Funding on-line accounts

Abstract

A system generates an identifier when a consumer deposits cash, where a new unique identifier is generated with each transaction. The consumer receives the identifier and the identifier (along with the amount of cash deposit) is communicated to a payment provider for storage. The consumer may then access and fund an on-line account with the financial services provider by first accessing the account and entering the unique character identifier, which the system processes. If the identifier is valid, e.g., an actual stored identifier within the system associated with a cash amount, then the system transfers that amount to the consumer's account. At this point, the consumer may use the account to make an on-line transaction or purchase with the newly funded amount.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system comprising:
 a cash value receiving means configured to:
 receive a cash value deposit from a user, and 
 provide an identifier corresponding to the cash value deposit to the user, 
 wherein the identifier is generated in response to the receipt of the cash value deposit and does not include personal identity information; and 
   one or more processors of a payment provider configured to:
 determine whether the identifier is valid for payment in response to receiving a communication that includes the identifier, and 
 transfer value corresponding to the cash value deposit to an account of the user in response to determining that the identifier is valid, 
 wherein the determination of whether the identifier is valid for payment and the transfer of value do not require the personal identity information. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the identifier comprises a sequence of characters, letters, and/or numbers that is unique to the cash value deposit. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the cash value receiving means includes an automatic teller machine or a point of sale terminal at a remote location from the payment provider. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the cash value deposit is cash. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to convert the cash value deposit to the value corresponding to the cash value deposit. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the cash receiving means is configured to provide the identifier by printing the identifier on a receipt. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the cash receiving means is configured to provide the identifier by encoding the identifier as a barcode or an RFID tag. 
     
     
         8 . A method of funding an on-line account, comprising:
 receiving, by a cash value receiving means, a cash value deposit from a user;   providing, to the user, an identifier corresponding to the cash value deposit, wherein the identifier does not include personal identity information; and   transmitting a communication that includes the identifier for determining the identifier is valid for payment without requiring the personal identity information and transferring value corresponding to the cash value deposit to an account without requiring the personal identity information.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the identifier comprises a sequence of characters, letters, and/or numbers that is unique to the cash value deposit. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the cash value receiving means includes an automatic teller machine or a point of sale terminal at a remote location from the payment provider. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the cash value deposit is cash. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the cash value deposit is converted to the value corresponding to the cash value deposit. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the identifier is provided on a receipt. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the identifier is provided as a barcode or an RFID tag. 
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising a plurality of machine-readable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform a method comprising:
 receiving a communication that includes an identifier containing no personal identity information from a cash value deposit from a user;   determining whether the identifier is valid for payment; and   in response to determining that the identifier is valid, transferring value corresponding to the cash value deposit to an account;   wherein the determining whether the identifier is valid for payment and the transferring value do not require the personal identity information.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the identifier comprises a sequence of characters, letters, and/or numbers that is unique to the cash value deposit. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the cash value deposit is made by the user at a remote cash value receiving means including an automatic teller machine or a point of sale terminal. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the identifier is provided to the user by the remote cash value receiving means. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the cash value deposit is cash. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 15 , the method further comprising converting the cash value deposit to the value corresponding to the cash value deposit.