Authorization for credit card or bank account charges are provided for a
billing party in response to electronic payment requests sent over the
Internet from customers. Web services software is used to facilitate the
transmission of authorization information to each biller's website where
it can be-formatted to the biller's specification. Notification of the
authorization or rejection of the payment request is sent to the consumer
by the biller, and also by the authorizing party directly by e-mail.
Individual transaction identification numbers and billing personnel
identification numbers can be provided to the billing party by the
authorizing party. Credit/debit card confirmation numbers can be used to
minimize fraud.
