systems and processes are disclosed for providing customized user interfaces for facilitating personal payment transactions. In certain embodiments, disclosed embodiments may generate a dynamic and customized interface for effecting the personal payment transaction by, for example, providing one or more options for the payer to fund the payment. The disclosed embodiments may provide an interface that includes one or more suggested recipients for identifying the payee associated with the payment transaction. The disclosed embodiments may also provide an interface that includes one or more routing options to route the payment. The disclosed embodiments may also provide an interface that provides one or more communication channel options for parties associated with the personal payment transaction to communicate.
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18. A system for providing personal payment transactions comprising:
a processor; and
a storage device storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to perform operations comprising:
generating a first interface for a payee to effect a personal payment transaction;
receiving, from the payee via the first interface, identifying information about a payer;
estimating a confidence level corresponding to one or more suggested recipients for receiving a payment associated with the personal payment transaction from the payer based on the payee identifying information, the confidence level indicating the likelihood each of the suggested recipients is an intended payee;
generating a second interface including the one or more suggested recipients, confidence level corresponding to each of the suggested recipients, and one or more options to fund the payment from the payer to the payee;
generating a third interface including one or more payment routing options for the payer to route the payment;
generating a fourth interface including one or more payment receipt options for the payee to receive the payment; and
generating a fifth interface including one or more channels for the payer to communicate with the payee regarding the payment.
13. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
generate a first interface for a payer to effect a personal payment transaction;
receive, from the payer via the first interface, identifying information about a payee;
estimate a confidence level corresponding to one or more suggested recipients for receiving a payment associated with the personal payment transaction from the payer based on the payee identifying information, the confidence level indicating the likelihood each of the suggested recipients is an intended payee;
generate a second interface including the one or more suggested recipients and confidence level corresponding to each of the suggested recipients;
receive an identification of an identified payee from the payer via the second interface;
generate a third interface including one or more options to fund the payment from the payer to the identified payee;
generate a fourth interface including one or more payment routing options for the payer to route the payment;
generate a fifth interface including one or more payment receipt options for the identified payee to receive the payment; and
generate a sixth interface including one or more channels for the payer to communicate with the payee regarding the payment.
7. A method for providing a person payment transaction, comprising:
generating, by a processor, a first interface for a payer to effect a personal payment transaction;
receiving, by the processor, identifying information about a payee from the payer via the first interface;
estimating a confidence level corresponding to one or more suggested recipients for receiving a payment associated with the personal payment transaction from the payer based on the payee identifying information, the confidence level indicating the likelihood each of the suggested recipients is an intended payee;
generating a second interface including the one or more suggested recipients and confidence level corresponding to each of the suggested recipients;
receiving an identification of an identified payee from the payer via the second interface;
generating a third interface including one or more options to fund the personal payment from the payer to the identified payee;
generating a fourth interface including one or more payment routing options for the payer to route the payment;
generating a fifth interface including one or more payment receipt options for the identified payee to receive the payment; and
generating a sixth interface including one or more channels for the payer to communicate with the payee regarding the payment.
1. A system for providing personal payment transactions comprising:
a processor; and
a storage device storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to perform operations comprising:
generating a first interface for a payer to effect a personal payment transaction;
receiving, from the payer via the first interface, identifying information about a payee;
estimating a confidence level corresponding to one or more suggested recipients for receiving a payment associated with the personal payment transaction from the payer based on the payee identifying information, the confidence level indicating the likelihood each of the suggested recipients is an intended payee;
generating a second interface including the one or more suggested recipients and confidence level corresponding to each of the suggested recipients;
receiving an identification of an identified payee from the payer via the second interface;
generating a third interface including one or more options to fund the payment from the payer to the identified payee;
generating a fourth interface including one or more payment routing options for the payer to route the payment;
generating a fifth interface including one or more payment receipt options for the identified payee to receive the payment; and
generating a sixth interface including one or more channels for the payer to communicate with the payee regarding the payment.
2. The system of
3. The system of
4. The system of
5. The system of
determining a technical experience rating for the payer according to one or more of the age, commercial activities, input provided during a set up procedure associated with the system, information gathered from social networking sites associated with the payer, and prior usage of an application; and customizing at least one of the interfaces based on the payer based on the technical experience rating.
6. The system of
determining a technical experience rating for the payee according to one or more of the age, commercial activities, input provided during a set up procedure associated with the system, information gathered from social networking sites associated with the payee, and prior usage of an application; and customizing at least one of the interfaces based on the payee based on the technical experience rating.
8. The method of
9. The method of
10. The method of
11. The method of
determining a technical experience rating for the payer according to one or more of the age, commercial activities, input provided during a set up procedure associated with the system, information gathered from social networking sites associated with the payer, and prior usage of an application; and customizing at least one of the interfaces based on the payer based on the technical experience rating.
12. The method of
determining a technical experience rating for the payee according to one or more of the age, commercial activities, input provided during a set up procedure associated with the system, information gathered from social networking sites associated with the payee, and prior usage of an application; and customizing at least one of the interfaces based on the payee based on the technical experience rating.
14. The medium of
15. The medium of
16. The medium of
17. The medium of
determine a technical experience rating for the payer according to one or more of the age, commercial activities, input provided during a set up procedure associated with the system, information gathered from social networking sites associated with the payer, and prior usage of an application; and customize at least one of the interfaces based on the payer based on the technical experience rating.
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This disclosure claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/738,101, filed on Dec. 17, 2012, and entitled “Systems and Methods for Providing A User Interface for Facilitating Personal Payment Transactions.” The aforementioned application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The disclosed embodiments generally relate to payment systems, and more particularly, to systems, processes, and computer programs for facilitating users to effect personal payment transactions.
Electronic personal payment transactions, such as person-to-person payment and person-to-business payment, represent a rapidly growing industry. Current personal payment systems, however, are often inflexible and inconvenient. There is no payment gateway where money movement may be completed through a singular portal irrespective of payment medium. For example, a payee may have to create an account with a financial service provider in order to collect the payment delivered by that financial service provider. Another example of the inflexibility of existing personal payment systems is the lack of customization with respect to sending and receiving payment. For example, current systems do not provide mechanisms to aid and facilitate decisions surrounding the potential routing of payments for both generic and specific types of payments.
Lack of flexible and distinct payment channels may cause the user to research different payment platforms. This may also require the user to look up information, and make complex multiple parameter evaluations with regards to overall functionality of a given transaction. Moreover, the payer is offered no flexibility or optionality with regards to the sourcing of the funds. In addition, the payee is usually not offered options as to how the payment should be received, and consequently, the payee has no influence over the cost, the speed, user-friendliness, and the stability of the payment route.
Furthermore, existing personal payment systems may cause users inconveniences due to the lack of mechanisms that could minimize the efforts of the payer to initiate or complete a payment transaction. For example, the payer may have to spend a considerable amount of time to set up an account to effect a transaction or manually look up the payee's information (e.g., the payee's bank account number) in order to set up and complete a transaction. As another example, the payer and the payee may not freely choose a payment rail or the payee may not be able to withdraw the payment immediately if the payee receives a check that deposited into his bank account.
Moreover, existing personal payment systems are built around the system provider's needs rather than the needs or desires of their customers. Current systems thus focus on merely effecting the payment itself, with limited additional interaction with the users. Currently systems also provide limited mechanisms for the payee to initiate a transaction by requesting payment from the intended payer. For example, current systems may provide the same user interface to all the users, without considering an individual's preference, technical experience, and transactional histories.
Furthermore, existing personal payment systems have limited functionality to facilitate group or crowd payments/collections. Existing personal payment systems also lack mechanisms that, for example, provide feedback to users with respect to the status of payments or how they were received.
Thus, existing personal payment systems are limited, inflexible, inconvenient, and not personalized.
Systems and methods for providing personal payment processes are described. In certain embodiments, systems, methods and computer programs are disclosed for providing a user interface that provides mechanism for a user to easily and accurately complete personal payment transactions. Disclosed embodiments include mechanisms that generate a dynamic and personalized interface to assist a payer to effect a payment transaction. The mechanisms may include software that when executed by a processor generate information used to display, via a customized interface, suggested recipients associated with the payment transaction for identifying a payee, and information used to display, to the payer via the customized interface, funding source(s) to fund the payment transaction. In one embodiment, the software, when executed, may generate information used to display, via the customized interface, routing option(s) to rail the payment and provide, via the customized interface, channels for the payer and the payee to communicate.
Consistent with some disclosed embodiments, tangible computer-readable storage media may store program instructions that are executable by one or more processors to implement any of the processes disclosed herein.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not restrictive of the disclosed embodiments.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate various embodiments and aspects of the disclosed embodiments, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosed embodiments.
It is to be understood that the following detailed description is exemplary and explanatory only and is not restrictive of disclosed embodiments. For example, steps or processes disclosed herein are not limited to being performed in the order described, but may be performed in any order, and that some steps may be omitted, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.
Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and disclosed herein. Wherever convenient, the same reference numbers may be used in the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or similar parts. Also, similarly named elements may perform similar functions and may be similarly designed. Numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of the embodiments described herein. In some cases, the embodiments may be practiced without these details. In other instances, well-known techniques and/or components may not be described in detail to avoid obscuring described embodiments. While several exemplary embodiments and features are described herein, modifications, adaptations, and other implementations may be possible, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the following detailed description does not limit the disclosure. Instead, the proper scope of the disclosure is defined by the appended claims.
In accordance with disclosed embodiments, system 100 may include financial service provider 110, Personal Payment Genie (“PPG”) 102, network 112, one or more clients 114, one or more merchants 116, and one or more financial institutions 118. System 100 may include other components to provide, collect, process, and transmit information consistent with the disclosed embodiments.
Personal Payment Genie (“PPG”) 102 may be a computer-based system including computer system components, such as one or more servers, desktop computers, workstations, tablets, hand held computing devices, memory devices, and/or internal network(s) connecting the components. In some embodiments, PPG 102 may be a server that includes one or more processor(s) 104, memory devices, such as memory 108, and interface components 106. PPG 102 may be a single server or may be configured as a distributed computer system including multiple servers or computers that interoperate to perform one or more of the processes and functionalities associated with the disclosed embodiments. In certain embodiments, PPG 102 may be a server that is associated with financial service provider 110. Financial service provider 110 may represent, for example, a bank, a merchant, a credit card provider, or any other entity that provides financial services to customers. In some aspects, financial service provider 110 may be an institution or an individual that collects and processes personal payment for certain transactions, and transfers the personal payment to one or more intended payees. In other aspects, the functionalities performed by PPG 102 as disclosed herein may be software that is executed by one or more processors associated with financial service provider 110. That is, instead of being computer-based system with hardware and software, PPG 102 may represent software instructions stored in a memory (without hardware components) that are executed by a processor associated with financial service provider 110.
Processor(s) 104 may be one or more known processing devices, such as a microprocessor from the Pentium™ family manufactured by Intel™ or the Turion™ family manufactured by AMD™. Processor(s) 104 may include a single core or multiple core processor system that provides the ability to perform parallel processes simultaneously. For example, processor(s) 104 may be a single core processor that is configured with virtual processing technologies known to those skilled in the art. In some embodiments, processor(s) 104 may use logical processors to simultaneously execute and control multiple processes. Processor(s) 104 may implement virtual machine technologies, or other similar known technologies to provide the ability to execute, control, run, manipulate, store, etc. multiple software processes, applications, programs, etc. In other embodiments, processor(s) 104 may include a multiple-core processor arrangement (e.g., dual or quad core) that is configured to provide parallel processing functionalities to allow PPG 102 to execute multiple processes simultaneously. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that other types of processor arrangements could be implemented that provide for the capabilities disclosed herein.
PPG 102 may also include one or more storage devices configured to store instructions used by processor(s) 104 (or other components) to perform certain functions related to the disclosed embodiments. In one example, PPG 102 may include memory 108 that includes instructions to enable processor(s) 104 to execute one or more applications, such as server applications, network communication processes, or any other type of application or software available on computer systems. Alternatively, the instructions, application programs, etc. may be stored in an external storage or available from a memory over a network. The one or more storage devices may be a volatile or non-volatile, magnetic, semiconductor, tape, optical, removable, non-removable, or other type of storage device or tangible computer-readable medium.
Methods, systems, and computer programs consistent with the disclosed embodiments are not limited to separate programs or computers configured to perform dedicated tasks. For example, PPG 102 may include a memory that may include one or more programs to perform one or more functions for multiple user display control. Moreover, processor(s) 104 may execute one or more programs located remotely from system 100. For example, system 100 may access one or more remote programs, that, when executed, perform functions related to disclosed embodiments. Memory 108 may include one or more memory devices that store data and instructions used to perform one or more features of the disclosed embodiments. Memory 108 may also include any combination of one or more databases controlled by memory controller devices (e.g., server(s), etc.) or software, such as document management systems, Microsoft SQL databases, SharePoint databases, Oracle™ databases, Sybase™ databases, or other relational databases.
PPG 102 may also be communicatively connected to one or more memory devices (e.g., databases (not shown)) locally or through a network. The remote memory devices may be configured to store information and may be accessed and/or managed by PPG 102. By way of example, the remote memory devices may be document management systems, Microsoft SQL database, SharePoint databases, Oracle™ databases, Sybase™ databases, or other relational databases. Systems, processes, computer programs, and tangible computer-readable medium of disclosed embodiments, however, are not limited to separate databases or even to the use of a database.
PPG 102 may also include one or more I/O devices that may comprise one or more interfaces for receiving signals or input from input devices and providing signals or output to one or more output devices that allow data to be received and/or transmitted by PPG 102. For example, PPG 102 may include interface components 106 that may provide interfaces to one or more input devices, such as one or more keyboards, mouse devices, and the like, that enable PPG 102 to receive data from one or more users such as client(s) 114. Furthermore, interface components 106 may include components configured to send and receive information between components of PPG 102 or external to PPG 102, such as network 112.
Network 112 may be any type of network that provides communications, exchanges information, and/or facilitates the exchange of information between PPG 102 and client(s) 114. In one embodiment, network 112 may be the Internet, a Local Area Network, or other suitable connection(s) that enables system 100 to send and receive information between the components of system 100.
Client(s) 114 may be one or more computer systems. For example, client(s) 114 may include a general purpose or notebook computer, a mobile device with computing ability, a server, a desktop computer, tablet, or any combination of these computers and/or affiliated components. For example, client(s) 114 may be a smartphone, which is adopted to perform all the functions consistent with the disclosed embodiments. In some embodiments, each client may be a computer system or device that is operated by a user who is a customer or a potential customer of financial service provider 110. Client(s) 114 may be configured with storage that stores one or more operating systems that perform known operating system functions when executed by one or more processors. By way of example, the operating systems may include Microsoft Windows™, Unix™, Linux™, Apple™ Computers type operating systems, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) type operating systems, such as Microsoft CE™, or other types of operating systems. Accordingly, embodiments of the disclosed invention will operate and function with computer systems running any type of operating system. Client(s) 114 may also include communication software that, when executed by a processor, provides communications with network 112, such as Web browser software, tablet or smart hand held device networking software, etc.
Merchant(s) 116 may include systems operated by, for example, online retailers and their affiliates, brick-and-mortar retailers and their affiliates, or the like. Merchant(s) 116 may be communicatively connected to other devices of system 100 through, for example, network 112 or direct connection. Merchant(s) 116 may receive and send payments consistent with disclosed embodiments.
Financial institution(s) 118 (“FI”) may include one or more systems operated by, for example, one or more financial institutions other than financial service provider 110 (i.e. those not affiliated with or part of the institution operating financial service provider 110). FI 118 may be communicatively connected to other devices of system 100 via, for example, network 112 or direct connection. For example, FI 118 may be operated by a bank, a credit union, a banking cooperative, a money transmitter, a broker, payment service network, or the like. FI 118 may receive and send payments consistent with disclosed embodiments.
In one aspect, to provide a user-friendly and dynamic interface to effect a payment transaction, interface design engine 210 may be configured to customize a natural and intuitive interface for a particular user, such as a customer of financial service provider 110. The user may be associated with client 114, such as a customer of financial service provider 110 that uses a mobile device to perform online banking or other financial service processes. In some embodiments, interface design engine 210 may be configured to interact with interface dialog engine 211 to perform these functions.
In some embodiments, interface dialog engine 211 may be configured to dynamically determine an appropriate interface for the user. For example, based on the user's information including, for example, transaction history, profile, demographic information, behavior, information obtained from social networking sites, etc., interface dialog engine 211 may determine what type of interface that the user is most receptive to. In another example, if a user is technologically experienced, interface dialog engine 211 may determine whether the interface for this user will have a different look and feel from a user interface for another user who is less technologically experienced. In other embodiments, interface dialog engine 211 may be configured to determine an appropriate voice that PPG 202 may use while interacting with a particular user, based on this user's preference or available user profiles. Interface dialog engine 211 may include software that when executed by a processor determines the type of technological experience of the user. For example, interface dialog engine 211 may include software that when executed by a processor may determine, based on one or more user profile information, that the user is highly educated (e.g., based on educational background information) or has experience with online processes (e.g., based on a number of social media or online-based accounts identified in the user profile data). As another example, interface dialog engine 211 may also include software that when executed by a processor, may determine the user's technical experience by using information including, for example, the user's age, input provided to interface dialog engine 211 for setting up the user interface (e.g., selecting manual input or voice input), commercial activities, and information gathered from other sources (e.g., social networking sites).
Based on the determination made by interface dialog engine 211, interface design engine 210 may be configured to customize an appropriate interface for a particular user. For example, interface design engine 210 may customize two different interfaces for two users who have different levels of technology skills for the same type of transaction (e.g., to provide the same financial service process for each user). As another example, interface dialog engine 211 may determine that a user prefers to use voice input to provide information used for a payment transaction. In this instance, interface design engine 210 may be configured to provide mechanisms that allow this user to perform financial service processes through voice-controlled inputs via client 114. Client 114 may be configured with voice translation software and/or hardware that translate voice input to digital signals that are processed and sent to PPG 202 for appropriate processing. For example, PPG 202 may receive information that a user has selected to use voice-controlled input via client 114. In response, interface design engine 210 may be configured to interact with interface dialog engine 211 to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that tests whether PPG 202 and/or client 114 can accurately recognize and understand the user's voice input. In other aspects, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface that allows the user to confirm whether client 114 and/or PPG 202 has accurately received and translated the user's voice-input. Aspects of the disclosed embodiments may use known voice translation software and/or hardware for receiving, processing, and translating voice input from a user via client 114.
To minimize the user's efforts of providing information relating to the payment transaction, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that allows a payer to provide information regarding an intended payee. In one example, interface design engine 210 may generate information used in an interface sent to client 114 that displays one or more suggested recipients for identifying the payer's intended payee. In some embodiments, interface design engine 210 may be configured to interact with payee identity engine 213 to perform these functions.
In some embodiments, payee identity engine 213 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that provides suggested recipients of the payment based on one or more sources including, for example, the payer's phone contacts or electronic mail contact lists, social networking sites, the payer's website accounts, WhitePages®, checking account profile information, company databases having the contact information for both the payer and the payee, or the like.
Interface design engine 210 may also be configured to interact with payee identity engine 213 to determine one or more suggested recipients and an estimated level of confidence. In some embodiments, payee identity engine 213 may be configured to estimate the level of confidence with respect to the identity of the intended payee by considering one or more factors including, for example, payment and/or other user history, the quality of the data source, probability of coincidence, the form of payment, the physical proximity and/or presence of the payer and intended payee, and others.
Interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate an interface that provides an ordered list of the suggested recipients based on the confidence level.
To provide a flexible way to fund the payment transaction, in some embodiments, PPG 202 may execute instructions to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that provide one or more options for the payer to fund his/her payment transactions. For example, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes these options to the payer to choose. In some embodiments, interface design engine 210 may be configured to interact with funding source engine 215 to perform one or more of these functions.
The available funding source may be internal or external to financial service provider 110. For example, in some embodiments, a user wishing to transfer money to another person may not need to have an existing account (or open a new account) with financial service provider 110 in order to fund the payment transaction. Funding source engine 215 may be configured to consider one or more factors to estimate preferred funding sources, and determine which one(s) to be suggested to the payer by an interface that is provided by PPG 202 to client 114. For example, to determine preferred funding sources for the payer, funding source engine 215 may consider one or more factors including, such as, account transaction history, time, costs, available balance, available credit, pending transactions (both credit and debit), etc. In some embodiments, funding source engine 215 may be configured to determine a plurality of funding sources for the payer. In one aspect, interface design engine 210 may be configured to interact with funding source engine 215 to determine the suggested funding options and preferred funding source(s), and to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 to display the preferred funding source(s), or alternatively, all suggested funding options, via the interface.
To provide more flexibility as to how to send payment and how to receive payment associated the payment transaction, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that provides routing options to rail the payment that may be selected by the user of client 114 (e.g., as a payer and/or the payee). Railing a payment may refer to, for example, selecting a method for transferring funds from the payer to the payee. For example, interface design engine 210 may be configured to provide an interface allowing the user of client 114 to select book transfers (e.g., when both the payer and the payee have accounts with financial service provider 110) or select payment rails that involve more than one payment systems (e.g., when the user of client 114 makes an international remittance). Examples of domestic rails are MasterCard Network, Visa Network, ACH, Fedwire®, PayPal™, Dwolla, etc. In some embodiments, interface design engine 210 may be configured to interact with routing option engine 217 to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes one or more routing options to a payee. The same or similar interface may also be provided to the payer consistent with disclosed embodiments. In some aspects, routing option engine 217 may consider one or more factors including, for example, type of payment, available information of the payee, locale of the payee, feedback and/or ranking of routes used in the past, historical behavior (e.g., route chosen in the past), and other data, to determine one or more suggested routing options. In other aspects, routing option engine 217 may be configured to determine which payment rail or rails represent the best fit for the payment. For example, routing option engine 217 may be configured to rank the payment rails by one or more parameters including, for instance, history, safety, speed, cost, stability, user-friendliness, and others parameters.
Interface design engine 210 may be configured to interact with routing option engine 217 to determine one or more suggested routing options that may be the best fit for the payee and their relative rankings. Interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information used in an interface sent to client 114 that includes the suggested best-fit routing option(s) along with their relative rankings for the payee to select. Alternatively, in some embodiments, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes multiple (e.g., all determined) suggested routing options via the interface. Additionally or alternatively, interface design engine 210 may also be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes options for the payee to enter his/her preferred routing for receiving the incoming payment via the interface if his/her preferred routing option is not included in the suggested routing options provided in the interface sent from PPG 202 to client 114.
For certain routing rails provided or chosen by the payer or the payee, the payment may not be delivered immediately. In some embodiments, interface design engine 210 may be configured to interact with credit decision engine 219 to determine one or more options for the payee to apply for a credit advance to receive immediate payment. Interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes the one or more credit advance options for the payee. For example, in one embodiment, credit decision engine 219 may be configured to determine whether a payment rail provided or chosen by the payer and/or the payee involves a wait time or clearing period. Further, credit decision engine 219 may be configured to determine the payee's willingness to accept additional cost of expedited payment rails, for example, making the payment via wire transfers. Credit decision engine 219 may further be configured to determine the payee's eligibility for credit advance in order to speed up the availability of funds. Credit decision engine 219 may determine the payee's eligibility for credit advance by considering, for example, the pending payment transaction (e.g., whether the payment transaction will be successfully completed), payee's available balances in the payee's linked accounts (e.g., with financial service provider 110), employment status, transactional history with financial service provider 110, and information provided by credit scoring agencies (e.g., Equifax®, TransUnion®, Innovis®, or Experian™). Credit decision engine 219 may be configured to provide information to interface design engine 210 reflecting the determination that the payee is willing and eligible for credit advance. Based on that information, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes mechanisms that allow the payee to apply for the credit advance.
Once the payee receives the payment, in some embodiments, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that allows the payee to redirect the received payment by allocating them for one or more purposes. For example, interface design engine 210 may be configured to interact with routing option engine 217 to obtain suggested allocation options.
In some aspects, routing option engine 217 may be configured to determine the suggested allocation options based on information obtained from, for example, the payee's profile, transaction history, social networking websites, and the like. Additionally or alternatively, routing option engine 217 may be configured to determine allocation options based on the payee's location, which may be, for example, a restaurant, a bar, and a store. These allocation options may be provided to interface design engine 210. Interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes the allocation option(s) for selection by the user. For example, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes one or more allocation options including, for example, putting payment towards phone bill, buying a pastry at a bakery nearby, buying candy bars for some children in the same store as the payee, buying items that are on the payee's wish list at online stores such as Amazon, or the like.
The disclosed embodiments may perform processes that allow the payment process to be flexible and interactive. In one aspect, interface design engine 210 may be configured to perform one or more messaging functions during one or more of the payment transaction processes disclosed herein. In some embodiments, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that provides the user with one or more channels of communication, such as, for example, text messaging, email mechanisms, social networking sites, or the like. In some embodiments, interface design engine 210 may be configured to interact with messaging engine 221 to determine the most effective or preferred way of communication for a user based on one or more factors including, for example, information relating to email accounts, customer transaction history information (e.g., relating to financial service provider 110), information relating to a cell phone, social networking sites, and the like. For instance, messaging engine 221 may be configured to request, collect, maintain, and/or track information relating to the user's communication capabilities, such as particular social networking sites, email accounts, text messaging accounts, etc. Messaging engine 221 may provide that information to interface design engine 210 to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that allows the user to communicate via one or more of the communication channels (e.g., a payer may choose to communicate with a payee during the payment transaction via text messages). Interface design engine 210 may be configured to determine the best-fit communication channels by considering the user's input provided to interface dialog engine 211 for setting up the interface (e.g., user's preference for one or more communication channels), user's contact list stored in client 114 (e.g., a smartphone or a tablet), historical activities, activities shown on social networking sites, etc. Messaging engine 221 may also be configured to provide information relating to the user's preference for communication channels to PPG 102/202. Based on the information, PPG 102/202 may determine the best-fit communication channel (s) to deliver messages to the user (e.g., send the user a reminder to make a payment). Examples of these communication channels may include, for example, SMS, MMS, emails, voice mail serves, social networking sites (e.g., Facebook®, Twitter), and the like.
In other embodiments, interface design engine 210 may also be configured to interact with messaging engine 221 to determine the content of messages displayed to the payer and/or the payee by the interface. Interface design engine 210 may be configured to obtain this determination by interacting with messaging engine 221, and display messages by the interface sent to client 114 accordingly. Messaging engine 221 may be configured to collect, obtain, request, and consider information such as, for example, the type of payment, the occasion of the payment, the payment triggering party, static input (e.g., the user's input provided to interface dialog engine 211 for setting up the interface, pre-filled information provided by PPG 102/202 via interface dialog engine 211 and accepted by the user, or rules and regulations relating to the restrictions for sending commercial messages), behavioral inputs (e.g., historical use or receptiveness to certain messages), and the like.
In some embodiments, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes one or more commercial messages (e.g., promotional offers). Messaging engine 221 may also be configured to determine the content of commercial messages to which a payer or a payee will most likely be responsive.
Additionally or alternatively, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that allows a user to exchange information via the interface. For example, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that allows the payer to initiate an information exchange and/or a document exchange (e.g., upload a picture, a card, a poem, a letter, a tweet, a link, etc.). In some other embodiments, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that allows the user to communicate using social networking services.
To keep parties associated with the payment transaction updated with respect to the progress of the payment transaction, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes the payment progress status. For example, interface design engine 210 may be configured to interact with payment status engine 223 to obtain information reflecting one or more stages of completion of the payment transaction. Interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes one or more status messages such as, for example, payment initiated, payment in process, notification received by the payee, route selected, payment reserved, payment completed, payment declined, payment ignored, and the like. Interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes the status in the form of, for example, a progress bar, text, graphics, etc. In some aspects, interface design engine 210 may provide detailed feedback with respect to the status of the payment to the parties via the interface. For example, interface design engine 210 may generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes a confirmation message when the payment is completed.
As illustrated in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In some embodiments, interface design engine 210 may be configured to provide an interface that requests minimum input from a user for sending the payment from the payer (e.g., step 510). For example, as shown in
Based on the information provided by the payer, as shown in
In some embodiments, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that allows the payer to select a payment type (e.g., step 520). For example, as shown in
In some embodiments, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that allows the payer to choose a funding source to fund his/her payment (e.g., step 530). For example, the payer may choose to fund the payment from the user's saving account, checking account, credit card, or the like. In some embodiments, the suggested funding source displayed via the interface may be the payer's preferred funding source, as determined by funding source engine 215 (some aspects were discussed in greater detail above).
In some embodiments, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes one or more routing options for the payer to choose (e.g., step 540). For example, as shown in
In some embodiments, certain routing options may involve some cost. Interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes option(s) for the payer to distribute the cost associated with the selected routing option (e.g., step 550). For example, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Once the payee accepts the payment, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes one or more routing options for the payee to receive the payment (e.g., step 630). In some embodiments, interface design engine 210 may be configured to obtain suggested routing options and their rankings by interacting with routing option engine 217 of PPG 102/202 (some aspects were discussed in greater detail above). As shown in
Additionally or alternatively, as shown in
Additionally or alternatively, to better assist the payee to select a routing option, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes one or more alternative options and display incentives associated with choosing a suggested alternative option. As shown in
Depending on the selected routing option, the payee may not immediately receive the funds associated with a payment. For example, if the payer deposits some money directly into the payee's bank account, the payee may not withdraw or use the payment immediately. In some embodiments, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that allows the payee to apply for credit advance (e.g., step 640 shown in
As shown in
Interface design engine 210 may be configured to perform other functions consistent with the disclosed embodiments. For example, to assist the user in making an informed decision associated with payment transaction (e.g., selecting payment rails, communication channels, or allocation options), interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes a simulation environment to the user without actually requiring them to engage in a real transaction. The simulation environment may provide most of the described functions consistent with the disclosed embodiments. For example, at each step associated with the payment transaction, interface design engine 210 may be configured to provide information via an interface sent to client 114 that includes an assessment of the effort required for completing that step, and/or the degree of complexity involved. In the simulation environment, the user may familiarize himself/herself with the processes performed by PPG 102/202 without actually effecting the payment transaction.
As another example, as shown in
In one embodiment, interface design engine 210 may be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that allows users to make multiple-party payment transactions.
In other aspects, the user may share his/her payment request with a group of users. Interface design engine 210 may generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that includes information relating to such a group payment, as shown for example in
As another example, as shown in
Interface design engine 210 may also be configured to generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that allows the user to set one or more constraints relating to a payment transaction. For example, interface design engine 210 may generate information that is provided in an interface sent to client 114 that allows the user to set a maximum number of individual transfer amounts, preferred pre-fill of fields, maximum time period amounts, restricted recipients, restricted routing options, locale and time of the payment, and/or the like.
The disclosed embodiments may be associated to different types of financial service accounts. Any financial institution that provides financial service accounts to customers may employ systems, methods, and articles of manufacture consistent with certain principles related to the disclosed embodiments. In addition, other types of entities, such as a merchant, retailer, or other type corporate entity that may also employ systems, methods, and articles of manufacture consistent with certain disclosed embodiments.
Furthermore, although aspects of the disclosed embodiments are described as being associated with data stored in memory and other tangible computer-readable storage mediums, one skilled in the art will appreciate that these aspects can also be stored on and executed from many types of tangible computer-readable media, such as secondary storage devices, like hard disks, floppy disks, or CD-ROM, or other forms of RAM or ROM. Accordingly, the disclosed embodiments are not limited to the above described examples, but instead is defined by the appended claims in light of their full scope of equivalents.
In certain embodiments, the processes performed by any of the components of PPG 102/202 are not limited to those components. For example, the processes described herein that may be performed by interface design engine 210 may be performed by software instructions not necessarily limited to an interface design engine. For instance, PPG 202 may be configured with software program or programs that perform the processes described above associated with one or more of the engines shown in and described in connection with
Kanjlia, Gagan, Zimmer, Scott, Larson, Robert J., Wilson, Alexander S., Puri, Vishal
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Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
Oct 11 2013 | WILSON, ALEXANDER S | Capital One Financial Corporation | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 031807 | /0096 | |
Oct 15 2013 | PURI, VISHAL | Capital One Financial Corporation | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 031807 | /0096 | |
Nov 05 2013 | KANJLIA, GAGAN | Capital One Financial Corporation | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 031807 | /0096 | |
Nov 07 2013 | ZIMMER, SCOTT | Capital One Financial Corporation | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 031807 | /0096 | |
Dec 17 2013 | Capital One Financial Corporation | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / |
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