Patent ID: 8126793

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, the automated payment system comprising: a document processing system including: an input receptacle for receiving the invoice, an image scanner configured to generate image data from the received invoice, the image data reproducible as a visually readable image of the invoice, a transport mechanism configured to transport the invoice from the input receptacle and past the image scanner, and at least one processor associated with the image scanner, the at least one processor configured to extract field information from the image data of the invoice, the field information including an amount due on the invoice; and an interface coupled to the document processing system, the interface configured to transmit the image data and extracted field information to a network, the transmitted image data and field information formatted for processing by a computer associated with a payor bank and for debiting of the customer bank account for the extracted amount due.