Checkfree Corporation

Blake Keown

Peter Moenickheim

Howard Baulch

Adam Koltnow

Payments on behalf of a plurality of payors to a plurality of payees are facilitated using respective first data associated with each payor and respective second data associated with each of those payees payable by crediting via electronic funds transfer (EFT), such as by ACH transfer. The respective first data associated with each payor includes payee identity information for each payee designated by that payor, and could for example take the form of a payee list for that payor. The respective second data associated with each payee payable by crediting via EFT includes payment information identifying a deposit account of that payee. Information identifying a first of the payees and a deposit account of the first payee is received by a payment service provider. The first payee is not currently one of those payees associated with respective second data, when this information is received. The payment service provider stores a payee identifier for the first payee in association with payment information corresponding to the received information identifying the first payee deposit account as respective second data associated with the first payee. After receipt of the information identifying the first payee and the first payee deposit account, the payment service provider determines that the respective first data associated with a first payor includes payee identity information for the first payee and, based on this determination, stores an indicator indicating that the first payee is payable by crediting via EFT, in association with the payee identity information for the first payee in the respective first data associated with the first payor.

Propagating data to facilitate electronic payments to payees

To make a payment to a payee on behalf of a payor, the payment service provider receives, via a network, a first payment request to make a first payment to a payee on behalf of a first payor and a second payment request to make a second payment to the payee on behalf of a second payor. The first request has first identity information identifying the payee and the second request has second identity information identifying the payee. The payment service provider accesses first data associated with the first payor to identify a first unique payee identifier associated with the payee based on the first payee identity information and second data associated with the second payor to identify a different second unique payee identifier associated with the payee based on the second payee identity information. The payment service provider retrieves first electronic payment information for the payee based on the identified first unique payee identifier and different second electronic payment information for the payee based on the identified second unique payee identifier. The payment service provider can then direct a first electronic payment to the payee on behalf of the first payor based upon the retrieved first electronic payment information and a second electronic payment to the payee on behalf of the second payor based upon the retrieved second electronic payment information.

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Lewis Center, OH, United States of America

Blake Keown