Multi-Platform In-App Payment System With Unified Funding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing in-application payment systems are inconvenient for users as they require creating separate accounts and funding sources for each application platform, leading to difficulties in tracking and controlling in-application purchases across multiple platforms.
Innovation Solution
A multi-platform in-application payment system that allows users to fund a single payment account from a funding source and associate it with multiple applications across different platforms, enabling easy payment and tracking of purchases through budget accounts with optional spending limits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users create separate funding sources for each application platform, then each platform can be funded independently, but the system complexity and user burden increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple platform-specific funding sources into a single universal funding source that can serve multiple application platforms. Instead of requiring separate funding sources for each platform (Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Store), the system consolidates them into one unified funding mechanism, reducing account management complexity while maintaining multi-platform compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The funding source is designed to be universal, capable of funding in-application purchases across different application platforms simultaneously. This multi-functional funding source eliminates the need for platform-specific accounts, allowing users to manage all their in-application spending through a single interface while supporting various platforms.
2Ease of operation
If users associate funding sources with each individual application, then each application can be funded directly, but tracking and controlling spending across applications becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements comprehensive feedback mechanisms that provide users with detailed spending information across all applications funded by the universal funding source. Users can track purchases, set spending limits, and receive notifications about their spending patterns, enabling informed control over in-application expenditures while maintaining ease of funding for individual applications.
Solution Approach 2:
While maintaining a unified funding source, the system segments spending tracking by application, category, and amount. This segmentation allows users to view detailed breakdowns of spending across different applications and categories, providing granular control and visibility without requiring separate funding sources for each application.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple application platform accounts are created, then each platform can be accessed, but the time and effort required to manage multiple accounts increases
Solution Approach 1:
The universal funding source serves multiple application platforms simultaneously, eliminating the need to create and manage separate funding accounts for each platform. Users can access Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, and other platforms through a single funding mechanism, significantly reducing account management time while maintaining broad platform compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a universal funding source as an intermediary between users and multiple application platforms. This intermediary layer handles the complexity of multi-platform funding, allowing users to interact with a single interface while the system manages the underlying platform-specific transactions, thereby reducing the time and effort required for account management.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for providing multi-platform, in-application payments include transferring funds, by a payment service provider device, from a funding source to a payment account in response to receiving a first fund transfer instruction from one of a first user device and a second user device over a network. The payment service provider device then associates the payment account with a first platform application in response to receiving a first association instruction from the first user device over the network, and associates the payment account with a second platform application in response to receiving a second association instruction along with the user account information from a second user device over the network. The payment service provider device will pay for each of a first in-application purchase associated with the first platform application and a second in-application purchase associated with the second platform application using the payment account.