Patent ID: 7958050
Filing Date: 2011-06-07
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A computerized method for monitoring the status of a payment account against which a recurring payment has been drawn, via a monitoring file which is continuously updated as payments are made to a recipient by a payer, the method comprising: providing, as part of a computer system, a status database that stores status information on payment accounts, the status information comprising an account status and/or an account condition associated with each of the payment accounts, the status database operated by or on behalf of an entity other than the recipient or the payer; updating the status database in the computer system if there is a change in the status information for any of the payment accounts; providing, as part of the computer system, a monitoring file that stores a plurality of recipient account numbers and a plurality of payment account numbers, and that associates at least one of the plurality of recipient account numbers to at least one of the plurality of payment account numbers; receiving, at the computer system, a recipient account number and a payment account number from the recipient in response to a payment toward a recurring payment from the payer to the recipient; updating the monitoring file, via the computer system, by comparing the received payment account number to any payment account numbers previously stored in association with the received recipient account number in the monitoring file and by storing the received payment account number in association with the received recipient account number in the monitoring file if the received payment account number is a new payment account number; and subsequent to and independently of said updating of the monitoring file to periodically accessing, via the status database of the computer system, the status information using any payment accounts numbers stored in association with any recipient account number of the plurality of recipient account numbers in the updated monitoring file, wherein said periodic access occurs prior to a due date for an expected recurring payment and before a date on which the expected recurring payment is made on said any recipient account number, so that notification can be sent to the recipient if the status information has changed for said any payment account numbers stored in association with said any recipient account number in the updated monitoring file.