GB2384096A

GB2384096A - Payment system and related methods

Info

Publication number: GB2384096A
Application number: GB0128846A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Lister; David Evans; John Gibbons; Julian Slaney
Original assignee: GRASS ROOTS GROUP UK Ltd
Current assignee: GRASS ROOTS GROUP UK Ltd
Priority date: 2001-12-01
Filing date: 2001-12-01
Publication date: 2003-07-16
Also published as: GB0128846D0

Abstract

A system for facilitating payment comprising one or more remote terminals arranged to connect to a server (300), each remote terminal (302) being arranged to allow information to be input thereon and to forward this information to the server (300), the server (300) being arranged to hold one or more accounts each associated with a user of the system, each account being capable of having one or more targets associated therewith to which payments can be made, target verification means allowing a target to be verified and added to an account, a remote access means allowing connections to be made to the remote terminals, payment means allowing units to be added and/or removed from an account, wherein the system is arranged to allow a user to log into his/her account from the remote terminal (302), select a target to which a payment should be made, and cause said payment means to transfer a number of units to a specified target that has been verified by the target verification means.

Description

PAYMENT SYSTEM AND RELATED METHODS This invention relates to a system for providing payments and related methods, and in particular, but not exclusively, to a system and method for paying for child care.

One prior art system for providing payment for child care comprises a voucher based system, in which paper vouchers are given to a parentemployee (or guardian-employee), by his/her employer, as part of the employee's pay and can be exchanged for payment of child care. In some countries this scheme may be tax efficient in that tax (or national insurance payments) may be reduced on the portion of pay that is paid as child care vouchers. Therefore, the parent-employee benefits because his/her pay is effectively increased (he/she has to pay less tax), the government/country benefits because they are perceived to be helping parent-employees and it becomes easier for parents to work (and so become parent-employees).

However, although this method is advantageous for the reasons outlined above, it does have disadvantages. The system is paper based, and therefore relies on the delivery of paper between participants of the scheme: the employer must procure the vouchers and arrange for their delivery to the parent-employee; the parent-employee must deliver the voucher to the carer they are using; the child carer must present the voucher to the voucher provider in order to obtain payment, and wait for payment. Thus, there are delays in the system and it can take some time before the carer receives payment.

It is an aim of the present invention to overcome, or at least reduce, the problems of the prior art and provide auditable records with no additional bureaucracy.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a server arranged to facilitate payment comprising a memory means arranged to hold one or more accounts each associated with a user of the system, with each account capable of having associated therewith one or more targets to which payment can be made, target verification means allowing a target to be verified and added to the account, an access means allowing users to access accounts held on the server, payment means allowing units to be added and/or removed to/from an account, wherein the system is arranged to allow a user to log into his/her account using the access means and select a target to which a payment should be made, and cause said payment means to transfer a number of units to a specified target that has been verified by the target verification means.

The advantage of such an arrangement is that it provides a system that facilitates the fast and convenient transfer of units to a target, the system does not rely on the transfer of vouchers to affect payment, and therefore payment is made to the target faster than with prior art systems. The target verification means helps to ensure that payments can only be made to genuine targets, and helps to minimise fraud.

Generally, the units will be currency, but could accommodate any other form of credit. The units may for example simply be units arranged to be converted into currency at a later time.

Preferably, the server further comprises user verification means allowing the identity of a user accessing the server to be verified and given access

to his/her account. Such an arrangement is convenient because it allows fraudulent access to the server to be prevented.

The access means may comprise a remote access means, allowing users to access the server from a location remote from the server. Such an arrangement is convenient because it provides greater flexibility; a user does not have to be in the same location as the server to access his/her account.

In another alternative, or additional, embodiment the units are units of time. Such a system may be convenient if the targets receive payment on a fixed rate per unit of time. To pay the target for three hours of work you may simply transfer three hours of time units to that target.

The memory means may comprise a hard disk drive, or the like, providing a convenient form of storage. Indeed, the memory means may comprise an array of disk drives, which would generally be arranged to provide greater data security. The memory means could of course comprise any other form of memory, and for instance comprise physical memory, or the like.

The remote access means may comprise an Internet connection, or a connection to any other such Wide Area Network (WAN). The advantage of such an arrangement is that it is readily available and convenient for users, providing a graphical interface through which a user can view his/her account.

In an alternative, or additional, embodiment the remote access means may comprise a connection to a telephone system. Such an arrangement is convenient because users having an account on the server are more likely to have a telephone than they are an Internet connection, or the like, and

as such the system may be useable by a greater number of people if a telephone connection is provided.

The connection to the telephone system may be arranged to recognise voice commands from the telephone system, providing a server that is convenient for users to use.

In an alternative, or additional, embodiment the connection to the telephone system may be arranged to recognise inputs sent from a touch tone telephone. Such an arrangement is convenient because it can be simpler to user than voice recognition systems, and may be more likely to work for the majority of users. Voice recognition may be problematic for users having strong accents, speech impediments, or the like.

The connection to the telephone system may be arranged to allow a user thereof to choose between speech recognition, and inputs from a touch tone telephone system.

Preferably, the user verification means is arranged to require a user to input an identifier, which may be a password, or the like, in order to access his/her account. It will be appreciated that the server is providing a system that can make payments and that therefore it is highly desirable to provide a secure system.

Should the remote access means comprise a connection to the Internet, or the like, then the identifier may comprise one or more pieces of information. The user verification means may be arranged to vary the piece of information that is required, perhaps on a random basis. Such an arrangement is advantageous because it reduces the chance of people other than the true user from logging on to the user's account.

Should the remote access means comprise a connection to a telephone system then the identifier may also comprise one or more pieces of information. The user verification means may again be arranged to vary the piece of information that is required, perhaps on a random basis. In a touch-tone system, the piece of information may be entered using a telephone keypad. However, it will be appreciated that in a voice based system, the piece of information is spoken, and therefore, the verification means may be arranged perform voice recognition on the spoken identifier.

The identifiers may comprise any one or more of the following: date of birth, mother's maiden name, street, memorable date, password, memorable place, favourite colour, or any other suitable data.

Further, the identifier may be a Personal Identification Number (PIN) that a user enters from the phone they are using to access the server.

The target verification means may be arranged to require a registration number, or the like, to be entered for each target held on the server. Such an arrangement helps to ensure that the only genuine targets can be held on the server. In the preferred arrangement the target verification means is arranged to verify that the target is appropriate for the user, and that the target meets appropriate requirements set by the system.

Conveniently, the payment means is arranged to cause payments using the Bank Automated Clearing Service (BACS). Such an arrangement is convenient because it allows payment to be directed to an individual's bank account, providing a secure, auditable and convenient way in which payments can be made.

The server may comprise a processing circuitry. The processing circuitry may be arranged to provide the target verification means, the access means, and the payment means. Such an arrangement is convenient because it allows the system to be run on standard computer hardware.

The server may be arranged to store targets associated with an account on the memory means. Such an arrangement is convenient because it stores the information for repeated use, and ensures that a user can select from the targets that have previously been entered onto the system and verified.

Conveniently, the server is arranged to provide a user with a list of targets that they have associated with his/her account so that he/she can select to which one he/she wishes to make a payment. Such an arrangement is convenient because it provides a server that is convenient for a user to use.

In some embodiments, the server comprises a report producing means (which may be provided by the processing circuitry) arranged to produce reports from the data held on the memory means. For example, the report producing means may be able to produce financial reports, which may include any one of the following: tax reports, units paid to a particular target, units paid into an account, source of units into an account, the history of an account over a predetermined period, or any other similar report.

The processing circuitry may be arranged to allow new accounts to be created on the server, providing a flexible system to which users can be added.

The server may allow accounts to be associated together. In one embodiment accounts are associated according to the source of units paid

into the account. Such an arrangement allows employees of the same company, institution, etc. to have associated accounts.

Conveniently, the server is arranged to levy a charge of a predetermined amount of units for each account created thereon. Such an arrangement can be a convenient way of obtaining payment for providing the system.

The server may be arranged to levy a charge in a plurality of different manners, which may include any one or more of the following: a percentage of units paid into an account, a percentage of units paid from an account, a fixed charge which may be for a predetermined length of time, a minimum charge, which may have further charges on top, or any other suitable arrangement. The advantage of having a minimum levy is that it helps to guarantee a minimum level of units being paid to provide the server.

The server may be arranged to levy a charge for a group of accounts that are associated with one another, which in one embodiment provides a server that can levy charges to a company, institution, etc. and allow employees thereof to open accounts on the server.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a system for facilitating payment comprising one or more remote terminals arranged to connect to a server, each remote terminal being arranged to allow information to be input thereon and to forward this information to the server, the server being arranged to hold one or more accounts each associated with a user of the system, each account being capable of having one or more targets associated therewith to which payments can be made, target verification means allowing a target to be verified and added to an account, a remote access means allowing connections to be made to the remote terminals, payment means allowing units to be added and/or

removed from an account, wherein the system is arranged to allow a user to log into his/her account from the remote terminal, select a target to which a payment should be made, and cause said payment means to transfer a number of units to a specified target that has been verified by the target verification means.

The system may comprise a printing means arranged to print information held on the server. In one embodiment the printing means is arranged to print vouchers. Such an arrangement is convenient because the voucher may be used as a record of the transaction, and in the embodiment in which the system is arranged to pay for child care the voucher can be passed to the carer.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided an access device that is arranged to allow a user to remotely log onto a server according to a first aspect of the invention.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a method of making a payment comprising providing a system for one or more users, and providing each user with an account with which there is associated one or more targets, the identity of which has been verified, and the account containing one or more units, the method further comprising allowing a user to log into his/her account select one or more targets to which payment should be made and causing units to be transferred to said specified target.

Such an arrangement is convenient because it provides a convenient way in which units can be transferred to the targets. Further, the users of system and the organisers of the system are protected, because the identity of the targets have been verified. Further advantages of the method include the following: the amount of paper that is used is reduced;

a reduction in the time it takes units to be transferred to the targets (in previous schemes discussed above, a user would present a target with a voucher, which the target would then be required to send to the issuer, who would then arrange for units to be transferred to the target).

In the preferred embodiment, although other embodiments are equally possible, the method is a method of paying for child care, and the targets are child carers.

The method may comprise allowing units to be credited to the account of a user. Generally, units will be credited to the account of a user by an employer of a user, and may be credited to the account instead of a portion of that user's pay from the employer. Such an arrangement is convenient because it provides a convenient way for the user to pay for child care, and may also provide a method, which allows tax benefits to be taken into consideration. For example, certain governments may provide tax/national insurance exemptions for pay from an employer if it is used to pay for child care. A method according to the present invention may provide a method that meets these criteria.

Conveniently, the method may cause units to be transferred to the target using the Banks Automated Clearing Service (BACS). Such an arrangement is convenient because it allows for automated payment.

However, it will be appreciated that other types of financial transfer may be possible. For example, direct debits, credit card transfers, the printing of cheques, or other suitable mechanisms may be used.

Access to the users account may be provided using a remote connection thereto. For example, the account may be accessed by an Internet connection, preferably using a secure server/encrypted connection. Such an arrangement is convenient because it provides an easy to use

connection that provides the user with a graphical display of what is occurring as he/she makes his/her transaction.

In an alternative, or additional, embodiment the method may provide the user with access to his/her account using a telephone connection thereto.

The telephone connection may use a tone dialling system, or may use voice recognition. The use of telephone access in this manner is convenient because it may provide a method of accessing the accounts that is open to a greater number of people ; at the time of writing is more likely that people have a telephone connection than an Internet connection.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention there is provided a computer readable medium arranged when read by a computer to cause the computer to perform the method according to the fourth aspect of the invention.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention there is provided a computer readable medium arranged when read by a computer to cause the computer to function as the server according to a first aspect of the invention.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention there is provided a computer readable medium arranged when read by an electronic device to cause that device to function as the access device according to the third aspect of the invention.

The access device may be a computer, a telephone, a PDA, a television, or any other suitable access device.

The computer readable medium of the fifth, sixth, seventh aspects of the invention may be any form of computer readable medium, but may be any one of the following: a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD RAM/ROM, a hard drive, a memory, a magneto optical disk, a transmitted signal (which may an Internet download, or the like).

According to an eighth aspect of the invention there is provided a data structure containing the identity of users, and targets to which the users wish payments to be made.

According to a ninth aspect of the invention there is provided a signal that is transmitted between a server, and a remote access device, said signal containing details of a target to which a payment should be made, and of the size of the payment.

There now follows, by way of example only, a description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the following accompanying drawings of which: Figure 1 shows a prior art system for the payment of childcare relying on the passing of vouchers; Figure 2 shows an overview of the present invention; Figure 3 shows a possible arrangement of a server, and access devices to provide the present invention; Figure 4 shows a schematic layout for a typical computer system that may be used to provide the server of the Figure 2;

Figure 5 shows an example of a database that may be contained on the system, suitable for holding the data for the system; and Figures 6-13 show flowcharts of operations that may be performed by the system.

Figure 1 shows a prior art system, which relies on the generation of vouchers, which can be passed to a child carer in order to pay for at least a part of child care provided by that carer. A voucher provider 100 prints, or otherwise provides, vouchers 101, which can be purchased 102 by employers 104, in return for payment 103 to the voucher provider 100.

The employer 104 can then give 106 the voucher 101 to an employee 108, generally, as part of that employee's pay. If employees are paid in this manner the portion of his/her pay paid in vouchers 101 may be free from National Insurance Contributions (or other similar taxes imposed by the governments governing the area in which the employment occurred). The employee 108 must then pass 110 the voucher 101 to the child carer 112 that they have used to care for his/her child. The child carer 112 then returns 114 the voucher 101 to the voucher provider 100 and receives payment 116. The voucher provider 100 can in some circumstances send 118 the voucher 101 directly to the employee 108, but the provider 100 is still paid 103 directly by the employer.

There will now be described hereinafter a payment system according to the present invention that may be used to provide payment, and in particular may be used to provide payment for child care, although it will be appreciated that they may be other embodiments.

The system of this example, is shown in Figure 2, and facilitates the charge-related interactions between three groups of people: employers 200, parent-employees 202 (i. e. employees who have children

in need of care during work hours) and targets, or in this embodiment child carers 204. The three groups of people may be categorised as users. The system is managed by a systems administrator.

A typical arrangement of the system for providing the present invention is shown in Figure 3. A server 300 is provided to run the system, but it will be appreciated that a plurality of interconnected servers could also be provided. The server 300 can be remotely accessed by personal computers 302, or via telephones 304. It will be appreciated that the server could be accessed by Personal Digital Assistants (PDA's), mobile computers, or the like, but these will not be described further here.

Each of the personal computers 302 can connect to the server 300 using an Internet connection using known TCP/IP connection protocols, which will not be described further. However, it will be appreciated that the connections are not directly between the computers 302 and the server 300, but via Internet Service Providers (ISP's) (although direct connections are technically possible).

The connections between the telephones 304 and the system may be mobile relying on GSM, GPRS, or UTMS connections, or may be via conventional land-lines. As will be described herein after the phones may provide access to the server using tones produces by the keypad, or may rely on voice recognition technology (IVR).

The server 300 has a connection to a banking system 306, via a connection 308. In this instance, the connection 308 is a leased line providing a more secure connection between the server 300 and the banking system.

Typically the server 300 will be provided by a computer system 400 shown in Figure 4, which comprises a display 402, in this case a

conventional cathode ray monitor, a keyboard 404, a printer 405, a mouse 406 and processing circuitry 408. The processing circuitry 408 comprises a number of sub components: a processor 410, system memory 412, display controller circuitry 414, a local mass storage device 416 (in this case an array of hard drives), an IP port 417 and an Input/Output (I/O) controller 418. The sub components of the processing circuitry communicate with one another via a system bus 420.

In this embodiment, the keyboard 404 and mouse 406 use a Universal Serial Bus (USB) to communicate with the I/O controller 418 of the computer system. Of course other mice 406 and keyboards 404 are well known.

Such processing circuitry may be provided by a number of different computer systems that are currently available. There is the architecture referred to a PC, which historically is based around the X86 range of processors produced by the INTEL Corporation. Other computer

TM system such as those produced by APPLE, or any other suitable system may be used.

As discussed above, the mass storage device 416 is provided by a Redundant Array of Inexpensive Discs (RAID) array of hard drives, and provides the storage for the server 300. The mass storage device 416 may be thought of as a remote mass storage device to the computers 302, and telephones 304 accessing the system provided by the server 300, and in this example provides, amongst other functions, a database that contains the information required by the system.

The server 300 typified by the computer system of Figure 4 will be used in two main ways under the system. The first is by a system administrator, who will use a'front-end'software application to access,

add to or amend data stored on the mass storage system 416. The second is by a user, who can make a connection thereto, and request data, or the amendment of system details. As discussed above, this connection would typically be through a computer system 302 in their own home, office, library, etc. or via a telephone 304.

The database that is held on the mass storage device 416 is, in this embodiment, provided by MicrosoftTM Corporation SQL Server 6. 5Tm and provides a database engine. A suitable software application is required on the server 300 to allow the database to be accessed.

MicrosoftTM Corporation Access 97 is a'front-end'application and a suitable software application to be installed on the server 300 to allow the system administrator to modify the database held on the mass storage device 416, and access the contents of the database. Requests for data stored in the database on the mass storage device 416 are'translated'into instructions in Structured Query Language (SQL), which is understood by

TM SQL Server 6. 5. In some embodiments the system administrator may access the database from a remote computer, in which case access can occur though its IP port 417 to a second IP port, identified by a unique specified IP address. In such an arrangement the database is held on a remote mass storage device 420, which has its own IP port 422 as indicated in Figure 4 Upon receiving a request for data, the database engine searches the database for the information required. This may require a transmission of the data back though the remote IP port 422 of the remote mass storage device 420 to the local IP port 417 the local mass storage device 416.

A common practice with systems that store data remotely is to action a week's transactions and store the details of these in a database on the

local mass storage device 416 before'archiving'them by sending them via the local IP port 417 and the remote IP port 422 to the database on the remote mass storage device 420 at the end of that week's trading. The skilled person will appreciate that the archiving system will depend on the capabilities of the local mass storage device and the number of transactions. For example, daily, monthly or quarterly archiving may be more appropriate. Indeed, if the database is primarily held on the mass storage device 416 then archiving in this manner will not be required (although of course data back ups of some description are advisable).

A database managed by a database engine such a SQL Server 6. 5TM consists of a structure containing data points. The data points within a database are referenced by a number of identifiers. As a relevant An example of a possible database structure is shown in Figure 5, which shows a number of database tables and the relationships between them.

Central to the database is the Parent-employee table 500, which contains a list of identifiers specifying the various parent-employees that are part of the system. The parent-employee table has a many-to-one link to an employer table 502, which contains a list of attributes (the identity of the employers). The employer table 502 has a one-to-many link to an employer contact table, which contains the names and addresses for contacts at the employer. The parent-employee table 500 has a one-tomany link to a parent-employee address table 506, which contains the address of each parent employee of the system.

The parent-employee table 500 is also linked by a one-to-many link to a parent-employee: carer cross reference table 508, which contains a list of the possible carers that may be used by each parent-employee contained in the parent-employee table 500. As the skilled person will appreciate such a cross reference table can make searching the database more efficient,

and allows the carers used by a particular parent-employee to be located without searching the entire carer table 510 described below. At this stage, it is confirmed that the carer selected is appropriate. The age of the child is found by the system, and, if the child is under 8 years of age, the registration details of the carer are checked-the carer must either have shown evidence of their statutory registration, or some other reason that they may take care of the child (e. g. they are a family member). The payment will fail if these requirements are not met.

The carer table 510 contains a list of all the carers contained in the system, and is linked to the parent-employee table 500 via the parentemployee: carer cross-reference table 508.

The system is arranged to facilitate the payment of child care, and therefore, the system has a table 512 containing a list of all of the children registered with the system. This child table 512 is linked to the carer table 510 via a carer: child cross-reference table 514. This carer: child cross reference table 514 lists the children that each carer looks after, and as with the previous cross reference table is arranged to facilitate searching of the database.

Further, the system comprises a transaction table 516, which maintains a list of all financial transactions referenced by the system. Each transaction contains a reference that allows a transaction to be referenced back to at least of the parent-employee, carer, children that were involved in the transaction. The system also comprises a pending transactions table 518 that maintains a list of transactions that have yet to be completed. Of course, when a transaction completes the pending transaction is moved from the pending transaction table 518 to the transaction table 516.

The database will be constructed initially without data, but with lists of these identifiers. The data feed will be a structured data file-for example, there might be seven columns of data, the first giving the parent employees identifier, the second, third, fourth, and fifth columns giving the carer's identifier, the child's identifier, the transaction type (pending or completed) and the date respectively, and the sixth giving the value of the transaction. The database engine will read the file row by row and the transaction values will be stored referenced by all of the identifiers on that row.

Within the structure of the database, it is also possible to include attributes of an identifier. For example, it may be useful for the system administrator to store the employer, addresses of parent-employees and the contact numbers of an employer referenced by the appropriate parentemployee identifier value.

For reasons of database efficiency, the relationships between the different types of identifiers should be defined. Considering the structure of the database as creating a'field'in which to store data, a system that is capable of storing every possible combination would be vast. To continue the example, it may be though acceptable to assume that in general, Mr.

Haddock, who is from Dundee, is unlikely to use the services of Tadpole's, a nursery in Portsmouth. The database will only contain fields cross-referencing Mr. Haddock to his designated child carers. The system as here described would use a database constructed with knowledge of the relationships between parent-employees and the carers, and between the carers and the children.

When reporting stored details of the database, it will be necessary to restrict identifiers to the values of interest. Mr. Haddock may, for example, require a report of the transactions carried out in the past six

months on his account. The system administrator will then query the database, looking for all transaction values referenced by Mr. Haddock's identifier value and dates in the last 6 months. As the relationships between Mr Haddock and child carers is already restricted to those he has designated, the database engine will not have to search through all the carers to find transactions. This subsection of the database will be returned to the system administrator. Alternatively, the system administrator could request all of the information relating to a specified employer.

The system will also be capable of receiving and interpreting monthly 'data feeds', a data file with a set format, which may be sent over the Internet or in some other way. In this example, a data feed will arrive from each employer weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or at some other interval.

The system of this example utilises the Bank Automated Clearing System (BACS), an automated bank transfer system for transferring payments into (or between) bank accounts, such is already used for making payments such as Direct Debit payments.

The system also proposes to use known technology to gather data, such as an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system and Internet based data entry forms. It may also employ the digital scanning of paper data entry forms.

Such IVR systems which provide a user with a number of options that they must speak into a telephone are well known, and will not be described further. Further, web based pages are well known, as are telephone systems which require users to use the touch tone keypads to make entries thereto.

An overview of the processes involved is shown in the flow chart of Figure 6. The first stage 600 is a registration stage, wherein interested companies, their parent-employees and the child carer used by the parentemployees register their details with the system administrator. The second stage 602 is a management phase, wherein the parent-employee agrees a salary sacrifice as a childcare payment and the employer amends the payroll procedures to reflect this. Concurrently, the system administrator sets up system accounts for the parent-employee 604. The third stage 606 repeats every pay-day: the system receives a payment from the employer, together with detail of how the payment is to be partitioned among the system accounts of its parent-employees, and the parent-employees'system accounts are credited accordingly. The final stage 608 is in pursuance of an order, which may be a standing order, from a parent-employee and affects the BACS transfer of money from the parent-employee's account held on the system to the account, or accounts, of their child carer (s). The transfer of money to the accounts of the child carers will be described in more detail hereinafter.

To consider these stages in greater depth, the registration and management stages are outlined in the flow chart of Figure 7.

The employer will contact a system administrator expressing their interest in the system 700. The system administrator will respond with a request for contact and other details, which can be entered on the system 702.

For example, there may be several types of schemes within the system, perhaps depending on the size of the employer, whether the employer intends on making a contribution to the child care payments (which may result in tax relief for the employer) or other factors. Therefore, the employer may be asked to select a scheme. They will be asked for bank details so that BACS transfers can take place. Using the system will incur a management fee for the employer, with a billing rate determined

by their choice of scheme, the number of parent-employees that will use the system, the total paid into the employer's parent-employees'system accounts in one month or by other factors. They may have to agree to an automatic payment scheme. Conversely, if for any reason the parentemployee or employer is due a refund, money may be returned to the employer for application of appropriate National Insurance Contributions.

Having supplied such details, the employer will promote the scheme to its parent-employees 704. Those who wish to subscribe to the scheme will then submit personal details 706, namely: their full names and home addresses; the name of their employer and their business address; their employee ID number; their national insurance number; the monthly total amount (including any employer contribution) they wish to contribute under the scheme; the names, dates of birth, sex, etc, of all their children requiring child care; the name (s) and addresses of their child care providers; and the type of child care provider (e. g. nursery, child minder, family member, etc).

These personal details may be submitted via an Internet based data entry form, a paper based data entry form, a call centre, possibly using IVR.

Internet based web pages are well known, and will give users a number of options, which are expanded below. However, users may be given the opportunity to print statements, make payments, or change contributions.

IVR and touch tone telephone systems are well known. In one embodiment the process once a caller connects via a telephone may be as follows. The caller is greeted with a welcome message, and asked to press 1 on his/her keypad to select tone entry, or to speak"no"to activate voice entry.

If the user has selected tone entry they are read by a voice synthesiser a prompt asking them to key his/her account and pin numbers. Once these have been entered and verified the balance on the accessed account is synthesised, and then the user is read a number of options: 01, details of the last three transactions; 02 make a payment to a carer; 03 change contributions; 04 helpline; 05 amend carer details; 06 leave service.

These options lead to the following actions: Last three entries The Last three on your account are... (date, amount, debit or credit) Make a payment The user is prompted for a minimum two digit code to identity the carer to whom they wish to make a payment.

The user is prompted to enter an amount.

The amount is read back and the user asked for verification (e. g enter 1 to confirm, 3 to cancel.

The user is asked to enter a date at which the payment should be made.

A statement detailing the entered payment is read to the user"Transfer of Ex to (carer name) to be initiated on (date). The user is then asked to confirm this as before (1 to confirm, 3 to cancel).

Once the payment has been confirmed the user is asked if they would like to make another payment.

Change contributions The user is read a statement :"your current monthly contribution into your account is Ex.

Would you like to change this amount 1 for yes,

3 for no".

The user is then prompted to enter the amount in pence of the new contribution.

The user is read a statement"Thank you. You have requested a new monthly payment of Ex. Is this correct? Enter 1 to confirm 3 to cancel." Once confirmed the user is prompted to enter a two digit code to identify the month that they wish the new contribution to commence which will be cogniscent of any rules of the scheme.

The option terminates with a statement :"Thank you. You new contribution will commence in (month) Helpline A statement is read :"Thank you. Your call will now be directed to one of our agents"and the call is transferred to an operator.

Administrative A statement is read"please enter 1 to amend changes your personal details or 9 to change or add details of your designated carers.

Once this has been performed, a statement is read "Thank you. You will now be transferred to one of our agents"and the call is transferred.

Leave Service A statement is read to the user :"Thank you for calling. Good bye"and the call is terminated.

Certain steps are necessarily performed to set up the account for a parentemployee, and these are detailed in Figure 8. The system provider will set up an account with a unique reference number in the name of each parent-employee based on the details supplied by the parent-employee. This reference number should be quoted in communications between the parent-employee and the system provider. The parent-employee will be

sent a form bearing their account number for use as an authorisation document for their proposed salary sacrifice 800. This authorisation will be collated and advised to employer in order to initiate payroll deductions. The payroll procedures will then be amended to reflect these deductions.

The parent-employee is issued a card showing the details of their account and a Personal Identification Number (PIN) 802. Specifically, the card will be a personalised plastic type card, detailing the parent-employee's name, their system account number, and the names of their designated carer (s). The card and PIN will be issued separately as a further security measure-details from both are required to use the system; it would be more difficult for a person of dishonest intentions to intercept two envelopes than one, one on its own serves little purpose.

The employer will need to take a limited number of steps to set up the system. They must amend their payroll accordingly and remit specific information to the service provider 804. Specifically, the employer sends to the system provider the company number, the amount sacrificed by any employee participating in the scheme, the amount contributed by the employee, the system provider reference number, and the payroll ID's of any employees taking part. Any payments made to the system are confirmed to the employer 806. Finally, the records stored on the database are updated 808 to reflect any payments that have been made, etc.

Returning to Figure 7, any carers will have to be registered on the system, and a check is made to see if they are 708. If they are not, the system provider generates a unique carer account number and send a form bearing that number to the carer, which should be completed with their registration details 710. On this form, they will be asked to provide

evidence of their accreditations as a child carer if the child is under eight, unless they are a family member or caring for the children of less than two families (in which case, no formal accreditation may exist). This accreditation information is entered onto a target verification means of the system, allowing the identity of the carer to be verified. If the child is over eight years of age, the system proposed will reflect current legislation in not requiring accreditation details as no national registration or inspection procedures for carers of children over eight years of age currently exist in the UK. As such the target verification means is automatically informed that no accreditation information is required. Details of the carer's bank accounts are required so that they may receive payment by BACS. A completed form will then be returned 713 to the system provider and the details thereon are stored, in this embodiment by scanning, onto the system. If the requested information is not returned 712 from the carer, the system is arranged to send thereto a duplicate after a predetermined time has elapsed 714. In this embodiment the duplicate is sent out after a period of ten working days..

If the carer is already registered on the system 716, a letter is sent 718 to the carer identifying the parent-employee and the child to which the communication relates, with a form to complete should the details need amending.

A receipt book will also be issued to a parent-employee under the system, which is used to provide a voucher 206 (as shown in Figure 2) which can be presented to a carer to confirm payment and if the carer/parentemployee wishes to keep a record of agreed transactions. The parentemployee fills into the voucher the payment they have made, or intends to make, to the carer under the system, and the parent-employee signs the receipt book. The printer 105 could be arranged to print suitable receipt books.

The system is arranged to receive payment from an employer for each of the parent-employee's registered on the system. Generally, this would be on a monthly basis and automatically be a BACS transfer. However, the system may be arranged to allow manual payment of money into the system. The system credits the accounts of each parent-employee with the amount paid by the employer. At the request (which could be a standing request) of the parent-employee, a payment is made to a specified carer's bank accounts using BACS and the parent-employee's account is suitably debited. The carer is notified of the payment by text message, email, or in some other way.

The way in which the request for payment to be made to the carer is treated is shown in the flowchart of Figure 9. The parent-employee connects to the system in a number of manners as detailed in Figure 3, which may be via telephone, Internet connection, or the like. An IVR system is provided on the system so that a telephone connection can be made 24 hours a day. As also described above, an Internet web page is also provided allowing a user to connect to the system.

Once the parent-employee has successfully logged onto the system, by answering the necessary security checks, they are advised at this time of their balance 900, and prompted for the transaction details. The transaction details include the parent-employee selecting from the list of verified carers associated with his/her account the one to which they wish a payment to be made, and also the amount of the payment. The system automatically checks if the parent-employee has sufficient funds 902, the relationships between the carer and the child, and whether depending on the age of the child, qualifications must be held by the carer to provide care. If the balance is sufficient to cover the payment and the carer is qualified to care for a child (if qualification is required), the system considers whether the carer specified as the intended recipient is the carer

specified in the parent-employees account details 904. If this is the case, the parent-employee is required to review and confirm the details of the request by entering their PIN 906. On a telephone based IVR system the transaction is spoken to the parent-employee via a speech synthesiser, and on an Internet based system the details of the transaction are displayed on a secure web page.

Once the details are so confirmed, the amount specified is debited from the parent-employee's system account and credited to the carer's bank account, and the transaction tables are updated to reflect the changes 908.

Should any details seem to be incorrect or insufficient, the system will notify the parent-employee and return to the start of the process. For example, if there are insufficient funds for the transaction that the parentemployee has requested 910 or if the carer is inappropriate through not holding qualifications (if required), then the parent-employee is informed they have insufficient funds and is returned to the start of the payment process. If the carer that the parent-employee has specified is not properly associated with his/her account, the parent-employee is advised of this and returned to the start of the payment process 912. Further, if the parent-employee fails to confirm the details of the transaction, for example, because there is a mistake, they are also returned to the start of the payment process 914.

Over a period of prolonged use of the system, various details relating to the accounts held thereon may change. For example, a parent-employee may move house, possibly requiring a change in carer for this, or for some other, reason. A child may no longer require care, perhaps because they have reached school age. A parent-employee may cease to be employed by the employer. A carer may also change addresses or perhaps change their bank account details, in which case the details for the BACS transfer would also have to be changed. Alternatively, a fraud

may be committed or attempted and the system accounts should be shut down and re-opened to prevent the fraud from continuing. The details of how the system may respond to such a situation when notified over the Internet or via a telephone input via IVR, or a touch tone telephone based system are outlined in Figures 10 and 11, 12 and 13.

Figure 10 shows a flowchart of the actions taken when a parent-employee notifies the system of a change such as a change in address, carer or salary sacrifice. If a carer is being added to the system, the system administrator will dispatch new registration forms for the carer to complete in the manner previously described in relation to Figure 7.

Once the account details have been amended the parent-employee is issued with a new account card reflecting the changes, and this is generated by the system. Before any changes can be made to a parent-employees account they must log onto the system. As previously described this can be performed via an Internet connection, or a telephone system, and requires a user to enter security details confirming his/her identity 1000.

The parent-employee is presented with a list of options. If parentemployee is accessing the system via a web site, these options will take the form of a web page. If the parent-employee is accessing the system by an IVR process they will be asked to speak the option they require from a list they are presented with, and if a touch tone phone system is being used they will be required to press the button that corresponds to the option they require. In the example given in Figure 10 the user is present with three primary options: change of address, add a career, change of salary sacrifice.

If the address of the parent-employee has changed, the system sends 1002 a notification letter to the old and new addresses as a security measure. If the parent-employee elects to change his/her salary sacrifice the employer is notified of any changes by the system 1004. The database

run on the system is automatically updated with the new salary sacrifice details. The employer amends their payroll details, and also the information that they send to the system provider 1006.

If the parent-employer amends the carer details 1008, as would be applicable if they have started using a different carer and need to have that carer added to the system, details of the carer are added to the system. However, the carer is not associated with the account of the parent-employee until the details of the carer have been verified. Registration forms are despatched by the system such that the identity of the carer can be verified. Further, the system is arranged to issue an updated card and other literature, such as stickers, to the parentemployee.

A parent-employee is given an opportunity to query changes that they have noted in his/her account details 1010. If this option is not activated then no further action occurs and the parent-employee can log out of the system. However, if the parent-employee queries a change to the system 1012, the system attempts to ascertain whether there has been an invalid, or fraudulent, transaction 1014. Should this be the case, all transactions on the relevant accounts will be suspended and the matter will be investigated 1016. Whether the erroneous change is an innocent mistake or not, then the parent-employee is issued with new registration forms to ensure that all details are correct 1018.

Figure 11 shows a flowchart of the actions taken when a carer notifies the system of a change such as a change in address or bank details. Again, the parent-employee must progress through security checks to log onto his/her account whether they are accessing the system via an Internet connection, or a telephone based connection 1100. If the address of the carer has changed, the system is arranged to send a notification letter to

the old and new addresses as a security measure 1102, after a parent employee has amended his/her address details. If the carer's bank details have changed, a form will be sent to the carer to be completed with the new details and returned to the operators of the system allowing the details to be updated 1104. The carer should quote their unique account number so that the new details can be matched with those on record. The forms may be electronically scanned to enter the new details into the system 1106.

Again as described in relation to Figure 10 a carer is given the opportunity to query changes. If the carer queries a change to the system 1108, the system attempts to ascertain whether there has been an invalid or fraudulent transaction 1110. Should this be the case, all transactions on the relevant accounts will be suspended and the matter will be investigated. Whether the erroneous change is an innocent mistake or not, the parent-employee will be issued with new registration forms to ensure that all details are correct 1112. If BACS transactions have been affected then the system is arranged to alert the relevant authorities (police and/or bank) 1114.

Figure 12 shows a flowchart outlining the procedure to be followed when a parent-employee decides to leave the scheme. The parent-employee will notify his employer 1200. As using the system will incur charges for the employer possibly according to the number of parent-employees using the scheme, the employer may request a refund to reflect the fact that this number has decreased. If a refund is due it occurs by BACS transfer in to the employer's bank account. Any money paid into the parentemployee's account and not paid out to a carer should also be credited to the employer. The system administrator will send letters to both the employer and the parent-employee indicating that the transfer has taken place 1202.

Figure 13 shows a flowchart outlining the procedure to be followed if a parent-employee requests details of his/her account and its recent history, which can be performed via an Internet, or telephone connection. A series of security checks, for example the entry of a PIN, will be followed, and the parent-employee will then be asked to specify of how many historic transactions on their account they would like to see details 1300. Historic details will generally be stored on the remote storage device 420, or on the local storage device 416. The query entered by the parent-employee automatically generates an SQL query that interrogates the database. The database engine will search the database for the information and will send it to the parent-employee via the telephone or Internet connection that is being used to access the system 1302.

At the time of writing, certain childcare payments in the UK can attract tax benefits in the form of a reduction in National Insurance Contributions. The child must be of a certain age, the parent earning less than a certain amount and the carer must be approved. As the registration of a carer on the proposed system requires the same standard of approval, as long as the other conditions are met, payments made through the system will attract tax benefits.

Many employers currently operate a'voucher'system, a cumbersome paper-based fore-runner of the proposed system, for their parentemployees. This is considered to be a'benefit in kind', a non-cash benefit to the parent-employee with a taxable value. As the proposed system will cost less, the potential value of this benefit in kind may decrease and therefore the tax payable on it may also decrease.

These tax benefits, the reporting capabilities, the low cost, the speed and simplicity of the system for users, and the possibility of a clear audit trail will make the system very attractive.

In addition to the Internet and automatic telephone based access systems described above, system administrators may be able to provide the functionality of the connections for paper based, or instructions provided over a telephone voice connection (perhaps to a call centre). Such an arrangement allows the system to be used by carers and/or parentemployees that do not have an Internet connection, nor a touch tone keypad (or who would prefer to write/speak to an operator).

The system is also arranged to generate reports for accounts held on the system. These reports can be generated for both parent-employee accounts, and for each employer with parent-employees on the system.

These reports can be generated for any predetermined length of time, but in one embodiment this is annually. Such reports provide a much greater accountability than prior art systems.

Further, the system allows the accounts to be maintained with the generation of less paper work than prior art systems, and can allow transactions to be tracked much more readily. Therefore, the system provides greater accountability/traceability.

Further, because each transaction is detailed within the system, the system makes it easier to comply with legislation in which the system is based. Such legislation includes tax legislation, employee legislation, etc.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A system for facilitating payment comprising one or more remote terminals arranged to connect to a server, each remote terminal being arranged to allow information to be input thereon and to forward this information to the server, the server being arranged to hold one or more accounts each associated with a user of the system, each account being capable of having one or more targets associated therewith to which payments can be made, target verification means allowing a target to be verified and added to an account, a remote access means allowing connections to be made to the remote terminals, payment means allowing units to be added and/or removed from an account, wherein the system is arranged to allow a user to log into his/her account from the remote terminal, select a target to which a payment should be made, and cause said payment means to transfer a number of units to a specified target that has been verified by the target verification means.
2. A system according to claim 1 which is arranged to facilitate the payment of child care.
3. A method of making a payment comprising providing a system for one or more users, and providing each user with an account with which there is associated one or more targets, the identity of which has been verified, and the account containing one or more units, the method further comprising allowing a user to log into his/her account select one or more targets to which payment should be made and causing units to be transferred to said specified target.
4. A computer readable medium arranged when read by a computer to cause the computer to perform the method according to claim 2.

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5. A computer readable medium arranged when read by a computer to cause the computer to function as the server according to claim 1.
6. A system substantially as described and as illustrated herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.