Patent ID: 8073744

Claim:
A method of providing funds to a seller who lists an item for sale on an e-commerce web site, the e-commerce web site being hosted by a web server, the e-commerce web site configured to allow sellers to list goods for sale and to allow buyers to bid on or purchase the goods for sale, the method comprising: visiting, by the seller using a computer connected to a computer communications network, the e-commerce web site; requesting, by the seller using the computer, cash from a server, the server configured to be in communication with a database that stores credit profiles of parties comprising respective credit information, wherein the server is configured to retrieve a credit profile associated with the seller from the database and make a determination, based on at least both the credit profile and on characteristics of the seller's sales history on the e-commerce web site, whether to approve the requesting; receiving, by the seller using the computer, in response to the requesting, approval from the server; receiving, by the seller using the computer, a cash amount via a financial processing application, the cash amount associated with the approval; and using, by the seller, the cash amount to improve the seller's cash flow or other purpose.