Patent ID: 7478066

Claim:
An apparatus for electronically presenting and remitting payment of bills, comprising: means for generating a bill and associated payment remittance information at a biller, the payment remittance information being arranged within a data structure according to a format prescribed by the biller, the data structure having one or more open data fields to hold data that a consumer can enter or alter and one or more closed data fields to hold data that the consumer cannot alter, the remittance information further including hidden structured remittance data that is kept hidden from the consumer; means for electronically transmitting the bill and associated payment remittance information to the consumer; means for enabling the consumer to authorize electronic payment of the bill; means for associating the electronic payment with the payment remittance information; and means for transmitting the payment remittance information, including the structured remittance data, from the consumer back to the biller in the format prescribed by the biller.