Patent ID: 7840465

Claim:
A method employed by an organization to electronically receive a payment from a customer of the organization, the organization operating a networked electronic payment site, the method comprising: receiving and identifying the customer at the electronic payment site by way of a computing device; identifying at the computing device by way of a computer database an amount due as a payment from the identified customer and a payment due date for the payment; receiving from the identified customer at the electronic payment site an identification of an account of the customer from which funds for the payment are to be debited; determining at the computing device a current time; and performing one of: determining that the determined current time is before a predetermined time relating to the identified payment due date, and based thereon: effectuating the payment from the customer by way of a non-real-time payment system implemented in computer hardware, including the non-real-time payment system processing the payment at a later time on or before the identified payment due date such that the payment is applied to the customer on or before the identified payment due date; and determining that the determined current time is after a predetermined time relating to the identified payment due date, and based thereon: effectuating the payment from the customer by way of a real-time payment system implemented in computer hardware, including the real-time payment system processing the payment at the current time such that the payment is applied to the customer at the current time by: requesting debiting the funds from the account, the debiting to be performed at a later time after the current time: receiving an acknowledgment in a response to the request; applying the payment based on the received acknowledgment, the received acknowledgment being sufficient to assume that the debiting will occur despite a risk that the debiting will not occur.