The application relates generally to a method for providing a transaction. Background People used to obtain several gold jewels, e.g. gold rings, necklaces, and earrings, during their lifetime. Normally they use only some of the jewels regularly and the rest of the jewels are rarely or never worn.

In order to facilitate people to sell their unused gold jewels, it has been developed a gold purchasing service, where a user who wants to sell his jewel sends a text message to the service for subscribing a secure envelope designed for a gold delivery. The text message comprises a user's identity number by which the service defines a user's mail address from a population register maintained by a public authority. Since the service knows what the user's mail address is, it sends by mail the envelope and selling documents to the user, who have to fulfil and sign the documents. In the documents, the user informs the service about his bank account.

Then, the user puts the fulfilled and signed documents and jewel into the envelope, and sends the envelope back to the service by mail. The service receives the envelope 1 -3 days later, whereupon a gold expert determines a value of the jewel and it is possible to pay to the user's bank account an amount of money from the jewel that is based on the expert's opinion and the signed documents.

Summary

One object of the invention is to withdraw drawbacks of existing services and to provide a transaction method, where an identified vendor can withdraw money concerning the provided transaction from his bank account quickly.

One object of the invention is fulfilled by providing a method of claim 1 , an apparatus of claim 14, a computer program of claim 15, and a system of claim 16.

According to an embodiment of the invention a method for providing a transaction comprises arranging an identifier to a vendor, the identifier being configured to identify the vendor. The method further comprises receiving through a communication network a transaction information relating to the identifier from a courier of the identifier and sending through a communication network a transaction order for paying a price to the vendor indicated by the identifier, the price being determined on basis of the transaction information and/or a transaction assignment received from the vendor. The term "transaction" refers to purchasing of a valuable item, e.g. gold or other valuable metal item, stock, jewel, old coinage or note, art object, collector's item, real estate contract, or promissory note, from a vendor. It can also refer to obtaining of the valuable item from the vendor for vending the valuable, e.g. in an auction or in a retail. It can also refer to lending of money to the vendor, where the lending can be performed with the valuable, whereupon it is set as collateral, or without the collateral.

The term "vendor" refers to a person and/or an entity that sells a valuable, assigns the valuable to be sold by auction or retail, lends money without collateral, and/or lends money using the valuable as collateral. The term "communication network", or telecommunication network, refers to e.g. a mobile telephone network, public switched telephone network, Internet, or intranet.

The term "courier" refers to a controller that can be e.g. a bank, bank unit, courier service, and/or post office, and that is configured to inform one transaction party relating to the identifier. The courier can also be configured to perform at least one of the followings: deliver the identifier, conveyance means of the valuable, contract documents, and/or the valuable between transaction parties, determine the value estimation of the valuable and/or measure a feature that can be utilized in order to determine the value estimation.

The term "transaction information" refers to information that comprises at least one of the following information: the vendor's bank account, the identifier, the value estimation of the valuable, and an indication about a successfully performed payment, e.g. the vendor's bank account number and/or a paid price.

The term "transaction assignment" refers to an assignment that can be done e.g. by fulfilling a form on a website, by creating an email, by creating a text message, by fulfilling a paper form or message, by making a call, and/or by talking face to face. The assignment can comprise at least one of the following information: valuable information, e.g. its weight, value or value estimation, and/or description; a vendor's name; a vendor's identity number; vendor's contact information, e.g. a home address, a phone number, and/or email address; a vendor's identifier, e.g. an identifier relating this transaction or previous transaction, a fixed general identifier, or other client number; an approval of the purchasing, e.g. a signature or other indication for the approval; an amount of a price to be paid or lend; and a vendor's bank account information, e.g. a real or virtual bank account number. The term "transaction order" refers to an order that is given through a communication network or face to face for paying a price to someone. The payment can be done from one bank account to another, from one virtual bank account to another, by loading an amount of money into a cash, debit and/or credit card, by cheque, or by cash. According to an embodiment of the invention an apparatus for providing a transaction comprises at least one processor, at least one memory comprising a computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least arranging an identifier to a vendor, the identifier being configured to identify the vendor, receiving through a communication network a transaction information relating to the identifier from a courier of the identifier, and sending through a communication network a transaction order for paying a price to the vendor indicated by the identifier, the price being determined on basis of the transaction information and/or a transaction assignment received from the vendor. According to an embodiment of the invention a computer program for providing a transaction, the computer program comprises code for arranging an identifier to a vendor, the identifier being configured to identify the vendor. The computer program further comprises code for receiving through a communication network a transaction information relating to the identifier from a courier of the identifier and code for sending through a communication network a transaction order for paying a price to the vendor indicated by the identifier, the price being determined on basis of the transaction information and/or a transaction assignment received from the vendor.

According to an embodiment of the invention a system for providing a transaction, the system comprises a purchaser unit for arranging an identifier to a vendor, the identifier being configured to identify the vendor. The system further comprises a purchaser unit for receiving through a communication network a transaction information relating to the identifier from a courier unit and a purchaser unit for sending through a communication network a transaction order for paying a price to the vendor indicated by the identifier, the price being determined on basis of the transaction information and/or a transaction assignment received from the vendor.

Further embodiments of the invention are defined in dependent claims.

A method according to embodiments of the invention enables a purchaser or bor- rower to get money faster from a lender after an identification of the borrower.

In addition, a method according to embodiments of the invention enables a vendor to get money from his valuable faster since a courier of the valuable estimates a value of the valuable and a purchaser can make a payment at least partly before receiving the valuable. In addition, a method according to embodiments of the invention enables to create a vendor database relating identified vendors using the method successfully. So, it is possible to diminish a communication between the purchaser and external databases controlled by public authorities, whereupon a load of communication links and communication link originated expenses decrease. In addition, a method according to embodiments of the invention facilitates a tracing of transaction parties in a case of a stolen valuable or item since the transaction has been documented and the vendor has been authenticated due to a checking process.

In addition, a method according to embodiments of the invention enables a remote small lending and collateral pursuit by creating a possibility utilize the method all around the world.

The verb "to comprise" is used in this document as an open limitation that neither excludes nor requires the existence of also unrecited features. The verbs "to include" and "to have/has" are defined as to comprise. The terms "a", "an" and "at least one", as used herein, are defined as one or more than one and the term "plurality" is defined as two or more than two.

The term "another", as used herein, is defined as at least a second or more.

The term "or" is generally employed in its sense comprising "and/or" unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. For the above-mentioned defined verbs and terms, these definitions shall be applied, unless a different definition is given in the claims or elsewhere in this description/specification.

Finally, the features recited in depending claims are mutually freely combinable unless otherwise explicitly stated.

Brief description of the figures

The exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying figures, in which figure 1 illustrates a flowchart of a method for providing a transaction, figures 2a-2b illustrate a system for purchasing or obtaining a valuable and a system for lending money, and

figure 3 illustrates an apparatus for providing a transaction.

Detailed description of the figures

Figure 1 illustrates a flowchart describing a transaction method 100, where the transaction relates to purchasing of a valuable, e.g. gold or other valuable metal, stock, jewel, old coinage or note, art object, real estate contract, or promissory note, from a vendor. Alternatively, the transaction can relate to obtaining of the valuable from the vendor for vending the valuable, e.g. in an auction or in a retail. Alternatively, the transaction can further relate to lending of an amount of money to the vendor. The lending can be performed e.g. with the valuable, whereupon it is set as a collateral, or without the collateral.

During a method start-up in step 105, a purchaser computer or computer system, i.e. a purchaser unit, used for controlling and maintaining the method 100 is started and necessary actions, e.g. initializations and software updates, are performed. In step 1 10 the purchaser receives a transaction assignment from the vendor through at least one communication network, e.g. a mobile telephone network, public switched telephone network, or Internet, or through a user interface of the purchaser computer or other computer connected to it after a person representing a purchaser and/or using the purchaser computer has received the assignment face to face from vendor.

The vendor can create the assignment e.g. by fulfilling a form on a purchaser's website or creating an email, and sending it through the Internet and/or other communication network; by creating a text message and sending it through a mobile telephone network; by fulfilling a paper form or message and sending it by mail; by making a call to the purchaser; or by talking face to face. The assignment can comprise at least one of the following: valuable information, e.g. its weight, value information, and/or description; a vendor's name; a vendor's identity number; vendor's contact information, e.g. a home address, a phone number, and/or email address; a vendor's identifier, e.g. an identifier relating this transaction, a fixed general identifier, or other client number; an approval of the purchasing, e.g. a signature or other indication for the approval; an amount of the price to be paid or lend to the vendor; and a vendor's bank account, e.g. a real or virtual bank account.

In step 120, after the assignment has received, its details and/or a vendor's background based on received information in the assignment is checked. The vendor's background is requested from a purchaser's own internal database and/or through at least one communication network from an external database maintained by some other trustful party. This communication network, e.g. the mobile telephone network, public switched telephone network, Internet, and/or intranet, can be the same through which the assignment has been received or other communication network. If a result of the checking, e.g. a simple or reasoned comment and/or the vendor information, which can be compared to the received information in the assignment, in step 125 dedicates that the assignment does not fulfil predetermined requirements of an acceptable assignment, e.g. lacking, incomplete, and/or false information, and/or the vendor does not fulfil predetermined requirements of a reliable vendor, e.g. the vendor cannot be reliably identified by means of the used database^) or there is some lacking, incomplete, and/or false data in the vendor information, it may be possible to correct the assignment, when such feature is available in step 127. Then, the purchaser computer generates an inquiry to the vendor in step 129 in order to give the vendor an opportunity to add and/or correct information into the assignment. Then, the method 100 returns back and the purchaser computer is ready to receive the updated assignment in step 1 10.

The inquiry to update the assignment can be performed through at least one communication network, e.g. the mobile telephone network, public switched telephone network, and/or Internet, that can be the same through which the assign- ment has been received, but not necessarily, or by mail and/or a courier service, or through the user interface, e.g. a display or loudspeaker system, of the pur- chaser computer or other computer connected to it so that the purchaser and/or the vendor can observe the generated inquiry concerning the imperfect assignment when the purchaser and the vendor are face to face.

Secondly, if there is no opportunity to update the assignment in step 127, e.g. there is no such feature at all or the vendor is on a purchaser's and/or some other instance's black list, the method 100 ends in step 195.

When the checking result in step 125 dedicates that the assignment fulfils the predetermined requirements and/or the vendor fulfils the predetermined requirements of a reliable vendor, i.e. the vendor is previously known and/or the vendor is relia- bly identified by means of the used database(s), the checked information of the assignment is stored into the purchaser's database if the vendor is new, and if the vendor is previously know, i.e. the vendor has successfully used the transaction service earlier and/or his information already exists in the database, the vendor information is updated when necessary. It is also possible that the storing/updating process is performed at least partly before the checking process and/or during it.

In step 130 an identifier to be linked with the vendor is created when the identifier is assignment-specific or vendor-specific when the vendor is new. Since the identifier has been created, it is stored in the database for associating it to the vendor so that the vendor can be identified later on by means of the identifier. Alternatively, the reusable identifier is retrieved from the database when the vendor-specific identifier has been associated previously to the vendor.

In step 140 the identifier is arranged to the vendor by means of at least one communication network, e.g. through the mobile telephone network, public switched telephone network, and/or Internet, that can be the same through which the as- signment has been received, but not necessarily. The identifier is sent to the vendor e.g. by an email; by a text message; or by a mobile phone, net phone, or fixed telephone.

If the identifier is sent by mail or by means of a courier service, the identifier is informed to the vendor by a simple message in a letter, or it is attached on convey- ance means, e.g. an envelope, a conveyance envelope, or a conveyance box, by a text, barcode and/or figure. The vendor can also receive the conveyance means from a third party, e.g. a shop, post office, or courier service. The vendor sets the valuable to be sold, pledged as collateral, or sold by auction, into the conveyance means so that it can be delivered to the purchaser. It is also possible that the vendor himself obtains the identifier before or after the assignment is made from a third party being e.g. a commercial in a television, blurb in a magazine or newspaper, a flyer, or an external website, or from a purchaser's own website. In the case of conveyance means, the vendor attaches the obtained identifier, e.g. by writing or gluing, on the conveyance means. If the vendor obtains the identifier by himself, he informs the purchaser in the assignment or in a communication about the obtained identifier. The identifier communication can be performed similarly as the assignment or by another communication method.

Then, after obtaining the identifier, the vendor sends a communication that com- prises at least the identifier to a controller unit, e.g. a post office, courier service, or bank unit, through at least one communication network, e.g. the mobile telephone network, public switched telephone network, and/or Internet, that can be the same through which the assignment and/or the identifier has been received, but not necessarily. The communication can be made e.g. by fulfilling a form on a controller's website or the purchaser's website, or creating an email, and sending it through the Internet and/or other communication network; by creating a text message and sending it through a mobile telephone network; by fulfilling a paper form or message and sending it by mail or the courier service; or by making a call to the controller. Alter- natively, the communication can be made face to face in the post, courier, or bank office in the written form or by orally.

The communication can be a payment from the vendor's bank account to a purchaser ^' s bank account, e.g. a net payment in the Internet by means of a bank server; a mobile payment by means of a mobile device; a bank or credit card pay- ment; or a bill, cheque, or an oral order for making the payment, and the identifier is attached to the communication as a part of payment information. After receiving the communication, the controller performs the ordered payment. It is possible that the controller stores the transaction information relating to the payment into a controller's database. Alternatively, the communication to be delivered can be the conveyance means having the identifier and the valuable. In such case, after receiving the communication, the controller checks the conveyance means for determining what is inside it by at least one of followings: weighting, determining its outer dimensions, and raying. Thus, by using a result of the checking, the controller can make a value es- timation relating to a value of the valuable inside the conveyance means that can be stored in the controller's database together with information about the identifier.

If the controller does not inform the purchaser about receiving the communication and performing the payment or determination(s), the purchaser requests through the communication network e.g. from the controller's website, the transaction information relating to the identifier by means of the identifier or other vendor information.

In step 160, the purchaser receives the transaction information from the controller through at least one communication network, e.g. a mobile telephone network, public switched telephone network, Internet, and/or intranet. The transaction information comprises at least one of the followings: the vendor's bank account, the identifier, and the value estimation of the valuable. In the case where the transaction information has been requested, it comprises at least the value estimation and possibly the identifier if it is yet needed for associating the value estimation with the vendor information. When the transaction information arrives "automatically" without requesting, it comprises at least the identifier so that it can be used as an identification of the vendor and some indication about the successfully performed payment, e.g. the vendor's bank account number and/or the paid price.

If the purchaser does not receive the transaction information at all in step 160, or the transaction information indicates that there is difference between the information in the assignment and the transaction information, the method 100 ends in step 195. The difference can relate to at least one of the followings: the valuable information, a vendor's name, vendor's identity number, vendor's contact information, vendor's identifier, and vendor's bank account. In step 170 it is determined a price to be paid or lend to the vendor on basis of the transaction information and/or the assignment.

The determination can be performed by retrieving from the purchaser's database the stored information about the amount of the price to be paid from the valuable, to be paid in advance when the valuable is put up for the auction, to be lend when the valuable being as a collateral, or to be lend without a collateral. The stored amount included in the assignment as such or a part of it is set as a price. Alternatively, the received controller's value estimation as such or a part of it, e.g. an amount that is 40%, 50%, or 60% of the value estimation, is set as a price. Alternatively, the stored amount in the assignment and the value estimation together can be used in order to determine proper price, e.g. by setting a price that is between the stored amount and the estimation.

Then, it is obtained the information about the vendor's bank account from the received transaction information or by retrieving it from the purchaser's database us- ing the identifier.

In step 180, when the price and the vendor's bank account is known, it is send through at least one communication network, e.g. a mobile telephone network, public switched telephone network, Internet, and/or intranet a transaction order to the controller, if it is a bank, or another bank for paying the price to the vendor. Alternatively, it is possible that the payment is provided by loading an amount of money that corresponds with the price on a cash card and sending it to the vendor by e.g. the courier service. This can be done by the purchaser or another entity, e.g. the controller, capable of doing such loading action. It is also possible to give the cash card directly to the vendor when a face to face situation exists. Alterna- tively, the payment can be done as a cash payment by the controller, whereupon the purchaser has previously sent the transaction order to the controller.

In addition, when the communication comprises the conveyance means, it is also possible to pay additional price from the valuable. Since the post office and/or the courier has delivered the conveyance means with the valuable and the identifier to the purchaser, the conveyance means can be opened and it is possible to determine the final value more exactly. If the final value is determined higher than the already paid price, a difference between the paid price and the final value is set as an additional price and is sent through the communication network for paying an additional price. Then, in step 195 the method 100 ends.

Figure 2a illustrates a system 200 for purchasing a piece of gold 204 from a vendor 202 having a mobile phone 206.

The vendor 202, who has not used the system 200 before, reads from an advertisement that it is possible to sell gold to a purchaser 212 so that the selling pro- cess is started by sending a certain kind of text message comprising e.g. a vendor's name, vendor's identity number, vendor's address, description of the gold comprising its weight, value information of the gold, and vendor's bank account to purchaser 212. The vendor sends 210 the text message being a transaction assignment through the mobile network to the purchaser 212, where he indicates his name, identity number, address, description of the gold, the value information of the gold, and a bank account. The purchaser unit 212 receives the text message, checks that the content of the text message is in a recognizable form, makes an inquiry 220i into an internal vendor database 222i for finding out if the vendor 202 already exists in the database 222i, and, after receiving a response 225i that the vendor 202 is a new vendor, creates a memory location for the new vendor 202 into the database 222i. Then, the purchaser unit 212 attaches, i.e. stores, the details of the text message into the memory location of the new vendor 202 and sends an inquiry 220e to an external database 222e for checking that the vendor 202 is a person who he asserts to be.

If the purchaser 212 receives a response 225e indicating that the vendor 202 in on a black list of an authority that controls the database 222e or the vendor 202 can- not be identified reliably, the purchaser 212 possibly sends a text message to the vendor 202, where it is told that the process cannot be performed, and possibly the reason that poses the cancellation.

On the other hand, when the authority informs 225e that the vendor 202 is ok, the purchaser unit 212 creates a new identifier 216 and stores it to the vendor's memory location so that the vendor 202 can be identified in future by this identifier 216. Then, the identifier 216, a purchaser's mail address, and, possibly, the vendor's mail address as a sender are printed on a conveyance envelope 214 that is designed to be used in a transportation of valuables, and the conveyance envelope 214 is delivered 240 to the vendor 202 by a courier service. Then, the vendor 202 puts the gold 204 into the envelope 214, seals it, and gives 242 it to a courier service 244 such that the courier service 244 delivers the envelope 214 with the gold 204 to the purchaser 212. The courier service 244 can be the same courier service delivering the empty envelope 214 to the vendor 202 or it can be a post office. The courier 244 weights the envelope 214 for determining a weight of the gold and its value estimation by means of a current price of gold, when a weight of the empty envelope is known, and stores 246 the determined gold weight, the value estimation, and the identifier 216 into a same memory location into a courier's database 248.

After a certain time period, e.g. couple of hours, half a day, or one day, since the empty envelope 214 is sent to the vendor 202 the purchaser unit 212 creates an inquiry 250 comprising the vendor's identifier 216 for requesting the value estimation of the gold relating to this identifier 216 on a courier's website. The courier 244 retrieves 252, 254 the value information from the database 248 by means of the received identifier 216 and sends 260 through the Internet a transaction infor- mation, e.g. the determined value estimation and/or the weight, and the identifier, to the purchaser unit 212.

If the courier 244 sends mere weight information, i.e. no value estimation at all, the purchaser 212 retrieves the current price of gold from its own database 222i or from Internet and calculates the value estimation. Then, the purchaser 212 deter- mines a price to be paid to the vendor 202 by setting the price so that it is 60% of the value estimation.

Then, the purchaser 212 retrieves 272, 274 the vendor's bank account information from the database 222i by means of the identifier 216 and sends 280 through the Internet an order to a bank 282 to transfer an amount of money that corresponds the price from the purchaser's bank account to the vendor's bank account.

Since the courier service 244 has delivered 290 the envelope 214 with the gold 204 and the identifier 216 to the purchaser 212, it can check the value estimation and determine an actual final weight of the gold, and calculate an actual value of the gold 204. If the actual value is e.g. higher than the value estimation, the pur- chaser 212 can send 294 to the bank 282 an additional order to transfer an additional amount of money to the vendor's bank account so that a total amount of transferred money corresponds with a price that is 60% of the actual value of the gold 204.

The above-described process can be used also when the purchaser 212 act as a lender that lends money and the valuable is used as a collateral, or the purchaser 212 act as an auctioneer that sells the valuable by an auction, e.g. a net auction or traditional auction, or as a supplier that puts the valuable up for auction performed by another party.

It is also possible to provide the pledging system 200 so that after obtaining the envelope 214 with or without the identifier 216, e.g. from the purchaser 212, i.e. a pledgee, in accordance with figure 2a or directly from an office or outlet of the courier 244, the vendor 202, i.e. a pledger, puts the gold 204 into the envelope 214, seals it, and gives 242 it to the courier service 244. If the envelope 214 is obtained directly from the courier 244 or without any identification from the purchaser 212, the vendor 202 puts also into the envelope 214 a document that comprises his personal data, contact information, and bank account information.

An employee of the courier service 244 identifies the vendor 202 reliably in the office e.g. by means of a vendor's driving licence or passport, and provides an iden- tification mark that indicates a successful identification of the vendor 202 on the envelope 214 e.g. by a pen, stamp, and/or sticker. Then, the courier service 244 delivers the marked envelope 214 with the gold 204 to the purchaser 212 that, after checking that the identification mark exists on the envelope 214 and after determining a value of the gold 204 being as a pledged object, sends through the In- ternet an order to the bank 282 to transfer an amount of money that corresponds the determined value from the purchaser's bank account to the vendor's bank account. The vendor's bank account information can be obtained from the purchaser's database 222i, if the vendor 202 has been identified earlier by the purchaser 212, and/or from the document comprising the vendor's personal data, contact in- formation, and bank account information.

Figure 2b illustrates a system 200 for lending money to a borrower 202 having a smart phone 206.

The borrower 202, who has not used the system 200 before, reads from a lender's website by means of the smart phone 206 that it is possible to get a loan by ful- filling a web form that requests borrower's information, e.g. his name, home address, identity number, smart phone number, and amount of loan on the lender's website. The borrower 202 fulfils the web form being a transaction assignment and sends 210 it through the Internet to a lender 212.

The lender unit 212 receives the requested information, checks that it is in a rec- ognizable form, makes an inquiry 220i into an internal borrower database 222i for finding out if the borrower 202 already exists in the database 222i, and, after receiving a response 225i that the borrower 202 is a new borrower, creates a memory location for the new borrower 202 into the database 222i. Then, the lender unit 212 attaches, i.e. stores, the borrower details into the memory location and sends an inquiry 220e to an external database 222e controlled by an authority for checking that the borrower 202 is a person who he asserts to be by means of e.g. the name, home address, and identity number information.

If the lender 212 receives a response 225e indicating that the borrower 202 in on a black list or the borrower 202 cannot be identified reliably, the lender 212 possibly sends a text message, a message on the lender's website and/or an email to the borrower 202, where it is told that the process cannot be performed, and possibly the reason that poses the cancellation.

On the other hand, when the authority informs 225e that the borrower 202 is ok, the lender unit 212 creates a new identifier 216 and stores it to the borrower's memory location so that the borrower 202 can be identified in future by this identifier 216. Then, the identifier 216 and possibly instructions to pay an amount of e.g. 0,01 euros to e.g. the lender's bank account or a bank's account are delivered 240 to the borrower 202 by the text message, email, and/or lender's website. When the borrower 202 is an old customer that is considered to be a reliable borrower, there is no need to create the new borrower in the database 222i, but the identifier 216 and instructions are delivered to the borrower 202 right after it is found out that the borrower 202 is the old customer and he is not on the lender's and/or authority's black lists. Alternatively, if the borrower 202 is in the lender's office, an employee of the lender 212 can receive necessary transaction assignment related information directly face to face from the borrower 202 and provide the checking by means of a computer that has software that is configured to provide such checking and the identifier. Then, the borrower 202 sends 242 a transaction order to a bank 244 through the Internet for paying the amount of 0,01 euros to the lender 212 from his bank account and attaching the identifier 216 as additional information to payment information to be stored and informed to the both parties. Since the transaction has been made, the bank 244 stores the transaction information, e.g. the borrower's bank account, transaction time, amount, and additional information comprising at least the identifier 216, into a bank's database and informs 260 the lender 212 about the stored transaction information comprising the identifier 216 through the Internet. Alternatively, the lender 212 requests through the Internet the transaction information from the bank 244. After receiving the transaction information comprising e.g. the borrower's bank account and the identifier 216, the lender 212 determines a price, i.e. the loan amount, to be paid to the borrower 202 by retrieving 272, 274 the loan amount from the database 222i by means of the identifier 216 associated with the borrower information. Then, the lender unit 212 sends 280 through the Internet an order to the bank 244, or another bank, to transfer an amount of money that corresponds the loan amount from the lender's bank account to the borrower's bank account.

Finally, when the transaction order has been made, the lender unit 212 may inform the borrower 202 by a text message or an email that the transfer has been successfully performed and the loan amount is available in the borrower's bank account.

Figure 3 illustrates an apparatus 300, e.g. a computer or a computer system comprising several computers having distributed tasks, for providing a transaction that relates to purchasing of a valuable from a vendor, obtaining of the valuable from the vendor for vending the valuable or being set as a collateral, or lending of an amount of money to the vendor.

The apparatus 300 comprises at least one processor 310 for performing user and/or software initiated instructions and for processing data. The apparatus 300 also comprises at least one memory 320 that can be an internal or external memory for storing and maintaining data, e.g. instructions, softwares, and data files, and a user interface unit 330 comprising at least one of followings: a keyboard, display, loudspeaker system, touchpad, touchscreen, and mouse. In addition, the apparatus 300 comprises a data transfer unit for sending and/or receiving data through a wired and/or wireless communication network.

The at least one memory 320 comprises at least user interface data 322 for controlling the user interface unit 330, data transfer data 324 for controlling the data transfer unit 340, and a computer program code 326 for controlling the transaction process. The at least one memory 320 and the computer program code 326 being configured to, with the at least one processor 310, cause the apparatus 300 to arrange by the at least one processor 310 an identifier that identifies the vendor in future to the vendor, to receive by the data transfer unit 340 through the communication network a transaction information relating to the identifier from a courier of the identifier, and to send by the data transfer unit 340 through the same or anoth- er communication network a transaction order for paying a price to the vendor indicated by the identifier. The price is determined by the at least one processor 310 on basis of the transaction information and/or a transaction assignment received by the data transfer unit 340 from the vendor. The assignment is received through at least one communication network and it comprises at least one of the following: valuable information, a vendor's name, a vendor's identity number, vendor's contact information, a vendor's identifier, an approval of the purchasing, an amount of the price to be paid, and a vendor's bank account. The price to be paid is determined by the at least one processor 310 so that it is equal to the amount of the price in the assignment or a value estimation, or a part of the value estimation.

The apparatus 300 is further caused to check by the at least one processor 310 the assignment and/or a vendor's background based on information in the as- signment. The vendor's background is requested and/or a response relating to the requested vendor's background is received by the at least one processor 310 and/or the data transfer unit 340 from an internal database and/or through the communication network from an external database.

The at least one processor 310 is also configured to store the information of the assignment into the internal database, and/or update vendor's information when the vendor's information already exists in the internal database.

The identifier to be linked with the vendor is created and/or retrieved by the at least one processor 310 from the internal database when the identifier has been associated previously by the at least one processor 310 to the vendor after the as- signment has been received, or the identifier is received from the vendor. The identifier is sent by the data transfer unit 340 to the vendor through the communication network or through a courier of the identifier.

The apparatus 300 is also configured to request by the at least one processor 310 through the communication network the transaction information relating to the identifier, wherein the transaction information comprises at least one of the follow- ings: the vendor's bank account, the identifier, and a value estimation of a valuable.

In addition, the apparatus 300 is configured to retrieve by the at least one processor 310 the information of the vendor's bank account from the transaction infor- mation comprising at least the vendor's bank account and the identifier, or from the internal database.

The data transfer unit 340 is also capable of sending an additional payment order through the communication network for paying an additional price from the valuable to the vendor since the valuable in the conveyance means has received, if a value of the received valuable is determined higher than the courier's value estimation.

The computer program 326 is configured to provide a transaction that relates to purchasing of a valuable from a vendor, obtaining of the valuable from the vendor for vending the valuable or being set as a collateral, or lending of an amount of money to the vendor.

The computer program 326 comprises code for arranging an identifier being configured to identify the vendor to the vendor, code for receiving through a communication network a transaction information relating to the identifier from a courier of the identifier, and code for sending through a communication network a transaction order for paying a price to the vendor indicated by the identifier, where the price being determined on basis of the transaction information and/or a transaction assignment received from the vendor. The assignment is received through a communication network, the assignment comprising at least one of the following: valuable information, a vendor's name, a vendor's identity number, vendor's contact information, a vendor's identifier, an approval of the purchasing, an amount of the price to be paid, and a vendor's bank account.

The computer program 326 further comprises code for checking the assignment and/or a vendor's background based on information in the assignment, where the vendor's background is requested and/or a response relating to the requested vendor's back-ground is received from an internal database and/or through the communication network from an external database.

The computer program 326 can also comprise code for storing the information of the assignment into the internal database, and/or updating vendor's information when the vendor's information already exists in the internal database.

In the computer program 326 the identifier to be linked with the vendor is created and/or retrieved from the internal database when the identifier has been associated previously to the vendor after the assignment has been received, or the identifier is received from the vendor. In addition, the identifier is sent to the vendor through the communication network or through a courier of the identifier.

The computer program 326 further comprises code for requesting through the communication network the transaction information relating to the identifier that transaction information comprises at least one of the followings: the vendor's bank account, the identifier, and a value estimation of a valuable. In addition, the computer program 326 can comprise code for retrieving the information of the vendor's bank account from the transaction information comprising at least the vendor's bank account and the identifier, or from the internal vendor database. The price to be paid is determined in the computer program 326 so that it is equal to the amount of the price in the assignment or the value estimation, or a part of the value estimation, and an additional payment order is sent through the communication network for paying an additional price from the valuable to the vendor since the valuable in the conveyance means has received, if a value of the re- ceived valuable is determined higher than the courier's value estimation.

The computer program 326 can be a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing computer program code embodied therein for use with a computer.

The invention has been now explained above with reference to the aforesaid ex- emplary embodiments and the several advantages of the invention have been demonstrated. It is clear that the invention is not only restricted to these embodiments, but comprises all possible embodiments within the spirit and scope of the invention thought and the following claims.