Co-purchasing System Splitting Payments to Remove Credit Fees
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current e-commerce systems lack a viable method for multiple individuals to jointly purchase an item electronically, and existing payment facilitators fail to ensure secure and fee-free repayment for joint purchases, often involving credit card fees and uncertainty about the purchase's recipient and validity.
Innovation Solution
A co-purchasing system, referred to as SplitCart, allows multiple users to share the cost of an item by creating a dynamic link for contribution, integrated into e-commerce platforms, enabling secure and fee-free transactions through various communication mediums, ensuring full funding before processing payments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple individuals want to share the cost of an item electronically, then the purchasing capability is improved, but the existing payment systems incur credit card fees and lack secure repayment mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the single payment transaction into multiple individual contributions from different users. Each user contributes a portion of the total purchase amount through separate payment transactions, eliminating the need for a single payer to use credit and subsequently collect repayments. This segmentation directly addresses the fee loss issue by structure the transaction flow so that payment processing fees are incurred only once by the platform rather than multiple times through repayment transactions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a co-purchasing platform as an intermediary between multiple contributors and the merchant. This intermediary system manages the collection of funds from multiple users, holds the funds securely, and processes the single consolidated payment to the merchant. The intermediary also manages the distribution of goods and handles any repayment coordination, eliminating the need for direct peer-to-peer repayment transactions that would incur additional fees.
2Ease of operation
If existing payment facilitators are used for joint purchases, then transaction capability is improved, but security and verification of purchase validity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements comprehensive feedback mechanisms throughout the co-purchasing process. The system provides real-time notifications to all contributors about the purchase status, including when the purchase is initiated, when full funding is achieved, when the merchant receives payment, and when the item is delivered. This feedback loop ensures transparency and allows all participants to verify the purchase validity and recipient information, directly addressing the reliability concern.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent requires preliminary actions before the purchase is finalized: all contributors must be identified and agree to the purchase terms, the total funding amount must be confirmed as sufficient, and the recipient information must be verified before the merchant is charged. These preliminary verification steps ensure that the purchase is legitimate and that all parties are committed, preventing fraudulent or invalid purchases from being processed.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a single purchase transaction is split among multiple contributors, then cost-sharing capability is improved, but the complexity of the payment system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal co-purchasing platform that can handle multiple different scenarios through a single unified system: purchases for individual users, group purchases, gift purchases, and partial funding scenarios. The system uses standardized interfaces and processes that work across all these different use cases, reducing the need for separate complex systems for each type of joint purchase scenario.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements self-service features that automatically handle complex coordination tasks without requiring manual intervention from users. The system automatically calculates contribution amounts, tracks funding progress, notifies participants of status changes, coordinates with the merchant for fulfillment, and manages repayment logistics. This automation reduces the operational complexity that would otherwise be borne by the users.
Data Source
AI summary
An illustrative embodiment of a co-purchasing system & method may be configured to integrate into a retailer's existing e-commerce system such that the co-purchasing system & method may be provided as a checkout option on the retailer's website, which may include other checkout options in addition to the co-purchasing system & method. An Organizer of a co-purchasing campaign may invite others to participate in the co-purchasing campaign using a dynamic link, which link may be configured with a specific expiration time/date.