Financial management system, and methods and apparatus for use therein

Abstract

The invention provides a financial management system wherein a real bank account is notionally sub-divided into virtual sub-accounts and transactions are effected between the virtual sub-accounts without affecting the operation of the real bank account, such a system allowing a customer to maintain an automatically updated model of the customer's finances within the single account, thus assisting visualization of his or her financial position, while retaining the benefit of the single account.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation of and claims priority from earlier filed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 154,441, filed May 24, 2002, which claims priority from earlier filed GB Patent Application No. 0112596.2, filed May 24, 2001.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to financial management systems, in particular ones which provide a versatile virtually structured personal bank account. More specifically, the present invention relates to apparatus and methods for providing an integrated banking account where only one actual financial account is held but which is represented as different virtual sub-accounts according to user-defined parameters. The invention further relates to a set of computer-implemented process steps suitable for implementing such an apparatus or method when installed on a customer's or a service provider's computers.[0003]One of the traditional approaches to personal financial managem...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]It is a further object of the present invention to provide a financial management system enabling the creation and management of user defined virtual sub-accounts for a remotely accessible single banking account.

[0013]The invention in a first aspect provides a financial management system, wherein a real bank account is notionally sub-divided into at least two virtual sub-accounts and transactions may be effected between said virtual sub-accounts without affecting the operation of the real bank account. Such a system allows a customer to maintain an automatically updated model of the customer's finances within the single account, to assist visualization of his or her financial position, while retaining the benefit of the single account.

[0039]The secondary customer interface apparatus may be controlled by an intermediate service provider separate from the banking institution controlling the account operating apparatus. In this way, flexibility for the customer and the service provider can be maximized without complicating or prejudicing the integrity of the account operating apparatus.

Problems solved by technology

There are drawbacks in having separate accounts.

General purpose accounts generally pay low rates of interest whereas in contrast higher interest-bearing accounts may oblige the account holder to commit large sums of money or restrict access to funds.

Mortgage accounts can be inflexible regarding repayment schedules and amounts.

Additionally, if an individual has several accounts it can be difficult to manage and track transactions and total expenditure.

Although in the Virgin One account a customer can track their net balance against a “target” curve which is calculated to payoff the mortgage within a desired term, existing services do not currently provide any more detailed methods whereby a customer can see their exact financial position at any point in time and understand exactly how much money they have to spend in view of other commitments.

Similarly, it may be difficult for a customer of such an account to see the effect of any “savings” and “loans” which they may have, as these are held in the account as a single sum.

Images