Unified Payment Vehicle for Multi-Account Allocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face inconvenience in managing multiple payment vehicles and remembering which to use in specific circumstances due to varying rewards, credit limits, and merchant acceptance, leading to a need for a unified payment system that can automatically allocate payments according to user-configured rules.
Innovation Solution
A unified payment vehicle system that automatically allocates payments among multiple funding accounts based on user-configured rules, integrating loyalty programs and budgeting, allowing users to input funding accounts, rewards information, and payment allocation rules, and providing interfaces for managing transactions and budgeting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users carry multiple payment vehicles to access different rewards and credit limits, then payment flexibility and reward optimization are improved, but user convenience and operational simplicity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple payment vehicles and their associated funding accounts into a single unified payment interface. The system merges credit cards, debit cards, and other payment instruments into one consolidated system that automatically manages them, eliminating the need for users to physically carry and manually select among multiple cards while preserving access to all their payment options.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified payment vehicle incorporates an automatic allocation system that self-manages the selection and routing of payments across different funding accounts based on user-defined rules. The system automatically determines which account to charge for each transaction without requiring user intervention, making the system serve itself in managing the complexity of multiple payment vehicles.
2Reliability
If users manually track multiple funding accounts and their limits, then payment control and budget management are improved, but time consumption and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements automatic feedback mechanisms that continuously monitor funding account balances, credit limits, and transaction statuses. The allocation system receives real-time feedback about account availability and automatically adjusts payment routing decisions, providing users with reliable payment control without requiring manual tracking or intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring allocation rules and automatically setting up payment routing preferences before transactions occur. Users define their allocation preferences in advance, and the system automatically executes the appropriate payment allocations when transactions are made, eliminating the need for manual account management during the payment process.
3Productivity
If a unified payment vehicle automatically allocates payments among multiple accounts, then user convenience and time efficiency are improved, but system complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the payment allocation process into distinct functional modules: rule configuration, transaction analysis, allocation decision-making, and execution. By dividing the complex allocation task into separate manageable components, the system can automatically manage multiple funding accounts efficiently without overwhelming complexity, as each module handles a specific aspect of the allocation process.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified payment vehicle acts as an intermediary layer between the user and multiple funding accounts. This intermediary system manages the complexity of coordinating across multiple accounts by providing a single point of interaction for users while handling all the sophisticated allocation logic, account coordination, and transaction routing in the background.
Data Source
AI summary
A system, method, and computer-readable media for automatically allocating a payment among a plurality of funding accounts according to rules configured by the user. Embodiments of the invention can further allocate a single purchase among multiple payment accounts. This can be used, for example, to automatically aggregate credit limits where no single funding account has sufficient credit to fund the purchase alone. Embodiments of the invention can also assist the user with budgeting expenses by charging payments to one or more budgeting accounts previously defined by the user according to additional rules.