Method and apparatus for making secure electronic payments

• US 20030061170A1
• Filed: 10/15/2002
• Published: 03/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ampacash Corporation
• Original Assignee: Chijioke Chukwuemeka Uzo
• Inventors: Uzo, Chijioke Chukwuemeka
• Granted Patent: US 7,734,527 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/64
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/085 involving remote charge determination or related payment systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0855 involving a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/29 characterised by micropayments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3672 initialising or reloading thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3676 Balancing accounts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3678 e-cash details, e.g. blinded, divisible or detecting double spending
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3821 Electronic credentials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3829 involving key management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

In accordance with the present invention, a consumer communicates a request for purchase of goods and services to a merchant, the goods and/or services being selected from these listed together with their price quotes on the merchant'"'"'s computer or website connected to a network, such as the Internet. The merchant then communicates a request for a token and an update key to the clearing server, the token being previously purchased by the consumer and residing on a clearing server device. The update key is used as an authorization to modify the value of the token, i.e., to decrement and to increment. The merchant forwards the purchased merchandise to the consumer. When consumer discontinues making purchases at the selected merchant, the merchant returns the updated token to the clearing server. A new key is necessary to make the next purchase. This is the case even where the requesting merchant is the same as that from whom the last purchase was made. When the token is requested, if the token was used after its initial purchase, the present value of the token is made certain by receipt on the clearing server of informational downloads from the merchants.

Claims

1. A method of performing at least one transaction between a consumer from a plurality of consumers and a merchant from a plurality of merchants, each merchant presenting a plurality of products on one or more computing devices connected to a network, said plurality of products including goods and services having prices, the transaction comprising an offer to sell and a bid to purchase at least one product of said plurality of products, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving the bid to purchase the at least one product, the at least one product being identified in the bid to purchase;

requesting a token, said token representing stored money value;

requesting an update key to authorize making changes to a value field of said token, said update key being unique for said token; and

processing the bid.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

providing a payment of a token purchase price; and

creating and storing said token on a clearing server, the value of said token purchase price being entered into said value field, said clearing server comprising at least one computing device connected to the network.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising a step of providing personal information regarding the consumer and financial information regarding a payment instrument to be used for providing said payment of said token purchase price.

4. The method of claim 3, further providing said payment of said token purchase price with a credit card.

5. The method of claim 3, further providing said payment of said token purchase price with an anonymous token card.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of receiving said bid to purchase the at least one product further includes the step of identifying a transferee, said transferee being the beneficiary of a money transfer transaction.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of generating a unique transferee identifier.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of receiving said bid to purchase the at least one product further includes the step of identifying a refund transaction, said refund transaction distinguishing said product for which a money refund is requested.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of receiving said bid to purchase the at least one product further includes the step of identifying a credit transaction, said credit transaction identifying said credit offered by the merchant.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of receiving said bid to purchase the at least one product further includes the step of specifying a bid price, said bid price being different from the prices of the at least one product.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said step of specifying said bid price further specifies a time range for completing the transaction.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of requesting said update key further comprising a step of requesting said token from said at least one clearing server.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of requesting said update key further comprising a step of receiving information identifying said transferee.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving transaction information uploads on said clearing server from the merchant where said token was used last, said transaction information including any changes to said value field.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving said information uploads from the merchant further comprising a step of destroying the said token and the said update key

16. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of processing comprising steps of:

a. terminating the performance of the at least one transaction if said magnitude of said value field is less then the price of the at least one product included in said received bid;

b. updating said value field in accordance with said price of the product of the bid and said update key;

c. dispatching the at least one product to the consumer;

d. repeating steps (a) through (c) if a new bid to purchase the at least one product is received; and

e. uploading transaction information to said clearing server.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said step of updating further comprising the step of:

verifying that said update key matches a key embedded in said token; and

terminating the performance of the at least one transaction if said update key does not match said key embedded in said token;

18. The method of claim 16, wherein said step of dispatching the at least one product to the consumer is transferring cash to the consumer, the at least one product being cash.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein said step (c) further comprising the step of displaying said value field of said token on a computing device used by the consumer.

20. A method of performing at least one transaction between a consumer from a plurality of consumers and a merchant from a plurality of merchants, each merchant presenting a plurality of products on one or more computing devices connected to a network, said plurality of products including goods and services having prices, the transaction comprising an offer to sell and a bid to purchase at least one product of said plurality of products, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving the bid to purchase the at least one product, the at least one product being identified in the bid to purchase;

requesting an update key to authorize making changes to a value field of a token, said update key being unique for each transaction; and

terminating the performance of the at least one transaction if said magnitude of said value field is less then the price of the at least one product included in said received bid;

updating said value field in accordance with said price of the product of the bid and said update key; and

waiting to receive a new bid to purchase the at least one product and repeating claim 19 upon receipt.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising the step of

dispatching the at least one product to the consumer;

uploading transaction information to said clearing server.

displaying said value field of said token on a computing device used by the consumer.

22. A method of performing at least one transaction between a consumer from a plurality of consumers and a merchant from a plurality of merchants, each of said plurality of consumers and each of said plurality of merchants utilizing one or more computing devices, the one or more computing devices being connected to a network, said method comprising the following steps of:

communicating a request for a purchase to the merchant, said request including at least one item from a plurality of goods and services, said plurality of goods and services including associated prices being shown on the computing devices utilized by the plurality of merchants;

requesting an update key, said update key being used as an authorization to modify a value of a token;

determining an amount paid by the consumer to a previous merchant; and

providing said update key and said token.