Patent ID: 8494913

Claim:
A server for accommodating multiple party payments for a single item in an e-commerce transaction, said server comprising: a processor with a communications device; vendor software module capable of execution on said processor, said vendor software module adapted to receive payment requirements from a vendor via said communications device, and to receive payment parameters from an initiator via said communications device, said payment parameters including an item payment amount and an identification of at least one contributor; contributor software module capable of execution on said processor, said contributor software module adapted to obtain payment information from at least two of the initiator and the at least one contributor wherein said payment information is sufficient to authorize the commitment of funds to a transaction; and aggregation software module capable of execution on said processor, said aggregation software module adapted to send a participation message via said communications device to at least one contributor, said participation message including information on the item, the item payment amount, and directions for the contributor to interact with said contributor software module, said aggregation software module further adapted to receive information on an additional contributor from the at least one contributor and send a participation message to the additional contributor, said aggregation software module further maintaining a total of committed funds and initiating a payment transaction when the committed funds are sufficient to pay the vendor the item payment amount.