Systems and methods for providing payment hotspots

• US 10,699,263 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2019
• Issued: 06/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sundaram, Magesh Babu Meignana
• Primary Examiner(s): Savusdiphol, Paultep
• Application Number:
  US16/418,917
• Publication Number:
  US 20190378109A1
• Time in Patent Office: 406 Days
• Field of Search: 235375, 235379
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/027 involving a payment switch or gateway
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/223 based on the use of peer-to-peer networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/326 Payment applications installed on the mobile devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3278 RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/384 using social networks

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for facilitating payments between users of the system such as person-to-person payments using a payment hotspot. A payment hotspot or payspot may be generated by a first user device of a first user to facilitate a transfer of funds between the first user and the second user. The payspot may be a virtual payment portal that allows secure payment between the users without either of the users having to provide identifying information to the other user. The payspot may be accessed by the second user based on the proximity of a second user device of the second user to the first user device or the first user may provide an identification code of the payspot to the second user. The second user may access the payspot by communicating with a payment server with the second user device, through the first user device.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a non-transitory memory; and

one or more hardware processors coupled to the non-transitory memory and configured to read instructions from the non-transitory memory to cause the system to perform operations comprising;

generating an identification code for a payment hotspot associated with a first user device;

transmitting the identification code to the first user device;

receiving, from a second user device, a payment request comprising the identification code and payment account information;

identifying a receiving entity based on the identification code; and

processing a payment for the receiving entity using the payment account information included in the payment request.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, from the first user device, a request to generate the payment hotspot; and

generating the payment hotspot for the first user device.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the generating the payment hotspot comprises:

activating a short-range wireless communication module of the first user device; and

causing the short-range wireless communication module to broadcast the identification code.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the receiving entity is a merchant.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the payment account information comprises a payment card number.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the payment request is received indirectly from the second user device via the first user device over a short-range wireless communication between the first user device and the second user device.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the payment request is received from the second user device without using a communication between the first user device and the second user device.

8. A method, comprising:

receiving, by one or more hardware processors from a second user device, a hotspot payment request comprising an identification code and payment account information;

identifying, by the one or more hardware processors from a plurality of payment hotspots, a particular payment hotspot and a first user device hosting the particular payment hotspot based on the identification code;

determining, by the one or more hardware processors, that the first user device is within a distance threshold from the second user device; and

in response to determining that the first user device is within the distance threshold from the second user device, processing, by the one or more hardware processors, a payment based on the payment account information.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving, from the first user device, a request to generate the particular payment hotspot; and

generating the particular payment hotspot for the first user device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the generating the particular payment hotspot comprises configuring the first user device to be electronically discoverable by other devices using a short-range wireless communication.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising terminating the particular payment hotspot based on at least one of a location of the first user device or a detected movement of the first user device.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising terminating the particular payment hotspot based on an expiration time associated with the particular payment hotspot.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining a receiving account based on the identification code included in the hotspot payment request, wherein the processing the payment is further based on the receiving account.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving, from the second user device, a request to access the particular payment hotspot;

causing the first user device to establish a peer-to-peer communication with the second user device; and

providing the second user device access to the particular payment hotspot via the established peer-to-peer communication.

15. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having stored thereon machine-readable instructions executable to cause a machine to perform operations comprising:

generating a payment hotspot for a first user device, wherein the generating comprises providing the first user device an identification code associated with the payment hotspot and causing the first user device to be electronically discoverable by a second user device within a distance threshold of the first user device;

receiving, from the second user device, a payment request comprising the identification code and payment account information;

identifying a receiving entity based on the identification code; and

processing a payment for the receiving entity using the payment account information included in the payment request.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

activating short-range wireless communications for the first user device that causes the identification code to be broadcast through the short range wireless communications.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise terminating the payment hotspot based on at least one of a location of the first user device or a detected movement of the first user device.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise terminating the payment hotspot based on an expiration time associated with the payment hotspot.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, from the second user device, a request to access the payment hotspot;

causing the first user device to establish a peer-to-peer communication with the second user device; and

providing the second user device access to the payment hotspot via the established peer-to-peer communication.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the receiving entity is a merchant.