The method of claim 1, wherein object routing is used to complete the transfer of funds in a Web application.

A configurable value-added network switch for enabling real-time transactions on a network, said configurable value-added network switch compromising: means for switching to a transactional application in response to a user specification from a network application, said transactional application providing a user with a plurality of transactional services managed by at least one value-added network service provider, said value-added network service provider keeping a transaction flow captive, said plurality of transactional services being performed interactively and in real time; means for transmitting a transaction request from said transactional application; and means for processing said transaction request. view more

The configurable value-added network switch as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means for switching to a transactional application further comprises: means for receiving said user specification; means for enabling a switch to said transactional application; and means for activating said transactional application. view more

The configurable value-added network switch as claimed in claim 2 wherein said means for activating said transactional application further includes means for creating a transaction link between said network application and said transactional application. view more

The configurable value-added network switch as claimed in claim 2 wherein said means for receiving said user specification further comprises: means for presenting said user with a list of transactional applications, each of said transactional application being associated with a particular value-added network service provider; and means for submitting said user specification according to a user's selection of said transactional application from said list of transactional applications. view more

The configurable value-added network switch as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means for processing said transaction request further comprises means for coupling said means for transmitting to a host means.

The configurable value-added network switch as claimed in claim 5 wherein said host means contains data corresponding to said transaction request.

A method for configuring a value-added network switch for enabling real-time transactions on a network, said method for configuring said value-added network switch compromising the steps of: switching to a transactional application in response to a user specification from a network application, said transactional application providing a user with a plurality of transactional services managed by at least one value-added network service provider, said value-added network service provider keeping a transaction flow captive, said plurality of transactional services being performed interactively and in real time; transmitting a transaction request from said transactional application; and processing said transaction request. view more

The method for configuring said value-added network switch as claimed in claim 10 wherein said step of switching to a transactional application further comprises the steps of: receiving said user specification; enabling a switch to said transactional application; and activating said transactional application. view more

The method for configuring said value-added network switch as claimed in claim 11 wherein said step of activating said transactional application further includes a step of creating a transaction link between said network application and said transactional application. view more

The method for configuring said value-added network switch as claimed in claim 11 wherein said step of receiving said user specification further comprises steps of: presenting said user with a list of transactional applications, each of said transactional application being associated with a particular Internet service provider; and submitting said user specification according to a user's selection of said transactional application from said list of transactional applications. view more

The method for configuring said value-added network switch as claimed in claim 10 wherein said step of processing said transaction request further comprises the step of transmitting said transaction request to a host means.

The method for configuring said value-added network switch as claimed in claim 15 wherein said host means contains data corresponding to said transaction request.

A system, comprising: a Web server, including a processor and a memory, for offering one or more Web applications as respective point-of-service applications in a point-of-service application list on a Web page; each Web application of the one or more Web applications for requesting a real-time Web transaction; a value-added network (VAN) switch running on top of a facilities network selected from a group consisting of the World Wide Web, the Internet and an e-mail network, the VAN switch for enabling the real-time Web transactions from the one or more Web applications; a service network running on top of the facilities network for connecting through the Web server to a back-end transactional application; and a computer system executing the Back-end transactional application for processing the transaction request in real-time. view more

The system of claim 1, wherein the VAN switch is an application layer switch in the application layer of the OSI model.

The system of claim 1, wherein the VAN switch enables the switching to Web merchant services in response to a Web server's receipt of a selection of one of the point-of-service Web applications corresponding to the Web merchant services from the nt-of-service application list on the Web page. view more

The system of claim 1, wherein each Web merchant service includes one of the one or more Web applications offered as a VAN service, utilizing the VAN switch.

The system of claim 1, wherein each Web application of the one or more Web applications is a value-added network (VAN) service or online service atop the Web, utilizing the VAN switch.

The system of claim 1, wherein the service network includes the one or more Web applications and wherein the service network manages the flow of real-time Web transactions from the one or more Web applications and includes the VAN switch.

The system of claim 1, wherein the Web server is configured to receive a Web transaction request and wherein the Web transaction request is a request to perform one of the real-time Web transactions from one of the one or more Web applications, utilizing the VAN switch. view more

The system of claim 1, further comprising: a computer system executing a back-end transactional application for processing the transaction request in real-time, wherein said computer system includes a data repository, wherein the data repository is a data repository to store banking data, and wherein retrieving data includes retrieving banking data to complete a real-time Web banking transaction as one of the real-time Web transactions from a banking Web application as one of the one or more Web applications. view more

A method for performing real-time Web transactions from a Web application, comprising: receiving a request at a Web server, including a processor and a memory, for a real-time Web transaction from a Web application on a Web page, wherein the Web server is configured to hand over the request to a Value Added Network (VAN) switch; offering a plurality of Web applications including the Web application on a Web page, upon receipt from a Web server a selection of the Web application from the offered Web applications, the Web application corresponding to a respective back-end transactional application, wherein the back-end transactional application is an application running at the back-office server of one or more Web merchants or at the back-end; receiving a request for Web merchant services upon receipt by a Web server a selection of the Web application, wherein the request for Web merchant services is a request to connect to the selected back-end transactional application to perform an interactive real-time Web transaction from the Web application, wherein the transactional application is an on-line service provided by one or more Web merchants or the back-end; switching utilizing the VAN switch to the back-end transactional application in response to receiving the request from the Web server; providing distributed control of a service network, operating within the boundaries of an IP-based facilities network; connecting to specified ones of the Web merchant services or to back-end services, wherein the connection to the Web merchant services or back-end transactional services is managed; accessing data from a host or data repository coupled to the back office server of one or more Web merchants or to the back-end transactional application, wherein the back office server or back-end is coupled to legacy databases and other data repositories that are utilized by the one or more of the Web merchants or the back-end transactional application to store data; and completing the real-time Web transactions from the Web application. view more

The method of claim 10, wherein the real-time Web transactions are Web transactions from the Web application accessing a value-added network service.