Remittance payment processing with account scheming and/or validation

• US 7,490,063 B2
• Filed: 01/14/2002
• Issued: 02/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Checkfree Corporation (Fiserv Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Checkfree Corporation (Fiserv Incorporated)
• Inventors: Lawson, Mary Elizabeth, Perkins, Brad, Garrison, David Lee, Kight, Patricia A., Kerin, Amy Lynn, Ward, Cheryl Lynn
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung; Mary
• Assistant Examiner(s): Malhotra; Sanjeev
• Application Number:
  US10/043,247
• Publication Number:
  US 20020111906A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,584 Days
• Field of Search: 705/39, 705/40, 705/37, 705/38, 705/35, 705/7, 365/401, 235/380, 235/379
• US Class Current: 705/40
• 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 20/385 using an alias or single-use codes
• 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: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

Systems and methods of remittance processing where a merchant database is provided that includes one or more alteration rules that are associated with a particular payee. A consumer account number associated with a payor is received and altered into a modified consumer account number, where the alteration is performed in accordance with one or more of the stored alteration rules. The modified consumer account number may then be transmitted to the particular payee to be utilized, for example, when processing a payment.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a consumer account number associated with a payor and a payee, wherein the consumer account number is not in a format acceptable to the payee;

selecting at least one alteration rule associated with the payee, wherein the at least one alteration rule is associated with at least one account number format that is acceptable to the payee;

altering the consumer account number to a modified consumer account number based on the at least one alteration rule associated with the payee, and wherein altering the consumer account number to a modified consumer account number includes inserting a character string at a particular position in the consumer account number to create the modified consumer account number; and

transmitting the modified consumer account number to the payee.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the modified consumer account number to the payee includes transmitting payment information to the payee.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one alteration rule identifies an expected account number format required by the payee.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one alteration rule is associated with a plurality of payees.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the consumer account number is received as part of a payment record.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the payment record is one of a plurality of payment records received in a batch.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the character string is comprised of numeric characters, non-numeric characters, or a combination of numeric characters and non-numeric characters.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the character string includes a portion of the payor'"'"'s name, a portion of the payor'"'"'s address, a portion of the payor'"'"'s zip code, or a payee-defined character string.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving payee information in conjunction with the consumer account number, wherein the payee information identifies the payee;

generating an eleven-digit zip code associated with the payee information; and

prior to altering the consumer account number, locating the payee on a merchant database using the eleven-digit zip code.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to altering the consumer account number, validating the consumer account number.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein validating the account number includes verifying that (i) the consumer account number is of a specific length, (ii) the consumer account number includes a specific character string, (iii) the consumer account number includes a specific character string at a particular position within the consumer account number, or (iv) the consumer account number yields a particular check digit after being run through a specific algorithm.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein validating the account number includes comparing the consumer account number with at least one validation template, wherein the validation template is one of a plurality of validation templates stored in association with a plurality of payees on the merchant database.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the alteration rule is associated with the validation template.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a consumer account number associated with a payor and a payee includes receiving the consumer account number in a format that is not compatible with an accounting system of the payee.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting at least one alteration rule associated with the payee includes selecting at least one alteration rule associated with at least one account number format that is compatible with an accounting system of the payee.

16. A system comprising:

a merchant database, wherein the merchant database includes at least one alteration rule stored in association with a payee; and

a processor, in communication with the merchant database, wherein the processor executes software instructions for;

receiving a consumer account number associated with a payor and the payee, wherein the consumer account number is not in a format acceptable to the payee,

selecting the at least one alteration rule associated with the payee, wherein the at least one alteration rule is associated with at least one account number format that is acceptable to the payee,

altering the consumer account number to a modified consumer account number;

based on the at least one alteration rule associated with the payee, and wherein altering the consumer account number to a modified consumer account number includes inserting a character string at a particular position in the consumer account number to create the modified consumer account number, and

transmitting the modified consumer account number to the payee.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the software instructions for transmitting the modified consumer account number to the payee include transmitting payment information to the payee.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the at least one account number alteration rule identifies an expected account number format required by the payee.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the at least one account number alteration rule is associated with a plurality of payees.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the software instructions for receiving a consumer account number associated with a payor include receiving the consumer account number as part of a payment record.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the payment record is one of a plurality of payment records received in a batch.

22. The system of claim 16, wherein the character string is comprised of numeric characters, non-numeric characters, or a combination of numeric characters and non-numeric characters.

23. The system of claim 16, wherein the character string includes a portion of the payor'"'"'s name, a portion of the payor'"'"'s address, a portion of the payor'"'"'s zip code, or a payee-defined character string.

24. The system of claim 16, wherein the processor is configured to execute additional software instructions for:

receiving payee information in conjunction with the consumer account number, wherein the payee information identifies the payee,

generating an eleven-digit zip code associated with the payee information, and

prior to altering the consumer account number, locating the payee on the merchant database using the eleven-digit zip code.

25. The system of claim 16, wherein the processor is configured to execute additional software instructions for:

prior to altering the consumer account number, validating the consumer account number.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the software instructions for validating the account number include verifying that (i) the consumer account number is of a specific length, (ii) the consumer account number includes a specific character string, (iii) the consumer account number includes a specific character string at a particular position within the consumer account number, or (iv) the consumer account number yields a particular check digit after being run through a specific algorithm.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the software instructions for validating the account number include comparing the consumer account number with at least one validation template, wherein the validation template is one of a plurality of validation templates stored in association with a plurality of payees on the merchant database.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the alteration rule is associated with the validation template.

29. The system of claim 16, wherein the consumer account number is received in a format that is not compatible with an accounting system of the payee.

30. The system of claim 16, wherein the at least one alteration rule is associated with at least one account number format that is compatible with an accounting system of the payee.

31. A system comprising:

means for receiving a consumer account number associated with a payor and a payee, wherein the consumer account number is not in a format acceptable to the payee;

means for selecting at least one alteration rule associated with the payee, wherein the at least one alteration rule is associated with at least one account number format that is acceptable to the payee;

means for altering the consumer account number to a modified consumer account number based on the at least one alteration rule associated with the payee, and wherein altering the consumer account number to a modified consumer account number includes inserting a character string at a particular position in the consumer account number to create the modified consumer account number; and

means for transmitting the modified consumer account number to the payee.