An Internet billing method comprises establishing an agreement between an Internet
access provider and a customer, and an agreement between the Internet access provider
and a vendor, wherein the Internet access provider agrees with the customer and
the vendor to bill the customer and remit to the vendor for products and services
purchased over the Internet by the customer from the vendor. The provider creates
access to the Internet for the customer. When the customer orders a product or
service over the Internet from a vendor, transactional information transmitted
between the customer and the vendor is also transmitted to the provider. The provider
then bills the transaction amount to the customer and remits a portion of the transaction
amount to the vendor, keeping the differential as a fee for providing the service.
As a result of this method, there is no need for any customer account numbers or
vendor account numbers to be transmitted over the Internet, thereby maintaining
the security of that information.