Methods and systems for account management of group accounts

• US 8,301,502 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2009
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Finnetic Corporation
• Original Assignee: Noam Livnat
• Inventors: Livnat, Noam
• Primary Examiner(s): Danneman, Paul
• Application Number:
  US12/633,590
• Publication Number:
  US 20100153224A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,057 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/21
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/405 Establishing or using transaction specific rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

Account management methods and systems are presented for managing and administering group accounts. A group may establish a financial group account using a novel group account management system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The novel group account management system can provide financial transaction-related controls, privileges, tracking, and/or reporting for one or more users, members, and/or sub-group within the group account. A concept of user-specific, member-specific, and/or sub-group-specific privileges is integrated into the novel group account management system to assign a particular user, member, and/or sub-group to an account management level within the group account. Furthermore, a novel concept of user-managed group account-related rules is also integrated into the novel group account management system to empower, restrict, and/or control certain transaction-related actions for at least some users, members, and/or sub-groups.

Claims

1. A group account management system configured to provide financial transaction-related controls, privileges, tracking, and/or reporting for one or more account holder members and/or sub-groups, the group account management system comprising:

a payments manager executed on a CPU and a memory unit of a computer system for receiving and/or responding to a transaction request associated with a group financial account;

a rules manager executed on the CPU and the memory unit of the computer system for determining whether the transaction request is authorized, restricted, and/or rejected according to account holder member-managed one or more transaction-related rules for a transaction-related action by an account holder member and/or a sub-group associated with the group financial account, wherein the account holder member-managed one or more transaction-related rules are created, managed, and/or enforced based on a type of a merchant, a particular name of the merchant, a particular location of the merchant, a type of a transaction initiator, a time-based rolling parameter, and/or other transaction-related parameters; and

a rules and accounts information data storage contained by or operatively connected to the computer system for storing the account holder member-managed one or more transaction-related rules and one or more account holder member-managed privileges, wherein the one or more account holder member-managed privileges define who is authorized to modify the account holder member-managed one or more transaction-related rules for the group financial account.

2. The group account management system of claim 1, further comprising a data server and/or storage unit associated with or incorporated by the computer system, which contains at least some portions of the payments manager, the rules manager, and/or the rules and account information data storage.

3. The group account management system of claim 2, wherein the data server and/or storage unit is operatively connected to a data communication network such as the Internet, wherein the data communication network enables an operative connection of a point-of-service (POS) terminal, an online merchant payment gateway, an automated teller machine (ATM), and/or an account holder member accessing a computer or a mobile device with the group account management system.

4. The group account management system of claim 1, wherein the rules and accounts information data storage is configured to store, manage, and/or control a plurality of group financial accounts which are associated with distinct transaction-related rules and distinct account holder member-managed privileges per group financial account.

5. The group account management system of claim 1, wherein each of the account holder member-managed one or more transaction-related rules comprises a rule ID identifying a particular rule entry, a group account ID identifying a particular group financial account, an account holder member ID identifying a particular individual and/or an entity subject to the transaction-related rule, and a transaction rule description containing specific instructions for the transaction-related rule.

6. The group account management system of claim 1, wherein the one or more account holder member-managed privileges comprise one or more privilege levels identifying varying levels of privilege tiers for a plurality of account holder members and/or sub-groups.

7. The group account management system of claim 6, wherein the one or more privilege levels include options to accept members, invite members, edit at least some transaction-related rules, and edit privilege levels of certain account holder members and/or sub-groups for the group financial account.

8. The group account management system of claim 1, wherein the account holder member-managed one or more transaction-related rules and the one or more account holder member-managed privileges are created, modified, and/or removed by an account holder member with an appropriate account holder member privilege level.

9. The group account management system of claim 1, wherein the type of the merchant is a grocery store, a retail store, an online store, and/or any other appropriate merchant categories.

10. The group account management system of claim 1, wherein the type of the transaction initiator is defined as a particular account holder member, a particular point-of-service device, a computer, a mobile device, and/or any other appropriate entities initiating the transaction request.

11. The group account management system of claim 1, wherein the time-based rolling parameter is a transactional limit on an aggregate amount incurred over a specified time period by a particular account holder member and/or any other appropriate entities.

12. A method for managing and administering a group financial account, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a transaction request for the group financial account in a group account management system executed on a CPU and a memory unit of a computer system, wherein the transaction request is typically initiated by a group financial account holder member, and/or an entity associated with the group financial account;

using the CPU and the memory unit of the computer system to determine whether the transaction request is authorized, restricted, and/or rejected according to account holder member-managed one or more transaction-related rules for a transaction-related action associated with the transaction request, wherein the account holder member-managed one or more transaction-related rules are created, managed, and/or enforced based on a type of a merchant, a particular name of the merchant, a particular location of the merchant, a type of a transaction initiator, a time-based rolling parameter, and/or other transaction-related parameters;

authorizing or rejecting the transaction request based on the account holder member-managed one or more transaction-related rules executed by the CPU and the memory unit of the computer system;

processing the transaction request at least in part by using a payment network, a payments processor, and/or a payments manager which is contained or operatively connected to the group account management system; and

debiting or crediting the group financial account if the transaction request is authorized and/or processed successfully.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the account holder member-managed one or more transaction-related rules are created and/or modified by the group member, the group financial account holder member and/or the entity with an appropriate privilege level.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the group account management system contains or operatively connects to a data communication network such as the Internet, which is further operatively connected to a point-of-service (POS) terminal, an online merchant payment gateway, an automated teller machine (ATM), and/or an account holder member accessing a computer or a mobile device.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the one or more account holder member-managed transaction-related rules comprises a rule ID identifying a particular rule entry, a group account ID identifying a particular group financial account, an account holder member ID identifying a particular individual and/or an entity subject to a corresponding transaction-related rule, and a transaction rule description containing specific instructions for the corresponding transaction-related rule.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the appropriate privileges level corresponds to a particular privilege tier which allows or restricts accepting members, inviting members, editing at least some account holder member-managed transaction-related rules, and editing privilege levels of certain account holder members and/or sub-groups for the group financial account.

17. A group account management system comprising:

a rules engine executed on a CPU and a memory unit of a computer system, which is operatively connected to a payments processor and a payment network, wherein the rules engine is configured to determine whether a transaction request is authorized, restricted, and/or rejected according to account holder member-managed one or more transaction-related rules for a transaction-related action desired by an account holder member and/or a sub-group associated with a group financial account, and wherein the account holder member-managed one or more transaction-related rules are created, managed, and/or enforced based on a type of a merchant, a particular name of the merchant, a particular location of the merchant, a type of a transaction initiator, a time-based rolling parameter, and/or other transaction-related parameters; and

a communication interface such as a payments manager operatively connected with the rules engine executed on the CPU and the memory unit of the computer system, wherein the communication interface is configured to receive and/or respond to the transaction request associated with the group financial account.

18. The group account management system of claim 17, further comprising a rules and accounts information data storage operatively connected to the rules engine for storing the account holder member-managed one or more transaction-related rules and one or more account holder member-managed privileges, wherein the one or more account holder member-managed privileges define who is authorized to modify the account holder member-managed one or more transaction-related rules for the group financial account.

19. The group account management system of claim 17, wherein the rules engine, the payments processor, and/or the payment network are operatively connected to a POS terminal, an online gateway, an ATM, a computer, a mobile device, and/or other appropriate user interfaces.

20. A method for operating an account holder member-managed group account management system, the method comprising the steps of:

creating an account holder member identity for one or more financial transaction activities of the group account management system executed on a CPU and a memory unit of a computer system;

configuring account holder member-managed transaction-related rules and account holder member-managed account privilege settings associated with the group account management system executed on the CPU and the memory unit of the computer system, wherein the account holder member-managed transaction-related rules are created, managed, and/or enforced based on a type of a merchant, a particular name of the merchant, a particular location of the merchant, a type of a transaction initiator, a time-based rolling parameter, and/or other transaction-related parameters; and

monitoring and/or conducting the one or more financial transaction activities based on the account holder member-managed account transaction-related rules and the account holder member-managed privilege settings associated with the group account management system executed on the CPU and the memory unit of the computer system.