This application related generally to methods and systems for executing remote transactions. More specifically, this application is related to methods and systems for executing remote transactions with cash payment.
In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the number of transactions performed remotely. Such transactions typically take place between a merchant and a customer who are remote from each other. For example, transactions for the sale of goods are now frequently executed between the merchant and customer by telephone, over the World Wide Web (“WWW”), or through another remote mechanism. Currently, such remote transactions are generally effected through the use of an account-based payment vehicle, such as with a credit card, a debit card, or a check. In some instances, an account-based surrogate for one of these vehicles may be used. For example, the Paypal® system sets up accounts that receive funds from a customer's credit, checking, or other traditional financial account, and uses these new accounts to provide payment for transactions. The use of such surrogate accounts is intended to help shield the underlying traditional financial-account information, but it still must at least be disclosed to the Paypal® system.
Various other security mechanisms also exist when transactions are performed remotely to limit the incidence of fraud, such as through the use of encryption of information when such information is transmitted electronically. The need for such security mechanisms is a reflection of the general fact that there is a significantly higher risk of fraud for remote transactions because the payment vehicle is not physically present during the transaction. In particular, these remote transactions rely on transmission of the account information from the customer, such as over the telephone or through a WWW interface, rather than extracting the information directly from the magnetic strip on a credit or debit card, for example. The increased risk of fraud in such remote transactions is reflected in the higher cost that must be borne by the merchant in the form of charges imposed by the financial institution that provides the payment vehicle. In most instances, higher costs are imposed whenever a transaction is performed without the instrument compared with performing the transaction with the instrument. In addition to restraining merchant participation in remote transactions, this risk of fraud is also well known to be a significant factor inhibiting customers from performing remote transactions.
These risks result in a large number of legitimate transactions not taking place as customers and/or merchants attempt to mitigate the risk of fraud. There is, accordingly, a general need in the art for improved methods and systems for executing remote transactions.