Account and customer creation in an on-line banking model

A computer-readable medium containing instructions operable to cause a computer system to perform a method for providing a financial service to a customer of a financial institution, the method comprising:

• displaying, via the computer system, an electronic banking service of the financial institution, wherein the computer system is associated with a third party distinct from the financial institution;
• displaying, via the third party computer system, information associated with financial products and services of the third party;
• providing, via the third party computer system, an integrated interface to the electronic banking service of the financial institution and the financial products and services of the third party;
• displaying, via the third party computer system, financial advisory content related to the financial products and services through at least one of fund selection tools, asset allocation tools, portfolio tracking and planning tools, and financial calculators;
• receiving, via the third party computer system, instructions from the customer to initiate a payment to a payee, wherein the customer and the payee each has a plurality of payment accounts with different financial institutions distinct from the third party;
• determining, via the third party computer system, whether the payee and the customer each has a payment account with a common financial institution;
• when both the payee and the customer have payment accounts with a common financial institution, automatically selecting, by the third party computer system, the payment account with the common financial institution from among the plurality of payment accounts for each one of the customer and the payee, and transmitting an instruction to the common financial institution to adjust account balances of the payment account of the payee with the common entity financial institution and the payment account of the customer with the common financial institution;
• when the payee and the customer do not both have payment accounts with a common financial institution, transmitting, via the third party computer system, an instruction to an automated clearing house to withdraw the payment from a payment account of the customer with a first financial institution and to deposit the payment to a payment account of the selected payee with a second financial institution;
• and
• notifying the customer, via the third party computer system, that he payment has been initiated.

A system for providing a financial service to a customer of a financial institution,

• wherein the system is associated with a third party distinct from the financial institution and comprises:
• at least one memory to store data and instructions;
• and
• at least one processor configured to access the at least one memory and, when executing the instructions, to:
• cause an electronic banking service of the financial institution to be displayed to the customer;
• cause information associated with financial products and services of the third party to be displayed to the customer;
• provide the customers with an integrated interface to the electronic banking service of the financial institution and the financial products and services of the third party;
• cause financial advisory content to be displayed to the customer, wherein the financial advisory content is related to the financial products and services through at least one of fund selection tools, asset allocation tools, portfolio tracking and planning tools, and financial calculators;
• receive instructions from the customer to initiate a payment to a payee, wherein the customer and the payee each has a plurality of payment accounts with different financial institutions distinct from the third party;
• determine whether the payee and the customer each has a payment account with a common financial institution;
• when both the payee and the customer have payment accounts with a common financial institution, automatically select the payment account with the common financial institution from among the plurality of payment accounts for each one of the customer and the payee, and transmit an instruction to the common financial institution to adjust account balances of the payment account of the payee with the common financial institution and the payment account of the customer with the common financial institution;
• when the payee and the customer do not both have payment accounts with a common financial institution, transmit an instruction to an automated clearing house to withdraw the payment from a payment account of the customer with a first financial institution and to deposit the payment to a payment account of the selected payee with a second financial institution;
• and
• notify the customer that the payment has been initiated.