Granted Patent B2

US 12,406,245 · App. 18/380,040 · Granted Sep 2, 2025

Inventor: David M. Barrett (San Francisco, CA)

Assignee: Expensify, Inc.

G06Q20/20G06Q20/227G06Q20/4037

Abstract

Claims (48)

1. A computing system comprising:

a network communication interface to communicate, over one or more networks, with (i) computing devices of users of a transaction service, and (ii) merchant terminals of merchants participating in the transaction service;

one or more processors; and

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing system to:

receive, over the one or more networks, a primary authorization request from a merchant terminal of a merchant, the primary authorization request corresponding to use of a prepaid card of a user of the transaction service for a transaction with the merchant;

based on receiving the primary authorization request, determine that an account balance of the prepaid card comprises inadequate funds to fulfill the transaction;

based on determining that the account balance comprises inadequate funds to fulfill the transaction, automatically transmit, over the one or more networks, a secondary authorization request to a financial entity associated with an account of the user;

receive, over the one or more networks and from the financial entity associated with the account of the user, an approval of the secondary authorization request to facilitate funding the transaction with the merchant; and

based on receiving the approval, execute a transfer for a difference amount, based on an amount corresponding to the transaction, from the account of the user to an account associated with the merchant.

2. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein the executed instructions cause the computing system to execute the transfer by loading funds from the account of the user into the account associated with the merchant to replace a recorded balance corresponding to the transaction.

3. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein the executed instructions cause the computing system to:

select one of multiple funding accounts associated with the card; and

transmit the secondary authorization request with an account identifier for the selected funding account of the multiple funding accounts to enable the financial entity to identify and transfer funds from the selected funding account.

4. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein the executed instructions further cause the computing system to:

associate the prepaid card with a set of filtering rules for declining transactions.

5. The computing system of claim 4 , wherein the set of filtering rules are implemented to decline the transaction based on at least one of a merchant name, an industry code, a transaction time, or a purchase amount.

6. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein the secondary authorization request queries the financial entity of whether the user has sufficient funds in the account of the user to cover the transaction.

7. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein the executed instructions further cause the computing system to:

transmit, over the one or more networks, a notification indicating that the secondary authorization request is approved.

8. The computing system of claim 7 , wherein the notification is transmitted to the computing device of the user.

9. The computing system of claim 7 , wherein the notification is transmitted to the merchant terminal of the merchant.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a computing system, cause the computing system to:

communicate, over one or more networks, with (i) computing devices of users of a transaction service, and (ii) merchant terminals of merchants participating in the transaction service;

receive, over the one or more networks, a primary authorization request from a merchant terminal of a merchant, the primary authorization request corresponding to use of a prepaid card of a user of the transaction service for a transaction with the merchant;

based on receiving the primary authorization request, determine that an account balance of the prepaid card comprises inadequate funds to fulfill the transaction;

based on determining that the account balance comprises inadequate funds to fulfill the transaction, automatically transmit, over the one or more networks, a secondary authorization request to a financial entity associated with an account of the user;

receive, over the one or more networks and from the financial entity associated with the account of the user, an approval of the secondary authorization request to facilitate funding the transaction with the merchant; and

based on receiving the approval, execute a transfer for a difference amount, based on an amount corresponding to the transaction, from the account of the user to an account associated with the merchant.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the executed instructions cause the computing system to execute the transfer by loading funds from the account of the user into the account associated with the merchant to replace a recorded balance corresponding to the transaction.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the executed instructions cause the computing system to:

select one of multiple funding accounts associated with the card; and

transmit the secondary authorization request with an account identifier for the selected funding account of the multiple funding accounts to enable the financial entity to identify and transfer funds from the selected funding account.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the executed instructions further cause the computing system to:

associate the prepaid card with a set of filtering rules for declining transactions.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the set of filtering rules are implemented to decline the transaction based on at least one of a merchant name, an industry code, a transaction time, or a purchase amount.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the secondary authorization request queries the financial entity of whether the user has sufficient funds in the account to cover the transaction.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the executed instructions further cause the computing system to:

transmit, over the one or more networks, a notification indicating that the secondary authorization request is approved.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the notification is transmitted to the computing device of the user.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the notification is transmitted to the merchant terminal of the merchant.

19. A computer-implemented method for authorizing prepaid transactions, the method being performed by one or more processors and comprising:

communicating, over one or more networks, with (i) computing devices of users of a transaction service, and (ii) merchant terminals of merchants participating in the transaction service;

receiving, over the one or more networks, a primary authorization request from a merchant terminal of a merchant, the primary authorization request corresponding to use of a prepaid card of a user of the transaction service for a transaction with the merchant;

based on receiving the primary authorization request, determining that an account balance of the prepaid card comprises inadequate funds to fulfill the transaction;

based on determining that the account balance comprises inadequate funds to fulfill the transaction, automatically transmitting, over the one or more networks, a secondary authorization request to a financial entity associated with an account of the user;

receiving, over the one or more networks and from the financial entity associated with the account of the user, an approval of the secondary authorization request to facilitate funding the transaction with the merchant; and

based on receiving the approval, executing a transfer for a difference amount, based on an amount corresponding to the transaction, from the account of the user to an account associated with the merchant.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein one or more processors execute the transfer by loading funds from the account of the user into the account associated with the merchant to replace a recorded balance corresponding to the transaction.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (6)

References Cited (152)