Granted Patent B2

US 12,608,691 · App. 18/136,501 · Granted Apr 21, 2026

Inventors: Brian Grassadonia (San Francisco, CA); Jesse Wilson (Waterloo, CA); Ayokunle Omojola (San Francisco, CA); Robert Andersen (San Francisco, CA)

Assignee: Block, Inc.

G06Q20/0855G06Q20/10G06Q20/16G06Q20/305G06Q20/3223G06Q20/3224G06Q20/326G06Q20/34G06Q20/384G06Q20/386G06Q20/405G06Q50/01H04L41/0293H04L51/046

Abstract

Claims (68)

1 . A method comprising:

receiving, by one or more processors of a payment service system and from a first computing device of a first user, a request to associate a user-defined payment proxy with a financial account of the first user, wherein the user-defined payment proxy has a syntax comprising a symbol followed by a string of one or more characters comprising at least one letter, wherein the symbol and the string are concatenated such that the symbol appears immediately before the string;

associating, by the one or more processors and in a database associated with the payment service system, the user-defined payment proxy with the financial account of the first user, the associating enabling at least in part the user-defined payment proxy to indicate the financial account of the first user;

generating, by the one or more processors, content for a personalized webpage configured to receive input associated with a payment to the first user;

generating, by the one or more processors, a uniform resource locator (URL) of the personalized webpage, wherein the URL includes the user-defined payment proxy;

detecting, by the one or more processors, and in a first message associated with a second user, the URL;

based at least on detecting the URL in the first message, causing, at least in part, the personalized webpage to be displayed by an application executing on a second computing device of the second user, the personalized webpage including an entry field configured to receive a payment amount to be transferred to the first user;

receiving, by the one or more processors, via the entry field, the payment amount from the second user;

based on identifying the financial account of the first user at least based on the user-defined payment proxy, causing a second message to be displayed on the first computing device of the first user, wherein the second message requests approval to deposit the payment amount to the financial account of the first user;

responsive to receiving the approval, initiating, by the one or more processors, a transfer of the payment amount to the financial account of the first user; and

responsive to completing the transfer, causing a third message to be displayed on the second computing device of the second user, wherein the third message provides confirmation of the transfer.

2 . The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein detecting, in the first message associated with the second user, the URL comprises:

receiving, from a computing device that monitors messages, an indication that the URL has been detected in the first message.

3 . The method as recited in claim 2 , wherein receiving, from the computing device that monitors messages, the indication that the URL has been detected in the first message further comprises receiving, via an application programming interface associated with the one or more processors, a notification from the computing device that monitors messages, the notification including at least a portion of the first message and an identifier of the second user.

4 . The method as recited in claim 2 , wherein the computing device that monitors messages is associated with at least one of a social networking website, a microblog website, a blogging website, a communication forum, an email service, or an electronic messaging service.

5 . The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the financial account of the first user comprises a first financial account, the method further comprising:

receiving, based at least on the URL having been detected in the first message, at least one identifier associated with the second user; and

determining a second financial account of the second user based at least in part on the at least one identifier.

6 . The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the user-defined payment proxy is individually distinguishable from other payment proxies associated with financial accounts of other users, and the symbol is at least one of:

a non-alphanumeric symbol; or

a currency indicator that corresponds to a particular currency of a plurality of currencies.

7 . The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the one or more processors, an indication of interaction with an interactive element presented with the personalized webpage,

wherein initiating the transfer of the payment amount is further based at least in part on the interaction with the interactive element.

8 . A system comprising:

one or more processors associated with a payment service system, the one or more processors configured by executable instructions to cause the payment service system to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by the one or more processors and from a first computing device of a first user, a request to associate a user-defined payment proxy with a financial account of the first user, wherein the user-defined payment proxy has a syntax comprising a symbol followed by a string of one or more characters comprising at least one letter, wherein the symbol and the string are concatenated such that the symbol appears immediately before the string;

associating, by the one or more processors and in a database associated with the payment service system, the user-defined payment proxy with the financial account of the first user, the associating enabling at least in part the user-defined payment proxy to indicate the financial account of the first user;

generating, by the one or more processors, content for a personalized webpage configured to receive input associated with a payment to the first user;

generating, by the one or more processors, a uniform resource locator (URL) of the personalized webpage, wherein the URL includes the user-defined payment proxy;

detecting, by the one or more processors, and in a first message associated with a second user, the URL;

based at least on detecting the URL in the first message, causing, at least in part, the personalized webpage to be displayed by an application executing on a second computing device of the second user, the personalized webpage including an entry field configured to receive a payment amount to be transferred to the first user;

receiving, by the one or more processors, via the entry field, the payment amount from the second user;

based on identifying the financial account of the first user at least based on the user-defined payment proxy, causing a second message to be displayed on the first computing device of the first user, wherein the second message requests approval to deposit the payment amount to the financial account of the first user;

responsive to receiving the approval, initiating, by the one or more processors, a transfer of the payment amount to the financial account of the first user; and

responsive to completing the transfer, causing a third message to be displayed on the second computing device of the second user, wherein the third message provides confirmation of the transfer.

9 . The system as recited in claim 8 , wherein detecting, in the first message associated with the second user, the URL comprises:

receiving, from a computing device that monitors messages, an indication that the URL has been detected in the first message.

10 . The system as recited in claim 9 , wherein receiving, from the computing device that monitors messages, the indication that the URL has been detected in the first message associated with the second user further comprises receiving, via an application programming interface associated with the one or more processors, a notification from the computing device that monitors messages, the notification including at least a portion of the first message and an identifier of the second user.

11 . The system as recited in claim 8 , wherein the financial account of the first user comprises a first financial account, the operations further comprising:

receiving, based at least on the URL having been detected in the first message, at least one identifier associated with the second user; and

determining a second financial account of the second user based at least in part on the at least one identifier.

12 . The system as recited in claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving, by the one or more processors, an indication of interaction with an interactive element presented with the personalized webpage,

wherein initiating the transfer of the payment amount is further based at least in part on the interaction with the interactive element.

13 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a payment service system, cause the payment service system to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by the one or more processors of the payment service system and from a first computing device of a first user, a request to associate a user-defined payment proxy with a financial account of the first user, wherein the user-defined payment proxy has a syntax comprising a symbol followed by a string of one or more characters comprising at least one letter, wherein the symbol and the string are concatenated such that the symbol appears immediately before the string;

associating, by the one or more processors and in a database associated with the payment service system, the user-defined payment proxy with the financial account of the first user, the associating enabling at least in part the user-defined payment proxy to indicate the financial account of the first user;

generating, by the one or more processors, content for a personalized webpage configured to receive input associated with a payment to the first user;

generating, by the one or more processors, a uniform resource locator (URL) of the personalized webpage, wherein the URL includes the user-defined payment proxy;

detecting, by the one or more processors, and in a first message associated with a second user, the URL;

based at least on detecting, by the one or more processors, the URL in the first message, causing, at least in part, the personalized webpage to be displayed by an application executing on a second computing device of the second user, the personalized webpage including an entry field configured to receive a payment amount to be transferred to the first user;

receiving, by the one or more processors, via the entry field, the payment amount from the second user;

based on identifying the financial account of the first user at least based on the user-defined payment proxy, causing, by the one or more processors, a second message to be displayed on the first computing device of the first user, wherein the second message requests approval to deposit the payment amount to the financial account of the first user;

responsive to receiving the approval, initiating, by the one or more processors, a transfer of the payment amount to the financial account of the first user; and

responsive to completing the transfer, causing, by the one or more processors, a third message to be displayed on the second computing device of the second user, wherein the third message provides confirmation of the transfer.

14 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 13 , wherein detecting, in the first message associated with the second user, the URL comprises:

receiving, by the one or more processors and from a computing device that monitors messages, an indication that the URL has been detected in the first message.

15 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 14 , wherein receiving, by the one or more processors and from the computing device that monitors messages, the indication that the URL has been detected in the first message associated with the second user further comprises receiving, via an application programming interface associated with the one or more processors, a notification from the computing device that monitors messages, the notification including at least a portion of the first message and an identifier of the second user.

16 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 15 , wherein the identifier of the second user is encrypted.

17 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 13 , wherein the financial account of the first user comprises a first financial account, the operations further comprising:

receiving, by the one or more processors and based at least on the URL having been detected in the first message, at least one identifier associated with the second user; and

determining, by the one or more processors, a second financial account of the second user based at least in part on the at least one identifier.

18 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 13 , wherein the transfer of the payment amount is initiated via entry of the payment amount and selection of a confirmation user interface element, without further user input to the personalized webpage.

19 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 13 , wherein the URL further includes the payment amount, wherein the payment amount is a fixed amount and wherein the entry field is automatically populated with the payment amount.

20 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 13 , the operations further comprising:

determining, by the one or more processors, that additional senders have submitted payments via the URL; and

aggregating, by the one or more processors, the submitted payments to generate an aggregated payment amount.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (6)

References Cited (316)