Patent ID: 8160943

Claim:
A method implemented on a data processing system, the method comprising: receiving at a server computer of a mobile phone interchange a request from a first user via a social networking website of a social networking system, the request identifying a first phone number of the user; communicating by the server computer of the mobile phone interchange with the social networking website of the social networking system to identify a second phone number of a second user based on data stored in a social network database of the social networking system coupled to the social networking website the data including a social distance between the users having the first and second phone numbers; communicating by the server computer of the mobile phone interchange with a mobile phone at the first phone number to confirm the request; determining whether the user at the second phone number is within a predetermined social distance from the user at the first phone number; in response to a confirmation of the request confirmed via the mobile phone at the first phone number, transferring, by the server computer of the mobile phone interchange, funds between the user at the first phone number and a user at the second phone number according to the request, wherein the providing the funds is in response to a determination that the user at the second phone number is within a predetermined social distance from the user at the first phone number in the social network of the user at the first phone number; and Wherein the social distance is the smallest number of direct connections (ea friend connections) between the two users in a collection of connections stored in the social network database.