Yahoo Receives Patent for Person-to-Person Online Money Transfers

[bargainbloodhound]

1 1/2 years after the demise of Yahoo's payment service Yahoo! PayDirect, the company has been granted a patent for person-to-person online money transfers.

I'm being lazy and haven't read over the entire thing yet, but it would seem their patent might cover some methods that certain other online payment services use...   :-\

United States Patent  7,031,939
Gallagher ,   et al. April 18, 2006

Systems and methods for implementing person-to-person money exchange

full patent: http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=7,031,939.PN.&OS=PN/7,031,939&RS=PN/7,031,939

Abstract

Systems and methods for effecting online financial transactions between individuals or between individuals and entities such as banks, merchants and other companies. Each user accesses a fund exchange server to establish an online account, which is used to transfer funds to and from other entities' online accounts. To fund an online account, funds can be transferred to the online account from a credit card account or from another online account. To withdraw funds, money can be transferred to a credit card account or other bank account. Any user may initiate a send money transaction or a request payment transaction with any other entity provided that entity has an e-mail address. For a send money transaction, the user sending money (payor) enters an amount of funds to be transferred and an e-mail address of the recipient of the funds (payee). The system sends an e-mail message to the payee at the address provided indicating that the amount of funds has been "received" on the payee's behalf. The payee must then either open an online account or identify an existing online account to complete the transaction. For a request money transaction, a user enters an amount of funds owed and an e-mail address for the recipient of the payment request (payor), and the system sends a payment request to the payor via e-mail at the provided address. If the payor accepts the payment request, the payor identifies an online account from which to transfer funds to the payee (initiator of the payment request). If the payor does not have an online account established, the payor must sign up for an online account and provide a credit card number to fund the online account. Thereafter, the amount of funds are transferred to the payee and the system sends an e-mail notification to the payee indicating that the funds have been "received" on the payee's behalf. In both cases, to complete a transaction, the payee must direct the received funds to an online account, for example, by providing an online account number and/or other identifying information such as a password. The payor may cancel the transaction at any time until the payee directs the received funds to an online account.

[xppman]

Tell you what.
All these moves lately by some big players don't seem to be what ebay would like to see.
Although ebay is reported into being in talks with  Microsoft, Yahoo
because of Google's moves.
http://community.tuliptools.com/index.ph...468.0.html


I have more of a feeling that these big players may be really
thinking of distancing themselves further away from ebay.

Even though publicly they act like they are stroking ebay and want to work with ebay.

I have a feeling that something else is really going on here.

We all know PP is now integrated with Yahoo auctions but if they are now
gearing up for their own payment service what will they want to do with PP?

Interesting events to say the least.

[bargainbloodhound]

but if they are now
gearing up for their own payment service what will they want to do with PP?

Yahoo first applied for that patent 6 years ago right after they bought PayDirect.  I don't think they'll start a new payment service anytime soon, but since eBay, Amazon, and Google all have their own payment systems I think at some point Yahoo might decide it needs to get back in the payment game to compete.

I'm wondering whether they'll try to get some royalties out of a few companies that might now be infringing on that patent.  :-\

[mandy]

at some point Yahoo might decide it needs to get back in the payment game to compete.

Analysts are thinking similar thoughts:

In addition, Yahoo! may also provide clarity on a re-entry into online payment services similar to eBay's PayPal...

The Bear Stearns analyst noted that Yahoo! received a patent for "Systems and methods for implementing person-to-person money exchange," on April 18...

full article: http://www.forbes.com/markets/bonds/2006...ets17.html