Text message payment

Abstract

A computer-implemented method of effectuating an electronic on-line payment includes receiving at a computer server system a text message from a payor containing a payment request representing a payment amount sent by a payor device operating independently of the computer server system, determining a payment amount associated with the text message and debiting a payor account for an amount corresponding to the amount of the payment request, and crediting an account of a payee that is independent of the computer server system.

1 . A computer-implemented method to effectuate payments, comprising:
 receiving, by a computer server system and from a payor computing device operated by a payor, an electronic message comprising a payment amount without identifying a target entity, the payor computing device operating independently of the computer server system and the target entity;   determining, by the computer server system, the target entity to which the payment amount is directed, based, at least in part, on a location of the payor computing device when the electronic message was transmitted by the payor computing device; and   causing, by the computer server system, a change in an amount equal to the payment amount in a payor account associated with the payor and in a payee account associated with the target entity in response to the payment request.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic message is in the form of an SMS message. 
     
     
         3 - 5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising authenticating identifying information for the payee before authenticating identifying information for the payor. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising obtaining payment from a financial institution with which the payor has an account. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting an electronic message to a user associated with the payor indicating the change in the payor account. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising initiating a telephone call to a telephone associated with the payor and seeking secure confirmation of the payment. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the telephone call is initiated if the transaction amount exceeds a defined monetary value or creates an excessive fraud score. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising placing the payment in escrow and debiting the account of the payee only after escrow conditions have cleared. 
     
     
         12 - 21 . (canceled) 
     
     
         22 . A system to manage financial payments, comprising:
 an electronic message interface configured to receive payment requests from remote electronic messaging devices, each payment request corresponding to a payment intended for one of a plurality of entities without identifying a target entity;   a storage device; and   a processor communicatively coupled to the storage device, wherein the processor executes application code instructions that are stored in the storage device and that cause the system to:
 determine the target entity to which the payment request is directed based, at least in part, on a location of a remote electronic messaging device that sent an electronic message payment request; and 
 transfer funds from a registered user associated with the remote electronic messaging device to the target entity in response to an electronic message payment request associated with the registered user. 
   
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the electronic message interface comprises one or more servers having message parsers to extract payment commands from received electronic messages. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 22 , further comprising a transaction rules database comprising rules that set amount-related limits on transactions. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the electronic message interface is configured to receive SMS messages. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the electronic message interface is configured to parse store determinant information from the received payment requests. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the storage device to cause the system to transfers funds only upon receiving an approval from a supervisory user that is different from the registered user. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein processor is further configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the storage device to cause the system to route a payment confirmation message to the target entity after funds have been transferred. 
     
     
         29 . A computer program product, comprising:
 a non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable program instructions embodied therein that when executed by a computer cause the computer to effectuate payments, the computer-readable program instructions comprising:
 computer-readable program instructions to receive an electronic message from a payor computing device operated by a payor comprising a payment amount without identifying a target entity; 
 computer-readable program instructions to determine the target entity based, at least in part, on a location of the payor computing device when the electronic message was transmitted by the payor computing device; and 
 computer-readable program instructions to cause a change in a payor account associated with the payor and a payee account in response to the payment request. 
   
     
     
         30 . The computer program product of  claim 29 , wherein the electronic message is in the form of an SMS message. 
     
     
         31 . The computer program product of  claim 29 , further comprising computer-readable program instructions for routing a payment confirmation to the target entity. 
     
     
         32 . The computer program product of  claim 29 , further comprising computer-readable program instructions for authenticating identifying information for the payee before authenticating identifying information for the payor. 
     
     
         33 . The computer program product of  claim 29 , further comprising computer-readable program instructions for obtaining payment from a financial institution with which the payor has an account. 
     
     
         34 . The computer program product of  claim 29 , wherein a supervisory user associated with the payor is notified by electronic messaging. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the target entity to which the payment amount is directed based, at least in part, on a location of the payor computing device when the electronic message was transmitted by the payor computing device comprises determining that a location of the target entity matches the location of the payor computing device when the electronic message was transmitted. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35 , where the location of the payor computing device is determined using a GPS feature, cell tower triangulation, or short range wireless techniques.