Apparatus to provide liquid funds in the online auction environment
AssigneeAmerican Express Kabbage Inc.
InventorsRobert James Frohwein, Kathryn Tison Petralia
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method, apparatus, and computer readable storage to implement a lending system for use with electronic commerce web sites such as auction sites. A seller may receive a cash loan for items placed for sale but not yet purchased by a buyer. The seller can be required to pay back the loan after a predetermined amount of time or as soon as the item for sale is sold and payment is received from the buyer. The lender would charge interest or commission for the loan. In this manner, sellers can receive cash for items listed on auction sites before those items are actually sold, generating additional cash flow for the seller.
Claims20
A method, comprising:
- logging in, by a client device and onto an e-commerce platform, using seller authentication information;
- providing, by the client device to the e-commerce platform, information associated with an item listing by at least listing an item for sale on the e-commerce platform;
- transmitting, by the client device and to a lender device, a reference to the item listing;
- and
- receiving, by the client device, a confirmation that a monetary amount has been distributed.
A system, comprising:
- a computing device comprising a processor and a memory;
- and
- machine-readable instructions stored in the memory that, when executed by the processor, cause the computing device to at least:
- log in to an e-commerce platform using seller authentication information;
- generate an item listing by at least listing an item for sale on the e-commerce platform;
- transmit, to a lender device, the item listing and a request for a monetary amount to be distributed to a seller account;
- and
- receive a confirmation that the monetary amount has been distributed to the seller account.
A non-transitory, computer-readable medium, comprising machine-readable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computing device, cause the computing device to at least:
- log in to an e-commerce platform using seller authentication information;
- generate an item listing by at least listing an item for sale on the e-commerce platform;
- transmit, to a lender device, the item listing and a request for a monetary amount to be distributed to a seller account;
- and
- receive a confirmation that the monetary amount has been distributed to the seller account.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.