Release of funds based on criteria

Abstract

A method and system to transfer payment to a seller of a network-based commerce transaction are described herein. The method includes generating a risk model based on seller-specific criteria, and releasing funds from a holding account to the seller based on the risk model.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of reducing risk associated with a current network-based transaction on a network-based commerce system, the method comprising:
 during processing of a payment transaction of the current network-based transaction:
 performing a risk evaluation using a scoring algorithm, the risk evaluation being configured to assess potential risks of the current network-based transaction based at least partially on retrieved data that is specific to a seller and that is accumulated as the seller performs network-based transactions; 
 generating a risk response based on the risk evaluation, the risk response including information indicating a restriction related to the current network-based transaction, a processing requirement related to the current network-based transaction, and a timing determination for release of a portion of funds from a holding account; 
 dynamically updating the timing determination of the risk response based on transactional behaviors of the seller that are based on traced network-based transactions of the seller; and 
 determining a timing restriction of a payment of at least the portion of funds based on the risk response and the updated determined timing; and 
   restricting payment of at least the portion of the funds according to the timing restriction.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising tracing the network-based transactions, wherein the tracing the network-based transactions occurs on a continuous basis or on a periodic basis. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining a velocity of the traced network-based transactions, wherein:
 the velocity includes data indicative of a volume of trade of the seller on the network-based commerce system; and   the determining the timing restrictions is based at least partially on the velocity of the traced network-based transactions.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising increasing a rate at which the portion of the funds are released responsive to an increase in the velocity of the traced network-based transactions. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising retrieving the retrieved data from a database during processing of the payment transaction of the current network-based transaction. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the retrieved data includes information for the current network-based transaction and historical information for previous network-based transactions in the network-based commerce system. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising retrieving from a risk analysis provider, data specific to the seller, wherein the performing the risk evaluation is further based on the data retrieved from the risk analysis provider. 
     
     
         8 . A computer system comprising:
 one or more hardware processors; and   one or more non-transitory machine-readable media storing instructions that, in response to being executed by the one or more hardware processors, cause the one or more hardware processors to perform operations to reduce a risk associated with a current network-based transaction, the operations comprising:
 tracing additional network-based transactions in a network-based commerce system of a seller; 
 determining a velocity of the traced additional network-based transactions, the velocity including data indicative of a volume of trade on the network-based commerce system; 
 during processing of a payment transaction of the current network-based transaction:
 performing a risk evaluation using a scoring algorithm, the risk evaluation being configured to assess potential risks of the current network-based transaction and being based on retrieved data that is specific to the seller and that is accumulated as the seller performs network-based transactions; 
 determining timing for release of a portion of funds from a holding account based on the risk evaluation; 
 dynamically updating the determined timing based at least partially on the velocity of the traced additional network-based transactions; and 
 determining a timing restriction of a payment of at least the portion of funds based on the risk evaluation and the updated determined timing; and 
 
 restricting payment of at least the portion of the funds according to the timing restriction. 
   
     
     
         9 . The computer system of  claim 8 , wherein the tracing the additional network-based transactions occurs on a continuous basis or on a periodic basis. 
     
     
         10 . The computer system of  claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise increasing a rate at which the portion of the funds are released responsive to an increase in the velocity of the additional network-based transactions. 
     
     
         11 . The computer system of  claim 8 , further comprising a database, wherein the operations further comprise retrieving the retrieved data from the database during processing of the payment transaction of the current network-based transaction. 
     
     
         12 . The computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the retrieved data includes information for the current network-based transaction and historical information for previous network-based transactions in the network-based commerce system. 
     
     
         13 . The computer system of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the operations further comprise reducing an amount of time the funds are held based on a security proxy provided by a client machine of the seller; and   the security proxy comprises a selection from a group consisting of a valid social security number, financial services provider account information, and a particular amount of cash.   
     
     
         14 . The computer system of  claim 8 , wherein the risk associated with the current network-based transaction includes a risk of failure to provide a product, a risk of providing a defective product, or a risk of providing a misrepresented product. 
     
     
         15 . A method of reducing a risk associated with a current network-based transaction, the method comprising:
 tracing additional network-based transactions in a network-based commerce system of a seller;   determining a velocity of the traced additional network-based transactions, the velocity including data indicative of a volume of trade on the network-based commerce system;   during processing of a payment transaction of the current network-based transaction:
 performing a risk evaluation using a scoring algorithm, the risk evaluation being configured to assess potential risks of the current network-based transaction and being based on retrieved data that is specific to the seller and that is accumulated as the seller performs network-based transactions; 
 determining timing for release of a portion of funds from a holding account based on the risk evaluation; 
 dynamically updating the determined timing based at least partially on the velocity of the traced additional network-based transactions; and 
 determining a timing restriction of a payment of at least the portion of funds based on the risk evaluation and the updated determined timing; and 
   restricting payment of at least the portion of the funds according to the timing restriction.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the tracing the additional network-based transactions occurs on a continuous basis or on a periodic basis. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising increasing a rate at which the portion of the funds are released responsive to an increase in the velocity of the additional network-based transactions. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising retrieving the retrieved data from a database during processing of the payment transaction of the current network-based transaction, wherein the retrieved data includes information for the current network-based transaction and historical information for previous network-based transactions in the network-based commerce system. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising reducing an amount of time funds are held based on a security proxy provided by a client machine of the seller, wherein the security proxy comprises a selection from a group consisting of a valid social security number, financial services provider account information, and a particular amount of cash. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the risk associated with the current network-based transaction includes a risk of failure to provide a product, a risk of providing a defective product, or a risk of providing a misrepresented product.