An online system uses, in various embodiments of the invention, credit report information, loan affordability screening and credit approval and management functionality to facilitate the purchase and finance of products online. The online system may include both sellers of products and lenders that offer financing to buyers seeking to purchase the products. The system may automatically obtain a buyer's credit report information and use that information to determine if the buyer is pre-approved, for example, to obtain financing for a particular product or products. The system also enables use of buyer credit information to identify only those of a seller's products for which the buyer is pre-approved, for example, to finance using one or more loans. The system then enables selection of an identified product or products for purchase, and selection of a loan, for example, for financing of the selected product or products. Credit approval (or pre-approval) may be performed automatically, and along with credit processing, may be performed completely online.

Described herein is technology for, on a computer, facilitating interaction with a user utilizing a dynamic map displayed on a display device. A computer receives a use indication that the user has recently used an application on a computing device associated with the user, e.g., a mobile device, with the use indication including the location of the user. Then, a graphic is displayed on the dynamic map representing the user's location. The computer then receives a selection indication that the graphic has been selected, e.g., a person chooses a particular graphic to interact with. Then, based on the selection indication, the computer initiates an interaction with the user.

A method for filtered peer-to-peer business communication in a distributed computer environment includes accessing offers associated with one or more offerors and requests associated with one or more requestors, each offer and each request including a set of filter components. Filter components of offers are compared with corresponding filter components of requests to determine whether one or more offers match one or more requests. A match is determined between an offer and a request if the filter components of the offer match the corresponding filter components of the request. In response, at least a matching portion of the offer and request is replicated and communicated to both the offeror associated with the offer and the requestor associated with the request to provide filtered peer-to-peer communication between the offeror and requestor.

A system and method to enable a user to initiate a communication with an organization using a mobile communication device by means of a trigger system. A system and method to enable an organization to acquire a user mobile device address by means of a trigger system. A system and method to enable an organization to respond to a user by means of a trigger system and a message application server. A system and method to enable organizations to deliver mobile messages, coupons, offers and promotions to users mobile device by means of a combination of a trigger system, a message application server and an offer application.

Methods and apparatuses for sorting seller listings or advertisements of a seller network. In one embodiment, a method includes: determining an indicator of potential revenue for a first party from price information of a list of entities, wherein revenue generated according to the price information of at least some of the list of entities is to be split among a plurality of parties; and, sorting the list of entities into a first list based at least partially on the indicator of potential revenue.

Systems and methods are disclosed for automated computer based notification systems. The systems and methods enable secure notification communication sessions. A representative method, among others that are disclosed herein, can be broadly summarized by the following steps: enabling a first party associated with a personal communication device (PCD) to input or select authentication information for use in connection with a subsequent notification communication session involving advance notice of a delivery or pickup of a good or service at a stop location by a mobile thing (MT); storing the authentication information; monitoring location or travel information in connection with the MT; causing initiation of the notification communication session to the PCD, in advance of arrival of the MT at the stop location, based at least in part upon the location or travel information associated with the MT; during the notification communication session, providing the authentication information to the PCD that indicates to the first party that the notification communication session was initiated by an authorized source; and during the notification communication session, enabling the first party to select whether or not to communicate with a second party having access to particulars of the pickup or delivery. An embodiment of a related system, among others, has a computer-based architecture with computer software, or code, that is stored in one or more memories and executed by one or more processors for performing the foregoing steps. Yet another embodiment of a related system can be implemented in software and/or hardware and has a means for performing each of the aforementioned steps.

Accentuating terms of interest in an advertisement to be served in an interactive environment. Such terms of interest can be determined from information in a request for the advertisement. Such ad request information may include query information, geolocation information, etc. In the context of text-based ads, accentuation may include bolding the term(s), underlining the term(s), increasing the font size of the term(s), coloring the font of the term(s), shading the font of the term(s), flashing the text of the term(s), etc. Such accentuation helps users to quickly identify how an advertisement is related to what they are looking for. For example, in the context of a search engine which returns search results, as well as multiple text-based ads, users viewing a search result page in response to their query can quickly scan such a search result page for relevant information. This helps to improve the performance of ads, particularly if advertisers wordsmith their advertisements with care.

Electronic displays devices can present electronically changeable displayed images including graphical and textual elements, for example, human and machine-readable elements. The devices can include a low-power-consumption display that uses little or no power until a portion of the display is changed. The electronic display devices can be wirelessly connected to computing devices such as portable computing devices (e.g., smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, laptops, etc.) and fixed gateway devices (e.g., wireless access points) by a wireless communications network. The devices can include a motion sensor and functionality for determining identity, proximity, and/or location of the device.

A targeted advertisement is retrieved for a first user, and a targeted advertisement is retrieved for a second user. The targeted advertisements are switched such that the targeted advertisement intended for the first user plays on a display of an electronic device of the second user, and the targeted advertisement intended for the second user plays on a display of an electronic device of the first user while the first and second users communicate.

A method of providing a digital gift card to a beneficiary, the method including, in one or more electronic processing devices: receiving, from a digital wallet of an individual, a request to create a digital gift card including information indicative of at least one of: an occasion associated with the digital gift card and beneficiary information associated with the beneficiary; determining, based on at least one of the occasion and the beneficiary information, a plurality of gift card offers offered by respective merchants; presenting, from the digital wallet, the plurality of gift card offers; receiving, from the digital wallet, an indication of a selected gift card offer; processing a payment from the digital wallet to the merchant offering the selected gift card offer; and sending a digital gift card notification for the selected gift card offer to the beneficiary, to thereby allow the beneficiary to obtain and redeem it.