Patent ID: 7822663

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of reducing risk in a payment-based transaction, comprising: receiving at least one user-supplied risk parameter associated with a counterparty; receiving a first instruction authorizing the payment-based transaction from an account holder to the counterparty; storing the first instruction in a payment queue that is maintained in a memory device of a payment bank system operated by a payment bank; and determining the processing of the payment-based transaction by executing a risk filter routine, including: determining an available balance associated with the counterparty based upon the at least one user-supplied risk parameter, other payment-based transactions initiated by the account holder, and payments received by the account holder; reading the first instruction from the payment queue; determining whether to selectively reject the payment-based transaction based upon whether an amount of the payment-based transaction exceeds the available balance and based upon the at least one user-supplied risk parameter; and automatically returning the first instruction to the payment queue for later re-evaluation based upon payments received by the account holder from the counterparty subsequent to the determining whether to selectively reject the payment-based transaction if the amount of the payment-based transaction exceeds the available balance.