SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DIVIDING A REMITTANCE AND DISTRIBUTING A PORTION OF THE FUNDS TO MULTIPLE INVESTMENT PRODUCTS

• US 20080052230A1
• Filed: 10/17/2007
• Published: 02/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ameriprise Financial, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ameriprise Financial, Inc.
• Inventors: Crane, Suzanne, Sweazy, Mark, Prairie, Joan, Sheire, Marcus, Schlegel, Bonnie, Metcalf, Rockell
• Granted Patent: US 7,653,596 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/40
• 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 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

A known charge card billing system communicates with an investment broker system, wherein the investment broker system includes an instruction arrangement database, payment hierarchy and an investment account. An interested cardholder suitably appoints the charge card administrator as a processing agent to collect and promptly remit the cardholder'"'"'s voluntary, periodic payments for investment into preselected investment products, such as, for example, mutual fund shares, fixed annuities, variable annuities, CDs, insurance, certificates, equities and/or the like. The billing system distributes a billing statement at the end of each month, wherein the statement includes all of the charges for that month and a reminder to remit an additional dollar amount for the preselected investments. The cardholder then sends a single payment for the charges and the investments to the charge card administrator. After receiving the payment, the system appropriately unbundles the payment and distributes the remitted payment to the card account to satisfy the captured financial events and to the investment broker system for the purchase of investment products.

Claims

1. An administrative system for funding at least one investment product including:

a charge card billing system capturing financial event information, wherein said billing system comprises;

a card account database including user accounts;

a billing information database including information about user billings and to provide periodic statements related to previously established financial events;

a financial events database including information about said previously established financial events associated with a user;

a remittance database including information about user combined remittances of user funds, wherein said user combined remittances include a portion of said user funds to satisfy debts charged to said user and a portion of said user funds for at least one investment product as investment funds;

a payment hierarchy system establishing rules for distributing said combined remittances to said previously established financial events and to an investment brokerage system configured to facilitate said investment; and

,

an investment broker system in communication with said billing system.

2. The administrative system of claim 1, wherein said at least one investment product includes at least one of a fixed annuity, variable annuity, CD, insurance, certificate, equity and mutual fund.

3. The administrative system of claim 1, wherein said charge card billing system avoids a collections process upon remittance of sufficient said user funds for said financial events and insufficient investment funds.

4. The administrative system of claim 1, wherein said at least one investment product is pre-selected by said user.

5. The administrative system of claim 1, wherein said billing system and said investment broker system are accessed via at least one of a telecommunications linkage, facsimile, Internet and a point of interaction device.

6. The administrative system of claim 1, wherein said financial events database including information about previously established financial events associated with a user, further facilitates:

receiving an account number and purchase amount from said user to facilitate user purchase from a merchant;

authorizing said account number and said purchase amount;

providing an approval code to said merchant, wherein said approval code is associated with said account number and said purchase amount;

receiving a request from said merchant for payment of said purchase amount, wherein said request includes said approval code; and

,

sending said periodic statement to said user, wherein said periodic statement includes said purchase amount.

7. The administrative system of claim 1, wherein said investment broker system comprises:

an investment instruction arrangement database including user investment instruction information;

an investment account database including said at least one investment product; and

,

an investment payment hierarchy system establishing rules for distributing said user funds to said at least one investment product.

8. A method for funding at least one investment product including the steps of:

providing a charge card billing system through which a user charges financial events;

capturing, using said billing system, previously established financial event information;

accepting, by said charge card billing system, a combined remittance of user funds from said user, wherein a portion of said combined remittance is defined as said user funds to satisfy debts charged to said user from said previously established financial events, and said user funds to be applied to at least one investment product as investment funds;

applying hierarchy rules to said combined remittance of said user funds to determine a portion of said user funds to be allocated by an investment broker system to said at least one investment product; and

,

transferring said investment funds to said investment broker system.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said at least one investment product includes at least one of a fixed annuity, variable annuity, CD, insurance, certificate, equity and mutual fund.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said step of accepting a combined remittance avoids a collections process upon remittance of insufficient investment funds.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein said investment broker system allows said user to select said at least one investment product for purchase prior to accepting a combined remittance.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein any of the steps are preformed over at least one of a telecommunications linkage, facsimile, the Internet and a point of interaction device.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein billing said users via a periodic statement for previously established financial events includes:

receiving an account number and purchase amount from said user to facilitate user purchase from a merchant;

authorizing said account number and said purchase amount;

providing an approval code to said merchant, wherein said approval code is associated with said account number and said purchase amount;

receiving a request from said merchant for payment of said purchase amount, wherein said request includes said approval code; and

,

sending said periodic statement to said user, wherein said periodic statement includes said purchase amount.

14. The method of claim 8, further including applying payment hierarchy rules to said investment funds and, distributing said investment funds to said at least one investment product in accordance with said payment hierarchy rules.