Global remittance platform

Abstract

The invention provides a remittance platform in which an enterprise, such as Wells Fargo, serves as a remittance transfer agent, where the remittance function is integrated with a bank. The invention allows access to the remittance program by both account holders with the enterprise and persons who do not have an account with the enterprise. The person accessing the service may pick the remittance service they want and the country they want. However, the service is not anchored to a particular account and can therefore work with both bank partners and non-bank partners and account holders and non-account holders. Further, the system may be private-labeled. Additionally, the invention provides a mechanism that allows one to send money easily to other countries and it allows bank partners to participate in the program easily as well. This is possible because the enterprise provides all of the processing in an integrated fashion.

1 . A method for remitting funds from a remitter to a beneficiary, comprising:
 maintaining a database associated with a bank account for a remitter at a bank, the bank associated with an enterprise;   receiving transaction data for a remittance transaction, the transaction associated with providing funds from the remitter to the beneficiary;   retrieving the funds from the bank account of the remitter; and   making the funds available to the beneficiary in the form of cash;   wherein the remittance transaction is not anchored to a particular account of the beneficiary and the beneficiary does not have an account with the enterprise.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 generating a first reconcile and settlement message using a remittance engine based on the transaction data and storing the first reconcile and settlement message in the database;   generating a second reconcile and settlement message based on the transaction data and storing the second reconcile and settlement message in the database; and   reconciling the first and second reconcile and settlement messages.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the funds are retrieved from the bank account of the remitter upon reconciling the first and second settlement messages. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising disclosing an amount earned by a remittance agent in conjunction with the remittance transaction to the remitter. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing the remitter with a plurality of remittance options. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the plurality of remittance options include a cash to cash option, an account to cash option, a cash to account option, and an account to account option. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transaction data is received by a computer-implemented teller system. 
     
     
         8 . A method of remitting funds from a remitter to a beneficiary, comprising:
 maintaining a bank account for the remitter, the remitter being a customer of a bank, the bank being associated with an enterprise;   providing the remitter with a plurality of options for a remittance transaction to remit the funds, the plurality of options including an account-to-cash remittance transaction;   receiving instructions from the remitter relating to the remittance transaction, the instructions including a selection of the account-to-cash option;   withdrawing funds from the bank account of the remitter based on the instructions; and   transferring the funds to the beneficiary using a computer network;   wherein the remittance transaction is not anchored to a particular account of the beneficiary and the beneficiary does not have an account with the enterprise.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of options further comprises an account-to-account remittance transaction, a cash-to-cash remittance transaction, and a cash-to-account remittance transaction. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising providing a transaction disclosure receipt that provides details regarding the remittance transaction based on the transaction data. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the details regarding the transaction comprise an amount earned by a remittance agent in conjunction with the remittance transaction to the remitter. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the instructions are received by a computer-implemented teller system. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the computer-implemented teller system is operated by a human bank teller. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 generating a first reconcile and settlement message using a remittance engine based on the transaction data and storing the first reconcile and settlement message in a database;   generating a second reconcile and settlement message based on the transaction data and storing the second reconcile and settlement message in the database;   reconciling the first and second reconcile and settlement messages.   
     
     
         15 . A system configured to remit funds from a remitter to a beneficiary, the system being provided by an enterprise, the system comprising:
 a computer-implemented teller configured to receive transaction data for a remittance transaction;   a database configured to store the transaction data and account data for bank accounts associated with account holders; and   a remittance system coupled to the computer-implemented teller and the database and configured to support a plurality of types of remittance transactions including account to cash transactions;   wherein for account-to-cash transactions, the funds are retrieved from one of the bank accounts, the account-to-cash transaction is not anchored to a particular account of the beneficiary, and the beneficiary does not have an account with the enterprise.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the system is further configured to support cash-to-cash, cash-to-account, and account-to-account remittance transactions. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 a remittance network member account configured to reconcile and settle the remittance transaction based on the transaction data;   an international remittance engine (IRE) configured to create a first output file in a predetermined message format and to output the first output file to an external remittance network member system based on the transaction data;   an enterprise remittance general ledger system configured to receive a second output file from the IRE and send a reconcile and settlement message to the remittance network member account for reconcilement and settlement based on the second output file; and   a demand deposit account configured to receive funds associated with the remittance transaction from the enterprise remittance general ledger system resulting in the funds being available in the external remittance network member system.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the IRE maintains and provides information related to countries comprising:
 country;   bank;   currency supported; and   methods available to receive funds.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the enterprise financial system, remittance member network account, IRE, enterprise remittance general ledger system, and the demand deposit account are all provided as part of an integrated remittance enterprise. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the remittance system provides the remitter with an amount earned by the integrated remittance enterprise in conjunction with the remittance transaction.