Patent ID: 8374964

Claim:
An electronic method for processing stranded payments and lockbox payments, comprising: (a) electronically scanning the stranded payment, wherein scanning the stranded payment comprises: (i) generating a digital image of the stranded payment; (ii) performing optical character recognition on the digital image of the stranded payment, and recognizing data on the stranded payment by application of a predetermined template defined in accordance with the format of the stranded payment; (iii) validating the digital image of the stranded payment and the recognized data; (b) transmitting, in a secure manner, the digital image of the stranded payment and the recognized data; (c) transmitting for clearing, in the same electronic workflow, the stranded payment and a lockbox payment, wherein the recognized data is used in clearing the stranded payment, and the transmitting for clearing comprises sending an electronic version to an image exchange network responsive to predetermined criteria; (d) storing the recognized data, the digital image of the stranded payment, and a digital image of the lockbox payment in a database; (e) updating, for each stranded and lockbox payment, the accounts receivable system of the customer receiving the stranded or lockbox payment; and (f) transmitting a response indicating the final status of the clearing of the stranded payment to where the digital image of the stranded payment and the recognized data were received from.