configured to present the tranche as a line of credit to the seller.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein at least one of the one or more payables is secured.

11. The system of claim 9 further comprising:

control logic configured to maintain terms and conditions relating to the line of credit, wherein the terms and conditions relating to the line of credit are provided by the buyer bank; and

control logic configured to present the terms and conditions relating to the line of credit to the seller.

12. The system of claim 9 further comprising:

control logic configured to monitor activities incurred with respect to the tranche.

13. The system of claim 9 further comprising:

control logic configured to allow the seller to issue a BBPDA request; and

control logic configured to forward the BBPDA request to the buyer bank;

wherein the set of criteria specified by the buyer bank is based on the BBPDA request.

14. The system of claim 9 further comprising:

control logic configured to monitor the one or more payables associated with the tranche to ensure that the set of criteria is satisfied.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein control logic configured to allow the seller bank to offer seller bank receivable discounting (SBRD) to the seller further comprises:

control logic configured to display to the seller bank transactions that qualify for SBRD; and

control logic configured to allow the seller bank to offer SBRD to the seller for one or more transactions selected from the qualified transactions; and

control logic configured to allow the seller to accept SBRD for one or more transactions offered by the seller bank.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the transactions that qualify for SBRD include transactions having the bank-assured status.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein control logic configured to allow the seller bank to offer seller bank receivable discounting (SBRD) to the seller further comprises:

control logic configured to maintain general terms and conditions provided by the seller bank for SBRD, wherein the general terms and conditions can be modified by the seller bank;

control logic configured to allow the seller bank to specify terms and conditions corresponding to each of the one or more transactions offered by the seller bank for SBRD; and

control logic configured to present to the seller for acceptance the one or more transactions offered by the seller bank, the general terms and conditions, and the specified terms and conditions corresponding to each of the one or more transactions offered by the seller bank for SBRD.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein control logic configured to allow the seller bank to offer seller bank receivable discounting (SBRD) to the seller further comprises:

control logic configured to display to the seller transactions that qualify for SBRD from the seller bank and allow the seller to request SBRD for one or more transactions selected from the qualified transactions; and

control logic configured to allow the seller bank to approve the selected one or more transactions for SBRD.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the transactions that qualify for SBRD include transactions having the bank-assured status.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein control logic configured to allow the seller bank to offer seller bank receivable discounting (SBRD) to the seller further comprises:

control logic configured to maintain general terms and conditions provided by the seller bank for SBRD, wherein the general terms and conditions can be modified by the seller bank;

control logic configured to allow the seller bank to specify terms and conditions corresponding to each of the approved transactions for SBRD; and

control logic configured to present to the seller for acceptance the approved transactions, the general terms and conditions, and the specified terms and conditions corresponding to each of the approved transactions for SBRD.

21. The system of claim 1 wherein control logic configured to allow the seller bank to offer seller bank receivable discounting aggregation (SBRDA) to the seller further comprises:

control logic configured to build a tranche based on a set of criteria specified by the seller bank, wherein the tranche is associated with one or more receivables corresponding to one or more of the plurality of transactions;

control logic configured to present the tranche as a line of credit to the seller.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein at least one of the one or more receivables is secured.

23. The system of claim 20 further comprising:

control logic configured to maintain terms and conditions relating to the line of credit, wherein the terms and conditions relating to the line of credit are provided by the seller bank; and

control logic configured to present the terms and conditions relating to the line of credit to the seller.

24. The system of claim 20 further comprising:

control logic configured to monitor activities incurred with respect to the tranche.

25. The system of claim 20 further comprising:

control logic configured to allow the seller to issue a SBRDA request; and

control logic configured to forward the SBRDA request to the seller bank;

wherein the set of criteria specified by the seller bank is based on the SBRDA request.

26. The system of claim 20 further comprising:

control logic configured to monitor the one or more receivables associated with the tranche to ensure that the set of criteria is satisfied.

27. A system for providing financing services, comprising:

a plurality of buyers;

a plurality of sellers;

a plurality of buyer banks handling payable processing for the plurality of buyers;

a plurality of seller banks handling receivable processing for the plurality of sellers; and

a transaction processing system configured to;

monitor a plurality of transactions conducted between the plurality of buyers and the plurality of sellers;

allow a buyer to provide buyer assurance for one or more transactions conducted with corresponding sellers;

allow a buyer to request bank assurance from one or more of its buyer banks for one or more transactions;

allow a buyer bank to determine whether to provide bank assurance to one or more transactions requested by one or more buyers associated with that buyer bank, wherein a bank-assurance status is assigned to each transaction for which bank assurance is to be provided;

allow a buyer bank to offer buyer bank payable discounting (BBPD) and buyer bank payable discounting aggregation (BBPDA) to one or more of the plurality of sellers; and

allow a seller bank to offer seller bank receivable discounting (SBRD) and seller bank receivable discounting aggregation (SBRDA) to one or more sellers associated with that seller bank.

28. The system of claim 27 wherein the transaction processing system is further configured to:

maintain terms and conditions relating to bank assurance provided by the plurality of buyer banks; and

utilize the terms and conditions relating to bank assurance to determine whether to provide bank assurance to one or more transactions requested by one or more of the plurality of buyers.

29. The system of claim 27 wherein the transaction processing system is further configured to:

forward to one or more buyer banks respectively information relating to assurance requests for one or more transactions requested by one or more buyers; and

process responses received respectively from the one or more buyer banks with respect to the assurance requests.

30. The system of claim 27 wherein in connection with offering BBPD, the transaction processing system is further configured to:

display to one or more of the plurality of sellers respectively transactions that qualify for BBPD from one or more of the plurality of buyer banks;

allow the one or more of the plurality of sellers to request BBPD for one or more transactions selected from the qualified transactions, wherein a seller is only able to request BBPD from a buyer bank if that buyer bank has one or more payables from corresponding transactions owed to the seller; and

allow the one or more of the plurality of buyer banks to approve the selected one or more transactions for BBPD.

31. The system of claim 30 wherein the transactions that qualify for BBPD include transactions having the bank-assured status and/or transactions that have been approved respectively by the one or more of the plurality of buyer banks for BBPD.

32. The system of claim 30 wherein the transaction processing system is further configured to:

maintain general terms and conditions provided respectively by one or more of the plurality of buyer banks for BBPD, wherein the general terms and conditions can be modified by the one or more of the plurality of buyer banks; and

allow one or more of the plurality of buyer banks to specify respectively terms and conditions corresponding to each of the approved transactions for BBPD; and

present to one or more of the plurality of sellers for acceptance respectively the approved transactions, the general terms and conditions, and the specified terms and conditions corresponding to each of the approved transactions for BBPD.

33. The system of claim 27 wherein in connection with offering BBPDA, the transaction processing system is further configured to:

build a plurality of tranches based respectively on sets of criteria specified by the plurality of buyer banks, wherein each tranche is associated with a buyer bank and includes one or more payables corresponding to one or more of the plurality of transactions, the one or more payables being handled by the associated buyer bank; and

present the plurality of tranches respectively to one or more of the plurality of sellers as lines of credit.

34. The system of claim 33 wherein at least one of the one or more payables is secured.

35. The system of claim 33 wherein the transaction processing system is further configured to:

maintain terms and conditions relating to the lines of credit, wherein the terms and conditions relating to the lines of credit are provided respectively by the one or more buyer banks; and

present the terms and conditions relating to the lines of credit to the one or more of the plurality of sellers.

36. The system of claim 33 wherein the transaction processing system is further configured to:

monitor activities incurred with respect to the plurality of tranches.

37. The system of claim 33 wherein the transaction processing system is further configured to:

allow one or more of the plurality of sellers to issue BBPDA requests; and

forward the BBPDA requests respectively to one or more of the plurality of buyer banks;

wherein the sets of criteria specified by the plurality of buyer banks are based respectively on the BBPDA requests.

38. The system of claim 33 wherein the transaction processing system is further configured to:

monitor the one or more payables in a tranche to ensure that the set of criteria associated with that tranche is satisfied.

39. The system of claim 27 wherein in connection with offering SBRD, the transaction processing system is further configured to:

display to one or more of the plurality of sellers respectively transactions that qualify for SBRD from one or more of the plurality of seller banks;

allow the one or more of the plurality of sellers to request SBRD for one or more transactions selected from the qualified transactions, wherein a seller is only able to request SBRD from a seller bank if that seller bank has one or more receivables from corresponding transactions owed to the seller; and

allow the one or more of the plurality of seller banks to approve the selected one or more transactions for SBRD.

40. The system of claim 39 wherein the transactions that qualify for SBRD include transactions having the bank-assured status.

41. The system of claim 39 wherein the transaction processing system is further configured to:

maintain general terms and conditions provided respectively by one or more of the plurality of seller banks for SBRD, wherein the general terms and conditions can be modified by the one or more of the plurality of seller banks; and

allow one or more of the plurality of seller banks to specify respectively terms and conditions corresponding to each of the approved transactions for SBRD; and

present to one or more of the plurality of sellers for acceptance respectively the approved transactions, the general terms and conditions, and the specified terms and conditions corresponding to each of the approved transactions for SBRD.

42. The system of claim 27 wherein in connection with offering SBRDA, the transaction processing system is further configured to:

build a plurality of tranches based respectively on sets of criteria specified by the plurality of seller banks, wherein each tranche is associated with a seller bank and includes one or more receivables corresponding to one or more of the plurality of transactions, the one or more receivables being handled by the associated seller bank; and

present the plurality of tranches respectively to one or more of the plurality of sellers as lines of credit.

43. The system of claim 42 wherein at least one of the one or more payables is secured.

44. The system of claim 42 wherein the transaction processing system is further configured to:

maintain terms and conditions relating to the lines of credit, wherein the terms and conditions relating to the lines of credit are provided respectively by the one or more seller banks; and

present the terms and conditions relating to the lines of credit to the one or more of the plurality of sellers.

45. The system of claim 42 wherein the transaction processing system is further configured to:

monitor activities incurred with respect to the plurality of tranches.

46. The system of claim 42 wherein the transaction processing system is further configured to:

allow one or more of the plurality of sellers to issue SBRDA requests; and

forward the SBRDA requests respectively to one or more of the plurality of seller banks;

wherein the sets of criteria specified by the plurality of seller banks are based respectively on the SBRDA requests.

47. The system of claim 42 wherein the transaction processing system is further configured to:

monitor the one or more payables in a tranche to ensure that the set of criteria associated with that tranche is satisfied.