System and method for electronically providing customer services including payment of bills, financial analysis and loans

Claim 1

A system for use by a service provider to pay bills rendered to a consumer by billing entities, said system comprising: a financial institutions database containing information pertaining to consumers' accounts from which payments to the billing entities may be made; means for creating said financial institutions database consisting of the identification by a consumer of information regarding the consumer's accounts from which payment from the consumer to a billing entity may be made; a billing entities database having information pertaining to the billing entities to which payments on the consumers' behalf may be made from the consumer's account; at least one remote telecommunications device operable by a consumer to be in communication with a central processing unit operated by said service provider; a program directing the operations of said central processing unit to analyze instructions received from said consumer through said telecommunications device, said program further including means for identifying a preferred form of payment from the consumer's account with respect to payments to be effected to said billing entities, said preferred form of payment being selected by the service provider from the consumer's account in the form of at least one of the group consisting of an electronic funds transfer, a charge to a credit card, a check, and a draft, the determination of the preferred form of payment being made by comparing the amount of the bill to be paid to a value corresponding to at least one of: a fixed currency value amount, a predetermined upper limit of funds determined by the service provider associated with a particular consumer, and a credit limit otherwise associated with the consumer's account, and means for effecting payment of the bills to said billing entities on behalf of the consumer by transferring funds from the consumer's account to the billing entity.

Claim 2

A system for use by a service provider to pay bills rendered to a consumer by billing entities, said system comprising: a financial institutions database containing information pertaining to consumers' accounts from which payments to the billing entities may be made; means for creating said financial institutions database consisting of the identification by a consumer of information regarding the consumer's accounts from which payment from the consumer to a billing entity may be made; a billing entities database having information pertaining to the billing entities to which payments on the consumers' behalf may be made from the consumer's account; at least one remote telecommunications device operable by a consumer to be in communication with a central processing unit operated by said service provider; a program directing the operations of said central processing unit to analyze instructions received from said consumer through said telecommunications device, said program further including means for identifying a preferred form of payment from the consumer's account with respect to payments to be effected to said billing entities, said preferred form of payment being selected by the service provider from the consumer's account in the form of at least one of the group consisting of an electronic funds transfer, a charge to a credit card, a check, and a draft, the determination of the preferred form of payment being made by comparing the amount of the bill to be paid to a value corresponding to at least one of: a fixed currency value amount, a predetermined upper limit of funds determined by the service provider associated with a particular consumer, and a credit limit otherwise associated with the consumer's account, and means for effecting payment of the bills to said billing entities on behalf of the consumer by transferring funds from the consumer's account to the billing entity.

Claim 20

A system for use by a service provider to pay bills rendered to a consumer by billing entities, said system comprising: a financial institutions database containing information pertaining to consumers' accounts from which payments to the billing entities may be made, the information in said financial institutions database including at least one of the group consisting of routing transit numbers and consumers' account numbers; means for creating said financial institutions database consisting of the identification by a consumer of information regarding the consumer's accounts from which payment from the consumer to a billing entity may be made; a billing entities database having information pertaining to the billing entities to which payments on the consumers' behalf may be made from the consumer's account, the information in said billing entities database including at least one of the group consisting of billing entities' names, billing entities' addresses, billing entities' telephone numbers, consumers' merchant account number(s), account edits, and merchant data; at least one remote telecommunications device operable by a consumer to be in communication with a central processing unit operated by said service provider; a program directing the operations of said central processing unit to analyze instructions received from said consumer through said telecommunications device, said program further including means for identifying a preferred form of payment from the consumer's account with respect to payments to be effected to said billing entities, said preferred form of payment being selected by the service provider from the consumer's account in the form of at least one of the group consisting of an electronic funds transfer, a charge to a credit card, a check, and a draft, said preferred form of payment further including a funds transfer of an amount that is a total of more than one consumer's payments to a particular billing entity accompanied by a list of each consumer on whose behalf a payment is made, said program including means for relating predetermined dollar amount limits to preselected forms of payment to determine the form of payment to be effected, said dollar amount limits including per transaction dollar amounts and per month dollar amounts; and means for effecting payment of the bills to said billing entities on behalf of the consumer by transferring funds from the consumer's account to the billing entity.

Claim 21

A system for use by a service provider to pay bills rendered to a consumer by billing entities, said system comprising: a financial institutions database containing information pertaining to consumers' accounts from which payments to the billing entities may be made, the information in said financial institutions database including at least one of the group consisting of routing transit numbers and consumers' account numbers; means for creating said financial institutions database consisting of the identification by a consumer of information regarding the consumer's accounts from which payment from the consumer to a billing entity may be made; a billing entities database having information pertaining to the billing entities to which payments on the consumers' behalf may be made from the consumer's account, the information in said billing entities database including at least one of the group consisting of billing entities' names, billing entities' addresses, billing entities' telephone numbers, consumers' merchant account number(s), account edits, and merchant data; at least one remote telecommunications device operable by a consumer to be in communication with a central processing unit operated by said service provider; a program directing the operations of said central processing unit to analyze instructions received from said consumer through said telecommunications device, said program further including means for identifying a preferred form of payment from the consumer's account with respect to payments to be effected to said billing entities, said preferred form of payment being selected by the service provider from the consumer's account in the form of at least one of the group consisting of an electronic funds transfer, a charge to a credit card, a check, and a draft, said preferred form of payment further including a funds transfer of an amount that is a total of more than one consumer's payments to a particular billing entity accompanied by a list of each consumer on whose behalf a payment is made, said program including means for relating predetermined dollar amount limits to preselected forms of payment to determine the form of payment to be effected, said dollar amount limits including per transaction dollar amounts and per month dollar amounts; and means for effecting payment of the bills to said billing entities on behalf of the consumer by transferring funds from the consumer's account to the billing entity.

Claim 22

A method by which a consumer directs, through a remote telecommunications device operable by a consumer that is in communication with a central processing unit operated by a service provider, the payment of bills rendered to the consumer by billing entities, the payment being effected by the service provider, comprising the following steps: providing information to the service provider pertaining to consumers' accounts from which payments to the billing entities may be made on the consumer's behalf and maintaining the information provided in a financial institutions database; providing a billing entities database having specific information pertaining to the billing entities to which payments on the consumers' behalf will be made; instructing the service provider through said telecommunications device with regard to payments to be made on the consumer's behalf from the consumer's account; selecting by the service provider, from at least one of the group of multiple differing types of funds transfers available to the service provider, a preferred form of payment drawn on the consumer's account with respect to payments to be effected; and effecting payment of the bills to said billing entities on behalf of the consumer by the service provider's instruction of a preferred form of payment from the consumer's account corresponding to amount of the consumer's instructions regarding the billing entity to be paid.

Claim 23

A method by which a consumer directs, through a remote telecommunications device operable by a consumer that is in communication with a central processing unit operated by a service provider, the payment of bills rendered to the consumer by billing entities, the payment being effected by the service provider, comprising the following steps: providing information to the service provider pertaining to consumers' accounts from which payments to the billing entities may be made on the consumer's behalf and maintaining the information provided in a financial institutions database; providing a billing entities database having specific information pertaining to the billing entities to which payments on the consumers' behalf will be made; instructing the service provider through said telecommunications device with regard to payments to be made on the consumer's behalf from the consumer's account; selecting by the service provider, from at least one of the group of multiple differing types of funds transfers available to the service provider, a preferred form of payment drawn on the consumer's account with respect to payments to be effected; and effecting payment of the bills to said billing entities on behalf of the consumer by the service provider's instruction of a preferred form of payment from the consumer's account corresponding to amount of the consumer's instructions regarding the billing entity to be paid.