Method and system for providing an interface for supporting multiple formats for on-line banking services

A method for establishing on-line services between an application program running on a client computer and a server associated with a financial institution, comprising the steps of:

• determining the method of connection required by the server associated with the financial institution;
• loading one of a plurality of drivers in the application program associated with the determined method of connection;
• transferring one of a plurality of instruction sets governing the manner in which financial transactions are received, posted, and transacted with the financial institution associated with the on-line services, from a branding server storing connection information and the plurality of instruction sets for a variety of financial institutions for information relating to the method of connecting, to the server associated with the identified financial institution to the loaded driver;
• establishing a connection between the client computer and the server associated with the financial institution;
• and
• using the instruction set to configure the application program to utilize the on-line services offered by the financial institution.

A method for connecting an application program running on a client computer to a server associated with a financial institution in connection with on-line services offered by the financial institution, comprising the steps of:

• identifying a particular financial institution;
• transmitting a request from the client computer to a branding server storing connection information and a plurality of instruction sets for a variety of financial institutions for information relating to the method of connecting to the server associated with the identified financial institution;
• in response to transmitting the request, obtaining information relating to the method of connecting to the server associated with the identified financial institution from the branding server;
• in response to obtaining connection information, loading one of a plurality of drivers in the application program, each driver being associated with a method of connecting;
• obtaining one of the plurality of instruction sets governing the manner in which financial transactions are received, posted, and transacted with the financial institution associated with the on-line services from the branding server;
• establishing a connection between the client computer and the server associated with the financial institution;
• and
• using the information and the instruction set to configure the application program to utilize the on-line services offered by the financial institution.

A computer system including a client computer operative to run an application program for allowing the client to connect to a server associated with a financial institution to utilize the on-line services of the financial institution, comprising:

• a memory for storing the application program;
• a processing device, responsive to instructions from the application program, operative to:
• transmit, in response to input from a user of the client computer, a request for information relating to the method of connecting to a particular financial institution to a branding server storing connection information and a plurality of instruction sets for a variety of financial institutions for information relating to the method of connecting to the server associated with the identified financial institution;
• receive the requested information from the branding server;
• select a driver associated with the requested information from a plurality of drivers, each driver corresponding to a different method of connecting;
• load the selected driver in the application program;
• obtain an instruction set governing the manner in which financial transactions are regulated with the financial institution associated with the on-line services;
• establish a connection between the client computer and the server associated with the financial institution;
• and
• use the information and instruction set to configure the application program to utilize the on-line services offered by the financial institution.

A computer-readable medium on which is stored an application program for allowing a client computer to utilize the on-line services of a financial institution, the application program comprising instructions which, when executed by the client computer, perform the steps of:

• (a) identifying a particular financial institution;
• (b) obtaining from a branding server information relating to the method of connecting to a server associated with the identified financial institution;
• (c) loading one of a plurality of drivers in the application program, each driver being associated with a method of connecting;
• (d) obtaining business rules associated with the on-line services;
• (e) establishing a connection between the client computer and the server associated with the financial institution;
• and
• (f) the driver using the information and business rules to configure the application program to utilize the on-line services offered by the financial institution.