Automated transaction processing system and approach with currency conversion

A transaction processing and currency conversion system, comprising:

• a database storing business rules including information for selecting a currency conversion standard and also storing tolerance information useful for setting contract terms, the tolerance information including at least one of:
• a tolerance payment range, a currency conversion rate tolerance, and a delivery term range;
• and
• a computer circuit having respective software modules configured and arranged, with the computer circuit to access the business rules, and to:
• receive respective sets of the business rules for transactions between transacting parties;
• communicate with a plurality of buyer terminals and seller terminals and to provide a common source of data for users of the terminals, the data including seller offerings;
• control access to the data and for configuring the type and arrangement of the data to be communicated with the at least one buyer terminal in response to the identification of a buyer receiving the communications;
• use the respective sets of business rules provided by each of the parties to the transaction to select the currency conversion standard, the respective sets of business rules provided by each of the parties to the transaction including terms identifying a particular currency conversion standard, and convert the set price from the first currency into a second different currency for at least one party to the transaction as a function of the currency conversion standard by using the currency conversion standard in response to the time that settlement is effected;
• for each transaction to be implemented by a buyer for the seller offerings, determine a currency conversion criterion by,
• using the business rules for the buyer and sellers to automatically derive a currency conversion criterion for the transaction based on currency-conversion tolerance information specified by the business rules and also by a currency conversion standard,
• responsive to the currency conversion criterion falling outside of a specific currency-conversion tolerance range for at least one of the parties, transforming the business rules for at least one party and using the transformed business rules to automatically derive a currency conversion criterion for the transaction that falls within the specific currency-conversion tolerance range;
• and
• use the currency conversion criterion to convert transaction price data from a first currency implemented by the seller in the seller offerings to transaction price data in a different currency.

An automated pricing system for use with transaction parties who provide respective sets of business rules for transactions to be processed using the automated pricing system, the system comprising:

• a database storing business rules including the information for selecting a currency conversion standard and also storing tolerance information useful for setting contract terms, the tolerance information including at least one of:
• a tolerance payment range, a currency conversion rate tolerance, and a delivery term range;
• means for accessing the business rules, and for receiving and using the business rules to derive a specific term for a transaction to be implemented by the buyer and seller, the transaction having a price that is set as a function of the specific term, the price being in a first currency;
• selection means for selecting a currency conversion standard as a function of the business rules;
• conversion means for converting the set price from the first currency into a second different currency for at least one party to the transaction as a function of the currency conversion standard, the set price being derived automatically and also being based on currency-conversion tolerance information specified by the business rules;
• wherein at least one of said conversion means and said selection means are configured to use the respective sets of business rules provided by each of the parties to the transaction to select the currency conversion standard, the respective sets of business rules provided by each of the parties to the transaction including terms identifying a particular currency conversion standard, and to convert the set price from the first currency into a second different currency for at least one party to the transaction as a function of the currency conversion standard by using the currency conversion standard in response to the time that settlement is effected;
• and
• means for providing a transaction price by,
• responsive to the converted set price falling within a price tolerance in business rules for the at least one party to the transaction, providing the converted set price, and
• responsive to the converted set price falling outside of a price tolerance in business rules for the at least one party to the transaction, transforming a business rules term involving at least one of currency conversion and pricing parameters, and using the transformed business rules term to provide a resolved converted set price.