Integrated electronic bill presentment and universal payment

Abstract

A method of integrating presentment and payment of bills is provided. Bill information, representing a first bill of a first payee, but not a second bill of a second payee, for a payor is transmitted from the service provider to the payor via the communications network. A first payment instruction to pay the first bill based on the transmitted bill information, and a second payment instruction to pay the second bill which was not transmitted to the payor by the service provuder, are received at the service provider via the communications network. Payment of the first bill to the first payee is initiated by the service provider based on the received first payment instruction. Payment of the second bill to the second payee is initiated by the service provider based upon the second payment instruction.

I/we claim:  
     
         1 . A method for presentment and payment of bills by a service provider via a communications network, comprising: 
 transmitting, from the service provider to a payor via the communications network, bill information representing a first bill of a first payee, but not a second bill of a second payee, for the payor;    receiving, at the service provider via the communications network, a first payment instruction to pay the first bill based on the transmitted bill information;    receiving, at the service provider via the communications network, a second payment instruction to pay the second bill;    initiating, at the service provider, payment of the first bill to the first payee based on the received first payment instruction; and    initiating, at the service provider, payment of the second bill to the second payee based upon the second payment instruction.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 determining a risk associated with the payment of one of the first and the second bills of one of the first and the second payees; and    selecting a debit type based on the determined risk;    wherein the initiated payment of the one bill corresponds to the selected debit type.    
     
     
         3 . The method recited in  claim 2 , wherein: 
 the debit type is selected from a group including (i) ACH debiting of a deposit account associated with the payor, and (ii) preparation of a negotiable instrument drawn on the deposit account associated with the payor;    if the selected debit type is the ACH debiting, the payment is initiated by one of (i) directing ACH crediting of a deposit account associated with the one payee with funds from the deposit account associated with the payor, (ii) directing ACH crediting of the deposit account associated with the one payee with funds from a deposit account associated with the service provider, (iii) directing preparation of a negotiable instrument, payable to the one payee, drawn on the deposit account associated with the service provider, and (iv) directing another type crediting of the deposit account associated with the one payee with funds in the deposit account associated with the service provider; and    if the selected debit type is the negotiable instrument, the payment is initiated by directing preparation of the negotiable instrument, payable to the one payee, drawn on the deposit account associated with the payor.    
     
     
         4 . The method recited in  claim 3 , wherein: 
 the selected debit type is the ACH debiting; and    the payment is initiated by one of (i) directing one of the ACH and the other type crediting of the deposit account associated with the one payee with funds from the deposit account associated with the service provider and (ii) preparation of the negotiable instrument, payable to the one payee, drawn on the deposit account associated with the service provider, and by directing an ACH crediting of the deposit account associated with the service provider of the ACH debited funds from the deposit account associated with the payor.    
     
     
         5 . The method recited in  claim 3 , wherein the other type of crediting of the deposit account associated with the one payee is RPS crediting.  
     
     
         6 . The method recited in  claim 1 , wherein the received second payment instruction to pay the second bill is based on bill information that is not transmitted from the service provider via the communications network.  
     
     
         7 . The method recited in  claim 6 , wherein the non-transmitted bill information is in the form of a paper bill.  
     
     
         8 . The method recited in  claim 1 , wherein the transmitted bill information further represents a third bill of a third payee for the payor, and the received first payment instruction is an instruction to pay the first and the third bills based on the transmitted bill information, and further comprising: 
 initiating payment of the third bill to the third payee based on the received first payment instruction.    
     
     
         9 . The method recited in  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 receiving, at the service provider via the communications network, a third payment instruction of the payor, not associated with a bill, to pay a third payee; and    initiating payment of the third payee based on the received third payment instruction.    
     
     
         10 . An integrated bill presentment and payment system, comprising: 
 a memory configured to store bill information representing a first bill of a first payee for a payor and not a second bill of a second payee for the payor; and    a processor configured to direct transmission of the stored bill information to the payor, to receive a first payment instruction from the payor to pay the first bill based on the transmitted bill information and a second payment instruction to pay the second bill, and to initiate payment of the first bill to the first payee based on the received first payment instruction and payment of the second bill to the second payee based upon the received second payment instruction.    
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein: 
 the processor is further configured to determine a risk associated with payment of one of the first and the second bills of one of the first and the second payees, to select a debit type based upon the determined risk, and to initiate the payment of the one bill based on the selected debit type.    
     
     
         12 . The system recited in  claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured: 
 to select the debit type from a group of debit types including (i) ACH debiting of a deposit account associated with the payor, and (ii) preparation of a negotiable instrument drawn on the deposit account associated with the payor;    if the selected debit type is the ACH debiting, to initiate the payment by one of (i) directing ACH crediting of a deposit account associated with the one payee with funds from the deposit account associated with the payor, (ii) directing ACH crediting of the deposit account associated with the one payee with funds from a deposit account associated with the service provider, (iii) directing preparation of a negotiable instrument, payable to the one payee, drawn on the deposit account associated with the service provider, and (iv) directing another type crediting of the deposit account associated with the one payee with funds from the deposit account associated with the service provider; and    if the selected debit type is the negotiable instrument, to initiate the payment by directing preparation of the negotiable instrument, payable to the one payee, drawn on the deposit account associated with the payor.    
     
     
         13 . The system recited in  claim 11 , wherein: 
 the selected debit type is the ACH debiting, and the payment is initiated by one of (i) directing one of the ACH and the other type crediting of the deposit account associated with the one payee with funds from the deposit account associated with the service provider and (ii) preparation of the negotiable instrument, payable to the one payee, drawn on the deposit account associated with the service provider; and    the processor is further configured to initiate the payment by directing ACH crediting, to the deposit account of the service provider, of the ACH debited funds from the deposit account associated with the payor.    
     
     
         14 . The system recited in  claim 10 , wherein: 
 the stored bill information represents a third bill of a third payee for the payor; and    the received first payment instruction is an instruction to pay the first and the third bills based on the transmitted bill information; and    the processor is further configured to initiate payment of the third bill to the third payee based on the received first payment instruction.    
     
     
         15 . The system recited in  claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to receive a third payment instruction of the payor, not associated with a bill, to pay a third payee, and to initiate payment of the third payee based on the received third payment instruction.  
     
     
         16 . An integrated billing and payment network, comprising: 
 a communications network;    a service provider station configured to transmit bill information representing a first bill of a first payee for a payor, but not a second bill of a second payee for the payor, via the communications network;    a first payor station configured to receive the transmitted bill information via the communications network, to present the represented first bill to the payor based on the received bill information and to transmit a first payment instruction to pay the first bill based on the presented first bill and a second payment instruction to pay the second bill, via the communications network;    wherein the service provider station is further configured to receive the first payment instruction and the second payment instruction via the communications network, and to initiate payment of the first bill to the first payee based on the received first payment instruction and the second bill to the second payee based upon the second payment instruction.    
     
     
         17 . The network recited in  claim 16 , further comprising: 
 at least one of a first payment processing network and a second processing network;    wherein the service provider station is further configured: 
 to select a debit type from a group of debit types including (i) electronic debiting of a deposit account associated with the payor, and (ii) preparation of a negotiable instrument drawn on the deposit account associated with the payor,  
 if the selected debit type is the electronic debiting, to initiate the payment by one of (i) transmitting a directive, via the first payment processing network, to credit a deposit account associated with one of the first and the second payees with funds from the deposit account associated with the payor, (ii) transmitting a directive, via the first payment processing network, to credit the deposit account associated with the one payee with funds from a deposit account associated with the service provider, (iii) directing preparation of a negotiable instrument, payable to the one payee, drawn on the deposit account associated with the service provider, and (iv) transmitting a directive, via the second payment processing network, to credit the deposit account associated with the one payee with funds in the deposit account associated with the service provider; and  
 if the selected debit type is the negotiable instrument, to initiate the payment by directing preparation of the negotiable instrument, payable to the one payee, drawn on the deposit account associated with the payor.  
   
     
     
         18 . The network recited in  claim 17 , wherein: 
 if the selected debit type is the electronic debiting, and the payment is initiated by one of (i) transmitting the directive, via one of the first and the second payment processing networks, to credit the deposit account associated with the one payee with the funds from the deposit account associated with the service provider and (ii) directing the preparation of the negotiable instrument, payable to the one payee, drawn on the deposit account associated with the service provider; and    the service provider station is further configured to initiate the payment by transmitting a directive, via the first payment processing network, to credit the deposit account of the service provider with debited funds from the deposit account associated with the payor.    
     
     
         19 . The network recited in  claim 17 , wherein: 
 the first payment processing network is an ACH network;    the second payment processing network is an RPS network; and    the electronic debiting is ACH debiting.    
     
     
         20 . The network recited in  claim 16 , wherein: 
 the first payor station is further configured to transmit, via the communications network, a third payment instruction, not associated with a bill, to pay a third payee;    the service provider station is further configured to receive the third payment instruction via the communications network, and to initiate payment of the third payee based on the received third payment instruction.