Electronic Bill Payment System Using Lockbox Data for Automatic Enrollment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Consumer adoption of electronic bill payment and presentment (EBPP) services is slower than anticipated due to a daunting setup process for consumers and inefficiencies on both the payer and biller sides, with existing systems lacking clear value propositions and requiring manual input of information, leading to errors and high costs.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that collect payer and biller information to generate a menu for selecting electronic payment services, facilitating automatic activation of these services through a graphical user interface, with incentives for participation and data sharing between lockbox entities, banks, and billers to simplify the process and reduce manual errors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual input of payer and biller information is required for electronic bill payment setup, then the system can establish accurate payment relationships, but the setup process becomes tedious and time-consuming with high potential for errors
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically collects payer and biller information from existing bank records and lockbox data without requiring manual customer input. The lockbox bank provides pre-collected biller information including account numbers and payment details, enabling the system to self-populate payment profiles and eliminate manual data entry while maintaining accuracy through verified source data
Solution Approach 2:
The lockbox bank performs preliminary data collection and verification of payer and biller information before the electronic bill payment service is activated. By pre-gathering accurate account information, payment relationships, and biller details during the lockbox processing phase, the system eliminates the need for customers to manually input data during setup, thereby improving both ease of operation and information reliability
2Loss of information
If a lockbox bank collects and holds payer and biller information, then electronic payment information is available for future transfers, but the lockbox bank lacks the payer customer relationship to facilitate the transition
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the lockbox bank as an intermediary that bridges the information gap between the payer's bank and the biller. The lockbox bank provides pre-collected biller information and payment relationships to the electronic bill payment system, enabling the payer's bank to facilitate electronic transfers even without direct customer relationship management, thus resolving the adaptability issue while maintaining information availability
Solution Approach 2:
The lockbox bank's data collection infrastructure is leveraged for multiple purposes: traditional lockbox processing and enabling electronic bill payment services. By making the lockbox information repository serve dual functions, the system allows the lockbox bank to contribute payment information without requiring direct customer relationship management, thereby achieving versatility in implementing electronic payments across different bank-customer relationships
3Reliability
If the payer's bank does not have sufficient information from checks to facilitate future electronic transfers, then customer privacy and security are maintained, but the bank cannot enable automatic electronic payments
Solution Approach 1:
The lockbox bank serves as an intermediary that provides the missing biller information and payment relationship data to the electronic bill payment system. This intermediary role allows the payer's bank to enable efficient electronic transfers by supplementing its limited check data with comprehensive lockbox-collected information, thereby improving productivity while the payer's bank maintains its security posture by not directly collecting sensitive biller information
4Ease of manufacture
If electronic bill payment services are implemented with manual setup processes, then the system can be deployed with existing infrastructure, but consumer adoption is slower than anticipated due to the daunting setup process
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically enrolls payers in electronic bill payment services by utilizing existing lockbox data and bank records. The self-service mechanism populates payment profiles, identifies eligible billers, and activates electronic transfers without requiring manual customer setup actions, thereby maintaining ease of deployment while dramatically accelerating consumer adoption by eliminating the daunting manual setup process
Solution Approach 2:
The lockbox bank performs preliminary data collection and validation of payer and biller information before electronic payment services are activated. By pre-processing and organizing payment data during the lockbox phase, the system enables rapid service deployment and immediate customer enrollment without requiring time-consuming manual setup, thus improving adoption rates while maintaining infrastructure simplicity
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment of the present invention relates to capturing payer information and biller information for generating menu delivered to a customer to activate the billers for electronic payment and/or electronic presentment by selecting one or more billers. A method for facilitating electronic payment related services to at least one payer entity for making payments to at least one biller may comprise the steps of collecting payer information associated with the at least one payer entity; collecting billing information associated with the at least one payer entity; identifying one or more billers associated with the at least one payer entity from the payer information and the billing information, where the at least one payer entity has a relationship with each of the one or more billers; generating a menu for the at least one payer entity to select one or more billers for activating one or more electronic payment related services; and activating the one or more electronic payment related services in response to the at least one payer entity's selection of the one or more billers.