Patent ID: 7765161

Claim:
A method for providing payment services in electronic commerce within the context of a four-corner trust model, the method comprising the steps of: a second participant electronically transmitting a payment order instruction to a first participant via a communications network, said payment order instruction having been electronically received over the communications network from a customer of the second participant (COSP), wherein the four-corner trust model comprises the first participant, the second participant and a root entity, said root entity being separately disposed from said first participant and said second participant, and comprising a root certification authority that issues digital certificates to the first participant and the second participant, said payment order instructions comprising: a buyer's portion, completed by a customer of the first participant (COFP), specifying a payment date, digitally signed by a private key of the COFP, and transmitted to the COSP; a seller's portion, completed by the COSP and digitally signed by a private key of said COSP; a participant's portion completed by the second participant and digitally signed by a private key of said second participant; and instructions to the first participant to execute the payment order instruction on the payment date; wherein at least one of the private key of the first participant and the private key of the second participant is used to produce a digital signature required by the root entity as evidence of an entity's contractual commitment to the contents of the payment order instructions.