SECURE ELECTRONIC BILLING WITH REAL-TIME PAYMENT SETTLEMENT

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to transaction processing, and relates more particularly to secure electronic billing with real-time payment settlement.

BACKGROUND

In conventional payment methods, after a biller sends a bill to a customer, the customer can initiate a payment to the biller through various different methods, such as through the customer's financial institution, a consolidated bill-pay provider, or the biller's financial institution, for example. These conventional methods, however, generally do not allow the biller to receive payment in real-time after the customer has initiated the payment to the biller.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To facilitate further description of the embodiments, the following drawings are provided in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a front elevational view of a computer system that is suitable for implementing an embodiment of the system disclosed in FIG. 3;

FIG. 2 illustrates a representative block diagram of an example of the elements included in the circuit boards inside a chassis of the computer system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a system that can be employed for secure electronic billing with real-time payment settlement; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart for a method, according to an embodiment.

For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figures illustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions and details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure. Additionally, elements in the drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. The same reference numerals in different figures denote the same elements.

The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms “include,” and “have,” and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, device, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, system, article, device, or apparatus.

The terms “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,” “over,” “under,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the apparatus, methods, and/or articles of manufacture described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein.

The terms “couple,” “coupled,” “couples,” “coupling,” and the like should be broadly understood and refer to connecting two or more elements mechanically and/or otherwise. Two or more electrical elements may be electrically coupled together, but not be mechanically or otherwise coupled together. Coupling may be for any length of time, e.g., permanent or semi-permanent or only for an instant. “Electrical coupling” and the like should be broadly understood and include electrical coupling of all types. The absence of the word “removably,” “removable,” and the like near the word “coupled,” and the like does not mean that the coupling, etc. in question is or is not removable.

As defined herein, two or more elements are “integral” if they are comprised of the same piece of material. As defined herein, two or more elements are “non-integral” if each is comprised of a different piece of material.

As defined herein, “approximately” can, in some embodiments, mean within plus or minus ten percent of the stated value. In other embodiments, “approximately” can mean within plus or minus five percent of the stated value. In further embodiments, “approximately” can mean within plus or minus three percent of the stated value. In yet other embodiments, “approximately” can mean within plus or minus one percent of the stated value.

As defined herein, “real-time” can, in some embodiments, be defined with respect to operations carried out as soon as practically possible upon occurrence of a triggering event. A triggering event can include receipt of data necessary to execute a task or to otherwise process information. Because of delays inherent in transmission and/or in computing speeds, the term “real-time” encompasses operations that occur in “near” real-time or somewhat delayed from a triggering event. In a number of embodiments, “real-time” can mean real-time less a time delay for processing (e.g., determining) and/or transmitting data. The particular time delay can vary depending on the type and/or amount of the data, the processing speeds of the hardware, the transmission capability of the communication hardware, the transmission distance, etc. However, in many embodiments, the time delay can be less than approximately 1 second, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or 30 minutes.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLES OF EMBODIMENTS

Turning to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a computer system 100, all of which or a portion of which can be suitable for (i) implementing part or all of one or more embodiments of the techniques, methods, and systems and/or (ii) implementing and/or operating part or all of one or more embodiments of the non-transitory computer readable media described herein. As an example, a different or separate one of computer system 100 (and its internal components, or one or more elements of computer system 100) can be suitable for implementing part or all of the techniques described herein. Computer system 100 can comprise chassis 102 containing one or more circuit boards (not shown), a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port 112, a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM) and/or Digital Video Disc (DVD) drive 116, and a hard drive 114. A representative block diagram of the elements included on the circuit boards inside chassis 102 is shown in FIG. 2. A central processing unit (CPU) 210 in FIG. 2 is coupled to a system bus 214 in FIG. 2. In various embodiments, the architecture of CPU 210 can be compliant with any of a variety of commercially distributed architecture families.

Continuing with FIG. 2, system bus 214 also is coupled to memory storage unit 208 that includes both read only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). Non-volatile portions of memory storage unit 208 or the ROM can be encoded with a boot code sequence suitable for restoring computer system 100 (FIG. 1) to a functional state after a system reset. In addition, memory storage unit 208 can include microcode such as a Basic Input-Output System (BIOS). In some examples, the one or more memory storage units of the various embodiments disclosed herein can include memory storage unit 208, a USB-equipped electronic device (e.g., an external memory storage unit (not shown) coupled to universal serial bus (USB) port 112 (FIGS. 1-2)), hard drive 114 (FIGS. 1-2), and/or CD-ROM, DVD, Blu-Ray, or other suitable media, such as media configured to be used in CD-ROM and/or DVD drive 116 (FIGS. 1-2). Non-volatile or non-transitory memory storage unit(s) refer to the portions of the memory storage units(s) that are non-volatile memory and not a transitory signal. In the same or different examples, the one or more memory storage units of the various embodiments disclosed herein can include an operating system, which can be a software program that manages the hardware and software resources of a computer and/or a computer network. The operating system can perform basic tasks such as, for example, controlling and allocating memory, prioritizing the processing of instructions, controlling input and output devices, facilitating networking, and managing files. Exemplary operating systems can include one or more of the following: (i) Microsoft® Windows® operating system (OS) by Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash., United States of America, (ii) Mac® OS X by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., United States of America, (iii) UNIX® OS, and (iv) Linux® OS. Further exemplary operating systems can comprise one of the following: (i) the iOS® operating system by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., United States of America, (ii) the Blackberry® operating system by Research In Motion (RIM) of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, (iii) the WebOS operating system by LG Electronics of Seoul, South Korea, (iv) the Android™ operating system developed by Google, of Mountain View, Calif., United States of America, or (v) the Windows Mobile™ operating system by Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash., United States of America.

As used herein, “processor” and/or “processing module” means any type of computational circuit, such as but not limited to a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a controller, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, a graphics processor, a digital signal processor, or any other type of processor or processing circuit capable of performing the desired functions. In some examples, the one or more processors of the various embodiments disclosed herein can comprise CPU 210.

In the depicted embodiment of FIG. 2, various I/O devices such as a disk controller 204, a graphics adapter 224, a video controller 202, a keyboard adapter 226, a mouse adapter 206, a network adapter 220, and other I/O devices 222 can be coupled to system bus 214. Keyboard adapter 226 and mouse adapter 206 are coupled to a keyboard 104 (FIGS. 1-2) and a mouse 110 (FIGS. 1-2), respectively, of computer system 100 (FIG. 1). While graphics adapter 224 and video controller 202 are indicated as distinct units in FIG. 2, video controller 202 can be integrated into graphics adapter 224, or vice versa in other embodiments. Video controller 202 is suitable for refreshing a monitor 106 (FIGS. 1-2) to display images on a screen 108 (FIG. 1) of computer system 100 (FIG. 1). Disk controller 204 can control hard drive 114 (FIGS. 1-2), USB port 112 (FIGS. 1-2), and CD-ROM and/or DVD drive 116 (FIGS. 1-2). In other embodiments, distinct units can be used to control each of these devices separately.

In some embodiments, network adapter 220 can comprise and/or be implemented as a WNIC (wireless network interface controller) card (not shown) plugged or coupled to an expansion port (not shown) in computer system 100 (FIG. 1). In other embodiments, the WNIC card can be a wireless network card built into computer system 100 (FIG. 1). A wireless network adapter can be built into computer system 100 (FIG. 1) by having wireless communication capabilities integrated into the motherboard chipset (not shown), or implemented via one or more dedicated wireless communication chips (not shown), connected through a PCI (peripheral component interconnector) or a PCI express bus of computer system 100 (FIG. 1) or USB port 112 (FIG. 1). In other embodiments, network adapter 220 can comprise and/or be implemented as a wired network interface controller card (not shown).

Although many other components of computer system 100 (FIG. 1) are not shown, such components and their interconnection are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, further details concerning the construction and composition of computer system 100 (FIG. 1) and the circuit boards inside chassis 102 (FIG. 1) are not discussed herein.

When computer system 100 in FIG. 1 is running, program instructions stored on a USB drive in USB port 112, on a CD-ROM or DVD in CD-ROM and/or DVD drive 116, on hard drive 114, or in memory storage unit 208 (FIG. 2) are executed by CPU 210 (FIG. 2). A portion of the program instructions, stored on these devices, can be suitable for carrying out all or at least part of the techniques described herein. In various embodiments, computer system 100 can be reprogrammed with one or more modules, system, applications, and/or databases, such as those described herein, to convert a general-purpose computer to a special purpose computer. For purposes of illustration, programs and other executable program components are shown herein as discrete systems, although it is understood that such programs and components may reside at various times in different storage components of computing device 100, and can be executed by CPU 210. Alternatively, or in addition to, the systems and procedures described herein can be implemented in hardware, or a combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. For example, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) can be programmed to carry out one or more of the systems and procedures described herein. For example, one or more of the programs and/or executable program components described herein can be implemented in one or more ASICs.

Although computer system 100 is illustrated as a desktop computer in FIG. 1, there can be examples where computer system 100 may take a different form factor while still having functional elements similar to those described for computer system 100. In some embodiments, computer system 100 may comprise a single computer, a single server, or a cluster or collection of computers or servers, or a cloud of computers or servers. Typically, a cluster or collection of servers can be used when the demand on computer system 100 exceeds the reasonable capability of a single server or computer. In certain embodiments, computer system 100 may comprise a portable computer, such as a laptop computer. In certain other embodiments, computer system 100 may comprise a mobile device, such as a smartphone. In certain additional embodiments, computer system 100 may comprise an embedded system.

Turning ahead in the drawings, FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a system 300 that can be employed for secure electronic billing with real-time payment settlement, according to an embodiment. System 300 is merely exemplary and embodiments of the system are not limited to the embodiments presented herein. The system can be employed in many different embodiments or examples not specifically depicted or described herein. In some embodiments, certain elements, modules, or systems of system 300 can perform various procedures, processes, and/or activities. In other embodiments, the procedures, processes, and/or activities can be performed by other suitable elements, modules, or systems of system 300.

Generally, therefore, system 300 can be implemented with hardware and/or software, as described herein. In some embodiments, part or all of the hardware and/or software can be conventional, while in these or other embodiments, part or all of the hardware and/or software can be customized (e.g., optimized) for implementing part or all of the functionality of system 300 described herein.

In many embodiments, system 300 can include a payor 310, a payor device 320, a payor financial institution 340, a payment-messaging system 350, a payee financial institution 360, a payee device 370, a payee 380, and/or a real-time settlement network 390. Payor device 320, payor financial institution 340, payment-messaging system 350, payee financial institution 360, payee device 370, and/or a real-time settlement network 390 can each be or include a computer system, such as computer system 100 (FIG. 1), as described above, and can each be a single computer, a single server, or a cluster or collection of computers or servers, or a cloud of computers or servers. In some embodiments, various systems of system 300 (e.g., payor device 320, payor financial institution 340, payment-messaging system 350, payee financial institution 360, payee device 370, and/or a real-time settlement network 390) can be in data communication with one or more of the other systems of system 300 through one or more networks, such as the Internet or other suitable networks.

In a number of embodiments, payor device 320 can be used by payor 310, which can be a person or entity that can send a payment using system 300. In many embodiments, payor 310 can have a payor account 343 maintained at a payor financial institution 340. Payor account 343 can be an account used to fund the payment, such as a demand deposit account of payor 310 maintained at payor financial institution 340. In a number of embodiments, payor 310 can access payor financial institution 340 through payor device 320, such as through a web portal, web application, or mobile wallet provided by payor financial institution 340. In a number of embodiments, payor device 320 can communicate with a communication system 341 at payor financial institution 340, such as a digital banking system provided by payor financial institution 340.

In several embodiments, payee device 370 can be used by payee 380, which can be a person or entity that can receive a payment using system 300. In many embodiments, payee 380 can have a payee account 363 maintained at a payee financial institution 360. Payee account 363 can be an account used to receive the payment, such as a demand deposit account of payee 380 at payee financial institution 360. In a number of embodiments, payee 380 can access payee financial institution 360 through payee device 370, such as through a web portal, web application, or mobile application provided by payee financial institution 360. In some embodiments, payor 310 can be a customer or consumer of payee 380, and payee 380 can be a biller, such as a merchant, a utility company, a bank, a school, a government, a service provider, or another suitable provider of goods and/or services to payor 310. In several embodiments, payee device 370 can include a billing system to track account of payors (e.g., payor 310). In a number of embodiments, payor 310 can have a billing account at payee device 370 that tracks how much payor 310 owes payee 380. For example, the billing account can track how much payor 310 owes payee 380 for a credit card, an auto loan, a mortgage, a utility service, etc. In some embodiments, payee 380 has historically sent bills (e.g., invoices) to request payment from customers, such as payor 310. In many cases, these invoices were made periodically, such as once a month, or at another suitable frequency. In other embodiments, payor 310 and/or payee 380 can each be individual persons that desire to make a person-to-person payment. In a number of embodiments, payee device 370 can communicate with a communication system 361 at payee financial institution 360, such as a corporate portal provided by payee financial institution 360.

In many embodiments, payment-messaging system 350 can be in data communication with various financial institutions, such as payor financial institution 340 and payee financial institution 360. In some embodiments, payment-messaging system 350 can be a payment-messaging network provided by an entity separate from payor financial institution 340 and payee financial institution 360, such as the Zelle® network provided Early Warning Services, LLC, of Scottsdale, Ariz., or another suitable entity.

In several embodiments, real-time settlement network 390 can be in data communication with various financial institutions, such as payor financial institution 340 and payee financial institution 360, and in some embodiments, can be in data communication with payment-messaging system 350. In some embodiments, real-time settlement network 390 can be a settlement network provided by an entity separate from payor financial institution 340 and payee financial institution 360, such as the RTP® network provided by The Clearing House Payments Company, of New York, N.Y., or another suitable entity. In many embodiments, real-time settlement network 390 can communicate with payment hubs at financial institutions, such as a payment system 342 at payor financial institution 340 and a payment system 362 at payee financial institution 360.

In certain embodiments, payor device 320 and/or payee device 370 can be desktop computers, laptop computers, mobile devices, and/or other endpoint devices. A mobile device can refer to a portable electronic device (e.g., an electronic device easily conveyable by hand by a person of average size) with the capability to present audio and/or visual data (e.g., text, images, videos, music, etc.). For example, a mobile device can include at least one of a digital media player, a cellular telephone (e.g., a smartphone), a personal digital assistant, a handheld digital computer device (e.g., a tablet personal computer device), a laptop computer device (e.g., a notebook computer device, a netbook computer device), a wearable user computer device, or another portable computer device with the capability to present audio and/or visual data (e.g., images, videos, music, etc.). Thus, in many examples, a mobile device can include a volume and/or weight sufficiently small as to permit the mobile device to be easily conveyable by hand. For examples, in some embodiments, a mobile device can occupy a volume of less than or equal to approximately 1790 cubic centimeters, 2434 cubic centimeters, 2876 cubic centimeters, 4056 cubic centimeters, and/or 5752 cubic centimeters. Further, in these embodiments, a mobile device can weigh less than or equal to 15.6 Newtons, 17.8 Newtons, 22.3 Newtons, 31.2 Newtons, and/or 44.5 Newtons.

Exemplary mobile devices can include (i) an iPod®, iPhone®, iTouch®, iPad®, MacBook® or similar product by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., United States of America, (ii) a Blackberry® or similar product by Research in Motion (RIM) of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, (iii) a Lumia® or similar product by the Nokia Corporation of Keilaniemi, Espoo, Finland, and/or (iv) a Galaxy™ or similar product by the Samsung Group of Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. Further, in the same or different embodiments, a mobile device can include an electronic device configured to implement one or more of (i) the iPhone® operating system by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., United States of America, (ii) the Blackberry® operating system by Research In Motion (RIM) of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, (iii) the Android™ operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance, or (iv) the Windows Mobile™ operating system by Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Washington, United States of America.

In many embodiments, payment-messaging system 350, real-time settlement network 390, and/or the systems of payor financial institution 340 and payee financial institution 360 can each include one or more input devices (e.g., one or more keyboards, one or more keypads, one or more pointing devices such as a computer mouse or computer mice, one or more touchscreen displays, a microphone, etc.), and/or can each comprise one or more display devices (e.g., one or more monitors, one or more touch screen displays, projectors, etc.). In these or other embodiments, one or more of the input device(s) can be similar or identical to keyboard 104 (FIG. 1) and/or a mouse 110 (FIG. 1). Further, one or more of the display device(s) can be similar or identical to monitor 106 (FIG. 1) and/or screen 108 (FIG. 1). The input device(s) and the display device(s) can be coupled to payment-messaging system 350, real-time settlement network 390, and/or the systems of payor financial institution 340 and payee financial institution 360 in a wired manner and/or a wireless manner, and the coupling can be direct and/or indirect, as well as locally and/or remotely. As an example of an indirect manner (which may or may not also be a remote manner), a keyboard-video-mouse (KVM) switch can be used to couple the input device(s) and the display device(s) to the processor(s) and/or the memory storage unit(s). In some embodiments, the KVM switch also can be part of payment-messaging system 350, real-time settlement network 390, and/or the systems of payor financial institution 340 and payee financial institution 360. In a similar manner, the processors and/or the non-transitory computer-readable media can be local and/or remote to each other.

Meanwhile, in many embodiments, payment-messaging system 350, real-time settlement network 390, and/or the systems of payor financial institution 340 and payee financial institution 360 also can be configured to communicate with one or more databases. For example, payment-messaging system 350 can include a database system, such as directory 354. Directory 354 can include profile information about users that have registered to facilitate payments using payment-messaging system 350. For example, once payor 310 registers with payment-messaging system 350, such as through payor financial institution 340, payor financial institution 340 can provide a payment profile identification data structure to payment-messaging system 350, which can include one or more public identifiers of payor 310, such as an email address and/or phone number of payor 310, and can include a tokenized identifier (e.g., a Zelle® tag) that can represent payor account 343 without including the account number of payor account 343. The one or more databases can be stored on one or more memory storage units (e.g., non-transitory computer readable media), which can be similar or identical to the one or more memory storage units (e.g., non-transitory computer readable media) described above with respect to computer system 100 (FIG. 1). Also, in some embodiments, for any particular database of the one or more databases, that particular database can be stored on a single memory storage unit or the contents of that particular database can be spread across multiple memory storage units storing the one or more databases, depending on the size of the particular database and/or the storage capacity of the memory storage units.

The one or more databases can each include a structured (e.g., indexed) collection of data and can be managed by any suitable database management systems configured to define, create, query, organize, update, and manage database(s). Exemplary database management systems can include MySQL (Structured Query Language) Database, PostgreSQL Database, Microsoft SQL Server Database, Oracle Database, SAP (Systems, Applications, & Products) Database, and IBM DB2 Database.

Meanwhile, payment-messaging system 350, real-time settlement network 390, the systems of payor financial institution 340 and payee financial institution 360, and/or one or more of the databases can be implemented using any suitable manner of wired and/or wireless communication. Accordingly, system 300 can include any software and/or hardware components configured to implement the wired and/or wireless communication. Further, the wired and/or wireless communication can be implemented using any one or any combination of wired and/or wireless communication network topologies (e.g., ring, line, tree, bus, mesh, star, daisy chain, hybrid, etc.) and/or protocols (e.g., personal area network (PAN) protocol(s), local area network (LAN) protocol(s), wide area network (WAN) protocol(s), cellular network protocol(s), powerline network protocol(s), etc.). Exemplary PAN protocol(s) can include Bluetooth, Zigbee, Wireless Universal Serial Bus (USB), Z-Wave, etc.; exemplary LAN and/or WAN protocol(s) can include Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.3 (also known as Ethernet), IEEE 802.11 (also known as WiFi), etc.; and exemplary wireless cellular network protocol(s) can include Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT), Digital AMPS (IS-136/Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)), Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN), Evolved High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA+), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), WiMAX, etc. The specific communication software and/or hardware implemented can depend on the network topologies and/or protocols implemented, and vice versa. In many embodiments, exemplary communication hardware can include wired communication hardware including, for example, one or more data buses, such as, for example, universal serial bus(es), one or more networking cables, such as, for example, coaxial cable(s), optical fiber cable(s), and/or twisted pair cable(s), any other suitable data cable, etc. Further exemplary communication hardware can include wireless communication hardware including, for example, one or more radio transceivers, one or more infrared transceivers, etc. Additional exemplary communication hardware can include one or more networking components (e.g., modulator-demodulator components, gateway components, etc.).

In many embodiments, payment-messaging system 350 can include a communication system 351, a profile system 352, a logging system 353, and/or a directory 354. In many embodiments, the systems of payment-messaging system 350 can be modules of computing instructions (e.g., software modules) stored at non-transitory computer readable media that operate on one or more processors. In other embodiments, the systems of payment-messaging system 350 can be implemented in hardware. Payment-messaging system 350 can be a computer system, such as computer system 100 (FIG. 1), as described above, and can be a single computer, a single server, or a cluster or collection of computers or servers, or a cloud of computers or servers. Additional details regarding payment-messaging system 350 and the components thereof are described herein.

In several embodiments, system 300 can enable payees (e.g., payee 380) to electronically request payment from payors (e.g., payor 310) and/or for payors (e.g., payor 310) to make real-time payments, with real-time settlement of funds, to payees (e.g., payee 380). System 300 can enhance conventional online bill pay with faster payments and/or settlement of funds in real-time. For example, payor 310 can use an online bill pay service of payor financial institution 340 to make payments to participating billers (e.g., payee 380) within minutes through payee financial institution 360. After payor 310 registers for or accepts the electronic billing service through a website or mobile application provided by payee device 370, payor 310 can receive an electronic version of the bill to pay payee 380, and the bill can be provided to payor 310 by payor financial institution 340. Payor 310 can login to a website and/or mobile application provided by payor financial institution 340 based on a notification from payor financial institution 340 and/or by self-logging in, go to a bill pay option, and pay the bill. System 300 can deliver the payment to the payee financial institution 360 in real-time. In many embodiments, payor 310 can be provided with a payment confirmation number from payee 380 in real-time, which can be provided through email, text message, mobile phone application push notification, social media (e.g., WhatsApp), etc. In many embodiments, system 300 can enable payor 310 to make a payment at the “last minute” before a cut-off time to avoid disruption of service by payee 380.

In many embodiments, payor 310 can register with payee 380 to enroll in receiving electronic invoices and/or making real-time payments using system 300. Next, payee 380 can send bills to payee financial institution 360. Next, payee financial institution 360 can request payor profile information from payment-messaging system 350 in order to determine if payor 310 is eligible for real-time payments that settle in real-time through real-time settlement network 390, as shown in activities 410, 420, and 430 of FIG. 4 and described below. In many embodiments, payor 310 can be eligible for real-time payments that settle in real-time through real-time settlement network 390 when payor 310 has registered with payment-messaging system 350 (e.g., through payor financial institution 340) and payor financial institution 340 is enabled for real-time settlements through real-time settlement network 390.

Next, in many embodiments, if payor 310 is eligible for real-time payment, payee financial institution 360 can format a request for payment as a message to be sent from payment system 362 to real-time settlement network 390. In some embodiments, the request for payment can be in a PAIN (Payments Initiation) 013 (Creditor Payment Activation Request) message of the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 20022 standard for electronic data interchange between financial institutions. In many embodiments, the request for payment can include a routing transit number (RTN) for payor financial institution 340 associated with payor account 343 and/or a tokenized identifier. The tokenized identifier can represent payor account 343, such as the account number of payor account 343, without including the account number of payor account 343. In many embodiments, payor financial institution 340 can create the tokenized identifier to secure the account number of payor account 343. The RTN for payor financial institution 340 and/or the tokenized identifier can be received by payee financial institution 360 from payment-messaging system 350 in the payor profile information. In many embodiments, when payor financial institution 340 is not eligible for the real-time payment, the RTN will not be included in the payor profile information, as payment-messaging system 350 in some embodiments does not receive the RTN unless payor financial institution 340 is enabled for real-time payment settlements through real-time settlement network 390. In some embodiments, the Depositor Account Number (DAN) for payor account 343 typically included in the PAIN 013 message can be replaced by the tokenized identifier in the PAIN 013 message, such that the DAN is not included in the message.

Next, in a number of embodiments, the request for payment can be sent from payment system 362 to real-time settlement network 390, and then the request for payment can be sent from real-time settlement network 390 to payment system 342 of payor financial institution 340. In several embodiments, data about the request for payment can be sent from real-time settlement network 390 to payment-messaging system 350 after real-time settlement network 390 receives the request for payment, as shown in activities 440, 450, and 460 of FIG. 4 and described below. In other embodiments, data about the request for payment can be sent from real-time settlement network 390 to payment-messaging system 350 before real-time settlement network 390 receives the request for payment. In at least one embodiment, data about the request for payment can be sent from real-time settlement network 390 to payment-messaging system 350 at the same time real-time settlement network 390 receives the request for payment. Next, payor financial institution 340 can process the request for payment and send a bill (e.g., invoice), or notification about the bill, to payor device 320 to allow payor 310 to authorize payment of the bill.

Next, in some embodiments, payor financial institution 340 can retrieve payee profile information from payment-messaging system 350. The payee profile information can include a tokenized identifier that represents payee account 363 without including the account number of payee account 363. Next, payor financial institution 340 can format a credit transfer to be sent from payment system 342 to real-time settlement network 390. In some embodiments, the credit transfer can be in a PACS (Payments Clearing and Settlement) 008 (Financial Institution to Financial Institution Customer Credit Transfer) message of the ISO 20022 standard. In many embodiments, remittance information (e.g., tokenized identifier of payee account 363 and/or account number of payee account 363) included in the request for payment can be included in the credit transfer. In some embodiments, this remittance information can be stored internally by payor financial institution 340 for possible future use.

Next, in many embodiments, the credit transfer can be sent from payment system 342 to real-time settlement network 390, and then the credit transfer can be sent from real-time settlement network 390 to payment system 362 of payee financial institution 360. The credit transfer can perform a real-time settlement of funds from payor account 343 to payee account 363. The real-time settlement of funds can involve funds being received at payee financial institution 360 in real-time, unlike a real-time irrevocable promise-to-pay, in which the funds have not been received by the payee financial institution (e.g., payee financial institution 360). In several embodiments, data about the credit transfer can be sent from real-time settlement network 390 to payment-messaging system 350 after real-time settlement network 390 receives the credit transfer, as shown in activities 470, 480, and 490 of FIG. 4 and described below. In other embodiments, data about the credit transfer can be sent from real-time settlement network 390 to payment-messaging system 350 before real-time settlement network 390 receives the credit transfer. In at least one embodiment, data about the credit transfer can be sent from real-time settlement network 390 to payment-messaging system 350 at the same time real-time settlement network 390 receives the credit transfer. Next, payee financial institution 360 can notify payee device 370 that payment has been posted, such that the billing account of payor 310 in payee device 370 can be updated to reflect posting of the payment. Next, in some embodiments, payee device 370 can send a notification to payor device 320 that the payment has posted. This notification can be sent in real-time after payor 310 authorizes the payment. In some embodiments, this notification can be sent via payment-messaging system 350. In other embodiments, this notification can be sent directly from payee device 370 to payor device 320.

Turning ahead in the drawings, FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart for a method 400, according to an embodiment. In some embodiments, method 400 can be a method of facilitating secure electronic billing with real-time payment settlement. Method 400 is merely exemplary and is not limited to the embodiments presented herein. Method 400 can be employed in many different embodiments or examples not specifically depicted or described herein. In some embodiments, the procedures, the processes, and/or the activities of method 400 can be performed in the order presented. In other embodiments, the procedures, the processes, and/or the activities of method 400 can be performed in any suitable order. In still other embodiments, one or more of the procedures, the processes, and/or the activities of method 400 can be combined or skipped.

In many embodiments, system 300 (FIG. 3) and/or payment-messaging system 350 (FIG. 3) can be suitable to perform method 400 and/or one or more of the activities of method 400. In these or other embodiments, one or more of the activities of method 400 can be implemented as one or more computing instructions configured to run at one or more processors and configured to be stored at one or more non-transitory computer readable media. Such non-transitory computer readable media can be part of system 300. The processor(s) can be similar or identical to the processor(s) described above with respect to computer system 100 (FIG. 1).

In some embodiments, method 400 and other activities in method 400 can include using a distributed network including distributed memory architecture to perform the associated activity. This distributed architecture can reduce the impact on the network and system resources to reduce congestion in bottlenecks while still allowing data to be accessible from a central location.

Referring to FIG. 4, method 400 can include an activity 410 of receiving, at a payment-messaging system from a payee financial institution, a request for payor profile information. The payment-messaging system can be similar or identical to payment-messaging system 350 (FIG. 3). The payee financial institution can be similar or identical to payee financial institution 360 (FIG. 3). The payor can be similar or identical to payor 310 (FIG. 3).

In several embodiments, the request for the payor profile information can be received at the payment-messaging system after the payor has registered to use the payment-messaging system. For example, the payor can register to use the payment-messaging system directly or indirectly through a payor financial institution (e.g., payor financial institution 340 (FIG. 3)). In a number of embodiments, the payor profile information can be created in the directory when the payor registers for the payment-messaging system.

In several embodiments, the request can include a public identifier of a payor. In some embodiments, the public identifier of the payor can include at least one of an email address of the payor, a phone number of the payor, a tokenized identifier of the account of the payor, or any other account number proxy for the account of the payor. The public identifier can be used to publicly identify the payor without using account numbers or other personal information of the payor.

In a number of embodiments, method 400 also can include an activity 420 of determining, using a directory at the payment-messaging system, the payor profile information based on the request. The directory can be similar or identical to directory 354 (FIG. 3). In some embodiments, the payor profile information can include a routing transit number for a payor financial institution that maintains a payor account of the payor when the payor financial institution is enabled to send real-time payments through a real-time settlement network. In many embodiments, the payor profile information does not include an account number of the payor account. The payor financial institution can be similar or identical to payor financial institution 340 (FIG. 3). The payor account can be similar or identical to payor account 343 (FIG. 3). The real-time settlement network can be similar or identical to real-time settlement network 390 (FIG. 3). The payor financial institution can be enabled to send real-time payments through the real-time settlement network when the payor financial institution has registered with the real-time settlement network to send real-time payments with real-time settlement. In some embodiments, the routing transit number for the payor financial institution can be stored in the payor profile information in the directory when the payor financial institution is enabled to send real-time payments through the real-time settlement network

In several embodiments, method 400 additionally can include an activity 430 of sending, from the payment-messaging system to the payee financial institution, the payor profile information. In many embodiments, sending the payor profile information to the payee financial institution can cause the payee financial institution to determine whether the payor profile information includes the routing transit number for the payor financial institution. The presence of the routing transit number can indicate both eligibility for real-time payment settlements, and identification of the payor financial institution. In some embodiments, sending the payor profile information to the payee financial institution can further cause the payee financial institution, when the payor profile information includes the routing transit number for the payor financial institution, to send a request for payment through the real-time settlement network to the payor financial institution to allow the payor to authorize a real-time credit transfer from the payor account to a payee account of a payee maintained at the payee financial institution. In several embodiments, the real-time credit transfer can be settled through the real-time settlement network. In some embodiments, the payee can be a biller for services provided by the payee to the payor. In other embodiments, the payee can request a person-to-person payment from the payor.

In a number of embodiments, method 400 further and optionally can include an activity 440 of receiving first data at the payment-messaging system from the real-time settlement network after the real-time settlement network receives the request for payment from the payee financial institution. In some embodiments, the first data can include information about the request for payment. For example, the first data can include some or all of the information included in the message for the request for payment sent from the payee financial institution to the real-time settlement network.

In several embodiments, method 400 additionally and optionally can include an activity 450 of storing the first data at the payment-messaging system. For example, the first data can be logged in a database of the payment-messaging system.

In a number of embodiments, method 400 further and optionally can include an activity 460 of sending a first acknowledgement from the payment-messaging system to the real-time settlement network after the payment-messaging system receives the first data.

In several embodiments, method 400 additionally and optionally can include an activity 470 of receiving second data at the payment-messaging system from the real-time settlement network after the real-time settlement network receives the real-time credit transfer from the payor financial institution. In some embodiments, the second data can include information about the real-time credit transfer. For example, the second data can include some or all of the information included in the message for the credit transfer sent from the payor financial institution to the real-time settlement network.

In a number of embodiments, method 400 further and optionally can include an activity 480 of storing the second data at the payment-messaging system. For example, the second data can be logged in a database of the payment-messaging system.

In several embodiments, method 400 additionally and optionally can include an activity 490 of sending a second acknowledgement from the payment-messaging system to the real-time settlement network after the payment-messaging system receives the second data.

Returning to FIG. 3, in several embodiments, communication system 351 can at least partially perform activity 410 (FIG. 4) of receiving, at a payment-messaging system from a payee financial institution, a request for payor profile information; activity 430 (FIG. 4) of sending, from the payment-messaging system to the payee financial institution, the payor profile information; activity 440 (FIG. 4) of receiving first data at the payment-messaging system from the real-time settlement network after the real-time settlement network receives the request for payment from the payee financial institution; activity 460 (FIG. 4) of sending a first acknowledgement from the payment-messaging system to the real-time settlement network after the payment-messaging system receives the first data; activity 470 (FIG. 4) of receiving second data at the payment-messaging system from the real-time settlement network after the real-time settlement network receives the real-time credit transfer from the payor financial institution; and/or activity 490 (FIG. 4) of sending a second acknowledgement from the payment-messaging system to the real-time settlement network after the payment-messaging system receives the second data.

In several embodiments, profile system 352 can at least partially perform activity 420 (FIG. 4) of determining, using a directory at the payment-messaging system, the payor profile information based on the request.

In a number of embodiments, logging system 353 can at least partially perform activity 450 (FIG. 4) of storing the first data at the payment-messaging system and/or activity 480 (FIG. 4) of storing the second data at the payment-messaging system.

In many embodiments, the techniques described herein can provide a practical application and several technological improvements. In some embodiments, the techniques described herein can provide for secure electronic billing with real-time payment settlement. These techniques described herein can provide a significant improvement over conventional approaches of paper billing, waiting for funds to be available, and/or sending an irrevocable promise to pay without real-time settlement of funds.

In many embodiments, the techniques described herein can be used continuously at a scale that cannot be handled using manual techniques. For example, the techniques can be applied to millions of transactions daily.

In a number of embodiments, personally identifiable information of payors (e.g., payor 310 (FIG. 3)) can be protected by not including such information in messages exchanged between the financial institutions (e.g., payor financial institution 340, payee financial institution 360 (FIG. 3)), the payment-messaging system (e.g., 350 (FIG. 3), and/or the real-time settlement network (e.g., real-time settlement network 390 (FIG. 3)), which can reduce the risk of fraud if messages are intercepted or otherwise compromised.

In a number of embodiments, the techniques described herein can solve a technical problem that arises only within the realm of computer networks, as online payment does not exist outside the realm of computer networks. Moreover, the techniques described herein can solve a technical problem that cannot be solved outside the context of computer networks. Specifically, the techniques described herein cannot be used outside the context of computer networks, in view of a lack of ability to settle funds in real-time.

Various embodiments can include a system including one or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computing instructions that, when executed on the one or more processors, perform certain acts. The acts can include receiving, at a payment-messaging system from a payee financial institution, a request for payor profile information. The request can include a public identifier of a payor. The acts also can include determining, using a directory at the payment-messaging system, the payor profile information based on the request. The payor profile information can include a routing transit number for a payor financial institution that maintains a payor account of the payor when the payor financial institution is enabled to send real-time payments through a real-time settlement network. The payor profile information does not include an account number of the payor account. The acts additionally can include sending, from the payment-messaging system to the payee financial institution, the payor profile information, to cause: the payee financial institution to determine whether the payor profile information includes the routing transit number for the payor financial institution; and the payee financial institution, when the payor profile information includes the routing transit number for the payor financial institution, to send a request for payment through the real-time settlement network to the payor financial institution to allow the payor to authorize a real-time credit transfer from the payor account to a payee account of a payee maintained at the payee financial institution. The real-time credit transfer can be settled through the real-time settlement network.

A number of embodiments can include a method being implemented via execution of computing instructions configured to run at one or more processors. The method can include receiving, at a payment-messaging system from a payee financial institution, a request for payor profile information. The request can include a public identifier of a payor. The method also can include determining, using a directory at the payment-messaging system, the payor profile information based on the request. The payor profile information can include a routing transit number for a payor financial institution that maintains a payor account of the payor when the payor financial institution is enabled to send real-time payments through a real-time settlement network. The payor profile information does not include an account number of the payor account. The method additionally can include sending, from the payment-messaging system to the payee financial institution, the payor profile information, to cause: the payee financial institution to determine whether the payor profile information includes the routing transit number for the payor financial institution; and the payee financial institution, when the payor profile information includes the routing transit number for the payor financial institution, to send a request for payment through the real-time settlement network to the payor financial institution to allow the payor to authorize a real-time credit transfer from the payor account to a payee account of a payee maintained at the payee financial institution. The real-time credit transfer can be settled through the real-time settlement network.

Although the methods described above are with reference to the illustrated flowcharts, it will be appreciated that many other ways of performing the acts associated with the methods can be used. For example, the order of some operations may be changed, and some of the operations described may be optional.

In addition, the methods and system described herein can be at least partially embodied in the form of computer-implemented processes and apparatus for practicing those processes. The disclosed methods may also be at least partially embodied in the form of tangible, non-transitory machine-readable storage media encoded with computer program code. For example, the steps of the methods can be embodied in hardware, in executable instructions executed by a processor (e.g., software), or a combination of the two. The media may include, for example, RAMs, ROMs, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, BD-ROMs, hard disk drives, flash memories, or any other non-transitory machine-readable storage medium. When the computer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer, the computer becomes an apparatus for practicing the method. The methods may also be at least partially embodied in the form of a computer into which computer program code is loaded or executed, such that, the computer becomes a special purpose computer for practicing the methods. When implemented on a general-purpose processor, the computer program code segments configure the processor to create specific logic circuits. The methods may alternatively be at least partially embodied in application specific integrated circuits for performing the methods.

The foregoing is provided for purposes of illustrating, explaining, and describing embodiments of these disclosures. Modifications and adaptations to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art and may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of these disclosures.

Although secure electronic billing with real-time payment settlement has been described with reference to specific embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the disclosure of embodiments is intended to be illustrative of the scope of the disclosure and is not intended to be limiting. It is intended that the scope of the disclosure shall be limited only to the extent required by the appended claims. For example, to one of ordinary skill in the art, it will be readily apparent that any element of FIGS. 1-4 may be modified, and that the foregoing discussion of certain of these embodiments does not necessarily represent a complete description of all possible embodiments. For example, one or more of the procedures, processes, or activities of FIG. 4 may include different procedures, processes, and/or activities and be performed by many different modules, in many different orders. As another example, the systems within system 300 in FIG. 3 can be interchanged or otherwise modified.

Replacement of one or more claimed elements constitutes reconstruction and not repair. Additionally, benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described with regard to specific embodiments. The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element or elements that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced, however, are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features or elements of any or all of the claims, unless such benefits, advantages, solutions, or elements are stated in such claim.

Moreover, embodiments and limitations disclosed herein are not dedicated to the public under the doctrine of dedication if the embodiments and/or limitations: (1) are not expressly claimed in the claims; and (2) are or are potentially equivalents of express elements and/or limitations in the claims under the doctrine of equivalents.

SECURE ELECTRONIC BILLING WITH REAL-TIME PAYMENT SETTLEMENT

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