Mehtod and apparatus for making purchases over the internet using pre-paid cards
First Claim
1. A system for facilitating purchases made over the Internet between a customer and a vendor, the system comprising:
- a vendor web site through which the customer can make purchases, wherein the vendor web site consummates the purchases on the basis of a pre-paid anonymous debit card of the type utilized by the telephone industry to place telephone calls; and
a third-party payment facilitation computer linked to the vendor web site, wherein the third-party payment facilitation computer facilitates payment for the purchases by causing the purchases to be charged against the value of the pre-paid anonymous debit card.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention provides a system and method for facilitating transactions over the Internet using pre-paid cards, such as pre-paid telephone cards. A third-party phone-card payment facilitator represents that it will coordinate payment to vendor web sites for on-line customer purchases with the value of pre-paid phone cards. The vendor'"'"'s web site operator posts a branded logo from the third party phone-card payment facilitation web site, which is linked to the database of phone card value and verification process operated by the phone card manufacturer or sponsor. The link allows the customer to verify from the third-party phone-card payment facilitation web site that the vendor'"'"'s web site is in cooperation with certain phone card manufacturers and can be utilized to make a purchase against the current value of the customer'"'"'s pre-paid phone card. A customer who owns an anonymous pre-paid phone card can purchase goods, services or information from a web site using existing phone card telephony infrastructure. In addition to anonymity, the system and method provides financial security to customers, who need not risk entrusting their creditworthiness to unknown web site operators.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for facilitating purchases made over the Internet between a customer and a vendor, the system comprising:
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a vendor web site through which the customer can make purchases, wherein the vendor web site consummates the purchases on the basis of a pre-paid anonymous debit card of the type utilized by the telephone industry to place telephone calls; and
a third-party payment facilitation computer linked to the vendor web site, wherein the third-party payment facilitation computer facilitates payment for the purchases by causing the purchases to be charged against the value of the pre-paid anonymous debit card. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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- 9. A system for facilitating purchases made over the Internet between a customer and a vendor, the system comprising a third-party phone-card payment facilitation computer, linked to a vendor computer and operated by a phone-card payment facilitator having an agreement with the vendor to coordinate payment transfer for purchases made by the customer from a web site operated by the vendor, wherein the phone-card payment facilitation computer arranges payment to the vendor from a phone card sponsor for purchases made through the web site operated by the vendor.
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14. A vendor computer that permits a customer to make purchases through a web page hosted on the vendor computer, wherein the web page displays a logo that identifies a third-party phone-card payment facilitation computer that has agreed to coordinate purchases requested by the customer through the vendor computer, wherein the logo comprises a hyperlink to a phone-card payment facilitation web site, and wherein upon activation of the hyperlink, the customer is able to verify that the third-party phone-card payment facilitation computer coordinates purchases using the customer'"'"'s pre-paid anonymous phone debit card.
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16. A method for facilitating purchases requested by a customer over the Internet through a vendor web site, comprising the steps of:
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(1) representing on the vendor web site that the purchases requested by the customer may be paid for by charging the purchase against the value of the customer'"'"'s prepaid anonymous phone card;
(2) facilitating a purchase from the vendor web site using the pre-paid anonymous phone card; and
(3) arranging payment for the customer'"'"'s purchases to be transferred from the prepaid anonymous phone card to operators of the vendor web site.
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Specification