Online Banking Request Tracking for Shared Expense Repayment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Individuals often fail to track or remember to pay back shared costs or contributions to a group, leading to missed payments and inconvenience for the initiator.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method that provides access to a financial institution's online banking area, allowing users to track expenses, calculate shares, and send payment requests to participants, with options for various payment forms and reminders.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual tracking of shared costs is used, then participants can pay back initiators, but participants may forget to pay and initiators must remember to remind them
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automated self-tracking of shared costs and payments. The computer automatically records expenses, calculates shares, tracks payment status, and sends reminders without human intervention, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring manual tracking by participants or initiators.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements automated feedback mechanisms by sending payment status notifications and reminders to both initiators and participants. The computer generates and transmits messages informing users about outstanding payments, payment status, and shared cost details, creating a continuous feedback loop that eliminates the need for manual checking and reminding.
2Loss of information
If the initiator manually tracks who has paid what amount, then payment information can be monitored, but the initiator cannot remember or does not remind participants who owe money
Solution Approach 1:
The computer acts as an intermediary between initiators and participants, automatically managing all payment tracking information. The system receives expense data, calculates payment shares, monitors payment status, and communicates with all parties involved, eliminating the cognitive burden on the initiator while maintaining accurate information records.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical tracking methods (memory, note-taking, manual reminders) with an automated computer-based system. The computer electronically stores, processes, and communicates payment information, substituting human cognitive and manual efforts with automated computational processes.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple payment forms are provided, then participants have flexible payment options, but the system must handle various payment processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The computer system is designed with multi-functionality to handle diverse payment methods including cash, check, money order, electronic funds transfer, and other forms. The system universally processes all these payment types through a single integrated platform, accommodating different participant preferences and circumstances without requiring separate systems for each payment method.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method for granting a user access to an on-line banking area of a website belonging financial institution responsive to receiving the valid user name and password. The method providing the user with account information regarding checking, savings, mortgage, home equity and/or loan accounts held by the user at the financial institution. The method grants the user access to a request tracking area of the website of the financial institution, receive request related data from the user, the request related data including data relating to at least one expense or goal, calculate portions of each expense respectively owed by each of a plurality of participants in the request and track whether a participant has paid. The method includes sending a message to at least one participant, the message requesting payment for the portion owed by the participant and receiving the payment from the participant in various payment forms.