Monetary card with programmable customer identification code

• US 20060249569A1
• Filed: 05/03/2005
• Published: 11/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Capital One Financial Corporation
• Original Assignee: Capital One Financial Corporation
• Inventors: Jain, Chitra
• Application Number:
  US11/121,146
• Publication Number:
  US 20060249569A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/380
• 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 20/363 with the personal data of a user
• 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: G07F 7/0866 by active credit-cards adapted therefor G07F7/1008 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/10 together with a coded signal , e.g. in the form of personal identification information, like personal identification number [PIN] or biometric data
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1025 Identification of user by a PIN code
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1066 PIN data being compared to data on card

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a method for using a monetary card is provided. A customer identification code for a card may be selected by a customer. The card may include a storage system that stores a monetary value. The selected customer identification code may also be stored in the storage system. The card may be activated for usage. The card may be received from the customer for a purchase, and the customer identification code may be read from the storage system. A code may be received from the customer and compared with the customer identification code read from the storage system. If the code received from the customer matches the customer identification code, the monetary value stored by the storage system may be reduced by an amount associated with the purchase.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving from a first customer a customer identification code selected by the first customer for a card, the card including a storage system that stores a monetary value;

storing the customer identification code selected by the first customer in the storage system;

activating the card for usage;

receiving the card from the first customer for a purchase;

reading the customer identification code from the storage system;

receiving a code from the first customer;

determining whether the code received from the first customer matches the customer identification code; and

if the code received from the first customer matches the customer identification code, reducing the monetary value stored by the storage system by an amount associated with the purchase.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving from a second customer associated with the first customer a payment for the card; and

providing the card to the second customer in exchange for the payment.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining the monetary value to store in the storage system based at least on the amount of the payment; and

storing the determined monetary value in the storage system.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing in the storage system an expiration date for the card;

reading the expiration date from the storage system;

determining whether the card has expired based on the expiration date; and

allowing the card to be used for the purchase only if it is determined that the card has not expired.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein activating the card for usage comprises:

reading first activation data from the card;

communicating the first activation data to an activation system via a communications network;

receiving second activation data from the activation system; and

activating the card using the received second activation data.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the card is a stored value card.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the card is a smart card.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the storage system comprises a magnetic stripe.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the storage system comprises transistors.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the storage system comprises a memory and a microprocessor.

11. A system, comprising:

a card setup module operable to;

receive from a first customer a customer identification code selected by the first customer for a card, the card including a storage system that stores a monetary value; and

store the customer identification code selected by the first customer in the storage system;

an activation module operable to activate the card for usage; and

a transaction module operable to;

receive the card from the first customer for a purchase;

read the customer identification code from the storage system;

receive a code from the first customer;

determine whether the code received from the first customer matches the customer identification code; and

if the code received from the first customer matches the customer identification code, reducing the monetary value stored by the storage system by an amount associated with the purchase.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising a card vending module operable to:

receive from a second customer associated with the first customer a payment for the card; and

provide the card to the second customer in exchange for the payment.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a card setup module operable to:

determine the monetary value to store in the storage system based at least on the amount of the payment; and

store the determined monetary value in the storage system.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein:

the activation module is operable to store in the storage system an expiration date for the card; and

the transaction module is further operable to;

read the expiration date from the storage system;

determine whether the card has expired based on the expiration date; and

allow the card to be used for the purchase only if it is determined that the card has not expired.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the activation module is operable to activate the card for usage at least by:

reading first activation data from the card;

communicating the first activation data to an activation system via a communications network;

receiving second activation data from the activation system; and

activating the card using the received second activation data.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the card is a stored value card.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the card is a smart card.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the storage system comprises a magnetic stripe.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the storage system comprises transistors.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein the storage system comprises a memory and a microprocessor.

21. A method, comprising:

receiving from a first customer a customer identification code selected by the first customer for a card, the card having a card customer identification code stored on the card;

communicating the customer identification code and the card customer identification code via a communications network to a storage system such that the customer identification code is stored as card data associated with the card, the card data including a monetary value associated with the card;

activating the card for usage;

receiving the card from the first customer for a purchase;

reading the card customer identification code from the card;

using the card customer identification code read from the card to retrieve the customer identification code associated with the card from the storage system;

receiving a code from the first customer;

determining whether the code received from the first customer matches the customer identification code retrieved from the storage system; and

if the code received from the first customer matches the customer identification code retrieved from the storage system, communicating to the storage system a command to reduce the monetary value associated with the card by an amount associated with the purchase.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

receiving from a second customer associated with the first customer a payment for the card; and

providing the card to the second customer in exchange for the payment.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

determining the monetary value associated with the card based at least on the amount of the payment; and

communicating the determined monetary value to the storage system for storage as card data associated with the card.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

communicating an expiration date for the card to the storage system for storage as card data associated with the card;

retrieving the expiration date from the storage system;

determining whether the card has expired based on the retrieved expiration date; and

allowing the card to be used for the purchase only if it is determined that the card has not expired.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein activating the card for usage comprises:

reading first activation data from the card;

communicating the first activation data to the storage system;

receiving second activation data from the storage system; and

activating the card using the received second activation data.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein the card is a stored value card.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein the card is a smart card.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein the card customer identification code is stored on a magnetic stripe on the card.

29. The method of claim 21, wherein the card customer identification code is stored on a memory chip located on the card.

32. The system of claim 22, further comprising a card setup module operable to:

determine the monetary value associated with the card based at least on the amount of the payment; and

communicate the determined monetary value to the storage system for storage as card data associated with the card.

30. A system, comprising:

a card setup module operable to;

receive from a first customer a customer identification code selected by the first customer for a card, the card having a card customer identification code stored on the card; and

communicate the customer identification code and the card customer identification code via a communications network to a storage system such that the customer identification code is stored as card data associated with the card, the card data including a monetary value associated with the card;

an activation module operable to activate the card for usage; and

a transaction module operable to;

receive the card from the first customer for a purchase;

read the card customer identification code from the card;

use the card customer identification code read from the card to retrieve the customer identification code associated with the card from the storage system;

receive a code from the first customer;

determine whether the code received from the first customer matches the customer identification code retrieved from the storage system; and

if the code received from the first customer matches the customer identification code retrieved from the storage system, communicate to the storage system a command to reduce the monetary value associated with the card by an amount associated with the purchase.

31. The system of claim 30, further comprising a card vending module operable to:

receive from a second customer associated with the first customer a payment for the card; and

provide the card to the second customer in exchange for the payment.

33. The system of claim 30, wherein:

the activation module is operable to communicate an expiration date for the card to the storage system for storage as card data associated with the card; and

the transaction module is further operable to;

retrieve the expiration date from the storage system;

determine whether the card has expired based on the retrieved expiration date; and

allow the card to be used for the purchase only if it is determined that the card has not expired.

34. The system of claim 30, wherein the activation module is operable to activate the card for usage at least by:

reading first activation data from the card;

communicating the first activation data to the storage system;

receiving second activation data from the storage system; and

activating the card using the received second activation data.

35. The system of claim 30, wherein the card is a stored value card.

36. The system of claim 30, wherein the card is a smart card.

37. The system of claim 30, wherein the card customer identification code is stored on a magnetic stripe on the card.

38. The system of claim 30, wherein the card customer identification code is stored on a memory chip located on the card.

39. A card for making purchases, wherein:

the card comprises a storage system operable to store a monetary value for the card and a customer identification code selected by a first customer for a card;

the card is operable to communicate with an activation module in order to activate the card for usage; and

the card is operable to be used to make a purchase by;

the customer identification code being retrieved from the storage system by a card interface system;

the retrieved customer identification code being compared with a code received from the first customer; and

if the code received from the first customer matches the customer identification code, the monetary value stored by the storage system being reduced by an amount associated with the purchase.

40. A system, comprising:

a computer system having a processor; and

a computer readable medium coupled to the computer system, the computer readable medium comprising a program operable, when executed by the processor, to;

receive an customer identification code selected by a first customer for a card, the card including a storage system that stores a monetary value;

store the customer identification code selected by the first customer in the storage system;

activate the card for usage;

in association with an attempted purchase using the card, read the customer identification code from the storage system;

receive a code from the first customer;

determine whether the code received from the first customer matches the customer identification code; and

if the code received from the first customer matches the customer identification code, reducing the monetary value stored by the storage system by an amount associated with the purchase.