Managing activation/deactivation of transaction accounts enabling temporary use of those accounts

• US 20040078325A1
• Filed: 10/21/2002
• Published: 04/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: OʼConnor, James A.
• Application Number:
  US10/274,622
• Publication Number:
  US 20040078325A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/354 Card activation or deactivation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03

Abstract

Activation and deactivation of transaction accounts are managed to enable temporary use of those accounts. A transaction account is activated to enable use of the account. In response to activation, the account is temporarily available for a defined window. Upon expiration of the window, the transaction account is deactivated.

Claims

1. A method of managing activation of transaction accounts, said method comprising:

activating a transaction account to enable use of said transaction account, wherein said transaction account is temporarily available for a defined window; and

deactivating the transaction account, in response to being outside the defined window.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said temporarily available is for a period of time less than a lifetime of the transaction account.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the defined window is based on one or more criteria specified by a user of the transaction account.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the defined window comprises a period of time.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising limiting use of the transaction account, said limiting being based on one or more of the following criteria:

(a) a maximum monetary amount;

(b) a specific monetary amount;

(c) a geographic region in which said transaction account is to be applied;

(d) a merchant to which said transaction account is to be applied;

(e) a type of good to which said transaction account is to be applied; and

(f) a type of service to which said transaction account is to be applied.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the defined window comprises completion of a transaction, and wherein said deactivating is automatically performed after the transaction is complete.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising notifying an owner of the transaction account of transaction information, wherein said transaction information includes at least one of approved and disallowed transactions.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the transaction account is located on at least one first computing unit, and wherein at least one of the activating and deactivating comprises using, by a user of the transaction account, a second computing unit remote from and in communication with the at least one first computing unit.

9. A method of managing activation of transaction accounts, said method comprising:

activating a transaction account to enable use of the transaction account;

temporarily deactivating the transaction account; and

repeating said activating and said temporarily deactivating one or more times within a life of the transaction account.

10. A system of managing activation of transaction accounts, said system comprising:

means for activating a transaction account to enable use of said transaction account, wherein said transaction account is temporarily available for a defined window; and

means for deactivating the transaction account, in response to being outside the defined window.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said temporarily available is for a period of time less than a lifetime of the transaction account.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the defined window is based on one or more criteria specified by a user of the transaction account.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the defined window comprises a period of time.

14. The system of claim 10, further comprising limiting use of the transaction account, said limiting being based on one or more of the following criteria:

(a) a maximum monetary amount;

(b) a specific monetary amount;

(c) a geographic region in which said transaction account is to be applied;

(d) a merchant to which said transaction account is to be applied;

(e) a type of good to which said transaction account is to be applied; and

(f) a type of service to which said transaction account is to be applied.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the defined window comprises completion of a transaction, and wherein said means for deactivating comprises means for automatically performing the deactivating after the transaction is complete.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the transaction account is located on at least one first computing unit, and wherein at least one of the means for activating and the means for deactivating comprises a second computing unit remote from and in communication with the at least one first computing unit.

17. The system of claim 10, further comprising a means for notifying an owner of the transaction account of transaction information, wherein said transaction information includes at least one of approved and disallowed transactions.

18. A system of managing activation of transaction accounts, said system comprising:

a first unit to activate a transaction account to enable use of said transaction account, wherein said transaction account is temporarily available for a defined window; and

a second unit to deactivate the transaction account, in response to being outside the defined window.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the first unit and the second unit are the same unit.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the first unit is different from the second unit.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein the transaction account is located on at least one third unit, and wherein the first unit is remote and in communication with the at least one third unit.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein the first unit comprises a web browser capable of automatically activating the transaction account.

23. At least one program storage device readable by a machine tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method of managing activation of transaction accounts, said method comprising:

activating a transaction account to enable use of said transaction account, wherein said transaction account is temporarily available for a defined window; and

deactivating the transaction account, in response to being outside the defined window.

24. The at least one program storage device of claim 23, wherein said temporarily available is for a period of time less than a lifetime of the transaction account.

25. The at least one program storage device of claim 23, wherein the defined window is based on one or more criteria specified by a user of the transaction account.

26. The at least one program storage device of claim 23, wherein the defined window comprises a period of time.

27. The at least one program storage device of claim 23, further comprising limiting use of the transaction account, said limiting being based on one or more of the following criteria:

(a) a maximum monetary amount;

(b) a specific monetary amount;

(c) a geographic region in which said transaction account is to be applied;

(d) a merchant to which said transaction account is to be applied;

(e) a type of good to which said transaction account is to be applied; and

(f) a type of service to which said transaction account is to be applied.

28. The at least one program storage device of claim 23, wherein the defined window comprises completion of a transaction, and wherein said deactivating is automatically performed after a transaction is complete.

29. The at least one program storage device of claim 23, further comprising notifying an owner of the transaction account of transaction information, wherein said transaction information includes at least one of approved and disallowed transactions.

30. A transaction account card comprising:

an account identifier, said account identifier corresponding to a transaction account that is capable of being temporarily activated for a defined window one or more times within a life of the transaction account.