Method and system for payment of permit mail

This application is a continuation application of prior application Ser. No. 11/152,581, filed Jun. 14, 2005, which is a continuation application of prior application Ser. No. 10/137,471, filed Apr. 30, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,925,450, which claims the benefit of prior U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/329,741, filed on Oct. 16, 2001, now expired. The specification of each of these documents is hereby incorporated by reference.

The invention disclosed herein relates generally to the field of mailing systems, and more particularly to a system and method for payment of permit mail.

There are currently several methods of paying the postal service for collecting, sorting and distributing the mail. For example, mailers may pay the post office for services provided by purchasing a stamp, i.e., a printed adhesive label, issued by the post office at specified prices, that is affixed to the mailpiece to show prepayment of postage. The placing of one or more stamps on a mailpiece can be labor intensive, however, especially for mailers having large volumes of mail.

Another method for paying for postal services is by permit mail. Permit mail is especially suited for mailers that have large volumes of mail. With permit mail, instead of using stamps, the mailer prints a permit imprint, known as an indicia, on each mailpiece. The permit mail is brought to a postal induction site, referred to by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a Bulk Mail Entry Unit (BMEU), by the mailer, or an agent of the mailer. The mailer also prepares forms indicating the number of mailpieces in the mailing and the amount of postage estimated to be due. For manifest mail, a sampling of the mailing is performed at the induction site for comparison with the manifest provided by the mailer to determine the accuracy of the estimates made by the mailer. For uniform mail (mail of uniform size and weight), the number of mailpieces in the mailing is verified by the postal authority. For example, ten mailpieces are weighed and the average single piece weight, based on the ten mailpieces actually weighed, is determined. The entire mailing is then weighed, and the total weight is divided by the average single piece weight to determine the total number of mailpieces in the mailing. The postage due is then calculated based on the average single piece weight and the total number of mailpieces as determined by the postal authority. The mailer, or his agent, must provide payment for the total amount of postage due as determined by the postal authority. Such payment can be, for example, in the form of a check, cash, uncancelled stamps, or debit from a trust account into which money must be wired. The USPS also provides certain mailers with a postage payment system referred to as the Centralized Account Processing System (CAPS), which provides electronic options to presenting checks or cash in person. CAPS utilizes either a centralized trust account, in which funds are deposited electronically, via standard Automated Clearing House (ACH) banking mechanisms, to the CAPS bank prior to inducting the mailing, or a centralized debit account, in which the mailer\'s designated bank account will be debited, via standard ACH banking mechanisms, for the total of the day\'s mailings on the next business day.

There are problems, however, with the conventional systems for paying for permit mail. For example, if the mailer is paying by cash, check, or uncancelled stamps, payment must be presented at the time the mailing is inducted by the postal authority. Accordingly, the mailer must have either the correct amount of cash or uncancelled stamps, or a check for the correct amount, as determined by the verification or comparison performed by the postal authority. Typically, if there is a discrepancy less than some predetermined threshold, such as, for example, 1.5%, the postal authority will accept the amount of the payment as estimated by the mailer. However, if the discrepancy between what the mailer estimated as the amount of postage believed to be due and the amount due as calculated by the postal authority is greater than the threshold limit defined by the postal authority, the mailer may either have insufficient cash or uncancelled stamps to pay for the mailing, or a check for the incorrect amount, i.e., either more or less than required. Discrepancies are fairly common, especially for uniform mailings having thousands, or tens of thousands, of mailpieces. With such large mailings, the entire mailing is weighed by rolling carts, including the trays containing the mailpieces, onto a large scale, and then subtracting a standardized weight for the carts and trays, to determine the total weight of the mailing. The weight of the carts and trays typically changes over time, as labels may be added, pieces may be missing, etc. Thus, it is quite possible that a discrepancy will occur due to the inherent inaccuracy of such a system. In addition, if the mailer failed to prepare the mail appropriately for claimed discounts, such as, for example, improperly sorting the mail or not providing readable barcodes on each piece, the postage amount for the mailing will be upgraded to reflect the true nature of the mailing and any discounts. If the delivery person for the mailer does not have the authority to draft a new check for the correct amount, either higher or lower, or immediate access to additional cash or uncancelled stamps to pay the postage due if higher than estimated by the mailer, the mailing will be rejected. There is also an issue with the security of the cash, uncancelled stamps, or check if the party leaving the mailing at the USPS cannot be completely trusted (perhaps because the party delivering the mailing is simply a third party courier).

In addition to the above problems, payment in the form of cash or a check adds processing costs for the postal authority. For example, it takes additional time and expenses to record and account for payments made in this manner. Since funds are collected in a distributed fashion, it is possible for funds to get misplaced and/or checks to get lost.

To overcome the above problems, the USPS utilizes CAPS as previously described. While CAPS may have alleviated some of the problems, several still remain. For example, there are several thresholds that a mailer must meet to qualify for CAPS, such as, for example, a minimum amount of postage each year. For example, to qualify for CAPS, a mailer currently must have a permit account with a minimum of $500,000 of postage each year. Alternatively, a mailer can have three permits in two or more postal locations with a minimum of $10,000 of postage per year, or three or more permits at one post office with a minimum of $50,000 postage per year. Many businesses and home offices currently do not meet any of these requirements, and therefore do not qualify for CAPS. Even if the thresholds were removed so all mailers would qualify for CAPS, several problems would still remain. For example, if large numbers of mailers utilized CAPS, there would be additional expenses for the postal authority to maintain and service the large number of CAPS accounts.

Additionally, from the mailer\'s perspective, CAPS also has limitations. For example, with the centralized trust account, the funds for payment of the postage must be deposited prior to the induction of the mail, thereby tying up funds in a non-interest bearing account. With the centralized debit account, some mailers are reluctant to provide their banking information to the USPS and other suppliers. With the use of either the centralized trust account or the centralized debit account, additional record keeping is necessary to reconcile the amount debited or charged by the postal authority. Furthermore, the USPS is not permitted to grant credit to a mailer or pay interest on deposits, thereby making it necessary for the mailer to ensure that correct amounts are available in their account or risk a mailing being rejected. Such rejections result in delays of the mailpieces being sent, which could cost the mailer significant amounts in both money and customers.

Thus, there exists a need for a trusted system and method that allows mailers of all sizes to pay for permit mail without presenting cash, uncancelled stamps, or a check at the time of induction, thus ensuring that a mailing is inducted when the mailer desires. Additionally, there is a need for a system and method that provides mailers with payment options, such as, for example, a credit line or an interest bearing account, to pay for permit mail, reduces the amount of record keeping for both mailers and the postal authority, and provides mailers with additional resources to manage their funds more effectively.

The present invention alleviates the problems associated with the prior art and provides a trusted system and method that allows mailers of all sizes to pay for permit mail without presenting cash, uncancelled stamps, or a check at the time of induction, thus ensuring that a mailing is inducted when the mailer desires, reduces the amount of record keeping for both mailers and the postal authority, provides mailers with additional resources to manage their funds more effectively, and reduces USPS operating costs, including, for example, check processing costs.

In accordance with the present invention, a permit payment aggregator establishes a master account (may be a master CAPS account in the U.S.) with the postal system for the payment of permit mail. A plurality of mailers each establish a separate account with the permit payment aggregator and transfer control of payment of mail inducted under their respective permit imprints to the permit payment aggregator. The account could be set up, for example, as an interest bearing or non-interest bearing deposit account for each mailer from which funds may be used to pay the postage for permit mail sent by each mailer. Additionally, the permit payment aggregator could establish a credit line for each mailer. When the mailer decides to send a mailing, a request for payment of postage on behalf of the mailer is made to the permit payment aggregator. The request includes information related to the mailing, such as, for example, the induction site where the mailing will be inducted, the permit imprint number under which the mail will be inducted, a range of dates during which the mail will be inducted, the number of pieces of mail to be inducted, the estimated cost of the mailing, and the return address on the mailing. The mailer authorizes the permit payment aggregator to provide the postal system with payment for the mailing on the mailer\'s behalf based on this information. The permit payment aggregator processes the information related to the mailing and issues a payment authorization number (PAN) for the mailing for security purposes. The PAN may be cryptographically generated over a sufficiently wide range of integer values such that it would be difficult for an unauthorized party to guess the number assigned to a mailing with the attributes previously specified (induction site, permit imprint number, dates of induction, number of mail pieces, cost of mailing, and return address).

The mailing, along with the PAN, is then taken to the induction site, either by the mailer or an agent of the mailer, and the PAN is communicated to the postal clerk for induction. The induction site may then validate the PAN by communicating with the permit payment aggregator and comparing the information related to the mailing as processed by the permit payment aggregator with the mailing as presented for induction. If there is a discrepancy between the mailing as presented and the information related to the mailing as processed by the permit payment aggregator, the mailing is rejected by the induction site. If there are no discrepancies, or alternatively if any discrepancies are resolved, the mailing is accepted by the induction site. The permit payment aggregator provides notification to the mailer that the mailing has been accepted, and the postal service debits the master CAPS account of the permit payment aggregator for the payment of the mailer\'s mailing.

The present invention provides mailers with multiple payment options for permit mail including “Just-In-Time” payments, “Pay In Advance” payments, and/or “Pay In Arrears” payments. The “Just-In-Time” payment option allows the mailer to pay the permit payment aggregator at the time of the mailing. The “Pay In Arrears” payment option provides the mailer with a credit line to pay for permit mail. The “Pay In Advance” payment option may provide mailers with interest on pre-paid permit mail.

The present invention also allows for a “buyer-direct” payment model whereby the mailer initiates the payment directly to a trusted third party permit payment aggregator, who then settles with the USPS, or an “agent authorized” model whereby the “agent” of the mailer/buyer initiates the initial payment request on behalf of the mailer/buyer and the mailer/buyer approves the request.

All of the payment solutions of the present invention allow the mailer (the permit payment aggregator\'s customer) to view all of their account detail on-line, including historical payment information by permit number, initiate on-line payments, and initiate and approve on-line authorizations. Customers can make payments to the permit payment aggregator in a number of ways, including, for example, via check, ACH credit or debit or wire.