Online purchasing system supporting lenders with affordability screening

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9589301-B2
Application number	US-201313955901-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 31, 2013
Priority date	Mar 21, 2000
Publication date	Mar 7, 2017
Grant date	Mar 7, 2017

Abstract

An online system uses, in various embodiments of the invention, credit report information, loan affordability screening and credit approval and management functionality to facilitate the purchase and finance of products online. The online system may include both sellers of products and lenders that offer financing to buyers seeking to purchase the products. The system may automatically obtain a buyer's credit report information and use that information to determine if the buyer is pre-approved, for example, to obtain financing for a particular product or products. The system also enables use of buyer credit information to identify only those of a seller's products for which the buyer is pre-approved, for example, to finance using one or more loans. The system then enables selection of an identified product or products for purchase, and selection of a loan, for example, for financing of the selected product or products. Credit approval (or pre-approval) may be performed automatically, and along with credit processing, may be performed completely online.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A credit management system comprising:
a first web server; and
a computer, communicatively coupled to the first web server, the computer being configured to generate a credit application and to respond to input upon completion of the credit application to cause the credit application to be automatically analyzed in real time based on at least one credit approval criterion;
wherein the first web server is configured to:
initiate, in response to the credit application meeting the at least one credit approval criterion, automatic communication in real time with the computer, the automatic communication containing an approval of the credit application;
store the credit application and an indication of the approval of the credit application in an approval database; and
delete the credit application from the approval database after a predetermined time period in response to said first web server not receiving a communication of an acceptance within the predetermined time period.

2. The credit management system of claim 1 , further comprising a credit approval engine configured to calculate a risk factor based on the credit application and compare the risk factor against at least one risk guideline to make a determination whether to approve the credit application.

3. The credit management system of claim 2 , further comprising a second web server, wherein the first web server is further configured to obtain credit report information of the buyer from the second web server using at least a portion of the credit application, and wherein the credit approval engine is configured to use at least a portion of the credit report information, at least a portion of the credit application and the credit approval criterion to make a determination whether to approve the credit application.

4. The credit management system of claim 1 wherein the computer is configured to display the indication of the approval of the credit application.

5. The credit management system of claim 4 , wherein the first web server is further configured to communicate the indication to the computer for display via an email or at least one web page.

6. The credit management system of claim 5 wherein the indication comprises a credit offer, and wherein the computer is configured respond to user input to communicate an acceptance of the credit offer, via the one of the email or the at least one web page, to the first web server.

7. The credit management system of claim 3 , wherein the at least one web page is configured to frame a content of another web page.

8. The credit management system of claim 7 , wherein the credit approval engine is configured to analyze the content of the another web page to make the determination whether to approve the credit application.

9. The credit management system of claim 2 , wherein the first web server causes, in response to receipt of the communication, the at least one risk guideline to be updated based on the risk factor calculated.

10. A credit management system comprising:
a credit approval engine;
an approval database; and
a web server that responds to receipt of at least one web page that contains a credit application by causing the credit approval engine to determine whether the credit application meets at least one credit approval criterion, the web server automatically communicating an approval of the credit application to a computer that generated the credit application in response to the credit approval engine determining that the credit application meets the at least one credit approval criterion, the web server storing the credit application and an indication of the approval of the credit application in the approval database, wherein the credit application is deleted from the approval database after a predetermined time period in response to the web server not receiving a communication of an acceptance within the predetermined time period.

11. The credit management system of claim 10 wherein a risk factor is calculated based on the credit application and compared against at least one risk guideline to make a determination whether to approve the credit application.

12. The credit management system of claim 10 wherein the web server obtains credit report information of the buyer from a second web server using at least a portion of the credit application, and wherein the credit approval engine uses at least a portion of the credit report information, at least a portion of the credit application and the credit approval criterion to make a determination whether to approve the credit application.

13. The credit management system of claim 1 further comprising a computer that is used to generate the credit application, and wherein the computer displays the indication of the approval of the credit application.

14. The credit management system of claim 13 wherein the indication is contained in one of an email or at least one web page communicated from the web server to the computer for display.

15. The credit management system of claim 14 wherein the indication comprises a credit offer, and wherein the computer responds to user input to communicate an acceptance of the credit offer, via the one of the email or the at least one web page, to the web server.

16. The credit management system of claim 10 , wherein the at least one web page is configured to frame a content of another web page.

17. The credit management system of claim 16 , wherein the credit approval engine is configured to analyze the content of the another web page to make the determination whether to approve the credit application.

18. The credit management system of claim 15 wherein a risk factor is calculated based on the credit application and compared against at least one risk guideline to make a determination whether to approve the credit application, and wherein the web server causes, in response to receipt of the communication, the at least one risk guideline to be updated based on the risk factor calculated.

19. A method of facilitating online financing comprising:
receiving, by a web server from a computer, at least one web page that contains a credit application;
obtaining at least one credit approval criterion;
determining, by a credit approval engine, whether the credit application meets the at least one credit approval criterion; and
communicating, automatically by the web server to the computer, an approval of the application if the credit approval engine determines that the credit application meets the at least one credit approval criterion;
storing the credit application and an indication of the approval of the credit application in an approval database;
deleting the credit application from the approval database after a predetermined time period in response to the web server not receiving a communication of an acceptance from the computer within the predetermined time period.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the determining comprises calculating a risk factor based on the credit application and comparing the calculated risk factor against at least one risk guideline.

21. The method of claim 19 further comprising obtaining, by the web server, credit report information of the buyer from a second web server using at least a portion of the credit application, and wherein the determining uses at least a portion of the credit report information, at least a portion of the credit application and the credit approval criterion.

22. The method of claim 19 further compri

Assignees

• Paypal Inc

Inventors

• Bennett James D
• Winslade Christopher C

Classifications

• G06Q30/0617

  Representative agent · CPC title

• G06Q30/0601 Primary

  Electronic shopping [e-shopping] · CPC title

• G06Q40/03 Primary

  Credit; Loans; Processing thereof · CPC title

• G06Q40/025 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic