Patent ID: 7523068

Claim:
A computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a computer, configure the computer to: run a payment processing application that interactively provides user output and receives user input through a single, centralized user interface, enabling the payment processing application to be controlled and tracked through the user interface; provide a first user option to open a payment processing session, and open a payment processing session in response to a user selecting the first user option; provide user-selectable options through the user interface enabling a user to designate a batch of obligated payments from a plurality of sources representing a plurality of different types of obligated payments; provide user-selectable options through the user interface for the batch of obligated payments to include specified types of obligated payments, wherein the user-selectable options for the specified types of obligated payments comprise: payroll payments, payments to suppliers in exchange for goods supplied, payments to service providers in exchange for services performed, refund payments to customers, and loan payments to banks and other creditors; provide user-selectable options through the user interface enabling a user to group sets of the obligated payments to be paid with specified user-selectable payment options, wherein the user-selectable payment options for the sets of the obligated payments comprise: payment methods, source accounts from which the payments are to be made, currencies in which the payments are to be made, and payees to whom the payments are to be made, and wherein the options for payment methods include checks and electronic fund transfer; enter each of the sets of obligated payments to a respective payment method processing module that corresponds to the user-selectable types of obligated payments and payment options selected for the respective set of obligated payments; and execute the payment method processing modules, thereby generating a plurality of sets of prepared payments using the respective payment options selected for each of the sets of obligated payments.