Patent ID: 8135634

Claim:
A financial management method executed by a data processing system for automatic payment of a first financial obligation of a customer without reducing, avoiding, or deferring any portion of the first financial obligation, the first financial obligation being due to a first creditor by a first payment due date, the method comprising: receiving financial data corresponding to the customer, the financial data including data regarding the first financial obligation as well as data regarding a second financial obligation of the customer; during an escrow period leading up to the first payment due date, reserving customer funds for payment of the second financial obligation; in at least two transactions prior to or on the first payment due date, transferring by means of one or more data messages amounts of money from a monetary source corresponding to the customer to a second account, where the sum of the transferred amounts of money is approximately equal to or more than the first payment amount, the transfers being adjusted in at least one of timing and amount so as to avoid depleting the funds reserved for payment of the second financial obligation; and in a single transaction prior to or on the first payment due date, transferring from the second account, by means of one or more data messages, an amount of money approximately equal to or more than the first payment amount to an account held or controlled by the first creditor, thereby meeting the first financial obligation without reducing, avoiding, or deferring any portion of the first financial obligation.