Method and apparatus for paying bills electronically using machine readable information from an invoice
US6438527B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 31, 1995 |
| Grant date | Aug 20, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 31, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06Q30/04
- WIPO fieldIT methods for management
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Data capture which occurs at the consumer end of an electronic bill pay transaction is assisted by machine readable information in a standardized format on an invoice where the machine readable information includes biller identification and a C-B account number and the information is readable at the consumer end without prior arrangements being made specifically between the consumer and the biller. The biller identification is either a universal biller reference number or sufficient information to allow manual identification and contact with the biller. The machine readable information is an optically-readable bar code, characters in a font designed for error-free character recognition by optical or magnetic means.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.