Transaction card supporting multiple transaction types

• US 20070138299A1
• Filed: 12/15/2005
• Published: 06/21/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Mitra, Twisampati
• Granted Patent: US 7,503,504 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/492
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0719 at least one of the integrated circuit chips comprising an arrangement for application selection, e.g. an acceleration sensor or a set of radio buttons application selection on smart cards using pure software control, see G07F7/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/357 Cards having a plurality of specified features
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system

Abstract

A transaction card comprises a memory operable to store a plurality of transaction profiles associated with a transaction card holder. A user interface on the transaction card is operable to receive input from the transaction card holder, and a communications interface is operable to convey one of the plurality of transaction profiles selected via the user interface to a transaction party other than the transaction card holder.

Claims

1. A transaction card, comprising:

a memory operable to store a plurality of transaction profiles associated with a transaction card holder;

a user interface to receive input from the transaction card holder; and

a communications interface to convey one of the plurality of transaction profiles selected via the user interface to a transaction party other than the transaction card holder.

2. The transaction card of claim 1, wherein the plurality of transaction profiles comprise transaction profiles from a plurality of transaction account issuers.

3. The transaction card of claim 1, wherein the communications interface comprises a wireless interface.

4. The transaction card of claim 1, wherein the communications interface comprises a magnetic interface.

5. The transaction card of claim 4, wherein the magnetic interface comprises electrically actuatable electromagnetic device.

6. The transaction card of claim 4, wherein the magnetic interface comprises a reconfigurable magnetic stripe.

7. The transaction card of claim 6, wherein the magnetic stripe is reconfigurable via an on-card mechanism.

8. The transaction card of claim 1, further comprising an authenticator to authenticate the identity of the holder of the transaction card via at least one immutable physical characteristic.

9. A transaction card system, comprising:

a transaction card operable to convey profile data from a selected one of a plurality of transaction profiles associated with a transaction card holder to an external device via a wireless interface and an antenna; and

a transaction card reader operable to receive transaction profile data from the transaction card via the transaction card'"'"'s wireless interface.

10. The transaction card system of claim 9, the transaction card further comprising a magnetic stripe, and the transaction card reader further operable to write profile data selectively conveyed from the transaction card to the transaction card reader to the transaction card'"'"'s magnetic stripe.

11. The transaction card system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of transaction profiles comprise transaction profiles from a plurality of transaction account issuers.

12. The transaction card system of claim 9, the transaction card further comprising a magnetic interface comprising an electrically actuatable electromagnetic component.

13. The transaction card system of claim 9, the transaction card further comprising a magnetic stripe reconfigurable via an on-card mechanism.

14. The transaction card system of claim 9, further comprising an authenticator in at least one of the transaction card or the transaction card reader to determine whether the holder is an owner of the transaction card via at least one immutable physical characteristic.

15. A method of operating a transaction card, comprising:

storing a plurality of transaction profiles in the transaction card associated with a transaction card holder;

receiving input from the transaction card holder; and

conveying one of the plurality of transaction profiles selected via a user interface to a transaction party other than the transaction card holder.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of transaction profiles comprise transaction profiles from a plurality of transaction account issuers.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the communications interface comprises a wireless interface.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the communications interface comprises a magnetic interface.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the magnetic interface comprises electrically actuatable electromagnetic device.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the magnetic interface comprises a rewritable magnetic stripe.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising rewriting the magnetic stripe via an on-card mechanism.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising rewriting the magnetic strip with data from the selected one of the plurality of transaction profiles via an external device to which the data from the selected one of the plurality of transaction profiles has been conveyed.

23. The transaction card of claim 15, further comprising authenticating the identity of the holder of the transaction card via at least one immutable physical characteristic.

24. A machine-readable medium with instructions stored thereon, the instructions when executed operable to cause a computerized transaction card system to:

store a plurality of transaction profiles in the transaction card associated with a transaction card holder;

receive input via a transaction card user interface from the transaction card holder; and

convey one of the plurality of transaction profiles selected via a user interface to a transaction party other than the transaction card holder.

25. The machine-readable medium of claim 24, wherein the plurality of transaction profiles comprise transaction profiles from a plurality of transaction account issuers.

26. The machine-readable medium of claim 24, wherein conveying the transaction profile comprises transmitting transaction profile data via a wireless interface.

27. The machine-readable medium of claim 24, wherein conveying the transaction profile comprises operating an electrically actuatable electromagnetic interface.

28. The machine-readable medium of claim 24, wherein conveying the transaction profile comprises reconfiguring a magnetic stripe with the transaction profile data via an on-card mechanism.

29. The machine-readable medium of claim 24, wherein conveying the transaction profile comprises rewriting the magnetic stripe with data from the selected one of the plurality of transaction profiles via an external device to which the data from the selected one of the plurality of transaction profiles has been conveyed.

30. The machine-readable medium of claim 24, the instructions further operable when executed to authenticate the identity of the holder of the transaction card via at least one immutable physical characteristic.