Patent ID: 8712884

Claim:
An automated electronic payment processing arrangement for processing payment for transactions involving buyers and sellers, the arrangement including a computer-based processor configured and programmed to: receive an invoice; associate, as a function of electronically-stored contract data for a contract between a buyer and a seller, the invoice with data characterizing a transaction involving the buyer and the seller, the buyer being a subsidiary of a parent buyer; audit the invoice using the contract data to ensure that a payment to the seller is proper; process, when the payment to the seller is proper, the payment on behalf of the buyer by extending credit to the buyer for the payment using credit-based characteristics for at least one of the buyer and the seller; and generate a computer-readable record characterizing the payment; use the contract data to selectively assess against at least one of the buyer and the seller a fee for the payment; and facilitate, using the computer-readable record, a funds transfer from the parent buyer to cover payments made on behalf of the buyer for different transactions for which payment is made during a payment period by computing a total amount of payments made during the payment period using computer-readable records for the different transactions.