Secure online commerce transactions

• US 20040139004A1
• Filed: 10/17/2003
• Published: 07/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Aceinc Pty Limited
• Original Assignee: Aceinc Pty Limited
• Inventors: Cohen, Thomas Andrew, Wong, Andrew Yeng Hao
• Application Number:
  US10/686,767
• Publication Number:
  US 20040139004A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/39
• 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 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/385 using an alias or single-use codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

A method of enabling electronic commerce transactions is provided by a service, the service giving to users a disposable credit card or other indicia of credit for a particular transaction or amount. The service receives registration information from the user and authorizes the user. The service establishes an account for the user and issues a disposable (one use) credit card number to the user which has the same format as a permanent credit card number, is acceptable to the user and the institution with whom the user is transacting business. The system incorporates various security features.

Claims

1. A method of enabling electronic commerce transactions by a service which provides a disposable credit card to a user, comprising the steps of:

receiving registration information from a user and authorising the user based on that information;

establishing an account for the user, and

issuing the user with a disposable credit card number which has the same format as a credit card which is accepted by a merchant that the user will pay.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the issuance of the disposable credit card number is done with the authority of central bank which belongs to a credit card scheme.

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

seeking funds from a central bank at the request of the user and creating the user'"'"'s account accordingly; and

not supplying the central bank with an identity of the user in respect of a request for credit by the central bank.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

obtaining a deposit in an account, from a user, from which deposit is used against the disposable credit card number.

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

disabling the user'"'"'s account after the disposable credit card number has been issued; and

re-enabling the account only after a reply to a transaction confirmation has been received.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step:

prior to the completion of a user'"'"'s purchase from the merchant, receiving funds;

the receiving accomplished by cheque or by debiting a user'"'"'s credit card as though the user were purchasing a stored value card.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein:

issuing the user with the disposable credit card is accomplished over the Internet, between a server operated by the service and a client operated by the user, where the client is not a browser and communicates over the Internet only with the server.

20. The method of claim 2 wherein:

issuing the user with the disposable credit card is accomplished over the Internet, between a server operated by the service and a client operated by the user, where the client is not a browser and communicates over the Internet only with the server.

21. The method of claim 3 wherein:

issuing the user with the disposable credit card is accomplished over the Internet, between a server operated by the service and a client operated by the user, where the client is not a browser and communicates over the Internet only with the server.

7. A method of making electronic commerce payments, comprising the steps of:

registering as a user with a service which provides disposable credit card numbers;

providing funds, or authority to seek funds, to the service;

obtaining from the service a disposable credit card number; and

providing that disposable credit card number to a merchant as a payment.

8. he method of claim 7, further comprising the step of:

obtaining the disposable credit card number by a request from a PC program which is not a browser.

9. The method of claim 7, whereby:

the providing of funds or authority to seek funds, and the obtaining of, the disposable credit card number is performed in conjunction with a request, from the user of the service, that the service provide a direct credit at the time the request is made and that the service therefore appear as the creditor on any related financial statement.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein:

registration is accompanied by a nomination, by the user, of an irreversible credit limit.

11. The method of claim 8, whereby:

obtaining the disposable credit card number is accomplished by providing an ID and password before each request.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of:

replying, by e-mail, to a confirmation of a transaction sent by the service.

13. A method for crediting merchants comprising the steps of:

authorising an Internet based service to issue disposable credit card number to a user;

receiving in respect of that disposable credit card number a request for funds authority from the service by a closed network;

crediting a merchant or his merchant bank owing to transaction by the user using the disposable credit card.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of:

verifying for the service, that a particular user'"'"'s credit card description is valid.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of:

performing a real time authorisation for the service when a request is submitted by the service prior to a transaction between the user and the merchant.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of:

performing a number translation via a disposable credit card database, after receiving a request for credit from the merchant and before allocating credit to the merchant.

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

providing the name of the merchant on a statement sent to the user.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of:

crediting the service, when requested to do so by the service so that the service and not the merchant appears on a statement sent to the user.

22. A computer readable medium for operation with a computer processor and a data transmitter to perform a method of enabling electronic commerce transactions by a service, the service providing a disposable credit card to a user, the method comprising the steps of transmitting identification-information from a user and receiving from the service a disposable credit card number that is transaction specific and having the same format as a credit card number acceptable to a merchant linked to said service.