Late binding tokens

• US 20020184149A1
• Filed: 05/28/2002
• Published: 12/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thomas C. Jones
• Original Assignee: Thomas C. Jones
• Inventors: Jones, Thomas C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,060,448 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/41
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing

Abstract

A system for verifying intent in a card not present transaction is provided. The system includes a late binding token that is distributable to consumers without necessarily being bound to an account. The system also includes a client software that locates a token server configured to facilitate managing and communicating with the late binding token. The system also includes a protocol concerning how to build a verifiably secure structured proposal that carries an offer to the consumer through the client software.

Claims

1. A late binding token system, comprising:

a client software for communicating with at least one of a late binding token, a merchant application, a token server, a consumer, and a verifier; and

a late binding token that is initially unbound and that can be bound one or more times at times including at least one of before and after receipt by a consumer.

2. The system of claim 1, where the client software comprises:

a first logic for receiving a token server communication logic;

a second logic for receiving a structured proposal to present to a consumer;

a third logic for securely displaying the structured proposal to the consumer;

a fourth logic for recognizing an indicia of consumer acceptance of an offer in a displayed structured proposal;

a fifth logic for hashing a structured proposal and an indicia of consumer acceptance into an unsigned hash to transmit to the late binding token; and

a sixth logic for providing an unsigned hash to the late binding token and receiving a signed hash from the token.

3. The system of claim 2, comprising:

a seventh logic for bundling one or more of an unsigned hash, an indicia of consumer acceptance, a signed hash, a late binding token identifier, and a client software identifier into a bundle; and

an eighth logic for digitally signing a bundle.

4. The system of claim 1, where the late binding token comprises:

a first token logic for communicating with the client software;

a second token logic for digitally signing an unsigned hash received from the client software; and

a memory for storing at least one of, a token server URL, and a public/private key pair.

5. The system of claim 1, comprising a token server for managing late binding operations associated with the late binding token.

6. The system of claim 5, where the token server comprises:

one or more token server communication logics associated with one or more late binding token types; and

a first token server logic for selectively transmitting one or more token server communication logics to a client software in response to a download request from the client software.

7. The system of claim 6, comprising:

a second token server logic for receiving a digitally signed bundle from the client software; and

a third token server logic for determining a security assurance level of the digitally signed bundle.

8. The system of claim 1, comprising:

a structured proposal protocol that specifies at least one of, the format of a structured proposal, the content of a structured proposal, the size of a structured proposal, fields required for a structured proposal, an encryption technique for encrypting a structured proposal, and a structured proposal schema.

9. The system of claim 8, comprising a structured proposal generator that compiles a merchant offer into a structured proposal that can be received by the client software.

10. The system of claim 8, where a structured proposal comprises a digital merchant trademark.

11. The system of claim 1, comprising a verifier for determining a security assurance level of a digitally signed bundle.

12. The system of claim 11, the verifier comprising a first verifier logic for determining whether a consumer has sufficient funds to complete a transaction associated with the digitally signed bundle.

13. A computer readable medium storing computer executable components of the system of claim 1.

15. The method of claim 14, where the transaction is a card not present transaction.

16. The method of claim 14, comprising:

receiving a structured proposal that comprises an offer to enter into a transaction;

displaying the structured proposal to a consumer, where the structured proposal is displayed in a secure window; and

determining whether the consumer accepts the offer.

17. The method of claim 14, comprising:

binding the late binding token to one or more items to make a bound token.

18. The method of claim 17, where the items include at least one of, a credit account, a debit account, a merchant account, a frequent flyer account, and a prepaid account.

19. The method of claim 17, comprising:

hashing a structured proposal and an indicia of consumer acceptance of an offer into an unsigned hash;

providing the unsigned hash to the token; and

receiving a digitally signed hash from the token.

20. The method of claim 19, comprising:

bundling the unsigned hash, the digitally signed hash, and one or more identifiers associated with at least one of, the token, and the second software into a bundle;

digitally signing the bundle; and

providing the signed bundle to a bundle verifier.

21. A computer readable medium storing computer executable instructions for performing computer executable aspects of the method of claim 14.

14. A method for securely indicating verifiable consumer intent to enter into a transaction, comprising:

receiving a late binding token;

receiving a first software associated with the late binding token, where the first software facilitates locating a token server associated with the late binding token; and

receiving a second software from the token server, where the second software facilitates interacting with the late binding token.

22. A method for securely transmitting a verifiable merchant intent to enter into a transaction, comprising:

receiving a structured proposal protocol;

creating a structured proposal according to the structured proposal protocol, where the structured proposal comprises an offer to enter into a transaction;

providing the structured proposal to a consumer; and

receiving a response to the offer.

23. The method of claim 22, where the transaction is a card not present transaction.

24. A computer readable medium storing computer executable instructions for performing computer executable aspects of the method of claim 22.

26. The method of claim 25, comprising binding a late binding token to one or more items to make a bound token.

27. The method of claim 26, where the items include at least one of a credit account, a debit account, a merchant account, a frequent flyer account, and a prepaid account.

28. The method of claim 26, comprising:

receiving a twice signed bundle, where the bundle comprises at least one of, an unsigned hash associated with a verifiably secure structured proposal, a signed hash associated with a verifiably secure structured proposal, indicia of a consumer acceptance of an offer in a verifiably secure structured proposal, and one or more identifiers, where one of the digital signatures was signed by the bound token; and

establishing a consumer intention data storing a confidence level that a consumer desired to enter into a transaction based, at least in part, on analyzing the twice signed bundle.

29. The method of claim 28, comprising:

establishing a consumer funds position related to the transaction; and

providing one of, an acceptance, and a rejection of the transaction based, at least in part, on the consumer funds position.

30. A computer readable medium storing computer executable instructions for performing computer executable aspects of the method of claim 29.

25. A method for facilitating secure, verifiable transactions involving a late binding token, comprising:

providing a protocol for a verifiably secure structured proposal;

providing a late binding token and a first software associated with the late binding token, where the first software facilitates locating a token server associated with the late binding token;

receiving a request for a second software associated with the late binding token, where the second software facilitates communication between the late binding token and the token server concerning a verifiably secure structured proposal; and

providing the second software.

31. A set of application programming interfaces embodied on a computer readable medium for execution by a computer component in conjunction with one of a client software and a late binding token, comprising:

a first interface for discovering a late binding token associated with the client software;

a second interface for hashing a first data to be provided by the client software to the late binding token; and

a third interface for digitally signing a second data received by the client software from the late binding token, where the second data is derived, at least in part, from the first data.

32. A computer data signal embodied in a transmission medium, comprising:

a bundle, comprising;

an unsigned hash of a structured proposal and an indicia of consumer acceptance of an offer in the structured proposal;

a digitally signed hash of the structured proposal and the indicia of consumer acceptance of the offer in the structured proposal, where a first digital signature on the digitally signed hash is provided by a late binding token; and

one or more identifiers associated with at least one of, the provider of the structured proposal, a late binding token employed by the consumer, and a client software that displays the structured proposal to the consumer.

33. The computer data signal of claim 32, comprising a second digital signature affixed to the bundle, where the second digital signature is provided by the client software that displayed the structured proposal to the consumer.

34. A system for verifying intent in a card not present transaction, comprising:

means for defining a structured proposal;

means for securely displaying a structured proposal to a consumer;

means for detecting an intent of the consumer to enter into a transaction associated with the structured proposal;

means for late binding a token to a consumer; and

means for hashing and twice digitally signing a data packet bundling the structured proposal and an indicia of the intent of the consumer, where one of the digital signatures is provided by the late binding token.