Patent ID: 8851366

Claim:
A method of transferring funds from a sender to a recipient, the method comprising: receiving, at a service provider computer, a plurality of payment details for a transaction to transfer funds from a sender account to a recipient account, wherein the plurality of payment details includes an identifier of the sender account, an identifier of the recipient, and a transfer amount, and wherein the service provider computer is operated by a service provider that is distinct from the sender, the recipient, and an issuer of the sender account; conducting preliminary checks, by the service provider computer, to determine if the transaction can be completed, the preliminary checks including verifying the identifier of the sender account; performing, by the service provider computer, an authentication process to determine if the sender is authenticated, the authentication process including receipt of a security token from the sender via a user interface; generating, by the service provider computer, an authorization request message that includes an indication that authentication of the sender using the authentication process was successful, a processing code, a merchant type code, and a transaction ID; transmitting, by the service provider computer, the authorization request message to the issuer of the sender account to authorize the transaction using the processing code, the merchant type code, and the transaction ID; receiving, at the service provider computer, an authorization response message from the issuer of the sender account, the authorization response message indicating that the issuer of the sender account successfully authorized the transaction; providing, by the service provider computer, a confirmation message to the sender, the confirmation message indicating that the transaction has been authorized; and transmitting, by the service provider computer, a funds transfer message to an issuer of the recipient account, the funds transfer message indicating that the transfer amount is to be added to the recipient account, wherein the service provider receives the transfer amount plus any fees charged by the service provider from the issuer of the sender account, and wherein the service provider transmits the transfer amount to the issuer of the recipient account.