Processing online transactions

Abstract

Control or prevention of usage of an online ecommerce system to transfer funds by evaluating proximity between a location where cash payment is made and a location where a cash refund is requested. When the proximity exceeds a distance threshold, the cash refund at the second location is prohibited, and when the proximity is less than the distance threshold, the cash refund is permitted. Various embodiments ask the customer to specify a choice of refund stores, evaluate whether the person who made the cash payment for the order is different than the person who requested the refund, require identification, check publicly available Internet social site information for a relationship between the people, check for a pattern of requesting refunds, limit the refund to store credit, or a combination thereof.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An online system comprising one or more processors and one or more memory devices storing executable instructions, the system configured to:
 receive through an Internet connection a request to create an order from a customer, the order including one or more items and one or more quantities for the one or more items of the order;   receive, at a point of sale (POS) located in a physical store, at a first location, a cash payment for the order from the customer;   at the first location, ask the customer to specify a choice of refund stores at which a cash refund is to be received, and prohibit selection by the customer of stores outside a distance threshold as refund stores and allow selection by the customer of stores inside the distance threshold as refund stores;   receive a request for a cash refund for the order at a second location;   evaluate whether a first person who made the cash payment for the order is different than a second person who requested the cash refund for the order; and   prevent usage of the online system to transfer funds from the customer to another party by evaluating proximity between the first location and the second location and when the proximity exceeds the distance threshold, prohibiting the cash refund at the second location and limiting the refund to store credit, and when the proximity is less than the distance threshold, allowing the cash refund at the second location.   
     
     
         2 . An online system comprising one or more processors and one or more memory devices storing executable instructions, the system configured to:
 receive through an Internet connection a request to create an order from a customer, the order including one or more items and one or more quantities for the one or more items of the order;   receive, at a point of sale (POS) located in a physical store, at a first location, a cash payment for the order from the customer;   receive a request for a cash refund for the order at a second location; and   prevent usage of the online system to transfer funds from the customer to another party by evaluating proximity between the first location and the second location and when the proximity exceeds a distance threshold, prohibiting the cash refund at the second location, and when the proximity is less than the distance threshold, allowing the cash refund at the second location.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2  further configured to ask the customer to specify a choice of refund stores at which a cash refund is to be received; prohibit selection by the customer of stores outside the distance threshold as refund stores; and allow selection by the customer of stores inside the distance threshold as refund stores. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2  further configured to evaluate whether a first person who made the cash payment for the order is different than a second person who requested the cash refund for the order. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4  further configured to require identification from the second person who requested the cash refund for the order and further configured to request identification of the first person who made the cash payment when the first payment was received at the POS. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 4  further configured to evaluate whether the first person who made the cash payment for the order is related to the second person who requested the cash refund for the order. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6  configured to check publicly available Internet social site information for a relationship between the first person and the second person. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 2  further configured to evaluate whether the customer has a pattern of making orders, paying for them, and then requesting refunds. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 2  further configured to limit the refund to store credit. 
     
     
         10 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a server, a request to create an order from a customer, the order including one or more items and one or more quantities for the one or more items of the order;   receiving, at a point of sale (POS), at a first location, a cash payment for the order from the customer;   receiving a request for a cash refund for the order, the cash refund to be provided at a second location; and   preventing transfer of funds from the customer to another party by evaluating proximity between the first location and the second location and when the proximity exceeds a distance threshold, prohibiting the cash refund at the second location, and when the proximity is less than the distance threshold, allowing the cash refund at the second location.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising asking the customer to specify a choice of refund stores at which a cash refund is to be received; prohibiting selection by the customer of stores outside the distance threshold as refund stores; and allowing selection by the customer of stores inside the distance threshold as refund stores. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising evaluating whether a first person who made the cash payment for the order is different than a second person who appeared to receive the cash refund for the order. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising requiring identification from the second person who appeared to receive the cash refund for the order. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising requesting identification of the first person who made the cash payment when the first payment is received at the POS. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising evaluating whether the first person who made the cash payment for the order is related to the second person who appeared to receive the cash refund for the order. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising checking publicly available Internet social site information for a relationship between the first person and the second person. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising evaluating whether the customer has a pattern of making orders, paying for them, and then requesting refunds. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising limiting the refund to store credit. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising asking the customer to specify a choice of refund stores at which a cash refund is to be received; prohibiting selection by the customer of stores outside the distance threshold as refund stores; and allowing selection by the customer of stores inside the distance threshold as refund stores; evaluating whether a first person who made the cash payment for the order is different than a second person who appeared to receive the cash refund for the order; requiring identification from the second person who appeared to receive the cash refund for the order; evaluating whether the first person who made the cash payment for the order is related to the second person who appeared to receive the cash refund for the order; and evaluating whether the customer has a pattern of making orders, paying for them, and then requesting refunds. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19  further comprising limiting the refund to store credit.