System for conducting commercial transactions

• US 20070106604A1
• Filed: 10/18/2006
• Published: 05/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Fundamo (Pty) Ltd. (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Fundamo (Pty) Ltd. (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Van Rensburg, Johannes, Badenhorst, Cornelius, Willis, Anthony, Saks, Craig, Joubert, Jozef
• Application Number:
  US11/582,549
• Publication Number:
  US 20070106604A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• 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 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3223 Realising banking transactions through M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3227 using secure elements embedded in M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/385 using an alias or single-use codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/388 using mutual authentication without cards, e.g. challenge-response
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/16 for devices exhibiting advertisements, announcements, pictures or the like

Abstract

The invention provides a system for conducting commercial transactions in an economic environment including one or more banking institutions, a plurality of merchants (as defined), and a plurality of participating system members (as defined) associated with at least one cellular telephone network. The system employs an independent general computerized server accessible to participating system members and merchants by way of a wireless network, and capable of on-line communication with banking institutions and vendors. The server includes at least a financial data base record for each participating system member, merchant and participating vendor and enables a participating system member, by suitable activation of that member'"'"'s mobile device, typically a cellular telephone, in a remote location, to conduct a financial transaction by debiting a financial data base record allocated to the instructing participating system member. At some stage prior to a transaction being completed, and this may be included with the initial message, the instructing participating system member is required to transmit an authenticating security code. Once completed, the transaction is irreversible (as defined).

Claims

1. A computer-based system for conducting financial transactions comprising:

a general computerized server having a plurality of financial data base records and being associated with a banking institution;

a plurality of participating system members each having a mobile device that operatively communicates with said general computerized server via an associated wireless network, each participating system member being allocated a financial data base record of said plurality of financial data base records in said general computerized server associated with said banking institution;

a plurality of merchants each of which is allocated a financial data base record in said general computerized server associated with said banking institution;

said general computerized server programmed such that financial transactions can be conducted by remote operation of the mobile device of a participating system member, via the wireless network, to result in the debiting of a financial data base record in said general computerized server associated with crediting of a different financial data base record in said general computerized server associated with a recipient who is any one of self, another participating system member and a merchant; and

said general computerized server further programmed such that in respect of at least those financial transactions in which said recipient is either a participating system member other than said payor or a merchant, the financial transaction, once completed, is effectively a cash transaction in that said payor cannot initiate a reversal thereof so that, in an absence of criminal activity and processing error, the financial transaction can only be reversed when said reversal is initiated by said recipient.

2. A computer-based system for conducting financial transactions comprising:

a general computerized server having a plurality of financial data base records and being at least a part of a computerized server of a banking institution;

a plurality of participating system members each having a mobile device that operatively communicates with said general computerized server via an associated wireless network, each participating system member being allocated a financial data base record of said plurality of financial data base records in said general computerized server of said banking institution;

a plurality of merchants each of which is allocated a financial data base record in said general computerized server of said banking institution;

said general computerized server programmed such that financial transactions can be conducted by remote operation of the mobile device of a participating system member, via the wireless network, to result in the debiting of a financial data base record in said general computerized server associated with an instructing participating system member as a payor and the crediting of a different financial data base record in said general computerized server associated with a recipient who is any one of self, another participating system member and a merchant; and

said general computerized server further programmed such that, in respect of at least those financial transactions in which said recipient is either a participating system member other than said payor or a merchant, the financial transaction, once completed, is effectively a cash transaction in that said payor cannot initiate a reversal thereof so that, in an absence of criminal activity and processing error, the financial transaction can only be reversed when said reversal is initiated by said recipient.

3. A computer based system for conducting financial transactions as claimed in claim 2 in which transactions of system of this invention are recorded in a separate sub-ledger of the bank.