Abstract: A direct debit authority management system facilitates bill payments involving a customer, a bank or financial body, and multiple billers who each bill the customer. A customer service module enables a customer to create or modify direct debit authorities for the billers. A customer registration process is facilitated by the interface to capture information for multiple billers and to establish a direct debit authority for each biller before a bill is rendered by the respective biller. A repository stores customer direct debit authorities for multiple billers, storing customer information following the customer registration process and storing biller information following the biller registration process. The system links a customer with a biller through the direct debit authority and allows a biller to draw funds from a customer based on the stored direct debit authority.

Abstract: An automated budget management and bill payment system is provided where there is at least one customer (1), at least one bank (5), and multiple billers (3). The system has a customer registration process which requires the customer (1) to commit to make regular customer payment to the bank (5) for the cost of bills rendered to the customer (1) by the billers (3). This enables budgeted funds for bill payment to be provided. The customer (1) payment is based on a budget setting process (25) involving all of the anticipated bills from all of the billers (3) over a period of time. The customer (1) registration process also requires the customer (1) to identify each one of the billers (3). A billers (3) registration process is required where each of the billers (3) identifies a respective bill “pay into” account.