Patent Publication Number: US-10776857-B2

Title: Systems and methods for facilitating financial transactions over a network

Description:
This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/324,998 filed on Jul. 7, 2014 and issued on Dec. 26, 2017 as U.S. Pat. No. 9,852,463, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/953,391 filed Jul. 29, 2013 and issued on Aug. 5, 2014 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,799,159, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/631,347 filed on Sep. 28, 2012 and issued on Jul. 30, 2013 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,498,908, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/284,620, filed Oct. 28, 2011 and issued on Oct. 2, 2012 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,280,777, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/966,743, filed on Dec. 28, 2007 and issued on Jul. 17, 2012 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,224,702, all of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to financial transactions and more particularly to facilitating financial transactions over a network. 
     Related Art 
     In online financial transactions, customers search for and purchase products and services through electronic communications with online merchants over electronic networks, such as the Internet. During the course of these transactions, customers may provide payment in various ways including, for example, credit cards, electronic fund transfers, and other payment techniques offered by payment providers. 
     Typically, when online shopping at a particular website, customers select items to purchase by clicking on a link for a specific item. The selected items are placed on reserve in some type of virtual shopping cart. When done shopping, the customer proceeds to a checkout page to provide some form of payment for the selected items. At this point in the process, the customer provides some form of identification and payment. When the customer continues shopping and is ready to purchase items from another website, the customer is typically prompted to re-enter some form of identification and payment. 
     This process can be tedious and inconvenient. Entering information every time an online transaction takes place is inefficient and time consuming. Thus, there currently exists a need to improve the process of purchasing products and services in online transactions. 
     SUMMARY 
     In accordance with embodiments of the invention, systems and methods for facilitating financial transactions over a network include a merchant device, a client device and a payment processing device. The merchant device is adapted to allow a merchant to provide one or more items for purchase via the network. The client device includes a browser application adapted to allow a user to access the merchant device via the network and view the one or more items for purchase. The client device includes a service application adapted to provide a payment mechanism to the user. The user generates a purchase request for at least one item by selecting the at least one item, dragging the at least one item to the payment mechanism, and dropping the at least one item over the payment mechanism. The payment processing device is adapted to receive the purchase request from the client device via the network and authorize the user to purchase the at least one item from the merchant based on information passed with the purchase request. 
     In accordance with embodiments of the invention, the merchant device may be adapted to allow a merchant to generate a bill image summarizing the one or more items selected for purchase. The client device may be adapted to allow the user to generate a purchase request for at least one item by selecting the at least one item, instructing the merchant device to generate the bill image summarizing purchase of the at least one item selected for purchase, dragging the bill image to the payment mechanism, and dropping the bill image over the payment mechanism. The payment processing device is adapted to receive the purchase request, including information related to the bill image, from the client device via the network and authorize the user to purchase the at least one item from the merchant based on information passed with the purchase request. 
     In accordance with embodiments of the invention, systems and methods for facilitating financial transactions over a network include a first component adapted to communicate with a user via a client device over the network and a merchant via a merchant device over a network and a second component adapted to receive a purchase request from the user via the client device over the network and authorize the user to purchase at least one item from the merchant based on information passed with the purchase request. The second component provides a service application to the user as a payment mechanism, and the service application allows the user to generate the purchase request for the at least one item by selecting the at least one item from the merchant device, dragging the at least one item to the payment mechanism, and dropping the at least one item over the payment mechanism. 
     In accordance with embodiments of the invention, systems and methods for facilitating financial transactions over a network include receiving a purchase request for a selected item from a user via the network. The purchase request includes user information, merchant information, and selected item information embedded as arguments in an expression. The system s and methods include verifying the user information including accessing a user account based on the user information to verify the availability of monetary funds for the selected item and verifying the merchant information including accessing a merchant account based on the merchant information and availability of the selected item related to the selected item information. The systems and methods include processing the purchase request by authorizing the user to purchase the selected item from the merchant based on the verified user and merchant information and completing the purchase request by deducting monetary funds from the user account and crediting the deducted monetary funds to the merchant account. 
     These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the detailed description of the embodiments set forth below taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         FIG. 1  shows a block diagram of a networked system configured to facilitate online transactions in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIGS. 2A and 2B  show various methods for facilitating a client-side online transaction with a service application in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  shows a method for facilitating an online transaction in reference to a payment provider server in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 4  shows a streamlined method for facilitating an online transaction in reference to the payment provider server in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIGS. 5A-5C  show service and item icons in various desktop display configurations in accordance with various embodiments of the invention. 
         FIGS. 5D-5F  show service and invoice images in various desktop display configurations in accordance with various embodiments of the invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram of a computer system suitable for implementing embodiments of the invention. 
     
    
    
     Embodiments of the invention and their advantages are best understood by referring to the detailed description that follows. It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, wherein showings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of the invention and not for purposes of limiting the same. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure enable users to drag-and-drop an image (e.g., icon) of an item (e.g., product or service for purchase) displayed in a graphical user interface (GUI), such as a web browser, to a payment mechanism, such as a desktop image or icon and/or a toolbar. When enabled, the payment mechanism recognizes the selected item and communicates with a payment processing provider to purchase the selected item. In one implementation, the payment processing provider may redirect the user to a page on a merchant site that confirms their purchase of the selected product. The payment mechanism may also take different actions, such as adding the product to a virtual shopping cart and providing buttons to complete the purchase at a later time. In various embodiments, the payment mechanism may be implemented with a browser plug-in, bundled with an existing toolbar or application, or a provided in a frames—based implementation that may not require the user to download an application. 
     In some implementations, the image on the web page representing an item for purchase may include an image attribute having dynamic arguments identifying the item for purchase as information in a bill or invoice. When enabled, the payment mechanism may transmit a bill or invoice identifier along with a user identifier and/or a merchant identifier to the payment processing provider for payment processing of the purchase. After payment processing is completed, the payment processing provider may inform the merchant of the processing result, which may include a successful payment. In another implementation, the bill or invoice image may be dragged by the user to any of a plurality of payment provider images or icons (e.g., Visa, MC, AmEx, PayPal). Therefore, it should be appreciated that various embodiments of the present disclosure may extend beyond a browser application to other applications that enable dragging-and-dropping of objects, while retaining information associated with the objects. 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure overcome deficiencies of conventional approaches to processing online financial transactions, wherein the merchant manages a cash register and/or point-of-sale (POS) device and receives credit card information from a client or user. Instead, embodiments of the present disclosure enable a merchant to manage the cash register (e.g., a user&#39;s shopping cart) and the payment processing provider manages the POS device and the user&#39;s credit card and/or banking information. Thus, the merchant transmits bill or invoice information to the payment processing provider, which handles the payment processing and reports back results thereof, such as success or failure, thereby simplifying the merchant&#39;s involvement with the payment transaction. 
       FIG. 1  shows one embodiment of a block diagram of a system  100  configured to facilitate financial transactions over a network  160 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , system  100  includes at least one client device  120 , one or more merchant servers  140 , and at least one payment provider server  180  in communication over the network  160 . 
     In one embodiment, the network  160  may be implemented as a single network or a combination of multiple networks. For example, in various embodiments, the network  160  may include the Internet and/or one or more intranets, landline networks, wireless networks, and/or other appropriate types of communication networks. In another example, the network may comprise a wireless telecommunications network (e.g., cellular phone network) adapted to communicate with other communication networks, such as the Internet. 
     In one embodiment, the client device  120  may be implemented using any appropriate combination of hardware and/or software configured for wired and/or wireless communication over the network  160 . For example, the client device  120  may be implemented as a personal computer of a user  102  (e.g., a client or customer) in communication with the network  160 , such as the Internet. In other examples, the client device  120  may be implemented as a wireless telephone (e.g., cell phone), personal digital assistant (PDA), notebook computer, and/or various other generally known types of computing devices. 
     In one embodiment, the client device  120  may include one or more browser applications  122  which may be used, for example, to provide a user interface to permit the user  102  to browse information available over the network  160 . For example, the browser application  122  may be implemented as a web browser to view information available over the Internet. 
     In one embodiment, the client device  120  may include one or more toolbar applications  124 , which may be used, for example, to provide client-side processing for performing tasks in response to operations selected by the user  102 . For example, the toolbar application  124  may display a graphical user interface (GUI) in connection with the browser application  122 . 
     In one embodiment, the client device  120  may include a service application  126  for facilitating financial transactions on the network  160 , including drag-and-drop shopping, which is discussed in greater detail herein. In one implementation, the service application  126  comprises a software program, such as a graphical user interface (GUI), executable by a processor that is configured to interface and communicate with the one or more merchant servers  140  and the payment provider server  180  via the network  160 . The user  102  is able to access merchant websites via merchant servers  140  to view and select items for purchase, and the user  102  is able to purchase selected items from merchants  140  by communicating with the payment provider server  180 . 
     When installed and executed by the client device  120 , the service application  126  is configured to provide and display a payment mechanism, such as an image or icon, on a display component (e.g., monitor) of the client device  120 . In general, an icon is a pictorial image used in a graphical user interface (GUI) to represent a program, application, command, link to a web page, etc., wherein the user  102  may select an object or action by clicking on a related icon with a cursor control component (e.g., mouse). In one embodiment, upon installation of the service application  126 , the user  102  may be prompted to establish a user account with the payment provider server  180 , wherein the user  102  may use the client device  120  to access the payment provider server  180  via the network  160 , When establishing a user account, the user  102  may be asked to provide personal information, such as name, address, phone number, etc., and financial information, such as banking information, credit card information, etc. 
     In one embodiment, the client device  120  may include other applications  128  as may be desired in particular embodiments to provide additional features available to the user  102 . For example, such other applications  128  may include security applications for implementing client-side security features, programmatic client applications for interfacing with appropriate application programming interfaces (APis) over the network  160  or various other types of generally lmown programs and/or applications. 
     In one embodiment, the client device  120  may include one or more user identifiers  130 , which may be implemented, for example, as operating system registry entries, cookies associated with the browser application  122 , identifiers associated with hardware of the client device  120 , or various other appropriate identifiers, The user identifier  130  may include attributes related to the user, such as personal information (e.g., a user name, password, photograph image, biometric id, address, phone number, etc.) and banking information (e.g., banking institution, credit card issuer, user account numbers, security information, etc.). In various implementations, the user identifier  130  may be passed with a user purchase request to the payment provider server  180 , and the user identifier  130  may be used by the payment provider server  180  to associate the user  102  with a particular user account maintained by the payment provider server  180 , in a manner as described herein. 
     In one embodiment, the one or more merchant servers  140  may be maintained, for example, by one or more merchants offering various items, such as products and/or services, in exchange for financial payment to be received from users, such as the user  102 , over the network  160 . In this regard, each of the one or more merchant servers  140  may include a database  142  for identifying available products and/or services, which may be made available to the client device  120  for viewing and purchase by the user  102 . Accordingly, each of the merchant servers  140  may include a marketplace application  144 , which may be configured to provide information over the network  160  to the browser application  122  of the client device  120 . For example, the user  102  may interact with the marketplace application  144  through the browser application  122  over the network  160  to search and view various items, products and/or services identified in the database  142 . 
     In one embodiment, each of the one or more merchant servers  140  may include a checkout application  146 , which may be configured to facilitate online purchase transactions by the user  102  of products and/or services identified by the marketplace application  144 . In this regard, the checkout application  146  may be configured to accept payment information from the user  102  and/or from payment provider server  180  over the network  160 , 
     In one embodiment, each of the one or more merchant servers  140  may include one or more merchant identifiers  148 , which may be included as part of the one or more items made available for purchase so that particular items are associated with particular merchants. The merchant identifier  148  may include attributes related to the merchant, such as business and banking information. In various implementations, the merchant identifier  148  may be passed with a user purchase request to the payment provider server  180  when the user  102  selects an item for purchase, and the merchant identifier  148  may be used by the payment provider server  180  to associate a particular item purchased with a particular merchant account maintained by the payment provider server  180 , in a manner as described herein. 
     In one embodiment, each of the one or more merchants having a related merchant server  140  may need to establish a merchant account with the payment provider server  180  so that the payment server provider  180  is able to process transactions having items offered for purchase by the merchants. When establishing a merchant account, each of the one or more merchants may need to provide business information, such as name, address, phone number, etc., and financial information, such as banking information, merchant account information, credit card information, payment processing information, etc. 
     In various embodiments, as discussed herein, each of merchant servers  140  may be associated with a particular link (e.g., a link, such as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) to an IP (Internet Protocol) address). In this regard, the payment provider server  180  may optionally redirect the browser application  122  to an appropriate webpage and/or merchant site of the merchant server  140  to facilitate purchase of a corresponding item and/or service available from at least one of the merchant servers  140 . 
     In one embodiment, the payment provider server  180  may be maintained, for example, by an online payment service provider, which may provide payment processing for online transactions on behalf of the user  102  to an operator of the merchant server  140 . In this regard, the payment provider server  180  includes one or more payment applications  182 , which may be configured to interact with the client device  120  and/or each of the merchant servers  140  over the network  160  to facilitate the purchase of items, products and/or services by the user  102  from the merchant server  140 . In one example, the payment provider server  180  may be provided by PayPal, Inc. of San Jose, Calif., USA. 
     In one embodiment, the payment provider server  180  may be configured to maintain a plurality of user and merchant accounts  184 , each of which may include account information  186  associated with individual users, including the user  102 , and the one or more merchants associated with the merchant servers  140 . For example, account information  186  may include private financial information of user  102  and merchants  140 , such as one or more account numbers, passwords, credit card information, banking information, or other types of financial information, which may be used to facilitate online transactions between the user  102  of the client device  120  and one or more merchants associated with the merchant servers  140 . As such, the payment application  182  may be configured to interact with the one or more merchant servers  140  on behalf of the user  102  during a transaction with checkout application  146  without requiring the user  102  to provide account information  186  directly to the merchant server  180 . In various embodiments, the methods and systems described herein may be modified to accommodate users and/or merchants that may or may not be associated with at least one existing user account and/or merchant account, respectively. 
       FIG. 2A  shows one embodiment of a method  200  for facilitating a client-side online transaction with the service application  126  in reference to the client device  120 . As previously discussed, the service application  126  allows the client device  120  to communicate with one or more of the merchant servers  250  via the network  160  to select items for purchase and further communicate with the payment provider server  180  to process online purchase requests and/or transactions for items selected for purchase. 
     In one implementation, upon user instruction, the service application  126  may be installed and/or run on the client device  120  (block  204 ). The user  102  may run the browser application  122  on the client device  120  to access at least one merchant website via a related merchant server  140  (block  208 ) to search the accessed merchant website and view one or more items for purchase (block  212 ). In one embodiment, upon installation, the user  102  may be prompted to establish a user account with the payment provider server  180 , wherein the user  102  may use the client device  120  to access the payment provider server  180  via the network  160 . When establishing a user account, the user  102  may be asked to provide personal information, such as name, address, phone number, etc., and financial information, such as banking information, credit card information, etc. In one embodiment, information related to the user  102  may be packaged as the user identifier  130 . 
     Next, the user  102  may generate a purchase request  216  for at least one item by selecting the at least one item (block  220 ), dragging the at least one item to the service icon (block  224 ), and dropping the at least one item over the service icon (block  228 ). In one embodiment, the user purchase request includes user information, merchant information, and selected item information embedded as arguments in an expression, which are passed to the payment provider server  180 , in a manner as further discussed herein. The user information may include user identifier information, the merchant information may include the merchant identifier information, and the selected item information may include one or more image attributes, including item identifier information, having dynamic arguments identifying the item and merchant providing the item for purchase. 
     When enabled, the payment mechanism may transmit the image identifier along with the user identifier  130 , the merchant identifier  148  and the item identifier to the payment provider server  180  for payment processing. When selecting an item to purchase, the user  102  may utilize a cursor control component (e.g., mouse) to select and drag an item icon or image, representing a selected item for purchase, from the merchant site to a service icon either on the desktop, in a toolbar, or in the browser. Once the user  102  drops the selected item over the service icon, the user  102  is prompted via, for example, a pop-up window, to provide input of user identification (block  232 ). However, it should be appreciated that the user identification may be provided as the user identifier  130  and passed with the user purchase request, and the payment provider server  180  may ask for verification of user identification from the user  102 . 
     At this point, the user  102  may provide user identification  186  or at least verify the user identification for a related user account  184  stored in payment provider server  180  so that funds may be deducted from the user account  184  for purchase of the selected item. Once proper user identification is provided and/or verified, the online purchase transaction may be completed (block  236 ). 
     It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that more than one item may be selected for purchase prior to completing the online purchase transaction. For example, a plurality of items may be selected and placed in a virtual shopping cart and then purchased in a single online purchase transaction. Alternately, each item selected for purchase may be purchased separately without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
       FIG. 2B  shows one embodiment of a method  250  for facilitating a client-side online transaction with the service application  126  in reference to the client device  120 . As will be discussed, the service application  126  allows the client device  120  to communicate with one or more of the merchant servers  250  via the network  160  to select items for purchase, generate an invoice image, and further communicate with the payment provider server  180  to process online purchase transactions for items selected for purchase. 
     In one implementation, upon user command, the service application  126  may be installed and/or run on the client device  120  (block  254 ). As previously discussed, upon installation, the user  102  may be prompted to establish a user account with the payment provider server  180 . The user  102  may run the browser application  122  on the client device  120  to access at least one merchant web site via a related merchant server  140  (block  258 ) to search, view, and select one or more items for purchase from the accessed merchant website (block  262 ). In one embodiment, more than one item may be selected and placed in a virtual shopping cart for purchase in a single online purchase transaction. 
     Next, the user  102  may generate a purchase request  216  for the one or more items selected for purchase by instructing the merchant server  140  to generate a invoice image or icon (block  270 ), dragging the invoice image or icon to the service icon (block  274 ), and dropping the invoice image or icon over the service icon (block  278 ). In one embodiment, the user purchase request includes user information, merchant information, and selected item information in the form of an invoice embedded as arguments in an expression, which are passed to the payment provider server  180 , in a manner as further discussed herein. In various implementations, the image on the web page representing an item for purchase may include an image attribute having dynamic arguments that may be provided in the invoice or invoice. When enabled, the payment mechanism may transmit a bill or invoice identifier along with a user identifier and merchant identifier to the payment provider server for payment processing. When selecting one or more items for purchase, the user  102  may utilize a cursor control component (e.g., mouse) to select, drag and drop one or more item icons to the virtual shopping cart on the merchant site to create an item purchase list The user  102  may then instruct the merchant server  140  to generate an invoice summarizing the items selected for purchase, wherein generating the invoice includes generating a invoice image or icon that represents the invoice and information related thereto, including item selection information, item availability information, purchase information, merchant identification information, etc. 
     After instructing the merchant site to generate the invoice image or icon to represent the selected items for purchase, the user  102  may select, drag and drop the invoice image from the merchant site to a service icon either on the desktop, in a toolbar, or in the browser. Once the user  102  drops the invoice image over the service icon, the user  102  is prompted via, for example, a pop-up window, to provide input of user identification (block  282 ). However, it should be appreciated that the user identification may be provided as the user identifier  130  and passed with the user purchase request, and the payment provider server  180  may ask for verification of user identification from the user  102 . 
     In various implementations, the image of the invoice representing an item for purchase may include an image attribute having dynamic arguments identifying the merchant, the invoice and/or the one or more items selected for purchase. When enabled, the payment mechanism may transmit an invoice identifier along with a user identifier to the payment processing provider for payment processing of the purchase. The invoice identifier may include information relate to the selected items for purchase along with information related to the merchant including merchant information, such as merchant account information, needed for processing the purchase request. 
     Next, the user  102  may provide user identification  186  or at least verify the user identification for a related user account  184  stored in payment provider server  180  so that funds may be deducted from the user account  184  for purchase of the one or more selected items. Once proper user identification is provided and/or verified, the online purchase transaction may be completed (block  286 ). 
       FIG. 3  shows one embodiment of a method  300  for facilitating an online transaction in reference to the payment provider server  180 . 
     In one implementation, the payment provider server  180  receives a purchase request from the user  102  via the client device  120  (block  304 ). As previously discussed in reference to  FIGS. 2A and 2B , to initiate a user purchase request, the user  102  drags and drops an item icon of a selected item for purchase or an invoice image over the service icon, which initiates the user purchase request and online transaction with the payment provider server  180 . In one embodiment, the user purchase request includes user information, merchant information, and selected item information embedded as arguments in an expression, which are passed to the payment provider server  180 , in a manner as further discussed herein. 
     Upon receiving the user purchase request, the payment provider server  180  determines whether the user  102  is an existing user having an established user account  184  by, for example, checking a user account list in a user account database (block  308 ). If the user  102  does not have an established user account, then the payment provider server  180  prompts the user  102  to establish a user account  184  by providing user information  186  (block  312 ), and the payment provider server  180  uploads the service application  126  to the client device  120  so that the user  102  may install and run the service application  126  on client device  120  (block  316 ). Once the service application  126  is installed and run on the client device  120 , the payment provider server  180  processes the purchase information provided in the user purchase request (block  332 ). 
     Otherwise, if the user  102  is determined to be an existing user by the payment provider server  180  (block  308 ), then the payment provider server  180  verifies the user account and user identification information provider by user  102  in the user purchase request (block  320 ). For example, as previously discussed, the user  102  may be prompted to provide user identification to purchase any selected items and complete the online transaction. Next, the payment provider server  180  may determine if the user account is current and active (block  324 ). In some instances, a user&#39;s account information may need to be updated, and thus, the payment provider server  180  may prompt the user  102  to update user account information  186  in the user account  184  for the user  102  (block  328 ). If the user account  184  is current and active, then the payment provider server  180  processes the purchase information in the user purchase request (block  332 ). It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the payment provider server  180  may cancel the online purchase transaction at any point in the process if it is determined that the user  102  enters wrong information or the user  102  is trying to purchase an item with criminal intent. 
     The payment provider server  180  processes the purchase information provided in the user purchase request (block  332 ). The purchase information may include information related to the item selected for purchase, information related to the merchant providing the item selected for purchase, information related to the user including user account number, balance information, credit card information, etc. In one implementation, the payment provider server  180  may optionally access the merchant site via the merchant server  140  to verify purchase information including verifying that the selected item is available (e.g., in stock), verifying the pricing information, verifying that the merchant account is up-to-date, etc. (block  336 ), Next, the payment provider server  180  may prompt the user  102  via, for example, a pop-up window, to verify the purchase request (block  340 ). For example, the payment provider server  180  may ask the user  102  to complete the purchase transaction by selecting a designated box to complete the purchase transaction. In this way, the payment provider server  180  is adapted to allow the user  102  to cancel the online payment transaction prior to completion. 
     Next, the payment provider server  180  completes the online purchase transaction by deducting the amount of the purchase request from the user account  184  and crediting the amount of the purchase request to the merchant account  184  (block  344 ). In one example implementation, completing the purchase request may include redirecting the user to a page on the merchant site that confirms their purchase of the selected product to provide, for example, a receipt to the user. The payment mechanism may also take different actions, such as adding the product to a virtual shopping cart and providing buttons to complete the purchase at a later time. 
       FIG. 4  shows one embodiment of a method  400  for facilitating an online transaction in reference to the payment provider server  180 . In one implementation, method  400  of  FIG. 4  is a streamlined version of the method  300  of  FIG. 3 , wherein like functions and/or actions may be interchanged without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     In one implementation, the payment provider server  180  receives a purchase request from the user  102  via the client device  120  (block  404 ). As previously discussed, the user  102  may initiate a user purchase request by dragging and dropping an item icon of a selected item for purchase over the service icon, which initiates the user purchase request and online transaction with the payment provider server  180 . 
     Next, upon receiving the user purchase request, the payment provider server  180  verifies the user account information including user identification provider by user  102  in the user purchase request (block  420 ). For example, as previously discussed, the user  102  may be prompted by the payment provider server  180  to provide user identification to purchase any selected items and complete the online transaction. 
     Next, the payment provider server  180  may prompt the user  102  via, for example, a pop-up window, to verify the purchase request (block  440 ). For example, as previously discussed, the payment provider server  180  may ask the user  102  to complete the purchase transaction by selecting a designated box to complete the purchase transaction. Next, the payment provider server  180  completes the online purchase transaction by deducting the amount of the purchase request from the user account  184  and crediting the amount of the purchase request to the merchant account  184  (block  444 ). 
       FIGS. 5A-5C  shows various embodiments of a service icon and item icons. In particular, FIG. SA shows an image of a computer desktop  500  displaying a service icon  520  and a browser window  510  with item icons  512 A- 512 D therein, FIG. SB shows an image of the computer desktop  500  displaying a toolbar window  516  with the service icon  520  therein and the browser window  510  with the item icons  512 A- 5412 D therein, and FIG. SC shows an image of the computer desktop  500  displaying the browser window  510  with the item icons  512 A- 512 D and the toolbar  516  with the service icon  520  therein. 
     Referring to FIG. SA, a display component of the client device  120  is adapted to display the service icon  520  and the browser window  510  in the computer desktop  500  with the item icons  512 A- 512 D in the browser window  510 . In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. SA, the user  102  utilizes the browser application  122  to open the browser window  510  and access a merchant server  140  via a merchant site to view a product list having one or more items for purchase including items  512 A- 512 D. When executed, the service application  126  is adapted to provide the service icon  520  on the desktop  500  so that the user  102  may select and drag  530  an item icon for purchase, such as item icon  512 B, and drop the item icon over the service icon  520  to initiate a purchase request with the merchant server  140  and the payment provider server  180 , in a manner as previously discussed. 
     Referring to FIG. SB, a display component of the client device  120  is adapted to display the service icon  520  in a toolbar  516  and the browser window  510  in the computer desktop  500  with the item icons  512 A- 512 D in the browser window  510 . In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. SB, the user  102  utilizes the toolbar application  124  to open the toolbar  516  with the service icon  520  therein. Also, the user  102  utilizes the browser application  122  to open the browser window  510  and access a merchant server  140  via a merchant site to view a product list having one or more items for purchase including items  512 A- 512 D. When executed, the service application  126  is adapted to provide the service icon  520  in the toolbar  516  so that the user  102  may select and drag  530  an item icon for purchase, such as item icon  512 B, and drop the item icon over the service icon  520  in the toolbar  516  to initiate a purchase request with the merchant server  140  and the payment provider server  180 , in a manner as previously discussed. 
     Referring to FIG. SC, a display component of the client device  120  is adapted to display the service icon  520  in the toolbar  516  and the browser window  510  in the computer desktop  500  with the toolbar  516 , service icon  520 , and item icons  512 A- 512 D in the browser window  510 . In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. SC, the user  102  utilizes the browser application  122  to open the browser window  510  and access a merchant server  140  via a merchant site to view a product list having one or more items for purchase including items  512 A- 512 D. Also, the user  102  utilizes the toolbar application  124  to open the toolbar  516  in the browser window  510  with the service icon  520  therein. When executed, the service application  126  is adapted to provide the service icon  520  in the toolbar  516  and in the browser window  510  so that the user  102  may select and drag  530  an item icon for purchase, such as item icon  512 B, and drop the item icon over the service icon  520  in the toolbar  516  to initiate a purchase request with the merchant server  140  and the payment provider server  180 , in a manner as previously discussed. In various implementations, the user purchase request includes user information, merchant information, and selected item information embedded as arguments in an expression, which are passed to the payment provider server  180  during generation of the user purchase request. 
       FIGS. 5D-5F  shows various embodiments of a service icon and an invoice image. In particular, FIG. SD shows an image of the computer desktop  500  displaying the service icon  520  and the browser window  510  with a invoice image  550  showing the purchase of item  512 B therein, FIG. SE shows an image of the computer desktop  500  displaying the toolbar window  516  with the service icon  520  therein and the browser window  510  with the invoice image  550  showing the purchase of item  512 B therein, and FIG. SF shows an image of the computer desktop  500  displaying the browser window  510  with the invoice image  550  and the toolbar  516  with the service icon  520  therein. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5D-5F , a display component of the client device  120  is adapted to display the service icon  520  and the browser window  510  in the computer desktop  500  with the bill image or icon  550  in the browser window  510 . As previously discussed, the user  102  utilizes the browser application  122  to open the browser window  510  and access a merchant server  140  via a merchant site to view a product list having one or more items for purchase including items  512 A- 512 D. Once items are selected for purchase, the user  102  instructs the merchant server  140  to generate a bill image or icon  550  that represents a purchase list of the items selected for purchase. The bill image or icon  550  includes information related to the selected items for purchase along with information related to the merchant including merchant account information needed for processing the purchase request. 
     In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. SD, the service application  126  is adapted to provide the service icon  520  on the desktop  500  so that the user  102  may select and drag  560  the invoice image  55 ; to the service icon  520  and drop the invoice image  550  over the service icon  520  to initiate a purchase request with the merchant server  140  and the payment provider server  180 , in a manner as previously discussed. 
     In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. SE, the service application  126  is adapted to provide the service icon  520  in the toolbar  516  so that the user  102  may select and drag  530  the invoice image  550  to the service icon  520  and drop the invoice image  550  over the service icon  520  in the toolbar  516  to initiate a purchase request with the merchant server  140  and the payment provider server  180 , in a manner as previously discussed. 
     In still another embodiment, as shown in FIG. SF, the service application  126  is adapted to provide the service icon  520  in the toolbar  516  and in the browser window  510  so that the user  102  may select and drag  530  the bill image or icon  550  to the service icon  520  and drop the bill image or icon  550  over the service icon  520  in the toolbar  516  to initiate a purchase request with the merchant server  140  and the payment provider server  180 , in a manner as previously discussed. In various implementations, the user purchase request includes user information, merchant information, and billing information related to the selected item information embedded as arguments in an expression, which are passed to the payment provider server  180  during generation of the user purchase request. 
       FIG. 6  is a block diagram of a computer system  600  suitable for implementing embodiments of the invention, including the client device  120 , the one or more merchant devices  140 , and the payment processing device  180 . In various implementations, the client device  140  may comprise a personal computing device, such as a personal computer, laptop, PDA, etc., the one or more merchant devices  140  may comprise a network computing device, such as a server, and the payment processing device may comprise a network computing device, such as a server. Thus, it should be appreciated that the devices  120 ,  140 ,  180  may be implemented as computer system  600  in a manner as follows. 
     In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, computer system  600 , such as a personal computer and/or a network server, includes a bus  602  or other communication mechanism for communicating information, which interconnects subsystems and components, such as processing component  604  (e.g., processor, micro-controller, digital signal processor (DSP), etc.), system memory component  606  (e.g., RAM), static storage component  608  (e.g., ROM), disk drive component  610  (e.g., magnetic or optical), network interface component  612  (e.g., modem or Ethernet card), display component  614  (e.g., CRT or LCD), input component  616  (e.g., keyboard), and cursor control component  618  (e.g., mouse or trackball). In one implementation, disk drive component  610  may comprise a database having one or more disk drive components. 
     In accordance with embodiments of the invention, computer system  600  performs specific operations by processor  604  executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in system memory component  606 . Such instructions may be read into system memory component  606  from another computer readable medium, such as static storage component  608  or disk drive component  610 . In other embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement the invention. 
     Logic may be encoded in a computer readable medium, which may refer to any medium that participates in providing instructions to processor  604  for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. In various implementations, non-volatile media includes optical or magnetic disks, such as disk drive component  610 , volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as system memory component  606 , and transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiber optics, including wires that comprise bus  602 . In one example, transmission media may take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio wave and infrared data communications. 
     Some common forms of computer readable media includes, for example, floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, RAM, PROM, EPROM, FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, carrier wave, or any other medium from which a computer is adapted to read. 
     In various embodiments of the invention, execution of instruction sequences to practice the invention may be performed by computer system  600 . In various other embodiments of the invention, a plurality of computer systems  600  coupled by communication link  620  (e.g., network  160  of  FIG. 1 , LAN, WLAN, PTSN, or various other wired or wireless networks) may perform instruction sequences to practice the invention in coordination with one another. 
     Computer system  600  may transmit and receive messages, data, information and instructions, including one or more programs (i.e., application code) through communication link  620  and communication interface  612 . Received program code may be executed by processor  604  as received and/or stored in disk drive component  610  or some other non-volatile storage component for execution. 
     Where applicable, various embodiments provided by the present disclosure may be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations of hardware and software, Also, where applicable, the various hardware components and/or software components set forth herein may be combined into composite components comprising software, hardware, and/or both without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Where applicable, the various hardware components and/or software components set forth herein may be separated into sub-components comprising software, hardware, or both without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, where applicable, it is contemplated that software components may be implemented as hardware components and vice-versa. 
     Software, in accordance with the present disclosure, such as program code and/or data, may be stored on one or more computer readable mediums. It is also contemplated that software identified herein may be implemented using one or more general purpose or specific purpose computers and/or computer systems, networked and/or otherwise. Where applicable, the ordering of various steps described herein may be changed, combined into composite steps, and/or separated into sub-steps to provide features described herein. 
     The foregoing disclosure is not intended to limit the present invention to the precise forms or particular fields of use disclosed. It is contemplated that various alternate embodiments and/or modifications to the present invention, whether explicitly described or implied herein, are possible in light of the disclosure. 
     Having thus described embodiments of the invention, persons of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, the invention is limited only by the claims.