Bar coded bill payment system and method

Abstract

A financial transaction involving a bar coded invoice and validating the bar code to limit carrying out of the financial transaction to a first type of financial transaction, where the bar code has discrete encoded data fields organized into validation levels, including an outer level and an inner levels, the encoded data fields include a field designator, a check digit value and/or a data string, the data string includes either an inner validation level and/or payment information, the payment information includes the identity of the payee and the payer, where the encoded data fields are established pursuant to a decoding method, a validation method and a processing method, where decoding includes decoding the bar code to yield a series of data values, validation includes determining whether the bar code corresponds to a first type of financial transaction, and processing includes processing the financial transaction to pay the third party payee.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of processing a financial transaction from a second party payer to a third party payee at a point of sale location of a first party retailer, the method comprising:
 the third party payee creating a bar code comprising discrete encoded data fields organized into a plurality of validation levels comprising an outer validation level and one or more inner validation levels,
 each of the discrete encoded data fields comprising one or more of either a field designator, a check digit value and/or a data string, the data string comprising either an inner validation level and/or payment information, the payment information comprising the identity of the payee and the identity of the payer, and 
 the encoded data fields configured to be interpreted pursuant to a design scheme comprising a decoding method, a validation method and a processing method, (i) the decoding method comprising decoding the bar code to yield a series of data values for use in the validation method and the processing method, (ii) the validation method comprising determining whether the bar code corresponds to a first type of financial transaction as opposed to a second type of financial transaction that cannot be processed, and (iii) the processing method comprising processing the financial transaction to pay the third party payee; 
   the second party bringing an invoice having the third-party-created bar code thereon to the first party retailer;   scanning the bar code and detecting the discrete encoded data fields and validation levels;   decoding the discrete encoded data fields and validation levels yielding a series of data values used in applying the design scheme,   validating the bar code to limit the carrying out of the financial transaction to the first type of financial transaction that can be processed pursuant to the design scheme, validating the bar code comprising, with respect to each of the one or more inner validation levels: (i) confirming that any format designator and/or check digit value within the data string of the inner validation level conforms to the design scheme, (ii) rejecting the bar code as being associated with the second type of financial transaction if any format designator and/or check digit value within the data string does not conform to the design scheme, (iii) identifying any such data string that does represent an inner validation level, and repeating steps (i), (ii) and (iii) for each such inner validation level; and   processing the bar code of the first type of financial transaction, processing comprising (i) identifying each data string that does not represent an inner validation level and identifying the data values therein used in carrying out the financial transaction, (ii) the second party payer paying an agreed-upon amount of funds to the first party retailer at the point of sale location; and (iii) directing a transfer of funds from the first party retailer to the third party payee.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , the first type of financial transaction corresponding to a plurality of sets of bar codes in which each set of bar codes comprises a distinct design scheme. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the first party retailer providing a receipt to the second party payer to document the transaction by identifying details of the financial transaction. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising alerting the third party payee that the funds will be or have been transferred. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , where the invoice comprises a digital image transmitted electronically. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , where the agreed-upon amount of funds paid are the same as the amount of funds transferred from the first party retailer to the third party payee. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , where validating and decoding take place at the same time.