Online payment transfer and identity management system and method

Abstract

A payment transfer method for transferring funds from a payer to payee is provided, including designating a payee and specifying a payment amount and an account; debiting the funds from the account and crediting a first trust account; and identifying the payee by verifying responses received in response to one or more challenge-response questions defined by the payer. If the one or more responses are verified, a second trust account may be debited and a payee account credited with the payment amount. The first and second trust accounts may then be reconciled. There is also provided a payment transfer facility for transferring funds, comprising an application server for storing payment data relating to a transfer of funds and a notification server for providing a notification of the transfer of funds.

1 . A method, comprising:
 storing, at a central system, first payment data relating to at least one transfer of funds to a payee, the first payment data comprising a payment amount and payee data, the first payment data being received from a first remote system and being associated with a payer account of a payer maintained by the first remote system, the first remote system using a first security infrastructure to control access by the payer to the first remote system to initiate the at least one transfer of funds, the first payment data being defined after access by the payer to the first remote system to initiate the at least one transfer of funds is granted and prior to storage of said first payment data;   generating, by the central system, a transaction identifier and associating the transaction identifier with the first payment data;   determining, at the central system, whether the payee data is authenticated and stored at the central system;   initiating a transmission of a notification of the at least one transfer of funds to a communication address identified by the payee data, the notification including the transaction identifier;   receiving, from a user communication device associated with the payee, a communication associated with the transaction identifier;   after receiving the communication from the user communication device, in a transmission to the user communication device, directing a browser executing on the user communication device to a website associated with a second remote system to complete the at least one transfer of funds;   receiving, at the central system, second payment data from the second remote system, the second remote system using a second security infrastructure to control access by the payee to the second remote system in relation to the at least one transfer of funds, the second payment data being received after access by the payee to the second remote system is granted, the first and second security infrastructures and access to the first remote system and the second remote system being controlled independently of the central system;   in a further transmission, providing information about the transfer of funds, including an identifier of the payer and the payment amount, to the second remote system; and   
       transmitting verification of the at least one transfer of funds for receipt by the second remote system if the payee data is thus authenticated.