Claims
- 1. A computer-implemented method of assisting the transfer of funds between a buyer and a seller, comprising:
(a) prompting the seller to enter information from the face of a check corresponding to a bank account of the seller; (b) determining at least a routing number associated with the bank account of the seller using the information entered by the seller in response to (a); (c) charging a credit card of the buyer to collect funds for one or more items purchased by the buyer from the seller; and (d) depositing at least a portion of the funds into the bank account of the seller using the routing determined in (b).
- 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to successful completion of (b), displaying, in association with an item posted for sale by the seller, an indication that the seller is enabled to accept payment electronically.
- 3. The method as in claim 1, wherein the information on the face of the check includes a MICR line, a check number, and an account number.
- 4. The method as in claim 3, wherein the prompting includes a generalized image of a check with indicators of the locations of the MICR line, check number, and account number.
- 5. The method as in claim 2, wherein displaying an indication comprises presenting the buyer an option to purchase the item using a default credit card number previously specified by the buyer.
- 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending the seller mailing address information previously specified by the buyer.
- 7. The method as in claim 3, wherein determining a routing number includes identifying a contiguous string of characters within the MICR line that satisfy a checksum test.
- 8. The method as in claim 7, wherein determining a routing number further includes performing a coexistence test within the MICR line on the check number, the account number, and the contiguous string that satisfies the checksum test.
- 9. The method as in claim 7, wherein determining a routing number further includes comparing the contiguous string that satisfies the checksum test with a database of known bank routing numbers.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/517,563, filed Mar. 2, 2000, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference, and further claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/156,231, filed Sep. 27, 1999, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09517563 |
Mar 2000 |
US |
Child |
10884360 |
Jul 2004 |
US |