Financial institution-based transaction processing system and approach

Abstract

Transaction processing for financial institution-based transactions is facilitated. According to an example embodiment of the present invention, a transaction processing approach involves the processing of financial aspects of a transaction between buying and selling parties using transaction rules associated with a sponsoring financial institution. Transaction-related information is processed as a function of business rules associated with the sponsoring financial institution to facilitate payment for the transaction and the assessment of fees associated with the transaction processing.

1 . An automated transaction processing system for auditing transactions between contracting parties on behalf of a plurality of financial institutions, the system comprising:
 a central processing node adapted, for different transactions involving various financial institutions, to
 associate each transaction with a unique one of the plurality of financial institutions, 
 audit each transaction according to a set of transaction rules defined as a function of the unique financial institution and a business relationship between the unique financial institution and at least one of the contracting parties, and 
 facilitate payment for each transaction as a function of the audit. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the central processing node is adapted to associate each transaction with a first unique financial institution associated with one of the contracting parties and with a second unique financial institution associated with another one of the contracting parties, and to audit each transaction according to sets of transaction rules defined as a function of each of the unique financial institutions and respective business relationships between each unique financial institution and the respective contracting parties. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the central processing node is adapted to audit transactions according to third party information. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the central processing node includes a fee engine adapted for applying a fee to each audited transaction and to assess the fee as a function of the business relationship between the unique financial institution and at least one of the contracting parties for the audited transaction. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the central processing node includes a rating engine configured and arranged to assign an interest rate to a transaction between contracting parties, the rate being implemented for extending credit on behalf of one of the contracting parties. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the central processing node is further adapted to maintain a credit account for transaction parties and wherein the rate is implemented in extending credit via the credit account. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the central processing node is adapted to audit transactions between contracting parties according to different sets of transaction rules by implementing the transaction rules to determine a condition of validity of the transaction. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the central processing node is adapted to audit transactions between contracting parties according to different sets of transaction rules by implementing the transaction rules to authorize payment for a valid transaction. 
     
     
         9 . An automated transaction processing system and network for processing transactions for buyers and sellers sponsored into the processing network by a sponsoring bank, the system comprising:
 an association processor configured and arranged, for each of a plurality of transactions involving a buyer and a seller, to identify a particular sponsoring bank for each buyer and seller as a function of stored identifiers, the association identifying respective business rules, set in accordance with the particular sponsoring bank and the particular buyer or seller for which the rules are set, for respectively processing transactions on behalf of the buyer and on behalf of the seller for a particular transaction; and   a collaborative contracts processor configured and arranged, for each particular transaction involving a buyer and a seller, to use the identified business rules and a business agreement between the buyer and seller to determine the amount of fees that
 should be charged to the seller, 
 should charged to the buyer as a function of the identity of the buyer and the identity of the buyer's sponsoring bank, 
 the seller's sponsoring bank owes the buyer's sponsoring bank, 
 the buyer's sponsoring bank owes the seller's sponsoring bank, and 
 the buyer's sponsoring bank and the seller's sponsoring bank owe the automated transaction processing system and network. 
   
     
     
         10 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 9 , further comprising a settlement processor configured and arranged, for each particular transaction involving a buyer and a seller, to:
 perform inter-bank settlement by calculating the amount of funds to be collected from the buyer's sponsoring bank and remitted to the seller's sponsoring bank to fund a payment that the seller's sponsoring bank will make to the seller for all transactions that achieve payable status within a payment period defined as a function of the business rules.   
     
     
         11 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 10 , wherein the settlement processor is configured and arranged, for each particular transaction involving a buyer and a seller, to:
 submit an electronic payment demand at a defined period to the buyer's sponsoring bank for all net monies due to at least one of the transaction processing system and the seller's sponsoring bank, when the buyer's sponsoring bank is in a net funds due to processor position;   submit an electronic payment demand at a defined period to the seller's sponsoring bank for all net monies due to at least one of the transaction processing system and the buyer's sponsoring bank, when the seller's sponsoring bank is in a net funds due to processor position;   submit an electronic payment notice at a defined period to the buyer's sponsoring bank for all net monies due the buyer's sponsoring bank after subtraction of funds due to at least one of the transaction processing system and the seller's sponsoring bank, when the buyer's sponsoring bank is in a net funds due to processor position; and   submit an electronic payment demand at a defined payment period to the seller's sponsoring bank for all net monies due to the seller's sponsoring bank after subtraction of funds due to at least one of the transaction processing system and the buyer's sponsoring bank, when the seller's sponsoring bank is in a net funds due to processor position.   
     
     
         12 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 9 , further comprising a data access controller configured and arranged, for each sponsoring financial institution, to:
 provide access to transactions naming a buyer or seller organization sponsored by the sponsoring financial institution; and   maintain an overview of their net position with each of their customers to whom they are issuing credit, the overview showing each customer's net position between payments due from the customer and payments due to suppliers through the transaction processing system.   
     
     
         13 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 12 , wherein the data access controller is further configured and arranged, for each sponsoring financial institution, to perform customer service functions related to transaction processing for their customers within the transaction processing system, the customer service functions defined in the sponsoring financial institution's business rules in association with each customer. 
     
     
         14 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 9 , wherein the collaborative contracts processor is configured and arranged to implement profiles for each sponsoring financial institution for specifying bank-specific operating characteristics to use in processing transactions involving the sponsoring financial institution. 
     
     
         15 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 14 , wherein the collaborative contracts processor is configured and arranged to perform a currency conversion using a financial institution to process the currency conversion as specified in the profile for a particular sponsoring financial institution. 
     
     
         16 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 15 , wherein the collaborative contracts processor is configured and arranged to assess a markup fee to a sponsored user as a function of profiles for the particular sponsoring financial institution's profile. 
     
     
         17 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 14 , wherein the collaborative contracts processor is configured and arranged to use information in the profiles to identify a financial institution to use for remittance collection from buyers sponsored by the sponsoring financial institution. 
     
     
         18 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 14 , wherein the collaborative contracts processor is configured and arranged to use information in the profiles to identify a financial institution that the sponsoring financial institution specifies to use for payments to each seller sponsored by the sponsoring financial institution. 
     
     
         19 . The automated transaction processing system of  claim 18 , wherein the collaborative contracts processor is configured and arranged to use information in the profiles to identify a financial institution that the sponsoring financial institution wants to use for payments to each seller sponsored by the sponsoring financial institution, as a function of a geographical location of each seller. 
     
     
         20 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 14 , wherein the collaborative contracts processor is configured and arranged to use information in the profiles to identify a location to which credit drawdown advice is to be delivered and to specify the content of the credit drawdown advice 
     
     
         21 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 9 , further comprising a data storage arrangement configured and arranged for storing all transaction data for transactions involving sponsored buyers and sellers, and to provide access to all of the transaction data to the collaborative contracts processor. 
     
     
         22 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 21 , wherein the data storage arrangement includes at least two different databanks connected via a network link. 
     
     
         23 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 9 , wherein the association processor is configured and arranged to identify a particular set of business rules to implement for a particular transaction as a function of a credit term associated with the particular transaction. 
     
     
         24 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 9 , wherein the association processor is configured and arranged to identify a particular set of business rules to implement for a particular transaction as a function of the geographic location of at least one party to the particular transaction. 
     
     
         25 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 9 , wherein the association processor is configured and arranged to identify a particular set of business rules to implement for a particular transaction as a function of historical information associated with at least one party to the particular transaction. 
     
     
         26 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 9 , wherein the association processor is configured and arranged to store and implement identifiers to identify a particular sponsoring bank for each of the buyer and seller by storing and implementing user profiles for each buyer and seller, the user profiles specifying the identifiers that identify a particular sponsoring bank for each buyer and seller. 
     
     
         27 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 26 , wherein the association processor is configured and arranged to store and implement user profiles, for each buyer and seller, that specify a non-sponsoring financial institution that the buyer or seller wishes to use with the transfer of funds for transactions. 
     
     
         28 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 27 , wherein the association processor is configured and arranged to select a store and implement user profiles, for each buyer and seller, that specify a non-sponsoring financial institution as a function of at least one of: the amount of a particular transaction, the type of a purchase associated with the transaction, the location of a purchase associated with the transaction, taxes on the transaction, the interest rate available from the financial institution, and insurance for the transaction. 
     
     
         29 . The automated transaction processing system and network of  claim 9 , wherein the collaborative contracts processor configured and arranged, for each particular transaction, to use the identified business rules to select ACH (automatic clearing house) outbound payment & facilitation functions to implement for each particular transaction. 
     
     
         30 . A method for auditing transactions between contracting parties on behalf of a plurality of financial institutions, the method comprising:
 associating each transaction with a unique one of the plurality of financial institutions;   auditing each transaction according to a set of transaction rules defined as a function of the unique financial institution and a business relationship between the unique financial institution and at least one of the contracting parties, and   facilitating payment for each transaction as a function of the audit.   
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , further comprising, for each transaction, defining a set of transaction rules for a unique financial institution associated with the transaction as a function of the unique financial institution and a business relationship between the unique financial institution and at least one of the contracting parties. 
     
     
         32 . A system for auditing transactions between contracting parties on behalf of a plurality of financial institutions, the system comprising:
 means for associating each transaction with a unique one of the plurality of financial institutions;   means for auditing each transaction according to a set of transaction rules defined as a function of the unique financial institution and a business relationship between the unique financial institution and at least one of the contracting parties, and   means for facilitating payment for each transaction as a function of the audit.   
     
     
         33 . A method for processing transactions for buyers and sellers sponsored into a processing network by a sponsoring bank, the method comprising:
 for each of a plurality of transactions involving a buyer and a seller, identifying a particular sponsoring bank for each buyer and seller as a function of stored identifiers, the association identifying respective business rules, set in accordance with the particular sponsoring bank and the particular buyer or seller for which the rules are set, for respectively processing transactions on behalf of the buyer and on behalf of the seller for a particular transaction; and   for each particular transaction involving a buyer and a seller, use the identified business rules and a business agreement between the buyer and seller to determine the amount of fees that
 should be charged to the seller, 
 should charged to the buyer as a function of the identity of the buyer and the identity of the buyer's sponsoring bank, 
 the seller's sponsoring bank owes the buyer's sponsoring bank, 
 the buyer's sponsoring bank owes the seller's sponsoring bank, and 
 the buyer's sponsoring bank and the seller's sponsoring bank owe the automated transaction processing system and network.