Granted Patent B1

US 12,387,261 · App. 18/232,043 · Granted Aug 12, 2025

Inventors: Varun Kerof (Burlingame, CA); Elliot Block (New York, NY); Kelvin Chou (Monte Sereno, CA); Theodore Kosev (Seattle, WA)

Assignee: Block, Inc.

G06Q40/03G06Q20/206

Abstract

Claims (43)

1. A system comprising:

at least one computing device associated with a service provider, the at least one computing device configured by executable instructions to perform operations comprising:

providing, to a user device associated with a user, a mobile application associated with the service provider, wherein the mobile application presents a user interface with a customizable dashboard, and wherein the customizable dashboard comprises at least a selectable control associated with an offer for a loan that has been accepted by a merchant associated with the loan, wherein funds availed via the loan are useable for a specific use at the merchant that accepts payments via the service provider;

receiving, via the mobile application, an indication of an interaction with the selectable control presented on the customizable dashboard, wherein the interaction is associated with an input received via the user interface of the mobile application;

accessing user data to determine that the user is qualified for the loan for the specific use;

based at least on a determination that the user has accepted the offer for the loan for the specific use and in response to receiving the indication, availing the funds via a payment instrument accessible via the mobile application;

receiving transaction data associated with a current transaction, wherein the payment instrument is used for payment; and

based in part on receiving the transaction data, sending at least one communication to authorize the payment and to apply funds associated with the loan for payment for the current transaction, wherein after the funds have been applied, at least a portion of the loan is to be repaid, via the mobile application, at a particular frequency during a subsequent period of time.

2. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the payment instrument is a virtual payment instrument that is useable via the mobile application.

3. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the loan for the specific use is for a predefined amount determined based at least on information related to the user.

4. The system as recited in claim 3 , the operations further comprising:

based on the transaction data indicating that the payment is for less than the predefined amount, limiting an amount of the loan to an amount of the payment associated with the current transaction.

5. The system as recited in claim 1 , the operations further comprising:

receiving, via the mobile application, and based on a debit instrument associated with an account of the user, one or more payments for repayment of the loan at the particular frequency during the subsequent period of time.

6. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the transaction data is received from a point-of-sale device of the merchant that accepts payments via the service provider.

7. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the transaction data is received from a merchant computing device of the merchant that accepts payments via the service provider, where the transaction data is for purchase of an item over a network.

8. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the operations of accessing the user data to determine that the user is qualified for the loan for the specific use, and availing the funds via the payment instrument accessible via the mobile application is performed in near real time in response to receiving, via the mobile application, the indication of the interaction with the selectable control.

9. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the operations of accessing the user data to determine that the user is qualified for the loan for the specific use, and availing the funds via the payment instrument accessible via the mobile application is performed in advance of the user initiating the current transaction.

10. A method comprising:

providing, by at least one computing device associated with a service provider, to a user device associated with a user, a mobile application associated with the service provider, wherein the mobile application presents a user interface with a customizable dashboard, and wherein the customizable dashboard comprises at least a selectable control associated with an offer for a loan that has been accepted by a merchant associated with the loan, wherein funds availed via the loan are useable for a specific use at the merchant that accepts payments via the service provider;

receiving, via the mobile application, an indication of an interaction with the selectable control presented on the customizable dashboard, wherein the interaction is associated with an input received via the user interface of the mobile application;

accessing user data to determine that the user is qualified for the loan for the specific use;

based at least on a determination that the user has accepted the offer for the loan for the specific use and in response to receiving the indication, availing the funds via a payment instrument accessible via the mobile application;

receiving transaction data associated with a current transaction, wherein the payment instrument is used for payment; and

based in part on receiving the transaction data, sending at least one communication to authorize the payment and to apply funds associated with the loan for payment for the current transaction, wherein after the funds have been applied, at least a portion of the loan is to be repaid, via the mobile application, at a particular frequency during a subsequent period of time.

11. The method as recited in claim 10 , wherein the payment instrument is a virtual payment instrument that is useable via the mobile application.

12. The method as recited in claim 10 , wherein the loan for the specific use is for a predefined amount determined based at least on information related to the user.

13. The method as recited in claim 12 , further comprising:

based on the transaction data indicating that the payment is for less than the predefined amount, limiting an amount of the loan to an amount of the payment associated with the current transaction.

14. The method as recited in claim 10 , further comprising:

receiving, via the mobile application, and based on a debit instrument associated with an account of the user, one or more payments for repayment of the loan at the particular frequency during the subsequent period of time.

15. The method as recited in claim 10 , wherein the transaction data is received from a point-of-sale device of the merchant that accepts payments via the service provider.

16. The method as recited in claim 10 , wherein the transaction data is received from a merchant computing device of the merchant that accepts payments via the service provider, where the transaction data is for purchase of an item over a network.

17. The method as recited in claim 10 , wherein accessing the user data to determine that the user is qualified for the loan for the specific use, and availing the funds via the payment instrument accessible via the mobile application is performed in near real time in response to receiving, via the mobile application, the indication of the interaction with the selectable control.

18. The method as recited in claim 10 , wherein accessing the user data to determine that the user is qualified for the loan for the specific use, and availing the funds via the payment instrument accessible via the mobile application is performed in advance of the user initiating the current transaction.

19. The method as recited in claim 10 , wherein accessing the user data to determine that the user is qualified for the loan for the specific use, and availing the funds via the payment instrument accessible via the mobile application is performed after the user has initiated the current transaction.

20. One or more non-transitory computer readable media storing instructions executable by at least one computing device of a service provider to configure the at least one computing device to perform operations comprising:

providing, to a user device associated with a user, a mobile application associated with the service provider, wherein the mobile application presents a user interface with a customizable dashboard, and wherein the customizable dashboard comprises at least a selectable control associated with an offer for a loan that has been accepted by a merchant associated with the loan, wherein funds availed via the loan are useable for a specific use at the merchant that accepts payments via the service provider;

receiving, via the mobile application, an indication of an interaction with the selectable control presented on the customizable dashboard, wherein the interaction is associated with an input received via the user interface of the mobile application;

accessing user data to determine that the user is qualified for the loan for the specific use;

based at least on a determination that the user has accepted the offer for the loan for the specific use and in response to receiving the indication, availing the funds via a payment instrument accessible via the mobile application;

receiving transaction data associated with a current transaction, wherein the payment instrument is used for payment; and

based in part on receiving the transaction data, sending at least one communication to authorize the payment and to apply funds associated with the loan for payment for the current transaction, wherein after the funds have been applied, at least a portion of the loan is to be repaid, via the mobile application, at a particular frequency during a subsequent period of time.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (50)