US20110010293A1 - Account alias data repository - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for creating a financial account alias data repository to be used to identify payee accounts in payment transactions. For example, an embodiment of the method includes: (1) receiving a communication comprising an alias that is not a financial account number; and (2) using a processor to store the alias in memory and create a data repository in the memory that maps the alias to a particular financial account such that the alias can be used by others instead of a financial account number to transfer money to the particular financial account associated with the alias. The alias may include, for example, a telephone number, email address, or social networking identifier of the financial account owner.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
• This application is a continuation of and claims priority from co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/038,177, filed on Feb. 27, 2008 and entitled “SUB-ACCOUNT MECHANISM,” which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/991,172, filed on Nov. 29, 2007 and entitled “SUB-ACCOUNT MECHANISM,” the entire contents of both of these applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
• Today, individuals, such as parents, do not have an easy and seamless process to manage and dispense money to their dependents. Besides managing and controlling their dependents spending activities, safety in dependents carrying large amounts of cash may be a concern for parents.
• Dependents are increasingly purchasing goods and services on-line where they cannot use cash but need a payment card. Since they may not have their own direct deposit account (DDA) or credit card account, they cannot use traditional methods of payment for this channel to purchase goods. At the physical point of service (POS), dependents generally use cash to make their purchases, which excludes financial entities from the payment transactions and associated revenues. In addition, merchants that sell digital media, e.g., music, movies, videos, etc., do not have a low cost micropayment solution.
• Today, individuals and dependents may attain prepaid cards such as the Allowcard® and the American Express Gift Card for Teens® to use towards on-line purchases or physical retailers. Another alternative is using a parent's credit card where there are no controls on dependents spending activities. For physical retailers, the majority of purchases by dependents is made using cash or “additional” credit cards. Credit cards issued by competitors and cash as payment instruments remove financial entities from payments revenue.
• ECommerce merchants whose business requires micropayments are currently dependent on credit/debit card transactions for payment. These companies are looking for processes that reduce their payment expense.
• In addition, individuals may want to budget their resources across different financial needs. For example, a family may decide that a monthly income of $2000 may need to be budgeted for known and other expenses. The family may decide to restrict use of the monthly income to only $100 for gas, $100 a month for clothing items, $100 a month for entertainment items/services, and $200 a month for food items/services. In such a case, the family must maintain detailed records of who is spending what, where, when, and under what category.
• A financial entity currently allows its customers to make payments to other financial entity customers through its online banking service. In order to make a payment, the sender has to ask receiver to provide their bank account number and zip code. The receiver needs to share this confidential account information in order to be able to get a payment. In addition, both the sender and receiver need to be customers of the financial entity. It is not possible for financial entity customers to send payments to anyone outside the financial entity or make payments to merchants directly from their bank accounts.
• Person to person and person to merchant payments are not unique. There are number of companies like PayPal, OboPay, Revolution Money and others that allow their customers to make payments using a stored value card or a pooled account. The stored value card or a pooled account is like a prepaid or a gift card and it exists separately from customer's bank accounts. The customer has to move money into this account through automated clearing house (ACH) transfer or credit card cash advance before these can be used to make payments. It typically takes 2-3 business days to move money into such accounts.
• There are currently no practical and cost-effective systems that can provide a seamless integration of a master DDA, one or more sub-accounts, and merchant client accounts.
SUMMARY
• In light of the foregoing background, the following presents a simplified summary of the present disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description provided below.
• Aspects of the present invention are directed to a method and system for providing a seamless integration of a master DDA, one or more sub-accounts, and merchant client accounts. Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to establishment of a monetary account with an entity. An account user associated with the monetary account may be identified. A sub-account with the entity may be established, where the sub-account is associated with the monetary account and includes monetary funds transferred from the monetary account. At least one sub-account user associated with the sub-account may be identified, where the at least one sub-account user is different from the account user. One or more controls, placed by the account user, may be established on at least one of the sub-account and the at least one sub-account user. The at least one sub-account user may be restricted from accessing monetary funds in the monetary account and the account user is permitted to access the sub-account.
• Another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to establishing a monetary account with an entity, the monetary account including monetary funds maintained within the entity. An account user associated with the monetary account may be identified, and a partner account, with the entity, a partner entity of the entity, the partner account including monetary funds maintained within the entity. A request from the account user to transfer monetary funds from the monetary account to the partner account through a website associated with the partner entity may be received. The monetary funds may be transferred from the monetary account to the partner account, where the monetary funds remain within the entity throughout the transfer.
• This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. The Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• A more complete understanding of aspects of the present invention and the advantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the following description in consideration of the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers indicate like features, and wherein:
• FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a general-purpose digital computing environment in which certain aspects of the present invention may be implemented;
• FIG. 2 is an illustrative block diagram of workstations and servers that may be used to implement the processes and functions of certain embodiments of the present invention;
• FIG. 3 is an example block diagram of an illustrative environment for applying a master account and associated sub-accounts in accordance with at least one aspect of the present invention;
• FIG. 4 is another example block diagram of an illustrative environment for applying a master account and associated sub-accounts in accordance with at least one aspect of the present invention;
• FIG. 5 is another example block diagram of an illustrative environment for applying a master account and associated sub-accounts in accordance with at least one aspect of the present invention;
• FIG. 6 is an example flowchart of an illustrative method for applying a master account and associated sub-accounts in accordance with at least one aspect of the present invention;
• FIG. 7 is an illustrative user interface for maintaining a master account and sub-accounts with respect to a merchant in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention;
• FIG. 8 is an example flowchart of a method for making person to person payments in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention;
• FIG. 9 is an example flowchart of a method for making payments from a mobile device in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention; and
• FIG. 10 is an example flowchart of a method for making payments to a merchant in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
• In the following description of the various embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration various embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional modifications may be made.
• FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a generic computing device101 (e.g., a computer server) that may be used according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention. Thecomputer server101 may have aprocessor103 for controlling overall operation of the server and its associated components, includingRAM105,ROM107, input/output module109, andmemory115.
• I/O109 may include a microphone, keypad, touch screen, and/or stylus through which a user ofdevice101 may provide input, and may also include one or more of a speaker for providing audio output and a video display device for providing textual, audiovisual and/or graphical output. Software may be stored withinmemory115 and/or storage to provide instructions toprocessor103 for enablingserver101 to perform various functions. For example,memory115 may store software used by theserver101, such as anoperating system117,application programs119, and an associateddatabase121. Alternatively, some or all ofserver101 computer executable instructions may be embodied in hardware or firmware (not shown). As described in detail below, thedatabase121 may provide centralized storage of account information and account holder information for the entire business, allowing interoperability between different elements of the business residing at different physical locations.
• Theserver101 may operate in a networked environment supporting connections to one or more remote computers, such asterminals141 and151. Theterminals141 and151 may be personal computers or servers that include many or all of the elements described above relative to theserver101. The network connections depicted inFIG. 1 include a local area network (LAN)125 and a wide area network (WAN)129, but may also include other networks. When used in a LAN networking environment, thecomputer101 is connected to theLAN125 through a network interface oradapter123. When used in a WAN networking environment, theserver101 may include amodem127 or other means for establishing communications over theWAN129, such as theInternet131. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are illustrative and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used. The existence of any of various well-known protocols such as TCP/IP, Ethernet, FTP, HTTP and the like is presumed, and the system can be operated in a client-server configuration to permit a user to retrieve web pages from a web-based server. Any of various conventional web browsers can be used to display and manipulate data on web pages.
• Additionally, anapplication program119 used by theserver101 according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention may include computer executable instructions for invoking user functionality related to communication, such as email, short message service (SMS), and voice input and speech recognition applications.
• Computing device101 and/orterminals141 or151 may also be mobile terminals including various other components, such as a battery, speaker, and antennas (not shown).
• The invention is operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with the invention include, but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like.
• The invention may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.
• Referring toFIG. 2, anillustrative system200 for implementing methods according to the present invention is shown. As illustrated,system200 may include one ormore workstations201.Workstations201 may be local or remote, and are connected by one orcommunications links202 tocomputer network203 that is linked viacommunications links205 toserver204. Insystem200,server204 may be any suitable server, processor, computer, or data processing device, or combination of the same.Server204 may be used to process the instructions received from, and the transactions entered into by, one or more participants.
• Computer network203 may be any suitable computer network including the Internet, an intranet, a wide-area network (WAN), a local-area network (LAN), a wireless network, a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, a frame relay network, an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network, a virtual private network (VPN), or any combination of any of the same.Communications links202 and205 may be any communications links suitable for communicating betweenworkstations201 andserver204, such as network links, dial-up links, wireless links, hard-wired links, etc.
• As understood by those skilled in the art, the steps that follow in the Figures may be implemented by one or more of the components inFIGS. 1 and 2 and/or other components, including other computing devices.
• Aspects of the present disclosure allow a financial entity to capture more cash-to-card payment volume and provide partners to the financial entity a reduction in payment expense. A company has the ability to bring users to a financial entity and can partner with the financial entity to create an affinity relationship and product.
• The integration of companion cards, whether debit or stored value, to sub-accounts and a master direct deposit account (DDA) is described. The companion cards do not have access to the master DDA, which allows the primary account holder to have complete control over spending activities of the sub-accounts. The primary account holder can transfer funds between the master DDA and sub-accounts through her preferred channel of banking, e.g., automated teller machine (ATM), online banking, mobile banking, etc. Until the money is spent using the companion cards, deposit balances remain in the sub-accounts, which keep the funds in the financial entity banking system. Also, the companion card enables a financial entity to capture new payment transactions where cash may have been used previously.
• Additionally, when a customer of a financial entity makes a purchase on-line from a partner of the financial entity, the payment may be linked to the sub-accounts described above. The deposits may be moved from the consumer's sub-account to the affinity partner's corporate account real-time. This process is more cost efficient for the affinity partners since it optimizes transaction routing. Also, deposit balances remain in the financial entity banking system. This account to account transfer process is a faster and cheaper method of processing payments for affinity merchants.
• Aspects of the present disclosure integrate the dependent payment instrument, e.g., companion card, to the sub-accounts of the master DDA without allowing access to the master DDA by users of the sub-accounts.
• Traditional transactions using prepaid cards decreases balances, by removing money deposited in the bank, even before actual purchase transactions are made. This situation decreases the cash amount remaining in the bank, thus decreasing a source of revenues for banks. Additionally, using cash as a payment instrument also decreases balances, another source of bank revenues.
• Aspects of the present disclosure address the above problems and creates new revenue streams for a financial entity through an increase of point of service (POS) transactions by shifting payment instrument from cash to debit or stored value cards at the physical retailer. At the same time, this concept creates the incremental DDA balances by delaying the withdrawal of funds until spending activity. The system also provides an instantaneous control mechanism for the primary DDA holder to track and control spending activities made by dependents.
• Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure allow eCommerce partners in the micropayment business to have a more cost-effective process to settle their payment transactions through the system. For customers of a financial entity, the financial entity may optimize transaction routing for payment processing real-time. The consumer account of the financial entity may be debited much like a debit card transactions while the affinity partner's business client account may be credited. Thus, funds stay in the banking system of the financial entity.
• The integration of companion cards to sub-accounts directly linked to a DDA is an aspect of the present disclosure. In addition, optimizing transaction routing for eCommerce affinity partners is another aspect. For transactions between affinity merchants of a financial entity and customers of the financial entity, the financial entity may identify these payment transactions and process them in the lowest cost manner. The financial entity may use account to account transfer mechanism to move money from the customer to the merchant instead of the traditional payment processes using the credit/debit/ACH network (described below inFIG. 5). In one embodiment, the financial entity may determine pricing for the account to account transfer mechanism that will be cost effective for the merchant.
• As should be understood by those skilled in the art, various combinations and sub-combinations of the descriptions included herein may be utilized absent the illustrative example provided. For example, in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure, there is no requirement in place to mandate a user to open a master account with a financial entity before a sub-account may be opened. A person using an account with a merchant that is linked to the financial entity is able to open a sub-account anytime without first having to apply for a master DDA with the financial entity. In such a situation, the sub-account is an account of the user in which the user does not have other accounts affiliated with the financial entity. As such, the merchant, such as a media downloading web site, may have a link to open such a sub-account with the financial entity. In addition, a person receiving payment who does not have a sub-account may open one to get access to those funds. A P2P/P2M account may be such an opened account. A P2P/P2M account described herein may exist on its own.
• FIG. 3 is an example block diagram of anillustrative environment300 for applying a master account and associated sub-accounts in accordance with at least one aspect of the present invention.
• A customer301 has access to a master direct deposit account (DDA)303 through any of a number of different channels of communication, including, but not limited to, online banking, mobile banking, and ATM, shown by A. Customer301 may make money transfers between themaster DDA303 and one or more sub-accounts, such assub-account1305 and sub-account2307 without any cost, shown by B.
• One or more companion cards, such ascompanion card1313 andcompanion card2315, are linked to the sub-accounts, as shown by C, and cannot access deposits in themaster DDA303. This allows the customer/primary account holder to have control of the level of spending activities made by both the existingdebit cards311 and allcompanion cards313 and315.
• Companion cards313 and315 may be used for eCommerce with non-entity merchants and entitynon-affinity merchants317, at a physical POS and at ATMs in the same manner that the primarycardholder debit card311 is used, as shown by D. For eCommerce businesses that have an affinity partnership with thefinancial entity309, payments between an entity consumer and merchant may be processed real-time and transaction routing may be optimized, as shown by E.FIG. 5 provides further details below.
• FIG. 4 is another example block diagram of anillustrative environment400 for applying a master account and associated sub-accounts for non-financial entity merchants and financial entity non-affinity merchants in accordance with at least one aspect of the present invention. A customer may make money transfers between amaster DDA401 and one or more sub-accounts, such assub-account1403 and sub-account2405, without any cost, as shown by B.
• One or more companion cards, such ascompanion card1409 andcompanion card2411, are linked to the sub-accounts403 and405, as shown by C, and cannot access deposits in themaster DDA401. This allows the customer/primary account holder to have control of the level of spending activities made by both the existingdebit cards407 and allcompanion cards409 and411.Companion cards409 and411 may be used foreCommerce413, at aphysical POS415 and atATMs417 in the same manner that the primarycardholder debit card407 is used, as shown by D. Transactions may be processed through a debit, credit, or ATM network.
• FIG. 5 is another example block diagram of anillustrative environment500 for applying a master account and associated sub-accounts for financial entityaffinity merchant partners507 in accordance with at least one aspect of the present invention. A customer may make money transfers between amaster DDA501 and one or more sub-accounts, such assub-account1503 and sub-account2505, without any cost, as shown by B.For eCommerce businesses507 that have an affinity partnership with the financial entity, payments between consumers and merchants of the financial entity are processed real-time and transaction routing is optimized, as shown by E. The real-time payment may initiate money transfer between the financialentity consumer account501 or sub-account, such as503 and505, and themerchant507 corporate account, where the merchant account is credited509 and the consumer account is debited511, as shown by F. A small processing fee may be charged to themerchant507.
• FIG. 6 is anexample flowchart600 of an illustrative method for applying a master account and associated sub-accounts in accordance with at least one aspect of the present invention.Various web interfaces601 may be utilized in accordance with aspects of the present invention. Customers may work with and access master accounts and sub-accounts viamobile banking603,online banking application605, and/ormerchant account607. A customer may have a master account, such asmaster DDA609, associated with a financial entity. Themaster account609 may include a plurality of sub-accounts. As shown,master account609 includes sub-account1611, sub-account2613, andsub-account3615. sub-accounts611,613, and615 may be restricted child accounts with one or more parental controls in place.
• As described herein, there may be any of a number of different controls on a sub-account and different controls may be placed on different accounts. Controls include the ability to transfer funds out of the sub-account, whether the amount, to the particular recipient, to a particular time period, etc. Controls also include the ability to receive funds into the sub-account, whether from particular individuals or entities, the amount, to a particular time period, etc. Controls further may include other functions associated with the account including ability to change access passwords or IDs, ability to allow others to access the sub-account, and ability to restrict others from accessing the sub-account.
• Themaster account609 and one or more of the sub-accounts611,613, and615, may have access mechanisms in place, such as adebit card619, one ormore companion cards621, and a user ID andpassword623. The access mechanisms allow for purchases toweb pages625,other eCommerce627,ATMs629 and point ofservice device631, such as telephone orders. With the controls in place, any of a number of different restrictions may be placed on a sub-account. For example, sub-account611 may be for a sixteen year old minor while sub-account613 may be for a twelve year old minor. A parent of themaster account609 may allow the sixteen year old to accesscertain web sites625 or anATM629 while restricting the twelve year old from the same. With controls in place on the sub-accounts, the twelve year old associated with the sub-account613 cannot access the restrictedweb sites625 and/orATMs629. Any of a number of different controls schemes may be in place with respect to the sub-accounts. The examples included herein are merely illustrative and should not be limited to the same.
• FIG. 7 is anillustrative user interface700 for maintaining a master account and sub-accounts with respect to a merchant in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention. A user profile for a customer of a financial entity711 is shown with respect to aparticular merchant713. As shown, various data fields are included to input data and to see current data.Data field701 allows a user to enter account owner information, such as name, address, etc.Data field703 allows the user to enter additional account owner data including user ID, cellular phone number, and email address.Data field705 allows the user to enter a password or web site key.
• Data field707 includes card number data, such as an account number and an expiration date, for an account number associated with a master account of the user.Data field709 includes a listing of individuals and corresponding information for one or more sub-accounts associated with that account.Data field715 shows merchant account balance information.Data field717 shows financial entity and non-financial entity account data for funding accounts.Input719 allows a user to add funds to an account in which one or more other screens may be provided.Input721 allows a user to transfer funds to a friend in which one or more other screens may be provided.
• A parent may manage one or more children sub-accounts from the parent's master account. As part of the parent account, the parent can see all of her accounts associated with the master account in addition to the sub-accounts. The parent may transfer funds form one or more of her accounts in the master account to one or more of the children's sub-accounts through any of a number of different interfaces. An email may be sent to the child to inform them of the transfer. The child may access a web site, such as a music downloading website, to see the new net balance on his child sub-account. Alternatively, the child may see the balance by directly accessing the web site or online banking of the financial entity. If not restricted by control mechanisms described herein, the child may immediately purchase music from the music downloading website from funds in the child's sub-account. In another embodiment, the child may request funds through an interface associated with the financial entity and/or a particular merchant web site.
• Further aspects of the present disclosure describe a payment product for online banking integrated person to person (P2P) and person to merchant (P2M) payments that allows customers of a financial entity to make payments directly from their bank accounts, whether checking, savings, line of credit, credit card and other accounts, to anyone, including non-financial entity customers, without having to share any confidential account information. The product may be used to make payments to consumers as well as merchants.
• The person to person and person to merchant payment product allows customers to make payments to anyone, consumers and merchants, directly from their financial entity accounts. Currently no other entity offers such a product that allows payments directly from bank accounts. In addition, this process results in non-financial entity customers to open a new type of checking account, for P2P/P2M use, with the financial entity in order to receive their funds. Currently no other entity offers such a viral bank account opening process.
• This product also lets the customers of the financial entity open a P2P/P2M account and use it for making payments or send money to minors who currently cannot open their own accounts, creating a separate P2P/P2M account that will have funds for the minor. The minor may only access this P2M/P2M account especially set up for them whereas the parents will have full access to the P2P/P2M account in addition to their own account(s) at the financial entity. Currently such an account, which parents can access along with their other regular accounts but where minors can only access the account set up for them, is also not offered.
• The product described below will allow its customers to make P2P payments to anyone.FIG. 8 is an example flowchart of amethod800 for making person to person payments in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention. Acustomer801 with aneligible account807, e.g., checking (DDA), savings, line of credit, credit card, of a financial entity is be able to register and make use of this service. During the registration process, thecustomer801 is able to set up anAlias ID817 that maps back to their online banking ID and optionally also provide one or multiple additional unique identifiers, e.g.,mobile number819,email address821,social networking ID823. The information provided by thecustomer801 may be verified to confirm that they do have access to themobile number819,email address821, orsocial networking ID823 provided. Once the information is verified, then it will be linked to their online banking ID, i.e., to all of their financial entity accounts. If outgoing payments are not received by a receiver in803, payment may be canceled in805.
• Customer801 also is able to set preferences for accounts to be used for outgoing payments, default account(s) for incoming payments, and alternatively also has an option of opening a new financial entity P2P/P2M account809 that she may use for making payments. This financial entity P2P/P2M account809 may be like any other account hosted at the financial entity and so money may be moved instantly into thisaccount809 through the regular online banking transfer process for moving money between accounts. Thisaccount809 may be a type of checking account except that it may come with certain limitations, e.g. no checks, maximum balance limits, number of daily transactions, and may be opened by customers by providing much less information as compared to a regular checking account. The financial entity may, at minimum, require customers to provide certain information, such as name, address, date of birth, and social security number, in order to comply with Anti-Money Laundering regulations.
• Customers801 of the financial entity also have an option to set up P2P/P2M accounts809 forminors825.Customers801 are able to access these accounts just like any of their other accounts. In addition,customer801 are able to set up an online banking access ID for the minor825 that the minor825 may use to sign into online banking but have access only to the specific minor P2P/P2M account809 set up for them.
• Customers801 of the financial entity are able to make payments to other people through any of a number of different methods. Payments may be made by a routing number/account number813. Payments may also be made by providing an account number orzip code815. If there is a match to an existing financial entity account in827, then the funds are transferred instantly to that account. Else, anerror message829 may be generated. Payments may be made by providing anAlias ID817. If there is a match to an Alias ID of another customer in831, then payment may be initiated to that person. Else, anerror message829 may be generated.
• If the receiver has set up default account(s) for incoming payments in837, then the funds may be transferred instantly to that account(s). If the receiver has not set up a default account in837, then the funds may be moved to amaster settlement account835 and the receiver may see the payment as an incoming payment withinonline banking833. The receiver may then be able to move instantly the funds to any of their accounts.
• Payment may be made by providing a mobile phone number. This operation may perform exactly as described above for Alias ID if there is a match in839 on the mobile number. If there is no match in839, then a text message may be sent to the mobile number provided. If the receiver of the message is an existing financial entity online banking customer, then that person may be allowed to sign into theironline banking account841, register the phone number, and then receive funds similar to the process described above for Alias ID. If the receiver is a financial entity customer who is not registered for online banking, then that customer may be able to register851 for online banking and access funds following the same process as described above. If the receiver is not a financial entity customer with an account eligible for receiving funds, then they may be given the option to sign up851 for a P2P/P2M account843 at the financial entity that they can access through online banking or return funds to thesender853.
• After completion ofregistration851, thereceiver849 may get access to the funds from this account. Subsequently the receiver may keep the funds in the account or add more funds from anexternal bank account845 using the financial entity's existing ACH transfer capability and then use the funds to make P2P/P2M payments to others. They will also have the option to move the funds to theirexternal bank account845 anytime making use of the financial entity's existing ACH transfer capability.
• Payment also may be made by providing anemail address821. This operation may perform exactly as described above for amobile number819 except that the message may be sent to the email address input by the sender. Payment may be made by providing asocial networking ID823. The financial entity may extend availability of this product to various social networking platforms. In that situation, the process operates in the same way as described above formobile phone number819 andemail address821 except the social networking platform may be used to notify the receiver based on thesocial networking ID823 provided by the sender. In this situation, if the receiver is not a financial entity customer, then she may be given the option to sign up851 for a P2P/P2M account843 at the financial entity, which she may access through online banking to access the funds sent to them. The financial entity P2P/P2M account843 may include a companion ATM/debit card847.
• In all cases described above, if the receiver is already a registered P2P/P2M customer at the financial entity, a text message and/or email may be sent to that customer irrespective of information entered by sender if there is one found in their profile.
• FIG. 9 is an example flowchart of amethod900 for making payments from a mobile device in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention. Acustomer901 who is signed up for the service has the option to initiate payment from a DDA, savings, line of credit, and/or credit card of thefinancial entity903 and/or from a P2P/P2M account905 through the financial entity's mobilebanking web site909 or a mobilebanking handset application907 downloaded on the phone by providing any of the above information, e.g., phone number, email address, Alias ID, social networking ID. Customers also are able to initiate payments by sending atext message911 to the financial entity that contains the receiver's phone number, email address, Alias ID, or social networking ID. Whether via a mobilebanking handset application907,mobile web site909, orshort message service911, a receiver associated with thefinancial entity917 may receive funds at her DDA, savings, etc.913 and/or P2P/P2M account915. A receiver not associated with thefinancial entity921 may receive funds at her P2P/P2M account919.
• FIG. 10 is an example flowchart of amethod1000 for making payments to a merchant in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention. For allcustomers1001 who are signed up for the service, the financial entity lets them create a unique shopping ID andpassword1005 linked to each of their accounts which may be used to make purchases atmerchant1019web sites1013.Such customers1001 are able to input their shopping ID andshopping password1005 on any merchant's1019web site1013 who has signed up for the service. Upon successful validation of the credentials and if thecustomer1001 has sufficient funds in their account, the money may instantly be transferred from the customer'saccount1007 and/or1009 to the merchant'schecking account1017. Alternatively, the financial entity may offermerchants1019 the ability to consolidatesuch payments1015 and receive one lump sum payment from the financial entity.
• Customers will also have ability to link their bank accounts to any Near Field Communications (NFC) enabledphone1003. In that situation,customers1001 may initiate instant movement offunds1011 from theirfinancial entity account1007 and/or1009 to themerchant1019 from theirphone1003. In accordance with some aspects, the customer may have a non-NFC enabled phone. In such a situation, amerchant1019 may key in the customer's phone number in a cash register or other computing device. The customer then may be alerted about the payment amount on her phone. The customer may authenticate, such as by use of a personal identification number (PIN) or scanning of a fingerprint of the customer, to ensure that the phone has not been stolen and that may authorize the payment. In accordance with other aspects, a customer who uses her companion card at a retailer, such as a branded coffee café, immediately may receive a receipt on her phone and, at the same time, may be prompted on her phone to make additional purchases, such as at a media store on the Internet or a discount offer on a certain product.
• The customers may be given an option to open multiple P2P/P2M accounts1009 and use those for different needs, e.g., one account may be used for P2P payments, one account may be used for general purchase, and another account may be used just for aspecific merchant1019 who might be high risk in customer's perception. Thecustomer1001 is able to keep only as much money as she wants in these accounts and is given the option to set limits that help prevent fraud, e.g., maximum transaction amount, number of transactions in a day, etc.
• These processes and systems lets customers of a financial entity send payments to anyone outside the financial entity, let non-financial entity customers open accounts with the financial entity through a viral account opening process, and provides customers the ability to make P2P/P2M payments from an account that may be instantly funded.
• As should be understood by those skilled in the art, various combinations and sub-combinations of the descriptions included herein may be utilized absent the illustrative example provided. For example, in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure, there is no requirement in place to mandate a user to open a master account with a financial entity before a sub-account may be opened. A person using an account with a merchant that is linked to the financial entity is able to open a sub-account anytime without first having to apply for a master DDA with the financial entity. In such a situation, the sub-account is an account of the user in which the user does not have other accounts affiliated with the financial entity. As such, the merchant, such as a media downloading web site, may have a link to open such a sub-account with the financial entity. In addition, a person receiving payment who does not have a sub-account may open one to get access to those funds. A P2P/P2M account may be such an opened account is a P2P/P2M account described herein may exist on its own.
• While illustrative systems and methods as described herein embodying various aspects of the present invention are shown, it will be understood by those skilled in the art, that the invention is not limited to these embodiments. Modifications may be made by those skilled in the art, particularly in light of the foregoing teachings. For example, each of the elements of the aforementioned embodiments may be utilized alone or in combination or subcombination with elements of the other embodiments. It will also be appreciated and understood that modifications may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention. The description is thus to be regarded as illustrative instead of restrictive on the present invention.

Claims (50)

1. An apparatus for identifying a payment recipient's financial account for a payment transaction, the apparatus comprising:

at least one communication interface configured to receive an alias from a payment request;

at least one processor communicably coupled to the communication interface; and

at least one memory communicably coupled to the at least one processor,

wherein the at least one memory comprises a data repository that maps each of a plurality of aliases back to one or more financial accounts, and

wherein the at least one memory further comprises executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to compare the alias received via the at least one communication interface to the data repository to identify the payment recipient's financial account.

2. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the data repository maps each of the plurality of aliases back to a financial account number, and wherein the executable instructions cause the apparatus to compare the alias received via the at least one communication interface to the data repository to identify the payment recipient's financial account.

3. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the alias comprises an email address.

4. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the alias comprises a telephone number.

5. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the alias comprises a mobile telephone number.

6. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the alias comprises a social networking identification.

7. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the payment recipient's financial account is associated with a payment recipient, and wherein the alias comprises a unique identifier used generally by others to communicate with the payment recipient.

8. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one memory further comprises executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to use the communication interface to communicate the payment recipient's financial account to another system.

9. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the alias is not a financial account number.

10. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the payment request is generated by a payment sender, wherein the payment sender is associated with a payment sender's financial account, and wherein the at least one memory comprises:

executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to initiate a transfer of funds from the payment sender's financial account to the payment recipient's financial account.

11. The apparatus ofclaim 1, further comprising executable instructions stored in the at least one memory that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

use the alias to contact an entity associated with the alias; and

provide the entity with information about the payment request.

12. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the payment recipient's financial account comprises a bank account.

13. The apparatus ofclaim 12, wherein the payment recipient's financial account comprises a demand deposit account or savings account.

14. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the communication interface is further configured to receive a submitted alias that is submitted by an entity for registration, and wherein the apparatus further comprises:

executable instructions stored in the at least one memory that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to register the submitted alias by mapping, in the at least one memory, the alias back to the entity's financial account.

15. The apparatus ofclaim 14, wherein the executable instructions that cause the apparatus to register the submitted alias further comprise:

executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to verify that the alias is associated with the entity.

16. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more financial accounts comprise one or more financial accounts associated with a particular bank.

17. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more financial accounts comprise one or more sub-accounts.

18. A method for identifying a payment recipient's financial account for a payment transaction, the method comprising:

receiving an alias from a payment request, wherein the alias is not a financial account number;

accessing a data repository that maps each of a plurality of aliases back to one or more financial accounts;

using a processor to compare the alias received to the data repository; and

identifying the payment recipient's financial account based at least partially on the comparison of the alias to the data repository.

19. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the data repository maps each of the plurality of aliases back to a financial account number, and wherein the method further comprises:

identifying the payment recipient's financial account number based at least partially on the comparison of the alias to the data repository.

20. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the alias comprises an email address.

21. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the alias comprises a telephone number.

22. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the alias comprises a mobile telephone number.

23. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the alias comprises a social networking identification.

24. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the payment recipient's financial account is associated with a payment recipient, and wherein the alias comprises a unique identifier used generally by others to communicate with the payment recipient.

25. The method ofclaim 18, further comprising communicating the payment recipient's financial account.

26. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the payment request is generated by a payment sender, wherein the payment sender is associated with a payment sender's financial account, and wherein the method further comprises:

initiating a transfer of funds from the payment sender's financial account to the payment recipient's financial account.

27. The method ofclaim 18, further comprising:

using the alias to contact an entity associated with the alias; and

providing the entity with information about the payment request.

28. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the payment recipient's financial account comprises a bank account.

29. The method ofclaim 28, wherein the payment recipient's financial account comprises a demand deposit account or savings account.

30. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the data repository comprises a database that associates each of the plurality of aliases with financial account identifying information.

31. The method ofclaim 18, further comprising:

receiving a submitted alias that is submitted by an entity for registration; and

registering the submitted alias by mapping, in the at least one memory, the alias back to the entity's financial account.

32. The method ofclaim 31, further comprising:

verifying that the alias is associated with the entity.

33. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the one or more financial accounts comprise one or more sub-accounts.

34. A computer readable medium for identifying a payment recipient's financial account for a payment transaction, the computer readable medium having computer executable instructions stored therein, wherein the computer executable instructions comprise:

instructions operable to receive an alias from a payment request, wherein the alias is not a financial account number;

instructions operable to access a data repository that maps each of a plurality of aliases back to one or more financial accounts;

instructions operable to compare the alias received to the data repository; and

instructions operable to identify the payment recipient's financial account based at least partially on the comparison of the alias to the data repository.

35. The computer readable medium ofclaim 34, wherein the data repository maps each of the plurality of aliases back to a financial account number, and wherein the computer executable instructions further comprise:

instructions operable to identify the payment recipient's financial account number based at least partially on the comparison of the alias to the data repository.

36. The computer readable medium ofclaim 34, wherein the alias comprises an email address.

37. The computer readable medium ofclaim 34, wherein the alias comprises a telephone number.

38. The computer readable medium ofclaim 34, wherein the alias comprises a mobile telephone number.

39. The computer readable medium ofclaim 34, wherein the alias comprises a social networking identification.

40. The computer readable medium ofclaim 34, wherein the payment recipient's financial account is associated with a payment recipient, and wherein the alias comprises a unique identifier used generally by others to communicate with the payment recipient.

41. The computer readable medium ofclaim 34, wherein the payment recipient's financial account comprises a bank account.

42. The computer readable medium ofclaim 34, wherein the data repository comprises a database that associates each of the plurality of aliases with financial account identifying information.

43. A method comprising:

receiving a communication comprising an alias that is not a financial account number; and

using a processor to store the alias in memory and create a data repository in the memory that associates the alias with a particular financial account such that the alias can be used by others instead of a financial account number to transfer money to the particular financial account associated with the alias.

44. The method ofclaim 43, wherein the financial account is owned by an entity, and wherein the alias comprises a unique identifier used generally by others to communicate with the entity.

45. The method ofclaim 44, wherein the entity comprises a merchant.

46. The method ofclaim 44, wherein the entity comprises an entity.

47. The method ofclaim 43, wherein the alias comprises an email address.

48. The method ofclaim 43, wherein the alias comprises a telephone number.

49. The method ofclaim 43, wherein the alias comprises a mobile telephone number.

50. The method ofclaim 43, wherein the alias comprises a social networking identification.

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