Secure account creation

• US 10,453,056 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2017
• Issued: 10/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Square Inc (Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.))
• Inventors: Grassadonia, Brian, Moring, Michael, Andersen, Robert, Perito, Daniele, Omojola, Ayokunle
• Primary Examiner(s): Ojiaku, Chikaodinaka
• Application Number:
  US15/640,321
• Publication Number:
  US 20190005491A1
• Time in Patent Office: 844 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/223 based on the use of peer-to-peer networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/26 Debit schemes, e.g. "pay now"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3221 Access to banking information through M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3263 characterised by activation or deactivation of payment capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/351 Virtual cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/354 Card activation or deactivation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/355 Personalisation of cards for use
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3821 Electronic credentials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/385 using an alias or single-use codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4014 Identity check for transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/42 Confirmation, e.g. check or permission by the legal debtor of payment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/425 using two different networks, one for transaction and one for security confirmation

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for real-time provisioning of new payment card numbers to users of a payment-service system, wherein the new payment card numbers are issued to users without activation or registration. By issuing payment card numbers in real-time and without registration, these systems and methods can provide a relatively frictionless experience for users. As such, these systems and methods can issue more payment card numbers, increase market penetration and use of the payment card numbers because the systems and methods are relatively efficient to use compared with prior methods of issuing payment card numbers.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method performed by a payment-service-system server comprising:

receiving, from an issuer processor server, a plurality of payment card numbers, wherein the payment card numbers are initially unassigned with respect to accounts registered with the payment-service-system server;

storing, by the payment-service-system, the unassigned payment card numbers in a payment-service-system database;

receiving, from a user computing device, a payment request to debit a pre-existing account associated with the user, wherein fulfillment of the payment request requires a payment card number, and wherein the account corresponds to a database account record and is not yet associated with any of the unassigned payment card numbers, an account balance and an account activation status, wherein the account activation status is inactive;

in response to receiving the payment request to debit the account;

associating in real-time the account with one of the unassigned payment card numbers in the payment-service-system database; and

transmitting, to the user computing device, a first unique code and information to cause an application executing on the user computing device to display a notification window, the notification window requesting the user to set the account activation status to active by entering the first unique code in the notification window;

receiving, from the user computing device, an activation request comprising a second code and personal information required for activation;

upon determining that the second code corresponds to the first unique code, modifying the database account record to assign the payment card number to the user account as an active payment card; and

facilitating processing of the payment request using the account and payment card number.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the user computing device, a second request to debit the account, wherein the second request comprises an amount and the payment card number, wherein the account activation status is active;

retrieving, from the payment-service-system database, the database account record corresponding to the payment card number of the second request to debit the account;

routing, by the payment-service-system server, the second request to the system of record server; and

upon determining that the account activation status of the database account record is active, debiting the account by the amount.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

upon receiving the request to debit the account, performing steps comprising

retrieving, by the payment-service-system server, the payment card number from the payment-service-system database;

establishing, by the payment-service-system server, the account; and

associating, by the payment-service-system server, the account and the payment card number.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the payment-service-system server, a peer-to-peer payment request from a second user computing device, wherein the peer-to-peer payment request comprises an amount and a unique user identifier;

determining, by the payment-service-system server, that the unique user identifier does not match any accounts in a payment-service-system database;

upon determining that there is no database account record matching the unique user identifier, creating the database account record corresponding to the payment card number; and

transmitting, by the payment-service-system server, a notification corresponding to the peer-to-peer payment request to the user computing device.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the notification comprises the amount and instructions to activate the account corresponding to the database account record and the payment card number.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

further upon determining that the account activation status of the database account record is inactive, interrupting, by the payment-service-system server, the request to debit the account.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

upon modifying the database account record to contain the active account activation status, resuming, by the payment-service-system server, the request to the system of record server to debit the account balance.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the payment request is received from the user computing device via a first communication channel comprising one or more of an near-field communication (NFC) reader, a magnetic strip reader, or internet, and wherein the first unique code is transmitted to the user computing device via a second communication channel comprising one or more of an email, a phone call, an instant message, a notification, or a short message service (SMS) message.

9. A computer-implemented method of generating payment card numbers for individual user accounts associated with a payment service system performed by a payment-service-system server, the method comprising:

receiving, from an issuer processor server, a plurality of payment card numbers, wherein the payment card numbers are initially unassigned with respect to accounts registered with the payment-service-system server;

storing, by the payment-service-system, the unassigned payment card numbers in a payment-service-system database;

receiving, from a first user computing device associated with a first user, a payment request to debit an account balance, wherein fulfillment of the payment request requires a payment card number;

retrieving, from the payment-service-system database, a payment-service-system database account record including an account activation status of a financial account associated with the first user, wherein the payment-service-system database account record is not yet associated with any of the unassigned payment card numbers, and wherein the account activation status is inactive;

in response to receiving the payment request to debit the account balance;

associating in real-time the financial account with one of the unassigned payment card numbers in the payment-service-system database;

generating, by the payment-service-system server, a query for the first user to set the account activation status to active, wherein the query comprises a first unique code to enter to set the account activation status to active; and

transmitting, by the payment-service-system server to the first user computing device, the query comprising the first unique code, wherein the query is transmitted in response to the request to debit the account balance;

receiving, from the first user computing device, an activation request comprising a second code and personal information required for activation;

matching, by the payment-service-system server, the second code to the first unique code and the personal information required for activation;

modifying, by the payment-service-system server in response to matching the second code to the first unique code, the payment-service-system database account record to assign the payment card number to the financial account associated with the first user as an active payment card;

authorizing, by the payment-service-system server in response to matching the second code to the first unique code, the payment request to debit an account balance associated with the financial account; and

debiting, by the payment-service-system server, the account balance using the payment card number by an amount corresponding to the request to debit the account balance.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving, at the payment-service-system server from a second user computing device, a payment request comprising a user identifier (ID) of the first user and an amount;

retrieving, by the payment-service-system server, a payment card number from the payment-service-system database;

storing, by the payment-service-system server in the payment-service-system database account record, the payment card number, the account balance equaling the amount, the ID, and the account activation status, wherein the account activation status is inactive; and

transmitting, by the payment-service-system server to the first user computing device associated with the ID, a payment notification corresponding to the payment request.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving, by the payment-service-system server from the second user computing device via a first communication channel, a second request to debit the account balance, wherein the request comprises a second amount, the ID, and the payment card number, wherein the account activation status is active;

retrieving, from the payment-service-system database, the payment-service-system database account record corresponding to the payment card number of the request to debit the account balance;

routing, by the payment-service-system server, the payment request to a system of record server; and

upon determining that the account activation status of the payment-service-system database account record is active, debiting the account balance by the second amount.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising:

upon receiving the payment request, performing steps comprising

establishing, by the payment-service-system server, the payment-service-system database account record; and

associating, by the payment-service-system server, the payment-service-system database account record and the payment card number.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising:

upon receiving, by the payment-service-system server from the first user computing device, the request to debit the account balance, routing, by the payment-service-system server, the request to debit the account balance to a system of record server; and

upon determining that the account activation status is inactive, interrupting the routing of the request to debit the account balance, by the payment-service-system server.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising:

upon determining that the account activation status of the payment-service-system database account record is inactive, interrupting, by the payment-service-system server, the request to debit the account.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising:

upon modifying the payment-service-system database account record to contain an active account activation status, resuming, by the payment-service-system server, the request to a system of record server to debit the account balance.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising a series of instructions to perform a method comprising:

receiving, from an issuer processor server, a plurality of payment card numbers, wherein the payment card numbers are initially unassigned with respect to accounts registered with a payment-service-system server;

storing, by the payment-service-system, the unassigned payment card numbers in a payment-service-system database;

receiving, from a second user computing device, a first payment request to debit an account balance, wherein a database account record is not activated, and wherein fulfillment of the payment request requires a payment card number;

in response to receiving the payment request to debit the account balance;

associating in real-time the financial account with one of the unassigned payment card numbers in the payment-service-system database;

generating, by the payment-service-system server, a query for a user to activate the database account record;

transmitting, by the payment-service-system server, the query to the second user computing device, wherein the query is transmitted in response to the first request to debit the account balance;

receiving, by the payment-service-system server from the second user computing device, a command to activate the database account record, wherein the command comprises personal information required for activation;

upon receiving the command, by the payment-service-system server from the second user computing device, activating the database account record, wherein activating the database account record comprises assigning the payment card number to a financial account associated with the second user;

receiving, by the payment-service-system server from the second user computing device, a second request to debit the account balance;

authorizing, by the payment-service-system server, the second request to debit the account balance; and

debiting, by the payment-service-system server, the account balance by an amount corresponding to the second request to debit the account balance using the payment card number.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions for:

receiving, at the payment-service-system server from a first user computing device, a payment request comprising a user identifier (ID) of the user and an amount;

retrieving, by the payment-service-system server, a payment card number from the payment-service-system database;

associating, by the payment-service-system server, the database account record with the payment card number, the amount, the account balance, and the ID, wherein the database account record is not activated; and

transmitting, by the payment-service-system server to the second user computing device associated with the ID, a payment notification corresponding to the payment request.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions for:

upon receiving, by the payment-service-system server from the second user computing device, the first request to debit the account balance, routing, by the payment-service-system server, the first request to debit the account balance to a system of record server;

determining that the database account record is not activated; and

upon determining that the database account record is not activated, interrupting the routing of the first request to debit the account balance, by the payment-service-system server.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, further comprising instructions for:

upon activating the database account record, resuming, by the payment-service-system server, the request to debit the account balance to the system of record server to debit the account balance.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions for:

upon interrupting the first request to debit the account balance, transmitting, by the payment-service-system server a notification to the second user computing device that the first request was interrupted.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the query comprises a unique code to enter to activate the database account record, and the command to activate the database account record comprises the unique code.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, further comprising instructions for:

determining, by the payment-service-system server, that the unique code of the query corresponds to unique code of the command to activate the database account record; and

upon determining that that the unique code of the query corresponds to unique code of the command to activate the database account record, activating, by the payment-service-system server, the database account record.

23. A payment-service-system server configured to perform a method comprising:

receiving, from an issuer processor server, a plurality of payment card numbers, wherein the payment card numbers are initially unassigned with respect to accounts registered with the payment-service-system server;

storing, by the payment-service-system, the unassigned payment card numbers in a payment-service-system database;

receiving, by the payment-service-system server, a payment request to debit funds from a second user account, wherein the request to debit funds comprises a payment card number;

in response to receiving the payment request to debit the account;

associating in real-time the second user account with one of the unassigned payment card numbers in the payment-service-system database;

retrieving, by the payment-service-system server from a database record of the payment-service-system database, an account activation status, wherein the account activation status is inactive; and

transmitting, to a first user computing device, a query to activate the second user account, wherein the query is transmitted in response to the request to debit funds from the second user account;

receiving, at the payment-service-system server from the first user computing device, an activation request comprising personal information required for activation; and

upon receiving, by the payment-service-system server, the activation request, modifying, by the payment-service-system server, the account activation status to active and assigning the payment card number to the second user account as an active payment card.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

receiving, by the payment-service-system server from the first user computing device via a first communication channel, a second request to debit the second user account, wherein the second request comprises an ID and the payment card number, and the second user account corresponds to a database account record comprising the payment card number, an account balance, the ID, and the account activation status, wherein the account activation status is active;

retrieving, from the payment-service-system database, the database account record corresponding to the payment card number of the second request to debit the account; and

routing, by the payment-service-system server, the second request to a system of record server.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

determining, by the payment-service-system server, that the account activation status of the database account record is inactive; and

upon determining that the account activation status is inactive, interrupting the routing of the second request to debit the second user account, by the payment-service-system server.

26. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

upon determining that the account activation status of a database account record is inactive, interrupting, by the payment-service-system server, the request to debit the second user account.

27. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

upon modifying the account activation status to active, resuming, by the payment-service-system server, the request to debit funds to a system of record server.

28. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

receiving, by the payment-service-system server from a first user computing device, a request to transfer funds from a first user account to the second user account, wherein the request to transfer funds comprises a user identifier of the second user, and wherein a second user corresponding to the second user computing device does not have an account with the payment-service-system;

generating, by the payment-service-system server, the second user account, wherein the second user account comprises the payment card number, wherein the account activation status that is inactive;

storing, by the payment-service-system in the payment-service-system database, the second user account; and

transferring, by the payment-service-system server, the funds from the first user account to the second user account.