Patent ID: RE38715

Claim:
A method of paying bills using a telephone connectable to at least one remote payment card network via a payee's agent's system, wherein a caller places a call using said telephone to initiate a spontaneous payment transaction that does not require pre-registration, to a payee, the method comprising the steps of: prompting the caller to enter an account number using the telephone, the account number identifying an account of a payor with the payee in connection with the payment transaction; responsive to entry of an account number, determining whether the entered account number is valid; prompting the caller to enter a payment number using the telephone, the payment number being selected at the discretion of the caller from any one of a number of credit or debit forms of payment; responsive to entry of the payment number, determining whether the entered payment number is valid; prompting the caller to enter a payment amount for the payment transaction using the telephone; responsive to a determination that a payment amount has been entered and further responsive to a determination that the entered account number and payment number are valid, and during the call: accessing a remote payment network associated with the entered payment number, the accessed remote payment network determining, during the call, whether sufficient available credit or funds exist in an account associated with the entered payment number to complete the payment transaction; responsive to a determination that sufficient available credit or funds exist in the associated account, charging the entered payment amount against the account associated with the entered payment number, adding the entered payment amount to an account associated with the entered account number, informing the caller that the payment transaction has been authorized, and storing the account number, payment number and payment amount in a transaction log file of the system during the call; and responsive to a determination that sufficient available credit or funds do not exist in the associated account, informing the caller during the call that the current payment transaction has been declined and terminating the current payment transaction.