Funds transfer method and apparatus

Abstract

A withdrawal of assets is initiated from a first account at a first financial institution. A deposit of the assets withdrawn from the first account is initiated to a second account at a second financial institution. The first account and the second account have a common account holder. The withdrawal and deposit of assets may be initiated after analyzing multiple accounts of the account holder and determining whether an adjustment of funds among the multiple accounts would benefit the account holder. A debit instruction is used to initiate the withdrawal of assets and a credit instruction is used to initiate the deposit of the withdrawn assets. The withdrawal and deposit of assets can be implemented using one or more payment networks, debit networks, or a wire transfer between the two financial institutions.

1 - 47 . (canceled) 
     
     
         48 . A computerized method, comprising:
 receiving, by a computerized financial management system comprising one or more computer processors via a first data communications network, a funds transfer request on behalf of a user,
 wherein the funds transfer request comprises
 an identification of a source account associated with the user, 
 an identification of a target account associated with the user, and 
 an identification of a transfer amount, 
 
 wherein the source account is associated with a first financial institution, 
 wherein the target account is associated with a second financial institution, and 
 wherein the financial management system is associated with a third party other than the first financial institution or the second financial institution; 
   generating, by the computerized financial management system, a debit instruction to debit the source account for a debit amount associated with the transfer amount;   generating, by the computerized financial management system, a credit instruction to credit the target account for a credit amount associated with the transfer amount;   transmitting the debit instruction, by the computerized financial management system via one of (i) the first data communications network or (ii) a second data communications network, to an intermediate financial institution for submission to the first payment network; and,   transmitting the credit instruction, by the computerized financial management system via one of (i) the first data communications network or (ii) the second data communications network, to the intermediate financial institution for submission to the second payment network.   
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 48 , wherein the first payment network is the same as the second payment network. 
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 48 , wherein at least one of transmitting the debit instruction or transmitting the credit instruction is deferred relative to receiving the funds transfer request. 
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 48 , wherein transmitting the debit instruction or transmitting the credit instruction is executed in substantially real time with receiving the funds transfer request. 
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 48 , wherein each of the source account and the target account comprises at least one of: (i) a savings account; (ii) a money market account; (iii) a checking account; (iv) a certificate of deposit account; (v) an account comprising a mutual fund; (vi) an account comprising a bond account; (vii) an account comprising an equity; (viii) a credit card account; (ix) a mortgage account; (x) a home equity loan account; (xi) an overdraft protection account; (xii) a margin account; or (xiii) a loan account. 
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 48 , wherein each of the first payment network and the second payment network comprises one of: (i) an automated clearing house (ACH) network; (ii) a debit network, (iii) a credit network; or (iv) a wire transfer network. 
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 48 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the financial management system, a registration request on behalf of the user to register one of (i) the source account or (ii) the target account with the financial management system; and   registering one of (i) the source account or (ii) the target account, by the financial management system, based at least in part on the registration request.   
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 54 , wherein registering the one of (i) the source account or (ii) the target account is performed prior to receiving the funds transfer request. 
     
     
         56 . The method of  claim 54 , wherein the registration request includes at least one of:
 (i) a financial institution identifier; (ii) an account number; (iii) a login name for online account access; or (iv) a password for online account access.   
     
     
         57 . The method of  claim 54 , further comprising:
 verifying, by the financial management system, that the user is authorized to access at least one of (i) the source account or (ii) the target account.   
     
     
         58 . The method of  claim 48 , wherein the funds transfer request comprises a one-time transfer or an instance of a periodic transfer. 
     
     
         59 . The method of  claim 48 , wherein the funds transfer request results in an initial funding deposit of the target account. 
     
     
         60 . The method of  claim 48 , wherein transmitting the debit instruction results in funds being deposited into an intermediate account, and the transmitting the credit instruction results in funds being withdrawn from the intermediate account. 
     
     
         61 . A system, comprising:
 at least one memory that stores computer-executable instructions; and   at least one processor configured to access the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to:   receive a funds transfer request on behalf of a user,
 wherein the funds transfer request comprises
 an identification of a source account associated with the user, 
 an identification of a target account associated with the user, and 
 an identification of a transfer amount, 
 
 wherein the source account is associated with a first financial institution, 
 wherein the target account is associated with a second financial institution, and 
 wherein the financial management system is associated with a third party other than the first financial institution or the second financial institution; 
   generate a debit instruction to debit the source account for a debit amount associated with the transfer amount;   generate a credit instruction to credit the target account for a credit amount associated with the transfer amount;   transmit the debit instruction to an intermediate financial institution for submission to the first payment network; and   transmit the credit instruction to the intermediate financial institution for submission to the second payment network.   
     
     
         62 . The system of  claim 61 , wherein the first payment network is the same as the second payment network. 
     
     
         63 . The system of  claim 61 , wherein at least one of transmit the debit instruction or transmitting the credit instruction is deferred relative to receiving the funds transfer request. 
     
     
         64 . The system of  claim 61 , wherein at least one of the transmit the debit instruction or the transmit the credit instruction is executed in substantially real time with receiving the funds transfer request. 
     
     
         65 . The system of  claim 61 , wherein each of the source account and the target account comprises at least one of: (i) a savings account; (ii) a money market account; (iii) a checking account; (iv) a certificate of deposit account; (v) an account comprising a mutual fund; (vi) an account comprising a bond account; (vii) an account comprising an equity; (viii) a credit card account; (ix) a mortgage account; (x) a home equity loan account; (xi) an overdraft protection account; (xii) a margin account; or (xiii) a loan account. 
     
     
         66 . The system of  claim 61 , wherein each of the first payment network and the second payment network comprises one of: (i) an automated clearing house (ACH) network; (ii) a debit network, (iii) a credit network; or (iv) a wire transfer network. 
     
     
         67 . The system of  claim 61 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to:
 receive a registration request on behalf of the user to register one of (i) the source account or (ii) the target account with the financial management system; and   register one of (i) the source account or (ii) the target account, by the financial management system, based at least in part on the registration request.