Bill payment service

• US 7,486,784 B2
• Filed: 08/12/2004
• Issued: 02/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Creamer, Thomas E., Moore, Victor S., Jaiswal, Peeyush, Winters, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): TIEU, BINH KIEN
• Application Number:
  US10/918,065
• Publication Number:
  US 20060034440A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,636 Days
• Field of Search: 379/114.01, 379/114.28, 379/115.01, 379/115.03, 379/121.01, 379/122, 379/127.01, 379/265.01, 379/265.02, 379/265.07, 379/265.11, 379/309
• US Class Current: 379/121.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/06 Recording class or number of calling , i.e. A-party or called party , i.e. B-party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/43 Billing software details
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/68 Payment of value-added services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/90 using Intelligent Networks [IN] or Advanced Intelligent Networks [AIN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/016 Billing using Intelligent Networks [IN] or Advanced Intelligent Networks [AIN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0196 Payment of value-added services, mainly when their charges are added on the telephone bill, e.g. payment of non-telecom services, e-commerce, on-line banking

Abstract

A method for processing the payment of a bill in the bill payment service can include detecting within a PSTN an attempt to establish a telephone call between a caller and a call center configured to process bill payments. An identity for the calling party can be resolved externally to the call center. Also, a telephonic connection can be established between the caller and the call center. Finally, the resolved identity can be forwarded to the call center over a data communications link which is separate and apart from the established telephonic connection. Preferably, the resolving step can include querying a LIDB through a name resolution adapter disposed in the PSTN for identifying information for the caller. Moreover, the resolving step can be performed responsive to receiving an SS7 message in an SCP to set up the telephonic connection between the caller and the call center.

Claims

1. A method for processing payment of a bill over a public switched telephone network (PSTN), the method comprising the steps of:

detecting within the PSTN an attempt to establish a telephone call between a caller and a call center configured to process bill payments;

resolving an identity for said calling party externally to said call center;

establishing a telephonic connection between said caller and said call center; and

,

forwarding said resolved identity to said call center over a data communications link which is separate and apart from said established telephonic connection.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said resolving step comprises the step of querying a line item database (LIDB) through a name resolution adapter disposed in the PSTN for identifying information for said caller.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of performing said resolving step responsive to receiving a signaling system 7 (SS7) message in a service control point (SCP) to set up said telephonic connection between said caller and said call center.

4. A system for processing payment of a bill over a public switched telephone network (PSTN), the system comprising:

a telephone subscriber database disposed in the PSTN, said database comprising records correlating telephone subscribers with identifying information; and

,

a name resolution adapter coupled to said database and disposed within the PSTN, said adapter having a configuration for transmitting identifying information for a telephone subscriber to a billing service in a call center over a data communications network which is external to the PSTN, said adapter having a further configuration for performing said transmitting concurrently with establishing a telephonic connection between said telephone subscriber and said call center.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said telephone subscriber database is a line item database (LIDB).

6. The system of claim 4, wherein said name resolution adapter is disposed in a service control point (SCP) in the PSTN.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein said telephone subscriber database also is disposed in said SCP in the PSTN.

8. A machine readable storage having stored thereon a computer program for processing payment of a bill over a public switched telephone network (PSTN), the computer program comprising a routine set of instructions which when executed by a machine cause the machine to perform the steps of:

detecting within the PSTN an attempt to establish a telephone call between a caller and a call center configured to process bill payments;

resolving an identity for said calling party externally to said call center;

establishing a telephonic connection between said caller and said call center; and

,

forwarding said resolved identity to said call center over a data communications link which is separate and apart from said established telephonic connection.

9. The machine readable storage of claim 8, wherein said resolving step comprises the step of querying a line item database (LIDB) through a name resolution adapter disposed in the PSTN for identifying information for said caller.

10. The machine readable storage of claim 8, further comprising a routine set of instructions for causing the machine to perform the additional step of performing said resolving step responsive to receiving a signaling system 7 (SS7) message in a service control point (SCP) to set up said telephonic connection between said caller and said call center.