Secured purchase transaction

• US 20030191715A1
• Filed: 03/26/2003
• Published: 10/09/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: John Pinizzotto
• Original Assignee: John Pinizzotto
• Inventors: Pinizzotto, John
• Application Number:
  US10/400,102
• Publication Number:
  US 20030191715A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/44
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

A secure Internet transaction processing system in which individual ones of a plurality of customers order from a targeted one of a plurality of merchants through a processing center. The purchaser'"'"'s purchase card data together with the purchaser'"'"'s personal identification data (e.g. personal identification code or signature) is encrypted at the customer ordering terminal and sent to the processing center over the Internet where it is decrypted for the purpose of undertaking a standard procedure to verify payment capability. The order is then placed by the processing center, together with payment capability confirmation, over the Internet with the targeted merchant thereby avoiding access at the merchant'"'"'s station to the customer'"'"'s purchase card or check identification numbers and personal identification data.

Claims

1. A secured purchase transaction system comprising:

a plurality of customer ordering terminals, each of said terminals having a purchaser account identification data reader and a purchaser personal identification data entry means,

an encryption module at each of said customer ordering terminals to encrypt purchaser account identification data and purchaser personal identification data to thereby provide encrypted personal identification information,

a microprocessor at each of said customer ordering terminals coupled to the output of said encryption module to couple said encrypted personal identification information to the Internet,

a processing center,

means to transmit customer ordering information including said encrypted personal identification information, from said microprocessor over the Internet, to said processing center,

the customer ordering information including a designated merchant identification,

a decryption module at said processing center, said decryption module providing the purchaser account identification data and purchaser personal identification data,

whereby said processing center can confirm payment capability,

said processing center, in response to payment capability confirmation, generating a first statement to the designated merchant providing said customer ordering information and to confirm purchaser payment capability,

a plurality of merchant stations, each of said merchant stations corresponding to a separate designated merchant, each of said stations adapted to receive said first statement addressed to the designated merchant, and

means at said processing center to transmit said first statement to the designated merchant over the Internet,

said processing center maintaining said purchaser account identification data and said purchaser personal identification data private from said designated merchant.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein:

said processing center generates a purchase verification confirming the placement of the order and transmits said purchase verification to the customer ordering terminal.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein:

said purchaser account identification data reader is a purchase card swipe reader and said purchaser personal identification data entering capacity is provided by a personal identification code keypad.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein:

said purchaser account identification data reader is a purchase card swipe reader and said purchaser personal identification data entering capacity is provided by an electronic signature reading pad.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein:

said purchaser account identification data reader is a check data reader and said purchaser personal identification data entering capacity is provided by an electronic signature reading pad.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein:

said purchaser account identification data reader is a check data reader and said purchaser personal identification data entering capacity is provided by a personal identification code keypad.

7. The system of claim 3 wherein:

said purchase card is a debit card and further comprising;

a financial holding center for retaining any validated debit card amounts.

8. The system of claim 4 wherein:

said purchase card is a debit card and further comprising;

a financial holding center for retaining any validated debit card amounts.

9. In a secured purchase transaction system having a plurality of customer ordering terminals and a plurality of merchant stations wherein each of said customer ordering terminals has a purchaser account identification data reader and a purchaser personal identification data entering capacity with an encryption module at each of the terminals to encrypt said identification data to provide encrypted purchaser identification information that is transmitted over the Internet, the sub-system comprising:

a processing center,

receipt means at said processing center to receive customer ordering information from each of said customer ordering terminals together with the encrypted purchaser identification information, each customer ordering information including a designated merchant identification,

a decryption module at said processing center, said decryption module providing said purchaser account information data and said purchaser personal information data,

communication means at said processing center to confirm customer payment capability,

said processing center, in response to customer payment capability confirmation, generating a statement to the designated merchant providing said customer ordering information and confirming payment capability, and

transmitting means at said processing center to transmit said statement to the designated merchant,

said processing center maintaining said purchaser account information data and said purchase personal information data secure from the designated merchant.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein:

said purchase card is a debit card and further comprising;

a financial holding center for retaining any validated debit card amounts.

11. A secured purchase transaction system comprising:

a plurality of customer ordering terminals, each of said terminals having a purchaser account identification data reader,

a first encryption module at each of said customer ordering terminals to encrypt purchaser account identification data to thereby provide encrypted personal identification information,

a processing center,

means to transmit customer ordering information from each of said ordering terminals, together with said encrypted personal identification information over the Internet, the customer ordering information including a designated merchant identification,

a decryption module at said processing center, said decryption module providing the purchaser account identification data,

whereby said processing center can confirm payment capability,

said processing center, in response to payment capability confirmation, generating a first statement to the designated merchant providing said customer ordering information and to confirm purchaser payment capability,

a plurality of merchant stations, each of said merchant stations corresponding to a separate designated merchant, each of said stations adapted to receive said first statement addressed to the designated merchant, and

means at said processing center to transmit said first statement to the designated merchant over the Internet,

said processing center maintaining said purchaser account identification data private from said designated merchant.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein:

said processing center generates a purchase verification confirming the placement of the order and transmits said purchase verification to the customer ordering terminal.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein:

said purchaser account identification data reader is a purchase card swipe reader.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein:

said purchaser account identification data reader is a check data reader.

15. The system of claim 11 wherein:

said purchase card is a debit card and further comprising;

a financial holding center for retaining any validated debit card amounts.

16. The method of providing a secured purchase transaction comprising the steps of:

entering purchaser personal identification information including purchaser account identification data and purchaser personal identification data at a data entry station located at a customer ordering terminal,

encrypting said purchaser account identification data and said purchaser personal identification data to provide encrypted purchaser personal identification information,

entering said encrypted purchaser personal identification information into a microprocessor,

transmitting said encrypted information together with designated merchant identification and customer ordering information to a processing center,

decrypting said encrypted information at said processing center to provide said purchaser account identification data and said purchaser personal identification data at said processing center,

confirming payment capability by using said decrypted information at said processing center to provide affirmative or negative payment capability information,

in response to affirmative payment capability information, transmitting a statement from said processing center providing customer ordering information to a terminal of said designated merchant, and

maintaining said purchaser personal identification information confidential at said processing center.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of:

transmitting a purchase verification confirmation statement to said customer ordering terminal confirming the transmission of said statement to said designated merchant.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein:

said purchaser account identification data is entered by swiping a purchase card through a card swipe reader and said purchaser personal identification data is provided by entering said data through a keypad.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein:

said purchaser account identification data is entered by swiping a purchase card through a card swipe reader and said purchaser personal identification data entering capacity is provided by electronically reading a signature.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein:

said purchaser account identification data is provided by scanning a check with a check data reader and said purchaser personal identification data entering capacity is provided by electronically reading a signature.