Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a system and method for enabling and facilitating postage related payments using a postage meter, and in particular to a system and method for making payments on past due accounts using a postage meter and a credit card and for updating payment method information using a postage meter. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Postage metering systems are well known in the art. A typical postage meter applies evidence of postage, commonly referred to as a postal indicia, to an envelope or other mailpiece and accounts for the value of the postage dispensed. As is well known, postage meters include an ascending register, that stores a running total of all postage dispensed by the meter, and a descending register, that holds the remaining amount of postage credited to the meter. The value of the descending register is reduced by the amount of postage dispensed during a transaction. Postage meters generally also include a control sum register which provides a check upon the descending and ascending registers by keeping a running total of all finds that have been added into the meter. 
   United States postal regulations do not allow postage meters to be owned by the customer that uses the meter, such as an individual or a business. Instead, for security and control purposes, ownership of postage meters must be retained by the meter manufacturer. As a result, postage meters are rented rather than sold by meter manufacturers to customers for a periodic rental fee. Such manufacturers may also rent ancillary or related products, such as a scale, to the customers in conjunction with the meters. Customers are typically billed periodically, such as quarterly, for the rental fees associated with the postage meters and ancillary or related products they have rented. For various reasons, customers often fall behind on their rental fee payment obligations, resulting in past due accounts that are often difficult, inconvenient and/or time consuming to collect upon. Thus, there is a need for a system and method for automating and facilitating the collection of payments for past due rental accounts. 
   Furthermore, because postage meters hold a finite amount of postage value that is used up over time, they must be periodically refilled or recharged with postal value. Traditionally, in order for a customer to refill or recharge a postage meter, the customer had to physically bring the postage meter to a post office, where it would be manually opened, inspected, refilled, and resealed by an authorized postal employee. More recently, automated systems for remotely (at the owner&#39;s location) refilling and inspecting postage meters have been developed and are in widespread use. In one such system, meters are refilled using the telephone system wherein meter related information is communicated by a customer to a remote data center and recharging information is communicated by the data center to the customer using the telephone lines. In another remote recharging system, the postage meter itself communicates electronically, such as with a modem or the like, with a remote data center computer in order to exchange the information required to recharge the meter. In any such remote recharging system, the customer must pay for the postage value before it is loaded into the customer&#39;s postage meter. In many instances, customers utilize a credit card for this purpose, and a record of the customer&#39;s credit card information is maintained by the provider that operates the remote data center for purposes of charging payments for postage refills. Often times, credit card related problems arise during the recharging process that prevent a customer from recharging their meter. For example, the credit card on file with the provider, which the provider treats as the default method of payment used in the recharging system, may have expired, reached a credit limit or have been suspended due to a lost or stolen card. In such situations, the customer must contact the provider directly, typically by telephone, to provide information for a new credit card to be used for the current transaction and as the future default method of payment. This step is inconvenient and time and resource consuming for both the user and the provider, which must employ staff to receive and act upon such calls. Thus, there is a need for a system for automating and facilitating the updating of credit card information for postage meter customers. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a method of collecting a payment from a customer associated with a postage meter where the customer has a past due account for, for example, rental of the postage meter. The method includes receiving a request for a service from the postage meter and determining that the customer has the past due account. The method also includes requesting through the postage meter that the customer make the payment for the past due account using a credit card, requesting that the customer provide credit card information through the postage meter relating to the credit card for purposes of charging the payment to the credit card, and performing the service and charging the payment to the credit card if the customer provides the credit card information, and denying the service if the customer does not provide the credit card information. The service may include a postage refill for the postage meter or a remote inspection for the postage meter, among other things. Preferably, the method is performed at a data center of a provider of the postage meter that is located remotely from the postage meter. The payment that is charged to the credit card may include payment in full for the past due account, or some fraction of the past due account as determined by the provider. 
   The present invention also relates to a method of updating payment method information for a customer associated with a postage meter wherein the customer has previously provided a default credit card for payment for postage refills. The method includes receiving a request from the postage meter for a postage refill for the postage meter, wherein the postage refill is to be charged to the default credit card, and attempting to charge the payment for the postage refill to the default credit card and determining that the charge has been rejected. The method also includes receiving new credit card information from the postage meter, thereafter providing the postage refill to the postage meter and storing the new credit card information for use in future transactions. The new credit card information that is provided using the postage meter may include credit card information for a new credit card or, alternatively, updated credit card information for the default credit card, such as a new expiration date. Preferably, the postage refill is only provided if the payment is successfully charged using the new credit card information provided by the customer. 
   Therefore, it should now be apparent that the invention substantially achieves all the above aspects and advantages. Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Moreover, the aspects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 

   
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings illustrate presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention. As shown throughout the drawings, like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a system for making payments on past due accounts and updating payment information according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a flowchart of a method for making payments on past due accounts using a postage meter and a credit card according to an aspect of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 3  is a flowchart of a method for updating payment method information using a postage meter according to an aspect of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a system  5  for making payments on past due accounts and updating payment method information according to the present invention. System  5  includes a plurality of postage meters  10 . Each postage meter  10  is rented by a customer from a provider and is used by the customer at a customer location. Each postage meter  10  is in electronic communication, such as through a modem or the Internet, with provider services server  15 . Provider services server  15  comprises a server computer located at a location remote from each postage meter  10  that is operated by or under the direction of the postage meter provider. Provider services server  15  is the main communications interface between the provider and postage meters  10 , and handles requests for various services from each postage meter  10 , including, without limitation, requests for refilling postage and requests for remote meter inspection. 
   Provider services server  15  is in electronic communication with postage refill server  20 , which is a server computer that includes a software system for tracking, managing and administering postage value refills for remotely located postage meters such as postage meters  10 . As described above, such remote postage value refilling systems are well known in the art and thus will not be described in detail herein. In addition, provider services computer  15  is in electronic communication with accounts receivable server  25 , which is a server computer that includes a system for tracking and managing customer accounts. A number of such systems are known in the art and are able to track the status of customer accounts, such as amounts due and/or past due for rental fees owed for postage meters  10  and any other products rented by the customer (referred to as accounts receivable data). Provider services server  15  is thus able to access and receive accounts receivable data from accounts receivable server  25  for any particular customer having a postage meter  10 . In addition, through communications with postage refill server  20 , provider services server  15  is able to fulfill postage value refill requests for any particular postage meter  10 . 
     FIG. 2  is a flowchart depicting a method for making payments on past due customer accounts using the system shown in  FIG. 1  according to an aspect of the present invention. As seen at step  100 , the method begins with one of the postage meters  10  sending a message to provider services server  15  requesting a service such as a postage value refill or a remote inspection. Next, at step  105 , a determination is made as to whether the customer associated with the postage meter  10  has a past due account. In particular, product services server  15  queries accounts receivable server  25  to obtain account information for the customer and determines whether the customer has a past due account. As will be appreciated, what exactly constitutes a past due account in each situation will be determined by the provider. For example, an account may be considered to be past due a predetermined number of days, such as thirty, following the issuance of an invoice. 
   If the customer does not have a past due account, then, at step  110 , provider services server  15  facilitates the performance of the requested service. For example, if the requested service is a postage value refill, provider services server  15  communicates with postage refill server  20  and the postage meter  10  in order to fulfill the postage refill request according to the provider&#39;s established procedure. If, however, the customer does have a past due account, then, at step  115 , provider services server  15  sends a message to postage meter  10  indicating that the requested services cannot be performed because the customer has a past due account. Postage meter  10  includes a display, such as an LCD, that will present such a message to the customer for viewing. Next, a determination is made as to whether the customer wants to make a payment for the past due account using postage meter  10  and a credit card. In particular, an appropriate message will be displayed to the customer, and the customer is able to make a choice by entering information using the keyboard or other input device provided on the postage meter  10  which is then transmitted to provider services server  15 . If the answer at step  120  as reflected by the received information is no, then, at step  125 , the requested services are denied and an appropriate message is transmitted to the postage meter  10  and displayed to the customer. Preferably, the message includes a request for the customer to contact the provider to discuss the past due account. If, however, the answer at step  120  is yes, then, at step  130 , credit card information, including a card number and expiration date, is collected from the customer for purposes of making a payment for the past due account. Specifically, the customer enters this information into the postage meter  10 , which then transmits it to provider services server  15 . Alternatively, the customer may provide an indication that a credit card on file with the provider may be used for this purpose. Next, the method returns to step  110  where the requested service, such as a postage value refill, is performed. Note that the provider may decide what level of payment will be required to proceed to step  110  at this point. For example, the provider may require that the total past due amount be paid in full, or, alternatively, that only a percentage of the past due amount be paid. 
   Thus, this aspect of the invention provides an automated system and method for collecting payments on past due accounts that provides added convenience to both the customer and the provider. As a result, customers are able to get services in an immediate fashion, rather than having to wait to resolve a past due account by calling the provider, and providers are able to collect on past due accounts with less burden on their staffs. 
     FIG. 3  is a flowchart depicting a method for updating payment method information according to a further aspect of the present invention. The method begins at step  135 , where a postage meter  10  sends a request to refill or recharge postage meter  10  to provider services server  15  in which the customer wishes to pay for the postage refill using a credit card. In this situation, the provider has previously received and stored information for the particular credit card that the customer wishes to use as its default method of payment. This information, which includes the credit card number and expiration date is accessed by provider services server  15 . Next, provider services server  15  attempts to make the appropriate charge to the customer&#39;s credit card, and, at step  140 , a determination is made as to whether the attempted credit card transaction has been rejected by the issuer of the credit card. If the answer is no, then, at step  145 , provider services server  15  communicates with postage refill server  20  and the postage meter  10  in order to fulfill the postage refill request according to the provider&#39;s established procedure. If, however, the answer at step  140  is no, meaning the credit card transaction has been rejected, then, at step  150 , the provider services server  15  determines whether the rejection was due to the customer&#39;s credit card having expired. If so, then, at step  155 , a determination is made as to whether the customer wants to enter a new expiration date for the same credit card. In particular, in the preferred embodiment, a message to that effect is sent from provider services server  15  to the postage meter  10  where it is displayed to the customer. If the answer at step  155  is yes, then, at step  160 , the customer enters the new expiration date into the postage meter  10  using its keyboard or the like, and the information is transmitted to provider services server  15 , where it is used to update the customer&#39;s records for future transactions. Next, the method returns to step  140  where the steps are taken to determine whether the credit card transaction using the updated information is rejected. If the answer is no, steps are taken a step  145  to refill the postage meter  10  with the requested postage (the customer credit card with the new expiration date will be charged). If the answer is yes (transaction rejected), the method proceeds to step  150  and beyond. 
   If during the course of the method the answer at either of step  150  or  155  is no, then, at step  165 , postage services server  15  determines whether the customer wishes to provide a new credit card with new information for use in the transaction. If the answer is no, then, at step  170 , the postage refill request is denied because there is no valid method of payment. If, however, the answer at step  165  is yes, the customer, at step  175 , enters the new credit card information into the postage meter  10  using its keyboard or the like and the information is transmitted to provider services server  15 , where it is used to update the customer&#39;s records for future transactions. Next, the method returns to step  140 , where it is determined whether the transaction using the new credit card information is rejected. If not, then, at step  145 , steps are taken to refill postage meter  10 . If the transaction is again rejected, the method again proceeds to steps  150  through  175  described above. 
   Thus, the system and method of this aspect of the invention enable a customer to provide new/updated payment method information for postage refills without having to separately telephone the provider. As will be appreciated, this system and method provide added convenience and efficiency for the customer and lessen the customer service burden on the provider. 
   While preferred embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated above, it should be understood that these are exemplary of the invention and are not to be considered as limiting. Additions, deletions, substitutions, and other modifications can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be considered as limited by the foregoing description but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

Technology Category: 3