Network-based marketplace service for facilitating purchases of bundled services and products

Abstract

An apparatus for facilitating purchases of services and products includes an application server providing a network service and maintaining a service offer database that comprises a plurality of information records respectively associated with a plurality of service offers. Each information record comprises an indication of a primary service, a purchase price, a payment amount for the primary service, and compensation information for the primary service. At least one of the service offers is for a bundled set that includes the primary service and one or more products. Upon being accessed by user operating a client system, the network service is operable to receive an indication of a service offer being selected for purchase by the user, receive purchase information from the user specifying a funding source, and issue a request to the funding source for funds corresponding to the purchase price of the information record associated with the service offer.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for facilitating multi-staged exchanges of value for purchases of bundled sets of services and/or products using virtual funds managed within a virtual payment system, the method comprising:
 storing, in a data storage system, a virtual money account database comprising a plurality of account information records respectively associated with a plurality of participants in which the respective account information record for each participant maintains a record of virtual funds held within a respective virtual money account for the participant and having a balance that corresponds to a monetary value of actual currency held within a financial account associated with a provider of the virtual payment system;   in response to receiving an indication of a purchase by a customer participant of the plurality of participants of an offer for a bundled set that includes a first service and at least one product or additional service each provided by a corresponding provider, accessing the virtual money account database to record an indication within the respective account information record for the customer participant of a first amount of the virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the customer participant that corresponds to a purchase price specified in actual currency for the bundled set being allocated to the purchase by the customer participant;   in response to receiving a notification that the first service of the bundled set has been provided to the customer participant by the corresponding provider for the first service, accessing the virtual money account database to transfer a quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to a payment amount specified in actual currency for the first service of the bundled set from the first amount of the virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the customer participant to a respective virtual money account for a corresponding participant of the plurality of participants that is specified to receive payment for the first service by:
 recording a deduction within the account information record respectively associated with the customer participant of the quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the payment amount specified for the first service from the first amount of virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the customer participant; and 
 recording an credit within the account information record respectively associated with the participant that is specified to receive payment for the first service for the quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the payment amount specified for the first service in the record of virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the participant that is specified to receive payment for the first service; and 
   for each of the at least one product or additional service of the bundled set, in response to receiving a notification that the product or service has been provided by the corresponding provider for the product or service, accessing the virtual money account database to transfer a quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to a payment amount specified in actual currency for the product or service from the first amount of the virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the customer participant to a respective virtual money account for a corresponding participant of the plurality of participants that is specified to receive payment for the product or additional service by:
 recording a deduction within the account information record respectively associated with the customer participant of the quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the payment amount specified for the product or service from the first amount of virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the customer participant; and 
 recording an credit within the account information record respectively associated with the participant that is specified to receive payment for the product or service for the quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the payment amount specified for the product or service in the record of virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the participant that is specified to receive payment for the product or service. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the record of virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for each participant that is maintained within the respective account information record associated with the participant includes a container of virtual fund objects, wherein each virtual fund object included in the container of the respective account information record for each participant represents a corresponding amount of the virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the participant, wherein each virtual fund object included in the container of the respective account information record for each participant is defined by a plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object including a value of the corresponding amount of virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object and a source based on which the virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object were created. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising, in response to the customer participant registering an account with the provider of the virtual payment system in association with a promotion offered by the provider of the virtual payment system, creating the respective virtual money account for the customer participant by establishing the respective virtual money account associated with the customer participant within the virtual money account database, instantiating a virtual fund object within the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant for which, in the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object, the value is set to an amount of virtual funds corresponding to a monetary value of actual currency specified for the promotion and the source is set to indicate the promotion, and instantiating a virtual fund object within the container of a respective account information record associated with the provider of the virtual payment system for which, in the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object, the value is set as a negative amount of virtual funds corresponding to the monetary value of actual currency specified for the promotion and the source is set to indicate the promotion. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising, in response to receiving an indication of the offer for the bundled set being selected by the customer participant to purchase and purchase information for the customer participant specifying a funding source for purchasing the offer for the bundled set, if the specified funding source is external to the virtual money system, issuing a request to the specified funding source for an amount of actual currency corresponding to the purchase price for the bundled set and, upon the requested amount of actual currency corresponding to the purchase price being obtained from the specified funding source in response to the request, receiving the obtained amount of actual currency within the financial account associated with a provider of the virtual payment system. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein accessing the virtual money account database to record the indication within the respective account information record for the customer participant of the first amount that corresponds to the purchase price specified for the bundled set comprises instantiating a virtual fund object for the first service of the bundled set within the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant for which, in the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object, the value is set to correspond to the payment amount specified for the first service, the source is set to indicate the specified funding source, and an indication is included that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the first service, and instantiating a respective virtual fund object for each product and additional service of the bundled set within the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant for which, in the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object, the value is set to correspond to the payment amount specified for the product or service, the source is set to indicate the specified funding source, and an indication is included that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the product or service. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein, if the specified funding source is external to the virtual money system and if the purchase information received for the customer participant specifies a discount that is associated with the offer for the bundled set, the amount of actual currency corresponding to the purchase price for the bundled set for which the request is issued to the specified funding source is equal to an amount that results from subtracting a value specified for the discount from the purchase price, and instantiating the virtual fund object for the first service of the bundled set within the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant comprises instantiating a first virtual fund object and a second a first virtual fund object within the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant for which, in the plurality of attributes maintained within the first virtual fund object, the value is set to correspond to an amount that results from subtracting the value specified for the discount from the payment amount specified for the first service, the source is set to indicate the specified funding source, and an indication is included that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the first service and, in the plurality of attributes maintained within the second virtual fund object, the value is set to correspond to the value specified for the discount, the source is set to indicate the discount, and an indication is included that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the first service. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein, if the purchase price specified for the bundled set includes a facility fee for a use of a facility to provide the first service, accessing the virtual money account database to record the indication within the respective account information record for the customer participant of the first amount that corresponds to the purchase price specified for the bundled set further comprises instantiating a virtual fund object for the facility fee within the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant for which, in the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object, the value is set to correspond to the facility fee, the source is set to indicate the specified funding source, and an indication is included that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the facility fee. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein, if the purchase price specified for the bundled set includes a commission fee that is to be collected by the provider of the virtual payment system, accessing the virtual money account database to record the indication within the respective account information record for the customer participant of the first amount that corresponds to the purchase price specified for the bundled set further comprises instantiating a virtual fund object for the commission fee within the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant for which, in the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object, the value is set to correspond to the commission fee, the source is set to indicate the specified funding source, and an indication is included that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the commission fee. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising, in response to receiving a notification of a cancellation request submitted with respect to the first service of the bundled set for the customer participant prior to receiving any notification that the first service of the bundled set has been provided to the customer participant by the corresponding provider for the first service:
 accessing the virtual money account database to identify each virtual fund object within the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant for which the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object include an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the first service, modify each identified virtual fund object for which the source included in the plurality of attributes is not indicated to be a discount that is associated with the offer for the bundled set to replace the indication included in the plurality of attributes that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the first service with an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently available to use for purchases by the customer participant, and delete each identified virtual fund object for which the source included in the plurality of attributes is indicated to be a discount that is associated with the offer for the bundled set from the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant; and   if the purchase price specified for the bundled set includes a facility fee, accessing the virtual money account database to identify each virtual fund object within the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant for which the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object include an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the facility fee and modify each identified virtual fund object to replace the indication included in the plurality of attributes that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the facility fee with an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently available to use for purchases by the customer participant.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising, in response to receiving a notification of a cancellation request submitted with respect to the purchase of the bundled set prior to receiving any notification that any service or product of the bundled set has been provided to the customer participant by the corresponding provider for the service or product of the bundled set:
 accessing the virtual money account database to identify each virtual fund object within the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant for which the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object include an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for any service or product of the bundled set, modify each identified virtual fund object for which the source included in the plurality of attributes is not indicated to be a discount that is associated with the offer for the bundled set to replace the indication included in the plurality of attributes that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the service or product with an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently available to use for purchases by the customer participant, and delete each identified virtual fund object for which the source included in the plurality of attributes is indicated to be a discount that is associated with the offer for the bundled set from the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant; and   if the purchase price specified for the bundled set includes a commission fee, accessing the virtual money account database to identify each virtual fund object within the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant for which the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object include an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the commission fee and modify each identified virtual fund object to replace the indication included in the plurality of attributes that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the commission fee with an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently available to use for purchases by the customer participant.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising, in response to receiving a notification of disbursal request submitted by the customer participant with respect to a virtual fund object included within the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant for which the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object include an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently available to use for purchases by the customer participant:
 if the source included in the plurality of attributes is not indicated to be a promotion offered by the provider of the virtual payment system, accessing a servicer for the financial account associated with the provider of the virtual payment system to direct a disbursement of an amount of actual currency corresponding to the value included in the plurality of attributes from the financial account associated with the provider of the virtual payment system to the source included in the plurality of attributes, and accessing the virtual money account database to delete the virtual fund object from the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein transferring the quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the payment amount specified for the first service of the bundled set from the virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the customer participant to the respective virtual money account for the corresponding participant that is specified to receive payment for the first service comprises:
 identifying each virtual fund object within the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant for which the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object include an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the first service, moving each identified virtual fund object from the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant to the container of the respective account information record for the corresponding participant that is specified to receive payment for the first service, modifying each identified virtual fund object to replace the indication included in the plurality of attributes that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the first service with an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object have been transferred as payment for the first service of the bundled set, and modifying each identified virtual fund object for which the source included in the plurality of attributes is indicated to be a discount that is associated with the offer for the bundled set to set the value included in the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object to zero; and   if the purchase price specified for the bundled set includes a facility fee for a use of a facility to provide the first service, identifying each virtual fund object within the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant for which the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object include an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the facility fee, moving each identified virtual fund object from the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant to the container of a respective account information record for a corresponding participant that is specified to receive payment for the use of the facility, and modifying each identified virtual fund object to replace the indication included in the plurality of attributes that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the facility fee with an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object have been transferred as payment for the use of the facility in association with the first service of the bundled set.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein transferring the quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the payment amount specified for any product or additional service of the bundled set from the virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the customer participant to the respective virtual money account for the corresponding participant that is specified to receive payment for the product or additional service comprises:
 identifying each virtual fund object within the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant for which the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object include an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the product or additional service, moving each identified virtual fund object from the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant to the container of the respective account information record for the corresponding participant that is specified to receive payment for the product or additional service, and modifying each identified virtual fund object to replace the indication included in the plurality of attributes that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the product or additional service with an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object have been transferred as payment for the product or additional service of the bundled set.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising, in response to receiving notifications that the first service and each product and additional service of the bundled set have been provided to the customer participant by the corresponding providers for the first service and each product or additional service of the bundled set, if the purchase price specified for the bundled set includes a commission fee that is to be collected by the provider of the virtual payment system:
 accessing the virtual money account database to identify each virtual fund object within the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant for which the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object include an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the commission fee, move each identified virtual fund object from the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant to the container of a respective account information record associated with the provider of the virtual payment system, and modify each identified virtual fund object to replace the indication included in the plurality of attributes that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently allocated to use as payment for the commission fee with an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object have been transferred as payment for the commission fee in association with the bundled set;   recording a deduction within the account information record respectively associated with the customer participant of a quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the commission fee from the first amount of virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the customer participant; and   recording an credit within the account information record respectively associated with the provider of the virtual payment system for the quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the commission fee in the record of virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the provider of the virtual payment system.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein, for each product of the bundled set, if the offer for the bundled set specifies that a prescription is required to purchase the product, the notification that the product has been provided by the corresponding provider for the product comprises a confirmation of receipt of a corresponding prescription document, and wherein, for each product of the bundled set, if the offer for the bundled set does not specify that a prescription is required to purchase the product, the notification that the product has been provided by the corresponding provider for the product comprises the indication of the purchase by the customer participant of the offer for the bundled set. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising, in response to receiving a notification of disbursal request submitted by the corresponding participant that is specified to receive payment for any of the first service and any product or additional service of the bundled set with respect to one or more virtual fund objects included within the container of the respective account information record associated with the corresponding participant:
 if an aggregate sum of the values of the corresponding amounts of virtual funds included in the plurality of attributes maintained within the one or more virtual fund objects is less than zero or if an aggregate sum of the values of the corresponding amounts of virtual funds included in the plurality of attributes maintained within each virtual fund object included in the container of the respective account information record associated with the corresponding participant that is not one of the one or more virtual fund objects is less than zero, declining the disbursal request; and   if the aggregate sum of the values of the corresponding amounts of virtual funds included in the plurality of attributes maintained within the one or more virtual fund objects is greater than zero and the aggregate sum of the values of the corresponding amounts of virtual funds included in the plurality of attributes maintained within each virtual fund object included in the container of the respective account information record associated with the corresponding participant that is not one of the one or more virtual fund objects is not less than zero, accessing a servicer for the financial account associated with the provider of the virtual payment system to direct a disbursement of an amount of actual currency corresponding to the aggregate sum of the values of the corresponding amounts of virtual funds included in the plurality of attributes maintained within the one or more virtual fund objects from the financial account associated with the provider of the virtual payment system to a financial account that is specified for the corresponding participant, and accessing the virtual money account database to delete the one or more virtual fund objects from the container of the respective account information record for the corresponding participant.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising periodically accessing the virtual money account database to perform an automatic disbursal of the virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for each corresponding participant that is specified to receive payment for the first service of the bundled set or any product or additional service of the bundled set by:
 if, for all virtual fund objects included the container of the respective account information record associated with the corresponding participant, the aggregate sum of the values of the corresponding amounts of virtual funds included in the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund objects is greater than zero, accessing a servicer for the financial account associated with the provider of the virtual payment system to direct a disbursement of an amount of actual currency corresponding to the aggregate sum from the financial account associated with the provider of the virtual payment system to a financial account that is specified for the corresponding participant, and accessing the virtual money account database to delete each virtual fund object from the container of the respective account information record for the corresponding participant.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising, in response to receiving a notification of a refund request submitted with respect to the first service, any product, or any additional service of the bundled set for the customer participant subsequently to receiving a notification that the first service, product, or additional service of the bundled set has been provided to the customer participant by the corresponding provider for the first service, product, or additional service, accessing the virtual money account database to:
 identify each virtual fund object within the container of the respective account information record for the corresponding participant that is specified to receive payment for the first service, product, or additional service for which the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object include an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object have been transferred as payment for the first service, product, or additional service of the bundled set, move each identified virtual fund object from the container of the respective account information record for the corresponding participant to the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant, modify each identified virtual fund object for which the source included in the plurality of attributes is not indicated to be a discount that is associated with the offer for the bundled set to replace the indication included in the plurality of attributes that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object have been transferred as payment for the first service, product, or additional service of the bundled set with an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently available to use for purchases by the customer participant, and delete each identified virtual fund object for which the source included in the plurality of attributes is indicated to be a discount that is associated with the offer for the bundled set from the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant;   for each virtual fund object that has, to process a disbursal for the respective virtual money account for the corresponding participant that is specified to receive payment for the first service, product, or additional service, been deleted from the container of the respective account information record for the corresponding participant for which the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object included an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object have been transferred as payment for the first service, product, or additional service of the bundled set, instantiating a first new virtual fund object within the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant for which, in the plurality of attributes maintained within the first new virtual fund object, the value is set to match the value that was set in the plurality of attributes maintained within the deleted virtual fund object and the source is set to match the source that was set in the plurality of attributes maintained within the deleted virtual fund object, and instantiating a second new virtual fund object within the container of the respective account information record for the corresponding participant for which, in the plurality of attributes maintained within the second new virtual fund object, the value is set as a negative amount of virtual funds corresponding to the value that was set in the plurality of attributes maintained within the deleted virtual fund object and the source is set to indicate a financial account that is specified for the corresponding participant.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising, in response to receiving a notification of a refund request submitted with respect to the first service of the bundled set for the customer participant subsequently to receiving a notification that the first service of the bundled set has been provided to the customer participant by the corresponding provider for the first service, if the purchase price specified for the bundled set includes a facility fee, accessing the virtual money account database to:
 identify each virtual fund object within the container of the respective account information record for the corresponding participant that is specified to receive payment for the use of the facility in association with the first service of the bundled set for which the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object include an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object have been transferred as payment for the use of the facility in association with the first service of the bundled set, move each identified virtual fund object from the container of the respective account information record for the corresponding participant to the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant, and modify each identified virtual fund object to replace the indication included in the plurality of attributes that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object have been transferred as payment for the use of the facility in association with the first service of the bundled set with an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object are presently available to use for purchases by the customer participant;   for each virtual fund object that has, to process a disbursal for the respective virtual money account for the corresponding participant that is specified to receive payment for the use of the facility in association with the first service of the bundled set, been deleted from the container of the respective account information record for the corresponding participant for which the plurality of attributes maintained within the virtual fund object included an indication that the corresponding virtual funds represented by the virtual fund object have been transferred as payment for the use of the facility in association with the first service of the bundled set, instantiating a first new virtual fund object within the container of the respective account information record for the customer participant for which, in the plurality of attributes maintained within the first new virtual fund object, the value is set to match the value that was set in the plurality of attributes maintained within the deleted virtual fund object and the source is set to match the source that was set in the plurality of attributes maintained within the deleted virtual fund object, and instantiating a second new virtual fund object within the container of the respective account information record for the corresponding participant for which, in the plurality of attributes maintained within the second new virtual fund object, the value is set as a negative amount of virtual funds corresponding to the value that was set in the plurality of attributes maintained within the deleted virtual fund object and the source is set to indicate a financial account that is specified for the corresponding participant.   
     
     
         20 . A virtual payment system for facilitating multi-staged exchanges of value for purchases of bundled sets of services and/or products using virtual funds, the system comprising:
 an application server providing a network service;   a plurality of client systems configured to communicatively couple to the application server via a network to access the network service; and   a data storage system storing a virtual money account database comprising a plurality of account information records respectively associated with a plurality of participants in which the respective account information record for each participant maintains a record of virtual funds held within a respective virtual money account for the participant and having a balance that corresponds to a monetary value of actual currency held within a financial account associated with a provider of the virtual payment system, and   wherein the network service is operable to:   in response to being accessed by a user through operation of one of the client systems on behalf of a customer participant of the plurality of participants to purchase an offer for a bundled set that includes a first service and at least one product or additional service each provided by a corresponding provider, access the virtual money account database to record an indication within the respective account information record for the customer participant of a first amount of the virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the customer participant that corresponds to a purchase price specified in actual currency for the bundled set being allocated to the purchase by the customer participant;   in response to receiving a confirmation submitted by a user accessing the network service through operation of one of the client systems that the first service of the bundled set has been provided to the customer participant by the corresponding provider for the first service, access the virtual money account database to transfer a quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to a payment amount specified in actual currency for the first service of the bundled set from the first amount of the virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the customer participant to a respective virtual money account for a corresponding participant of the plurality of participants that is specified to receive payment for the first service by:
 recording a deduction within the account information record respectively associated with the customer participant of the quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the payment amount specified for the first service from the first amount of virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the customer participant; and 
 recording an credit within the account information record respectively associated with the participant that is specified to receive payment for the first service for the quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the payment amount specified for the first service in the record of virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the participant that is specified to receive payment for the first service; and 
   for each of the at least one product or additional service of the bundled set, in response to receiving a confirmation submitted by a user accessing the network service through operation of one of the client systems that the product or service has been provided by the corresponding provider for the product or service, access the virtual money account database to transfer a quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to a payment amount specified in actual currency for the product or service from the first amount of the virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the customer participant to a respective virtual money account for a corresponding participant of the plurality of participants that is specified to receive payment for the product or additional service by:
 recording a deduction within the account information record respectively associated with the customer participant of the quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the payment amount specified for the product or service from the first amount of virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the customer participant; and 
 recording an credit within the account information record respectively associated with the participant that is specified to receive payment for the product or service for the quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the payment amount specified for the product or service in the record of virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the participant that is specified to receive payment for the product or service. 
   
     
     
         21 . An apparatus for facilitating multi-staged exchanges of value for payment for purchases of healthcare services offered by healthcare service providers using virtual funds managed within a virtual payment system, the apparatus comprising:
 an application server providing a network service that is accessible through a plurality of client systems communicatively coupled to the application server via a network; and   a data storage system storing a plurality of service offer information records respectively associated with a plurality of service offers and a virtual money account database comprising a plurality of account information records respectively associated with a plurality of participants, the plurality of service offers including at least one service offer for a bundled set of healthcare services, the respective account information record for each participant maintaining a record of virtual funds that are held within a respective virtual money account for the participant and have a balance that corresponds to a monetary value of actual currency held within a financial account associated with a provider of the virtual payment system, and   wherein the network service is operable to:   upon processing a purchase of a selected service offer from the plurality of service offers by a customer participant of the plurality of participants accessing the network service via one of the client systems, access the virtual money account database to record an indication within the respective account information record for the customer participant of a first amount of the virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the customer participant that corresponds to a purchase price specified in actual currency for the selected service offer being allocated to the purchase by the customer participant; and   for each healthcare service of the selected service offer, in response to receiving a notification that the healthcare service has been provided to the customer participant by a corresponding provider specified for the healthcare service, accessing the virtual money account database to transfer a quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to a payment amount specified in actual currency for the healthcare service from the first amount of the virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the customer participant to a respective virtual money account for a corresponding participant of the plurality of participants that is specified to receive payment for the healthcare service by:
 recording a deduction within the account information record respectively associated with the customer participant of the quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the payment amount specified for the healthcare service from the first amount of virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the customer participant; and 
 recording an credit within the account information record respectively associated with the participant that is specified to receive payment for the healthcare service for the quantity of virtual funds that corresponds to the payment amount specified for the healthcare service in the record of virtual funds held within the respective virtual money account for the participant that is specified to receive payment for the healthcare service.