By-item bill payments

An apparatus, comprising:

• a memory;
• at least one processor operatively coupled to said memory;
• and
• a persistent storage device operatively coupled to said memory and storing in a non-transitory manner instructions which, when loaded into said memory, cause said at least one processor to be configured:
• to implement a by-item bill payment platform network and a bill presentment and payment system platform module coupled to a payment network connecting a plurality of billers to at least a first payor, said by-item bill payment network further comprising an enrollment user interface module, a business logic module, a database management system module, and a by-item bill payment network platform-bill presentment and payment system interface module;
• to enroll a plurality of billers in a by-item bill payment program by executing said enrollment user interface module to access said database management system module;
• to obtain an invoice from a given one of said billers by executing said bill presentment and payment system platform module, said bill presentment and payment system platform module being in data communication with said bill presentment and payment system interface of said by-item bill payment platform network, the invoice including multiple charges corresponding to at least one of goods and services purchased from the given one of said billers by said first payor;
• to modify the invoice obtained from the given one of said billers, based at least in part on said enrolling step, to generate at least one modified invoice in response to a determination by said business logic module of said by-item bill payment platform network, said at least one modified invoice including multiple charges corresponding to said at least one of goods and services purchased from the given one of said billers by said first payor, at least a first one of the charges being handled under first payment terms and at least a second one of the charges being handled under second payment terms, the first and second payment terms being different relative to one another;
• to send said at least one modified invoice to said first payor by executing said bill presentment and payment system platform module;
• to obtain payment from said first payor by executing said bill presentment and payment system platform module;
• and
• to allocate a first portion of the obtained payment towards said first one of the charges and to allocate towards said second one of the charges by executing said bill presentment and payment system platform module.

An article of manufacture comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, causes said processor to be operative:

• to implement a by-item bill payment platform network and a bill presentment and payment system platform module coupled to a payment network connecting a plurality of billers to at least a first payor, said by-item bill payment network further comprising an enrollment user interface module, a business logic module, a database management system module, and a by-item bill payment network platform-bill presentment and payment system interface module;
• to enroll a plurality of billers in said by-item bill payment program by executing said enrollment user interface module to access said database management system module;
• to obtain an invoice from a given one of said billers by executing said bill presentment and payment system platform module, said bill presentment and payment system platform module being in data communication with said bill presentment and payment system interface of said by-item bill payment platform network, the invoice including multiple charges corresponding to at least one of goods and services purchased from the given one of said billers by said first payor;
• to modify the invoice obtained from the given one of said billers, based at least in part on said enrolling step, to generate at least one modified invoice in response to a determination by said business logic module of said by-item bill payment platform network, said at least one modified invoice including multiple charges corresponding to at least one of goods and services purchased from the given one of said billers by said first payor, at least a first one of the charges being handled under first payment terms and at least a second one of the charges being handled under second payment terms, the first and second payment terms being different relative to one another;
• to send said at least one modified invoice to said first payor by executing said bill presentment and payment system platform module;
• to obtain payment from said first payor by executing said bill presentment and payment system platform module;
• and
• to allocate a first portion of the obtained payment towards said first one of the charges and to allocate towards said second one of the charges by executing said bill presentment and payment system platform module.

An apparatus, comprising:

• means for implementing a by-item bill payment network and a bill presentment and payment system platform module coupled to a payment network connecting a plurality of billers to at least a first payor, said by-item bill payment network further comprising an enrollment user interface module, a business logic module, a database management system module, and a by-item bill payment network platform-bill presentment and payment system interface module;
• means for enrolling a plurality of billers in a by-item bill payment program, by executing said enrollment user interface module to access said database management system module;
• means for obtaining an invoice from a given one of said billers via a bill presentment and payment system platform module executing on at least one hardware processor, said bill presentment and payment system platform module being in data communication with said by-item bill payment platform network via said by-item bill payment network platform-bill presentment and payment system interface module, the invoice including multiple charges corresponding to at least one of goods and services purchased from the given one of said billers by first payor;
• means for modifying the invoice obtained from the given one of said billers, based at least in part on said enrolling step, via said business logic module of said by-item bill payment platform network executing on said at least one hardware processor, to generate at least one modified invoice including multiple charges corresponding to said at least one of goods and services purchased from the given one of said billers by said first payor, at least a first one of the charges being handled under first payment terms and at least a second one of the charges being handled under second payment terms, the first and second payment terms being different relative to one another;
• means for sending said at least one modified invoice to said first payor, via said bill presentment and payment system platform module executing on said at least one hardware processor;
• means for obtaining payment from said first payor, via said bill presentment and payment system platform module executing on said at least one hardware processor;
• and
• means for allocating a first portion of the obtained payment towards said first one of the charges and allocating a second portion of the obtained payment to said second one of the charges, via said bill presentment and payment system platform module executing on said at least one hardware processor.