Patent ID: 7647275

Claim:
An automated payment system for processing payment of an invoice sent from a payee to a customer, wherein the customer has a bank account at a payor bank and the payee has a bank account at a payee bank, the automated payment system comprising: a document scanning system having: an input receptacle for receiving the invoice and a check for an amount drawn on the customer's account, an image scanner, an output receptacle, a transport mechanism adapted to transport the invoice and the check from the input receptacle, past the image scanner, and to the output receptacle, the image scanner being adapted to obtain at least one video image of the invoice and at least one video image of the check, and a controller coupled to the transport mechanism and the image scanner, the controller adapted to control the transport mechanism and the image scanner; a first computer at the payor bank communicatively coupled to the document scanning system and adapted to receive the at least one video image of the check and the at least one video image of the invoice, at least one of the document scanning system, the first computer, or a combination thereof configured to extract field information from the video images of the invoice and check, the field information including the amount of the check, the first computer is further adapted to debit the customer's account for the amount of the check; and a second computer at the payee bank communicatively coupled to the first computer and adapted to receive the at least one video image of the check and the at least one video image of the invoice from the first computer; wherein the first computer is further adapted to transmit funds in the amount of the check to the payee bank and the second computer is adapted to receive the funds and to credit the payee's account for the amount of the funds.