Automated Transaction Processing System and Approach with Currency Conversion

An automated transaction pricing and payment system comprising:

• a rule-variable database that stores sets of predefined contract variables specific to each of a plurality of established contracts respectively agreed upon by parties including buyers and sellers, and sets of business rule variables for the buyers and sellers, the business rule variables including timing criteria and a predefined standard for computing currency conversion data, the standard being susceptible to fluctuation as a function of currency conversion rates;
• a correlation database that stores correlation data for correlating received transaction data sets with a set of predefined contract variables and sets of business rule variables for a buyer and a seller involved in a transaction to which the transaction data set pertains;
• a transaction processing engine configured with software to, for each received transaction data set for a transaction involving a buyer and seller,
• use data in the correlation database to correlate the received transaction data set with contract variables and sets of business rule variables for the buyer and seller, and
• execute a derivation algorithm, using the correlated contract variables and business rule variables as inputs to the algorithm, to derive a specific pricing term for the transaction and to set a price for the transaction based upon the specific term, the price being in a first currency;
• and
• a pricing-settlement engine configured to respond to the derived pricing term by, for each transaction, using the correlated variables to
• select a currency conversion standard and time based upon timing criteria and a predefined standard in the correlated business rule variables,
• using the timing criteria and an active currency conversion rate defined for the predefined standard, convert the set price from the first currency into a converted price in a second different currency, and
• generate and output electronic payment instructions to effect payment and settlement for the transaction based upon the set price, the business rule variables and the converted price.