US 7783541

Patent Overview — US7783541B1

Title: System and method for allocating fees associated with an electronic transaction

Patent number: US7783541B1
Application number: US11/485,719
Inventor: Devon A. Rolf
Original/current assignee: GoFigure Payments LLC (originally GoFigure, L.L.C.; assignment to GoFigure Payments, LLC recorded 2007-12-06)
Priority/filing date: 2006-07-13
Publication (grant) date: 2010-08-24
Legal status (per source): Expired – Fee Related; adjusted expiration 2026-11-27

Purpose and plain-language scope (from the supplied text):
The invention relates broadly to processing electronic transactions, and more specifically to determining and allocating fees arising from an electronic transaction—particularly a purchase or other financial transaction—among various parties. The system comprises a server with a processor and database memory, connected via a communications network to transaction inputs (user devices such as phones, computers, and dedicated devices) and to banking/financial institution systems and merchant accounts.

When an account holder initiates a transaction, the processor receives information about the account holder and merchant and authorizes, processes, and settles the transaction. The processing party charges one or more fees (e.g., a transaction fee and a discount fee). The processor then determines which additional parties may be entitled to a fee—such as a communications carrier, card provider/card processor, payment network (VISA, MasterCard, American Express), account issuer/bank, electronic portal, endorser or advertising agency, or hardware entity—allocates portions to them, and stores allocation information in memory. Fees may be distributed directly or held in escrow and distributed at agreed times; escrowed funds may accrue interest, which may be pro-rated among parties or allocated to the transaction-processing party. The fee is preferably a percentage of transaction value (subject to agreed minimums/maximums) or a fixed fee, and is included in the overall purchase price rather than added to it.

Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/[US7783541](/patent/US7783541)/en

What the excerpt does not establish: It omits much of the specification, all claims, the abstract, and full drawing descriptions; the excerpted classification entries, "definitions," and flowcharts do not establish claim scope, claim count, or the precise metes and bounds of any claim. It also does not establish inventorship beyond the listed inventor or the accuracy of the listed assignees/status (the source itself notes these are assumptions, not legal conclusions).