Kenneth W Underwood

US Patent:

20050033637, Feb 10, 2005

Filed:

Aug 6, 2003

Appl. No.:

10/636302

Inventors:

Kenneth Underwood - Ponte Vedra Beach FL, US

International Classification:

G06F017/60

US Classification:

705014000, 705039000, 705040000

Abstract:

A bill payment system, in a presently preferred embodiment, includes a system having an agent for initiating a request to make a payment to a payee from a funds account, verifying there are sufficient funds in the account to make the payment, transferring the selected amount from the funds account to a charge card account, paying the payee from the charge card account, and applying an incentive award for the charge amount. The agent will also open and configure a payee profile for the funds account if there is a new payee, and prompt the customer for a reduced payment if the funds account does not have sufficient funds to make the requested payment. The agent additionally prompts the customer for new services based on predetermined parameters. The agent can be a human agent, an intelligent program, or combination of the two working together. Thus, bill payment can be performed by a single rewarding telephone call to an agent who assists the customer through the process, or by an online transaction, at the customer's preference.