DESC:CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This patent application is related to and claims the benefit of priority from the Indian Provisional Patent Application with Serial No. 201641002955 titled “TECHNOLOGY FOR IMPLEMENTING MERCHANT/COMPANY FUNDED ADVANCE SECURED BY SALARY RECEIVABLE”, filed on January 27, 2016 and subsequently Post-dated by 6 month to July 27, 2016 and the contents of which are incorporated in entirety by the way of reference.

A) DEFINITION OF TERMS USED IN THIS SPECIFICATION
[0002] The term ‘Customizable Credit Instrument (CCI)’ used in the specification refers to a payment card, preferably a credit card whose credit limit is iteratively customized at predetermined intervals of time, based on the monthly remuneration to be received by the user of the CCI.
[0003] The term ‘Payroll Cycle’ used in the specification refers to the time duration between subsequent payroll disbursals.
[0004] The term ‘digital account’ used in the specification refers to an internet banking account accessible via the internet, the said internet banking account being a digitized version of the corresponding financial account of a user.

B) TECHNICAL FIELD
[0005] The present disclosure relates to a Customizable Credit Instrument (CCI). Particularly, the present disclosure relates to managing a financial account of a user using the CCI.
C) BACKGROUND
[0006] With the advent of ecommerce and with a substantial increase in earning capabilities of working class people, multitude of people have been deviating from conventional mode of performing financial transactions (i.e., exchanging hard cash in return for products/services) and deviating towards using payment cards (i.e., credit cards and debit cards) for performing day-to-day financial transactions. However, a conventional debit card cannot be used during financial transactions if the corresponding savings account or the salary account linked to the debit card is devoid of cash. Further, in case of a conventional credit card, a credit limit is fixed by the credit card issuer (typically a bank), and the said credit limit remains typically unaltered, until the card issuing bank voluntarily initiates a revision of the credit limit. One of the drawbacks of usage of conventional credit cards has been that they typically encourage users to spend beyond their earning capabilities by providing them with an option of spending from a credit limit which is typically greater than a person’s monthly income receivable. Further, there are no restrictions regarding how the credit limit is spent. The entire credit limit could be used for purchasing any commodity according to the user’s preference.
[0007] Salaried employees typically receive their salaries at the end of their payroll cycles. Therefore, even though employees work throughout the payroll cycle, they would however receive the salaries only at the end of their payroll cycles. Such a scenario typically prompts salaried employees (also referred to as ‘users’) to use their credit cards for various financial transactions throughout the month and before in advance to receiving their monthly salaries. Non availability of a continuous cash flow might prompt certain users to use credit cards instead of hard cash, and such a phenomenon might drive at least some of the users into debt. Moreover, over a period of time, availability of hard cash only at the end of a payroll cycle might prompt users to increase their dependency on other sources of money including credit cards and EMIs (Equated Monthly Installments). Even though, there was felt a need for a system and method that provides users with access to a continuous cash flow throughout a payroll cycle, employers were averse to modify their cash-flow cycle, and banks were wary of issuing credit to consumers on a continuous basis.
[0008] There is hence a need for a customizable credit instrument (CCI) for providing continuous cash flow to meet the needs of a user. Further, there is a need for effectively managing the monetary transactions from a financial account of the user using the CCI, thereby enabling the user to spend within salary.

D) OBJECTS
[0009] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a customizable credit instrument (CCI).
[0010] Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a CCI which enables an individual to access and utilize some of or all the salary he is entitled for but has not yet received.
[0011] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a CCI whose credit limit is proportional to the salary of the individual owning the CCI.
[0012] Still a further object of the present disclosure is to provide a CCI incorporating a line of credit with a credit limit not exceeding the remuneration accrued by a user over a predetermined period of a payroll cycle.
[0013] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a digital account bifurcated into predetermined virtual pockets enabling a user to perform purpose-specific financial transactions using each virtual pocket.
[0014] One more object of the present disclosure is to enable merchants to release merchandise in advance for an authorized purchase transaction using CCI and get paid later from the remuneration of a user.
[0015] One more object of the present disclosure is to enable a user to initiate online purchase transactions with a plurality of merchants using a one click experience.
[0016] Still a further object of the present disclosure is to enable tax management by auto tagging bills of purchase transactions performed via CCI.
[0017] One more object of the present disclosure is to provide a CCI which prevents individuals (owing the CCI) from excessive spending.
[0018] Still a further object of the present disclosure is to make available a customized business solution which enables individuals (owing the CCI) to plan their financial transactions without having to worry about the availability of money in respective bank accounts.
[0019] One more object of the present disclosure is to make available a CCI which enables individuals (owing the CCI) to ensure that their spending is in line with the corresponding monthly salary.
[0020] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a customized solution which allows employees (owing the CCI) to automatically provide rule-based auto payments including but not restricted to repayment of salary advances, credit card bills, rents, bill payments, when their salary is paid including scheduling of future payments.

E) SUMMARY
[0021] The present disclosure envisages a customizable credit instrument (CCI) which enables a user to manage his financial account in an effective and efficient manner. The CCI enables a user to access in advance the remuneration received by him/her during a payroll cycle. The digital account - preferably an internet banking account mirroring the characteristics, features and functionalities of the financial account, and accessible via the internet - is configured to incorporate a line of credit proportionate to the remuneration receivable by the user during the payroll cycle.
[0022] The digital account receiving the remuneration in advance is in turn bifurcated into a plurality of predetermined virtual pockets. Each predetermined virtual pocket is configured to be used for certain purpose-specific financial transactions. Exemplary purpose-specific financial transactions include purchasing a specific brand of merchandise, purchasing a specific brand of grocery, purchasing from a specific franchise and the like. The remuneration remitted in advance to the digital account is further distributed amongst the predetermined virtual pockets based on user preferences, user purchase history and user credit settlement history. Each of the virtual pockets are specifically designated to be used only for specific financial transactions, with the specific transactions being categorized based on the name of vendor/merchant, location of vendor/merchant, type and purpose of goods and services offered for sale and the like. For instance, a first virtual pocket is designated to be used only for purchasing from a specific vendor such as Amazon™, eBay ™, FlipKart ™, while a second virtual pocket could be designated to be used only for purchasing grocery, and a third virtual pocket is designated only to be used for transactions performed for availing entertainment related services such as movie tickets, visit to a cricket match/football match, drama tickets, entrance tickets to an amusement park and the like.
[0023] The purpose-specific financial transactions performed by the user are further processed and the transaction data corresponding to each of the (purpose-specific) financial transactions are stored in a database. At the end of the payroll cycle, the remuneration received by the user is automatically adjusted against the bills for the purpose-specific financial transactions performed by the user, and any remaining portion of the remuneration post adjustment against purpose-specific financial transactions is credited to the user’s financial account/digital account.

F) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
[0024] The other objects, features and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings in which:
[0025] FIG.1 is a flow chart illustrating steps involved in a method of managing a digital account of a user via a customizable credit instrument.

G) DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0026] The present disclosure envisages a method of managing financial account of a user via a customizable credit instrument (CCI). The CCI is a payment card linked to the financial account of the user. The financial account is accessible via internet and is alternatively termed as an internet banking account/digital account. The CCI enables the user to perform financial transactions by accessing a credit limit assigned to the CCI. The credit limit is assigned to the CCI such that the credit limit is directly proportionate to the salary receivable by the user at the end of the payroll cycle. Therefore, the CCI prevents the user from excessively spending beyond the (monthly) salary. Further, the CCI relieves the user from tracking and paying credit card bills, by providing auto debit facility from user’s account.
[0027] FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating the steps involved in a method of managing financial account of a user via a CCI. The financial account of the user is registered with and linked to an employer payroll system. The financial account is preferably a internet banking account/digital account that (preferably electronically) receives the salary disbursed to the user. Preferably, the CCI for a financial account/digital account is issued by a financial institution managing the employer payroll system, on receiving a request from an employer of the user. The user needs to register with the financial institution managing the employer payroll system to receive the CCI. The CCI issued post a request from the employer, and is further electronically linked with the digital account (preferably the salary account of the user) for enabling purchase transactions. Further, the CCI is electronically linked with a plurality of merchants registered with the financial institution and employer payroll system, to enable easy money transfer there between. Subsequently, the user is enabled to initiate purchase transactions with the plurality of merchants. The purchase transactions include online purchase transactions and Point of Sale (POS) transactions performed using the CCI. The CCI is compliant to 3D-secure guidelines. For example, the online purchase transactions are authenticated using a one-time password generated by the financial institution and the point of sale transactions are authenticated using a PIN number of the CCI.
[0028] At step 102, the information corresponding to the remuneration to be received by the user at the termination of payroll cycle is elicited from a database. Preferably, the employee code corresponding to the user elicited. Subsequently, using the employee code as the basis, the information corresponding to the remuneration including allowances, bonuses, benefits and the like for the user are elicited. The allowances to be received by the user during the payroll cycle typically include allowances for food, travel, shopping, and the like. The total remuneration credited to the digital account of the user is calculated based on the information elicited, and specifically based on the remuneration to be received by the user at the end of the payroll cycle.
[0029] At step 104, the remuneration accrued by the user on a daily basis during the said payroll cycle is calculated based on the period of the payroll cycle. The period of the payroll cycle is defined as the number of working days in the payroll cycle. The remuneration accrued by the user on daily basis is calculated by taking into account the number of working days within the payroll cycle and the remuneration receivable at the end of the payroll cycle. The remuneration accrued by the user on the daily basis is altered by selectively altering the predetermined period of the payroll cycle.
[0030] At step 106, the digital account of the user is configured to incorporate a line of credit not greater than, but directly proportional to the remuneration accrued by the user during the period of the payroll cycle. For example, consider the predetermined period (of the payroll cycle) as X days, i.e. the user has worked for X days. Then, the digital account of the user is credited with an amount equal to or less than the remuneration accrued for ‘X’ number of days. The total remuneration for ‘X’ days is calculated based on the remuneration acquired on a daily basis. Further, by altering the predetermined period of the payroll cycle, the line of credit incorporated to the digital account of the user is selectively altered. The alteration of the payroll is performed such that the line of credit does not exceed the remuneration accrued by the user during the period of the payroll cycle.
[0031] At step 108, the remuneration over the predetermined period of the payroll cycle is remitted in advance to the digital account of the user. The user is enabled to utilize the remuneration remitted in advance to the digital account via the CCI to initiate different purchase transaction. The step of remitting the remuneration in advance includes selectively remitting money towards at least business expenditure, allowances, bonus payment due to be paid to the user at the termination of the payroll cycle.
[0032] At step 110, the digital account is bifurcated into predetermined virtual pockets. The predetermined virtual pockets include but are not limited to pockets assigned for allowances, incentives, business expenditure, salary and the like. The predetermined virtual pockets are selectively configured to be used for purpose-specific financial transactions. The term ‘purpose-specific financial transactions’ used herein indicates that the transactions are initiated for specific purposes assigned to a virtual pocket. The specific purposes are assigned to the predetermined virtual pockets based on purchase history. The term ‘purchase history’ used herein indicates the details of purchase transactions performed by the user in the past payroll cycles. For example, for the user having a purchase history of often purchasing fight tickets, the digital account is bifurcated to a virtual pocket assigned for travel allowance with the merchant ‘MakeMyTripTM’. The user is enabled to access the travel allowance in virtual pocket of the CCI by initiating purpose-specific financial transaction with ‘MakeMyTripTM’. Similarly, the digital account of the user is bifurcated into ‘n’ number of predetermined virtual pockets based on purchase history. Each user is enabled to access each virtual pocket via the CCI by purchasing from the plurality of merchants registered with the financial institution.
[0033] At step 112, the remuneration remitted in advance to the digital account of user is distributed among the predetermined virtual pockets based on user preferences, purchase history and credit settlement history. The term ‘user preference’ used herein indicates the interest of the user in purchasing different commodities. Further, the term ‘credit settlement history’ used herein indicates the details of invoices or bills of the purchase transactions settled using remuneration in the last payroll cycles. The remuneration remitted is segregated towards the business expenditures, allowances, and bonus payments, into respective virtual pockets. The remuneration is segregated based on the purchase history and credit settlement history. For example, suppose the purchase history and credit settlement history indicates that the user spends every day on purchasing grocery from some supermarkets. Then a part of the remuneration is segregated for food allowance with a merchant say ‘Star Bazzar’. Similarly, spending characteristics of the user is identified using purchase history and credit settlement history and the remuneration remitted is segregated into corresponding virtual pockets.
[0034] At step 114, the user is enabled to access the predetermined virtual pockets via the CCI to perform purpose-specific financial transactions via corresponding virtual pockets. The user is enabled to access the remuneration segregated into each virtual pocket for performing purpose-specific financial transactions. For example, consider that the digital account is bifurcated into 10 predetermined virtual pockets. Out of the 10 predetermined virtual pockets, suppose 5 are assigned for different allowances such as food, travel, shopping, medical and the like, 1 for salary, 4 for business expenditure and the like.
[0035] For accessing each virtual pocket among predetermined virtual pockets assigned for purposes such as allowances, business expenditure and the like, the CCI is linked to the plurality of merchants that falls in the specific merchant category. Consider CCI is linked to Star Bazzar, MakeMyTripTM, AmazonR, and Fortis Healthcare Ltd for virtual pockets corresponding to food allowance, travel allowance, shopping allowance, and medical allowance respectively. The user is enabled to access the food allowance by purchasing groceries from ‘Star Bazzar’, travel allowance by purchasing tickets from ‘MakeMyTripTM’, shopping allowance by shopping from Amazon, and medical allowance by visiting ‘Fortis Healthcare ltd.’ The amount debited from the digital account via each virtual pocket of CCI is debited from the money distributed from the remuneration remitted in advance. The transaction data of the purchase transactions performed via the CCI using each virtual pocket is stored in a database.
[0036] In accordance with the present disclosure, the digital account is bifurcated in to a virtual pocket assigned for salary of the user. The virtual pocket for salary receives a credit limit from the remuneration remitted in advance. The user is enabled to initiate purchase transaction with any random merchant to purchase commodities according to the user’s preference via the virtual pocket for salary. The user is enabled for initiating online purchase transactions and point of sale transaction using the CCI. The bills of the purchase transactions are settled at the next payroll cycle. At the end of a payroll cycle, the remuneration of the user post adjustments are credited into the virtual pocket assigned for salary.
[0037] In accordance with the present disclosure, the predetermined virtual pockets may include a virtual pocket assigned for a particular merchant linked to the financial institution. The said merchant is enabled to provide an advance credit and customer loyalty bonus based on the purchase history of the user. The user is enabled to utilize the advance credit and customer loyalty bonus to purchase commodities from the said merchant. The transaction data of the purchase transactions performed via the CCI using the virtual pocket for said merchant is stored in the database. The said merchant gets paid for the purchase transactions automatically from the digital account at the end of payroll cycle.
[0038] Further, in accordance with the present disclosure, one of the predetermined virtual pockets could be a virtual pocket assigned for advance purchases. The said virtual pocket for advance purchases in the CCI enables the user to make post-paid purchase transactions with the plurality of merchants registered with the financial institution. The term ‘post-paid transaction’ used herein indicates that the invoice of the purchase transaction is paid later. The user initiates purchase transactions with a merchant using the CCI by selecting an option to pay later. The method includes generating a bill for the purchased merchandise and recording a payable invoice for the user’s digital account and a receivable invoice for merchant’s account. The merchant releases purchased merchandise in advance in return for the receivable invoice generated. Further, the merchant gets the receivable invoice paid from the remuneration of the user at the termination of the payroll cycle. The transaction data of the purchase transactions using the virtual pocket for advance purchases is stored in the database.
[0039] At step 116, the purpose-specific financial transaction performed using the digital account is processed and the transaction data corresponding to the purpose-specific financial transactions are stored in the database. The purpose-specific financial transaction performed using the digital account is processed by a server system. The server system is a digital processing system comprising a plurality of execution modules for performing different calculation. The server system processes the purpose-specific financial transactions by performing different functions such as authorizing the purchase transactions with the plurality of merchants, generating invoices or bills of the purchase transactions, settling the bills by releasing funds to the merchants, auto tagging the bills into tax exempted categories and the like. The transaction data corresponding to the purchase transactions initiated via the predetermined virtual pockets are stored in the database. The transaction data stored in the database is further communicated to the server system.
[0040] At step 118, the remuneration to be credited to the digital account at the end of the payroll cycle is automatically adjusted based on the transaction data corresponding to the purpose-specific financial transactions performed by the user. The remuneration to be credited to the digital account is automatically adjusted based on the purpose-specific financial transactions performed by the user. The remuneration is adjusted by the server system communicating with the database. The server system calculates the remuneration based on the amount debited from the remuneration credited in advance in the digital account and the bills to be settled. Further, the remuneration is remitted to the digital account of the user post adjustments.
[0041] In accordance with the present disclosure, the operation of the CCI and the digital account is integrated using a smart device of the user. The smart device includes but not limited to a mobile phone, a smart phone, a tablet, a personal computer and a personal digital assistant. The smart device enables the user to access functionalities related to the CCI by logging in to a website of the financial institution. The functionalities includes cash remittance, creation of a new CCI, CCI management, tax management, expense management, bill payments and the like.
[0042] In accordance with the present disclosure, the user is enabled to perform tax management using the CCI. The tax management is performed by the server system. The user is enabled to provide tax declaration inputs for current financial year. The tax declaration inputs are initially categorized into predetermined tax exemption categories. Further, the purchase transactions via the CCI from the digital account are auto tagged as tax exempted category based on the transaction data. For example, transaction data such as medical bills are auto-tagged as tax exemption category ‘medical allowance’. The purchase transactions auto tagged into tax exempted categories are informed to the user via e-mails. The user is further prompted to upload receipts of the purchase transactions auto-tagged into tax exempted category. The receipts of the purchase transactions are mapped with the tax declaration inputs provided by the user. Further, the tax declaration statement is generated.

[0043] In accordance with the present disclosure, the use of CCI enables the plurality of merchants to enroll for a one-click program while initiating purchase transactions. The term ‘one-click program’ herein indicates authorizing the payment transaction without the steps of authentication such as submitting one time password while making the payment. The plurality of merchants enrolled for one click program is enabled to configure customized rules for authorization. The method includes generating a white list containing the details of the plurality of merchants and user pre-authorized by the system. Therefore, while initiating a payment transaction, the presence of the merchant and user involved in the purchase transaction in the white list is identified. Generally the pre-registered merchants enrolled, whose names are in the white list bypass the authentication check. Therefore, the user is enabled to accomplish the purchase transaction using one-click program without the need for further authentication.
[0044] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modifications. ,CLAIMS:1. A computer implemented method for managing a financial account of a user via a customizable credit instrument linked thereto, said method comprising the following steps:
eliciting information corresponding to at least remuneration to be received by the user at termination of a payroll cycle;
calculating, based on period of the payroll cycle, the remuneration accrued by the user on a daily-basis during said payroll cycle, and configuring the digital account of the user to incorporate a line of credit not greater than the remuneration accrued by the user during the period of the payroll cycle;
remitting, in advance to the digital account of the user, at least the remuneration accrued by the user over the period of the payroll cycle;
bifurcating the digital account into predetermined virtual pockets, and selectively configuring each of the predetermined virtual pockets to be used only for predetermined, purpose-specific financial transactions;
distributing the remuneration credited in advance to the digital account of the user, amongst the predetermined virtual pockets, based at least in-part on user preferences, purchase history and credit settlement history;
enabling the user to access each of the predetermined virtual pockets via the customizable credit instrument, and enabling the user to perform purpose-specific financial transactions via corresponding virtual pockets;
processing the purpose-specific financial transactions performed on the financial account of the user, and storing the transaction data corresponding to the purpose-specific financial transactions, in a database; and
automatically adjusting the remuneration to be credited to the financial account at the end of the payroll cycle, based on the transaction data corresponding to the purpose-specific financial transactions performed by the user.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of calculating the remuneration accrued by the user on a daily-basis during a predetermined period of the payroll cycle, further includes the step of selectively altering the period of the payroll cycle, and accordingly altering the corresponding remuneration accrued by the user on a daily-basis during the period of the payroll cycle.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of configuring the financial account of the user to incorporate a line of credit not greater than the remuneration accrued by the user during the period of the payroll cycle, further includes the step of selectively altering the line of credit based on alterations to the period of the payroll cycle such that the line of credit does not exceed the remuneration accrued by the user during the period of the payroll cycle.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of bifurcating the financial account into predetermined virtual pockets, further includes the step of configuring each of the predetermined virtual pockets to be used only for specific financial transactions.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of automatically adjusting the remuneration to be credited to the financial account at the end of the payroll cycle, based on the transaction data, further includes the step of remitting the remuneration post adjustment, to the financial account of the user.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of remitting, in advance to the financial account of the user, at least the remuneration accrued by the user over the period of the payroll cycle, further includes the step of selectively remitting, in advance to the financial account of the user, money towards at least business expenditures, allowances, and bonus payments due to be paid to the user at the end of the payroll cycle.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1 or 6, wherein the method further includes the step of segregating the money remitted towards the business expenditures, allowances, and bonus payments, into respective virtual pockets, and enabling the user to perform the purpose-specific transactions using the corresponding virtual pockets.