BILL PAYMENT AGGREGATION SERVICE
First Claim
1. A method of providing bill payment aggregation services for a user, the method comprising:
- receiving, at a host computer operated by a bill aggregator, identification of a plurality of billing entities for which bills should be consolidated, the plurality of billing entities comprising a first billing entity and a second billing entity;
receiving, at the host computer, a first set of billing information for the first billing entity, the first set of billing information comprising a first billing identifier for the user;
receiving, at the host computer, a second set of billing information for the second billing entity, the second set of billing information comprising a second billing identifier for the user;
notifying the first billing entity that the bill aggregator should be a recipient of bills from the first billing entity;
notifying the second billing entity that the bill aggregator should be a recipient of bills from the second billing entity;
receiving, from the first billing entity, notification of a first amount due to the first billing entity, wherein the first amount due corresponds to the first billing identifier and has a first due date;
receiving, from the second billing entity, notification of a second amount due to the second billing entity, wherein the second amount due corresponds to the second billing identifier and has a second due date;
providing a consolidated statement to the user, the consolidated statement comprising a payment notification;
receiving, at the host computer, confirmation from the user that at least a portion of the consolidated statement should be paid;
receiving, from the user and via a money transfer transaction, funds sufficient to pay the at least a portion of the first amount due and/or the second amount due;
transferring, via a first host-to-host transaction on or shortly before the first due date, a first amount of funds to a first financial institution associated with the first billing entity, the first amount of funds corresponding to the first amount due; and
transferring, via a second host-to-host transaction on or shortly before the second due date, a second amount of funds to a second financial institution associated with the second billing entity, the second amount of funds corresponding to the second amount due.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Tools for providing bill aggregation and/or payment services. In an aspect, such tools aggregate all payments over a given period of time, allowing a user to make a single payment to ensure that all appropriate bills are paid in timely fashion. In another aspect, the tools determine, without requiring user input, an amount due on each bill, as well, in some cases, of a due date for each payment. Optionally, the tools can provide a consolidated statement to inform the user of payments to be made over a given period. Such statements can provide a varying level of detail, depending on the implementation and/or on user preferences. In some cases, a consolidated statement might provide line items and/or detailed support for each payment to be made. In other cases, the consolidated statement might simply provide a single consolidated payment amount.
255 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of providing bill payment aggregation services for a user, the method comprising:
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receiving, at a host computer operated by a bill aggregator, identification of a plurality of billing entities for which bills should be consolidated, the plurality of billing entities comprising a first billing entity and a second billing entity; receiving, at the host computer, a first set of billing information for the first billing entity, the first set of billing information comprising a first billing identifier for the user; receiving, at the host computer, a second set of billing information for the second billing entity, the second set of billing information comprising a second billing identifier for the user; notifying the first billing entity that the bill aggregator should be a recipient of bills from the first billing entity; notifying the second billing entity that the bill aggregator should be a recipient of bills from the second billing entity; receiving, from the first billing entity, notification of a first amount due to the first billing entity, wherein the first amount due corresponds to the first billing identifier and has a first due date; receiving, from the second billing entity, notification of a second amount due to the second billing entity, wherein the second amount due corresponds to the second billing identifier and has a second due date; providing a consolidated statement to the user, the consolidated statement comprising a payment notification; receiving, at the host computer, confirmation from the user that at least a portion of the consolidated statement should be paid; receiving, from the user and via a money transfer transaction, funds sufficient to pay the at least a portion of the first amount due and/or the second amount due; transferring, via a first host-to-host transaction on or shortly before the first due date, a first amount of funds to a first financial institution associated with the first billing entity, the first amount of funds corresponding to the first amount due; and transferring, via a second host-to-host transaction on or shortly before the second due date, a second amount of funds to a second financial institution associated with the second billing entity, the second amount of funds corresponding to the second amount due. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. In a relationship between a bill aggregator and a user, a method of providing bill payment aggregation services for the user, the method comprising:
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receiving, at a host computer operated by or for the bill aggregator, an identification of a plurality of billing entities for which bills should be consolidated, the plurality of billing entities comprising a first billing entity and a second billing entity; receiving, at the host computer, a first set of billing information for the first billing entity, the first set of billing information comprising a first billing identifier for the user; receiving, at the host computer, a second set of billing information for the second billing entity, the second set of billing information comprising a second billing identifier for the user; determining a first amount due to the first billing entity, wherein the first amount due corresponds to the first billing identifier; determining a second amount due to the second billing entity, wherein the second amount due corresponds to the second billing identifier; receiving funds from the user; paying, from the host computer, funds sufficient to satisfy at least a portion of at least one amount due, the at least one amount due being selected from the first amount due and the second amount due. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. In a relationship between a bill aggregator and a user, a computer system, comprising:
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a processor; a communication interface in communication with the processor; and a computer readable medium in communication with the processor, the computer readable medium having encoded thereon a computer program comprising a set of instructions executable by the processor to cause the computer system to perform one or more operations, the set of instructions comprising; instructions for receiving, via the communication interface, identification of a plurality of billing entities for which bills should be consolidated, the plurality of billing entities comprising a first billing entity and a second billing entity; instructions for receiving a first set of billing information for the first billing entity, the first set of billing information comprising a first billing identifier for the user; instructions for receiving a second set of billing information for the second billing entity, the second set of billing information comprising a second billing identifier for the user; instructions for determining a first amount due to the first billing entity, wherein the first amount due corresponds to the first billing identifier; instructions for determining a second amount due to the second billing entity, wherein the second amount due corresponds to the second billing identifier; instructions for receiving funds from the user; and instructions for paying funds sufficient to satisfy at least a portion of at least one amount due, the at least one amount due being selected from the first amount due and the second amount due. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. In a relationship between a bill aggregator and a user, a computer readable medium having encoded thereon a computer program comprising a set of instructions executable by a computer system to perform one or more operations, the set of instructions comprising:
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instructions for receiving an identification of a plurality of billing entities for which bills should be consolidated, the plurality of billing entities comprising a first billing entity and a second billing entity; instructions for receiving a first set of billing information for the first billing entity, the first set of billing information comprising a first billing identifier for the user; instructions for receiving a second set of billing information for the second billing entity, the second set of billing information comprising a second billing identifier for the user; instructions for determining a first amount due to the first billing entity, wherein the first amount due corresponds to the first billing identifier; instructions for determining a second amount due to the second billing entity, wherein the second amount due corresponds to the second billing identifier; instructions for receiving funds from the user; and instructions for paying funds sufficient to satisfy at least a portion of at least one amount due, the at least one amount due being selected from the first amount due and the second amount due.
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Specification