ELECTRONIC PAYMENT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for conducting financial transactions, comprising:
- providing an instrument for purchase, the instrument capable of having a monetary value associated therewith and for use by a customer in performing one or more financial transactions;
storing monetary value associated with the instrument in an customer account maintained by a non-banking entity;
providing a personal identifier at the time of purchase that is associated with the instrument;
creating a customer profile having personal data and relating to one or more types of financial transactions that may be completed by using the value associated with the instrument; and
linking the instrument to the customer profile by associating the personal identifier with the customer profile.
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Abstract
A payment instrument that may be purchased at a retail location and used for conducting money transfers and other financial transactions. The amount associated with the instrument is stored in an non-banking account maintained by a money transfer entity. In order to activate the instrument after it has been purchased, a customer links the instrument to a personal profile of the customer using a PIN provided with the instrument.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for conducting financial transactions, comprising:
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providing an instrument for purchase, the instrument capable of having a monetary value associated therewith and for use by a customer in performing one or more financial transactions;
storing monetary value associated with the instrument in an customer account maintained by a non-banking entity;
providing a personal identifier at the time of purchase that is associated with the instrument;
creating a customer profile having personal data and relating to one or more types of financial transactions that may be completed by using the value associated with the instrument; and
linking the instrument to the customer profile by associating the personal identifier with the customer profile. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A system for enabling financial transactions to be conducted by a customer independently of a customer banking account, comprising:
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a database for storing data representing value in an account and for storing data representing a customer profile, wherein the account is a non-banking account, wherein the account is associated with a payment instrument available for purchase by the customer at a retail location, and wherein the payment instrument is associated with a personal identifier provided to the customer in connection with the purchase for the instrument; and
an interface for entering the personal identifier in order to link the customer profile to the instrument and to the account, thereby activating the instrument for use in conducting transactions against the account. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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Specification