WO2002041111A2

WO2002041111A2 - Dynamic currency conversion

Info

Publication number: WO2002041111A2
Application number: PCT/US2001/045647
Authority: WO
Inventors: Balwani Ramesh
Original assignee: Commerce One
Priority date: 2000-11-17
Filing date: 2001-11-14
Publication date: 2002-05-23
Also published as: WO2002041111A3; AU2002236548A1; WO2002041111A9

Abstract

Dynamic currency conversion may be accomplished using a currency conversion rate server (8). The server intermittently sends requests to one or more financial institutions to return current realtime currency conversion rate information, the requests (2) spaced apart by a short period of time. It then receives the current realtime currency conversion rate information from the one or more financial institutions (10, 12, 14, 16) and stores them in a currency conversion rate database (8). When a request is received from a subscriber (2) for a near-realtime currency conversion rate, the server (6) receives one or more records from the currency conversion rate database indicating the near-realtime currency conversion rate and forwards them to the subscriber (2).

Description

S PE C I F I C A T I O N

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

DYNAMIC CURRENCY CONVERSION

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority based on Provisional Application Serial No. 60/249,670, entitled, "Dynamic Currency Conversion", filed on November 17, 2000, by Ramesh Balwani.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the field of international currency. More specifically, the present invention relates to the dynamic conversion from one currency to another for computer applications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Electronic commerce, or e-commerce, has experienced explosive growth in recent years with the rise of the Internet. While the rise has been most dramatic in the United States, other countries have also experienced similar growth rates in electronic commerce.

Currency conversion has always been a problem in international finance. Most countries utilize their own individual currency system, and the value of a particular country's currency can fluctuate in relation to other countries' due to various factors, such as the strength of various countries' economies and the value of precious metals. The introduction of the Euro dollar may prove to alleviate some of currency-conversion problems, but it is limited to European countries and there will still be problems requiring conversion to different currencies when countries on different continents are involved.

Additionally, with the rise of the Internet, there has been corresponding rise in international transactions on both a large business and individual consumer scale. One example is in the field of on-line auctions. Consumers can now place items up for bidding by other consumers, and due to the international nature of the Internet and the relative ease in international shipping, the bidders may include consumers from many different countries. Thus, while in the past currency conversion was only a problem for large companies or travelers, it is now a problem that individual consumers may face daily.

In the past, individual consumers were left on their own with regard to currency conversion. Users located in England who wanted to place a bid on an online auction for an item in the United States would have to look up on their own what the current dollars to pound rate was, and then adjust their bid accordingly. Typical ways a user would do this would include finding the rate in a newspaper and visiting a web site that has the rate posted.

The drawbacks with these solutions are that they are very time consuming, difficult for novice users to grasp, and may result in outdated currency conversion rates since they are slow.

Business, or other entities that required a high volume of currency conversion rate checks, could fare a little better by contracting with rate providers, such as banks, and then sending electronic requests to the banks for the current rates as needed. This would generally allow them to receive current rates quickly. While this solution may work for smaller businesses or businesses that only require periodic currency conversion rate checks, network traffic could build to intolerable levels if implemented on the scale of a popular auction web site. Thus, there is a need for efficient currency conversion at a speed that can keep pace with the fast rate of speed at which computers can currently execute transactions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Dynamic currency conversion may be accomplished using a currency conversion rate server. The server intermittently sends requests to one or more financial institutions to return current realtime currency conversion rate information, the requests spaced apart by a short period of time. It then receives the current realtime currency conversion rate information from the one or more financial institutions and stores them in a currency conversion rate database. When a request is received from a subscriber for a near- realtime currency conversion rate, the server retrieves one or more records from the currency conversion rate database indicating the near-realtime currency conversion rate and forwards them to the subscriber. Various manipulation schemes may be applied to the records such as weighted averages in order to provide the best possible real-time currency conversion information available.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a web-based auction system according to a specific embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for providing near-realtime currency conversion rates to a subscriber in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for providing near-realtime currency conversion rates to a subscriber in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the following description, a preferred embodiment of the invention is described with regard to preferred process steps and data structures. However, those skilled in the art will recognize, after perusal of this application, that embodiments of the invention may be implemented using at least one general purpose computer operating under program control, and that modification of the general purpose computer to implement the components, process steps, and/or data structures described herein would not require undue invention.

The present invention utilizes a centralized server along with batch processing to provide near-real-time updates on currency conversion rates in an Internet environment. The invention has specific application for use in an auction web site, however the following disclosure should be read to limit the invention to use in an auction web site.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a web-based auction system according to a specific embodiment of the present invention. The Auction engine 2 executes rules stored in a rules database 4. The rules indicate how the auction is to be run. Examples of rules that may be defined in the rules database include the length of the auction, the type of the auction, and how the winner is determined. At various times before, after, or during the auction, the auction engine 2 may require a real time currency conversion rate. It then passes a currency conversion request to a currency conversion server 6. The currency conversion server 6 has an attached database 8 storing near-real-time currency conversion rates. The rate needed may be looked up in this database 8 and then returned to the auction engine 2 for use in the auction. Communications between the auction engine 2 and the currency conversion server 6 may be accomplished using Extensible Markup Language (XML).

One problem that may be encountered with regard to currency conversion rates is that different banks may quote different rates. Thus, if an auction company simply contracts with Bank A, it may not be getting the best or most correct rate available at any particular time. In order to address this problem (as well as others), the currency conversion server 6 may send batch currency conversion rate requests to different financial institutions or rate reporting services (show as Bank A 10, Bank B 12, Bank C 14, and Bank D 16) periodically. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the period at which the batch processes are sent is 1-3 seconds.

The financial institutions or rate reporting services then report the rates back to the currency conversion server. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, all the currency conversion data available to the financial institutions or rate reporting services may be forwarded in each batch. However, it is also possible to only have sent what is needed. For example, the auction engine may register with the currency conversion server and indicate that, since the auction web site is only available in England and the United States, that it only need currency conversion rates regarding pounds to dollars and dollars to pounds.

In another embodiment of the invention, the currency conversion server is designed to provide an average or weighted average of numerous rates received from the financial institutions or rate reporting services.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for providing near-realtime currency conversion rates to a subscriber in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention. The method will likely be performed by a currency conversion rate server. At 50, requests may be sent intermittently to one or more financial institutions to return current realtime currency conversion rate information, the requests being spaced apart by a fixed period of time. The preferred period is 1-3 seconds. At 52, current realtime currency conversion rate information is received from the one or more financial institutions. At 54, the current realtime currency conversion rate mformation received from the one or more financial institutions is stored in a database. At 56, a request is received from the subscriber for a near-realtime currency conversion rate. This request may contain a first and second currency, indicating that the subscriber wishes to find the rate on converting from the first currency to the second currency. At 58, information is retrieved from the database indicating the near-realtime currency conversion rate. Retrieving may involve examining the first and second currencies provided by the subscriber's request and finding any record in the database containing the conversion rate between the first and second currencies. It may also involve manipulating the information retrieved to provide filtered information to the subscriber, including applying a manipulation scheme as provided by the subscriber. The manipulation scheme may be subscriber specific, stored in the database, and may specify aspects such as weighting information from certain sources according to a predefined weighted average. Lastly, at 60, the near-realtime currency conversion rate is forwarded to the subscriber.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for providing near-realtime currency conversion rates to a subscriber in accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention. An intermittent request sender 100 coupled to one or more financial institutions sends requests intermittently to the one or more financial institutions to return current realtime currency conversion rate information, the requests being spaced apart by a fixed period of time. The preferred period is 1-3 seconds. A current realtime currency conversion rate information requester 102 coupled to said intermittent request sender 100 and coupled to said one or more financial institutions receives current realtime currency conversion rate information is received from the one or more financial institutions. A current realtime currency conversion rate information storer 104 coupled to a database 106 and to said current realtime currency conversion rate information receiver 102 stores the current realtime currency conversion rate information received from the one or more financial institutions in the database 106.

A near-realtime currency conversion rate request receiver 108 receives a request from the subscriber for a near-realtime currency conversion rate. This request may contain a first and second currency, indicating that the subscriber wishes to find the rate on converting from the first currency to the second currency. A near-realtime currency conversion rate retriever 110 coupled to said database 106 and coupled to said near- realtime currency conversion rate requester 108 retrieves information from the database 106 indicating the near-realtime currency conversion rate. Retrieving may involve examining the first and second currencies provided by the subscriber's request and finding any record in the database containing the conversion rate between the first and second currencies. It may also involve manipulating the information retrieved to provide filtered information to the subscriber, including applying a manipulation scheme as provided by the subscriber using an information manipulator 112. The manipulation scheme may be stored in the database and may specify subscriber-specific manipulation aspects using a subscriber specific manipulation scheme implementer 114 such as weighting information from certain sources according to a predefined weighted average using a realtime currency conversion rate information weighter 116. A near-realtime currency conversion rate forwarder 118 coupled to said near-realtime currency conversion rate retriever 110 and coupled to the subscriber forwards the near-realtime currency conversion rate to the subscriber.

While embodiments and applications of this invention have been shown and described, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that many more modifications than mentioned above are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A method for providing near-realtime currency conversion rates to a subscriber, including: sending requests intermittently to one or more financial institutions to return current realtime currency conversion rate information, said requests spaced apart by a fixed period of time; receiving said current realtime currency conversion rate information from said one or more financial institutions; storing said current realtime currency conversion rate information in a database; receiving a request from the subscriber for a near-realtime currency conversion rate; retrieving information from said database indicating said near-realtime currency conversion rate; and forwarding said near-realtime currency conversion rate to the subscriber.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said subscriber is an online auction web site.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said period is 1 second.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said period is 2 seconds.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said period is 3 seconds.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said retrieving information in said database includes manipulating said information to provide filtered information to the subscriber.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said manipulating includes manipulating said information according to a subscriber-specific manipulation scheme stored in said database.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said manipulating further includes weighting pieces of said realtime currency conversion rate information according to a predefined weighted average.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said currency conversion rate information from a particular financial institution includes every piece of currency conversion rate information available to said particular financial institution.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said request from said subscriber indicates a first and a second currency, said first currency being the currency from which to convert and said second currency being the currency to which to convert.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said retrieving includes searching though the database looking for any records including said first currency to second currency conversion rate.

12. An apparatus for providing near-realtime currency conversion rates to a subscriber, including: an intermittent request sender coupled to one or more financial institutions; a current realtime currency conversion rate information receiver coupled to said one or more financial institutions; a database; a current realtime currency conversion rate information storer coupled to said current realtime currency conversion rate information receiver and coupled to said database; a near-realtime currency conversion rate request receiver coupled to the subscriber; a near-realtime currency conversion rate retriever coupled to said database and coupled to said near-realtime currency conversion rate request receiver; and a near-realtime currency conversion rate forwarder coupled to said near-realtime currency conversion rate retriever and coupled to the subscriber.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said subscriber is an online auction web site.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said near-realtime currency conversion rate retriever includes an information manipulator.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said information manipulator includes a subscriber-specific manipulation scheme implementer.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said subscriber-specific manipulation scheme implementer includes a realtime currency conversion rate information weighter.

17. A method for dynamically converting currency from a first currency to a second currency during an auction in an auction-based web-site, including: executing a set of predefined auction rules using a rules engine, said set of predefined auction rules stored in an rules database; sending a request to a currency conversion rate server for a near-realtime currency conversion rate; sending requests intermittently to one or more financial institutions to return current realtime currency conversion rate information, said requests spaced apart by a fixed period of time; receiving said current realtime currency conversion rate information in said currency conversion server from said one or more financial institutions; storing said current realtime currency conversion rate mformation in a currency conversion rate database; retrieving information from said currency conversion rate database indicating said near-realtime currency conversion rate; and forwarding said near-realtime currency conversion rate to said rules engine for use in the auction.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said period is 1 second.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein said period is 2 seconds.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein said period is 3 seconds.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein said retrieving information in said database includes manipulating said information to provide filtered information to the subscriber.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein said manipulating includes manipulating said information according to a subscriber-specific manipulation scheme stored in said database.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein said manipulating further includes weighting pieces of said realtime currency conversion rate information according to a predefined weighted average.

24. The method of claim 17, wherein said currency conversion rate information from a particular financial institution includes every piece of currency conversion rate information available to said particular financial institution.

25. The method of claim 17, wherein said request from said subscriber indicates a first and a second currency, said first currency being the currency from which to convert and said second currency being the currency to which to convert.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein said retrieving includes searching though the database looking for any records including said first currency to second currency conversion rate.

27. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine for providing near-realtime currency conversion rates to a subscriber, the method including: sending requests intermittently to one or more financial institutions to return current realtime currency conversion rate information, said requests spaced apart by a fixed period of time; receiving said current realtime currency conversion rate information from said one or more financial institutions; storing said current realtime currency conversion rate information in a database; receiving a request from the subscriber for a near-realtime currency conversion rate; retrieving information from said database indicating said near-realtime currency conversion rate; and forwarding said near-realtime currency conversion rate to the subscriber.

28. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine for dynamically converting currency from a first currency to a second currency during an auction in an auction-based website, the method including: executing a set of predefined auction rules using a rules engine, said set of predefined auction rules stored in an rules database; sending a request to a currency conversion rate server for a near-realtime currency conversion rate; sending requests intermittently to one or more financial institutions to return current realtime currency conversion rate information, said requests spaced apart by a fixed period of time; receiving said current realtime currency conversion rate information in said currency conversion server from said one or more financial institutions; storing said current realtime currency conversion rate information in a currency conversion rate database; retrieving information from said currency conversion rate database indicating said near-realtime currency conversion rate; and forwarding said near-realtime currency conversion rate to said rules engine for use in the auction.