In today's fast paced computer dependent world, people make purchases, payments, deposits, and other financial transactions without the exchange of traditional money, checks, or even the simple act of handing a teller a credit or debit card. Many transactions made by individuals today are done over the telephone or Internet. Such public forums and systems require security measures, which are often tedious, inconvenient, and can cause long delays in what are otherwise simple transactions. Payments for goods and services generally require a transfer of funds by way of cash, check, money order, or credit card. While merchants and restaurants accept credit cards, most people do not. Most people making small financial transactions do not have the luxury of a personal credit card machine that can record transactions and conduct a quick credit check, thereby limiting them to accept cash or checks. Yet, with a check, there is the risk of being kited. Additionally, most individuals must make a special trip to the bank in order to make a simple deposit of cash and/or checks. A “short” trip to the bank can often waste hours.
The time delays and the expense of relatively simple transactions can be a huge inconvenience given today's harried lifestyles. Most people work regular nine-to-five jobs, the same hours as banks, with little free time during the weekday. This causes people to waste what precious time they have on the weekends. Weekends are often spent food shopping, clothes shopping, house cleaning, and maintaining and repairing house and car, not to mention meeting the obligations of family and kids. With so many errands to run, the weekend can be even more hectic than the workweek.
Therefore, there remains a need in the art for an easy and convenient system and method for making and/or receiving payments and credits, without the need for security or encryption devices.