Granted Patent B1

US 12,561,664 · App. 18/421,853 · Granted Feb 24, 2026

Inventors: Jesse Wilson (San Francisco, CA); Terrill Dent (Waterloo, CA)

Assignee: Block, Inc.

G06Q20/3255G06Q20/22G06Q20/40G06Q30/06G10L15/083H04L51/02

Abstract

Claims (59)

1 . A method comprising:

receiving, by a messaging-service server, from a user computing device of a user, a message generated within a messaging application associated with the messaging-service server and executing on the user computing device, the message including at least a user identifier encoded in message data of the message, the message data being generated as part of a conversation between at least the user of the messaging application and a software agent associated with a payment-service-system server;

determining, by the messaging-service server and based on the message data, that the message includes a syntax;

in response to determining that the message includes the syntax, forwarding, by the messaging-service server, the message to the payment-service-system server;

querying, by the payment-service-system server, a database to determine whether the user identifier is associated with a user account associated with the payment-service-system server;

identifying, based on a determination that the user identifier is associated with the user account, and using the software agent to process the message data, a banking-related action to be performed in association with the user account;

generating, using the software agent, a human-readable textual message that states the banking-related action to be performed;

transmitting, by the payment-service-system server, the human-readable textual message and a confirmation request to the messaging-service server;

forwarding, by the messaging-service server, to the user computing device, the human-readable textual message and the confirmation request for display on the user computing device within the messaging application to confirm the banking-related action, the confirmation request being an interactive prompt presented within the messaging application;

receiving, by the messaging-service server, from the user computing device and in association with an interaction with the interactive prompt, a confirmation to perform the banking-related action; and

upon receiving the confirmation, transmitting, by the messaging-service server, an instruction to the payment-service-system server to automatically perform the banking-related action in association with the user account.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

accessing, by the payment-service-system server, historical data associated with the user identifier, the historical data comprising payment history, message history data, user data, and merchant data;

determining, by the payment-service-system server, context associated with the conversation; and

generating, by the payment-service-system server, based on the historical data and the context, a recommendation including one or more additional actions or reminders for the user.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the context comprises a date associated with the conversation, a time associated with the conversation, a location associated with the conversation, the user associated with the conversation, or one or more goods or services associated with the conversation.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating results data based at least in part on processing performed, by the software agent, on the message data, wherein identifying the banking-related action is based at least in part on the results data.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the message comprises one of a voice command or an instant message.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the confirmation comprises one of a voice command requesting the banking-related action or an instant message requesting the banking-related action.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the banking-related action comprises one or more of (i) initiating a transfer of funds between one or more financial accounts associated with the user identifier, (ii) initiating the transfer of the funds from a first financial account associated with the user identifier to a second financial account associated with a second user, (iii) canceling the transfer of the funds, (iv) accessing banking information associated with the one or more financial accounts associated with the user identifier, or (v) initiating an online payment associated with the user identifier.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the software agent corresponds to a chatbot.

9 . A payment-service-system server comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions executable by the one or more processors, wherein the instructions program the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from a messaging-service server, a message generated within a messaging application associated with the messaging-service server and executing on a user computing device, the message including at least a user identifier encoded in message data of the message;

querying a database to determine whether the user identifier is associated with a user account associated with the payment-service-system server;

identifying, using natural language processing, a currency indicator or a payment word in the message;

in response to identifying the currency indicator or the payment word in the message, determining, using a software agent associated with the payment-service-system server to process the message data, a banking-related action to be performed in association with the user account;

generating, using the software agent, a human-readable textual message that states the banking-related action to be performed;

transmitting, to the messaging-service server, the human-readable textual message and a confirmation request for display on the user computing device within the messaging application to confirm the banking-related action; and

upon the messaging-service server receiving, from the user computing device and in association with an interaction with the messaging application, a confirmation to perform the banking-related action, receiving, from the messaging-service server, an instruction to automatically perform the banking-related action in association with the user account.

10 . The payment-service-system server of claim 9 , wherein the message data is generated as part of a conversation between at least a user of the messaging application and the software agent.

11 . The payment-service-system server of claim 10 , the operations further comprising:

accessing historical data associated with the user identifier, the historical data comprising payment history, message history data, user data, and merchant data;

determining context associated with the conversation;

generating based on the historical data and the context, a recommendation including one or more additional actions or reminders for the user; and

transmitting the recommendation to the messaging-service server for display on the user computing device within the messaging application.

12 . The payment-service-system server of claim 9 , wherein the software agent corresponds to a chatbot.

13 . The payment-service-system server of claim 9 , wherein the confirmation request comprises an interactive prompt presented within the messaging application and wherein the confirmation is received as a response to the interactive prompt.

14 . The payment-service-system server of claim 9 , the operations further comprising generating results data based at least in part on processing performed by the software agent on the message data, wherein determining the banking-related action is based at least in part on the results data.

15 . The payment-service-system server of claim 9 , wherein the message comprises one of a voice command or an instant message.

16 . The payment-service-system server of claim 9 , wherein the confirmation comprises one of a voice command requesting the banking-related action or an instant message requesting the banking-related action.

17 . The payment-service-system server of claim 9 , wherein performing the banking-related action comprises one or more of (i) initiating a transfer of funds between one or more financial accounts associated with the user identifier, (ii) initiating the transfer of the funds from a first financial account associated with the user identifier to a second financial account associated with a second user, (iii) canceling the transfer of the funds, (iv) accessing banking information associated with the one or more financial accounts associated with the user identifier, or (v) initiating an online payment associated with the user identifier.

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

receiving, from a messaging-service server, a message generated within a messaging application associated with the messaging-service server and executing on a user computing device, the message including at least a user identifier encoded in message data of the message;

querying a database to determine whether the user identifier is associated with a user account associated with the payment-service-system server;

identifying, using natural language processing, a currency indicator or a payment word in the message;

in response to identifying the currency indicator or the payment word in the message, determining, using a software agent associated with the payment-service-system server to process the message data, a banking-related action to be performed in association with the user account;

generating, using the software agent, a human-readable textual message that states the banking-related action to be performed;

transmitting, to the messaging-service server, the human-readable textual message and a confirmation request for display on the user computing device within the messaging application to confirm the banking-related action; and

upon the messaging-service server receiving, from the user computing device and in association with an interaction with the messaging application, a confirmation to perform the banking-related action, receiving, from the messaging-service server, an instruction to automatically perform the banking-related action in association with the user account.

19 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 18 , wherein:

the message data is generated as part of a conversation between at least a user of the messaging application and the software agent;

the confirmation request comprises an interactive prompt presented within the messaging application; and

the confirmation is received as a response to the interactive prompt.

20 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 19 , the operations further comprising:

accessing historical data associated with the user identifier, the historical data comprising payment history, message history data, user data, and merchant data;

determining context associated with the conversation; and

generating, based on the historical data and the context, a recommendation including one or more additional actions or reminders for the user.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (71)