CURRENCY EXCHANGE METHOD

摘要

A plurality of customers are connected via their work stations 1 and the internet to a provider's server 2. This is connected in turn to provider's work station(s) 3, the provider's deposit taking bank 4 and the provider's foreign exchange providing bank 5. Additional connections are from the customers to their banks 6. The latter are connected to the deposit taking bank. Users make deposits during an order period in either of two currencies with a view to being provided with an equivalent amount in the other currency. At the end of the order period, the deposits are amalgamated and applied to the orders in the other currencies. A surplus of one currency is converted to the other to satisfy the orders as far as possible.

主权项

1. A method of currency exchange to be operated by a currency provider, consisting in the steps of:
receiving over an order period from one or more first customers:
deposits in one, first currency (‘the first currency deposits’) andinstructions in respect of the use of at least part of their first currency deposits in the form of:
sell instructions for the sale of a specified amount of first currency in exchange for second currency substantially equal in value orbuy instructions for the purchase of a specified amount of second currency(‘the second currency sell orders and the second currency buy orders’);
receiving over the order period from one or more of second customers:
deposits in the other, second currency (‘the second currency deposits’) andinstructions in respect of the use of at least part of their second currency deposits in the form of:
sell instructions for the sale of a specified amount of second currency in exchange for first currency substantially equal in value orbuy instructions for the purchase of a specified amount of first currency(‘the first currency sell orders and the first currency buy orders’); and
performing the following steps on expiry of the order period:
summing the first currency orders;summing the second currency orders;comparing the sums of the orders and computing a surplus of one currency and a shortfall of the other;acquiring from a third party a balancing amount of whichever currency is in shortfall between its deposits and requests from the surplus of the other currency;distributing the substantially equal value parts of second currency deposits and the purchased shortfall if any to the first customers in accordance with their second currency orders;distributing the substantially equal value parts of first currency deposits and the purchased shortfall if any to the second customers in accordance with their first currency orders; andretaining a provider's charge from the deposits.