SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTHORIZING ELECTRONIC PAYMENT TRANSACTIONS

• US 20070246528A1
• Filed: 10/06/2006
• Published: 10/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: First Data Corporation (Fiserv Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: First Data Corporation (Fiserv Incorporated)
• Inventors: Albrecht, Norbert, Kubo, Takayuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,574,402 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/380
• 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 20/40 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: G06Q 20/4016 involving fraud or risk level assessment in transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/403 Solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 706/925 Business

Abstract

A transaction authorization system comprises an authorization engine (22) configured to perform an analysis in relation to a received request for authorization of an electronic payment transaction and determine an authorization output based on the analysis, wherein the analysis includes application of one or more checking rules of the if-then clause type comparing one or more transaction-related attributes to one or more predefined attribute threshold values. The system further includes a database system (24) storing transaction records for a plurality of past electronic payment transactions, an evaluation engine (28) configured to access the database system (24) and evaluate a first set of stored transaction records to determine one or more characteristic values related to the first set, and a setting engine (26) configured to access the database system (24) and select a second set of stored transaction records in accordance with at least one of the one or more characteristic values, wherein the setting engine (26) is further configured to evaluate the selected second set of transaction records and set at least one attribute threshold value in at least one checking rule based on the evaluation of the second set of transaction records.

Claims

1. A transaction authorization system, comprising:

an authorization engine configured to perform an analysis in relation to a received request for authorization of an electronic payment transaction and determine an authorization output based on the analysis, the analysis including application of one or more checking rules of the if-then clause type comparing one or more transaction-related attributes to one or more predefined attribute threshold values,

a database system storing transaction records for a plurality of past electronic payment transactions,

an evaluation engine configured to access the database system and evaluate a first set of stored transaction records to determine one or more characteristic values related to the first set, and

a setting engine configured to access the database system and select a second set of stored transaction records in accordance with at least one of the one or more characteristic values, wherein the setting engine is further configured to evaluate the selected second set of transaction records and set at least one attribute threshold value in at least one checking rule based on the evaluation of the second set of transaction records.

2. The transaction authorization system of claim 1,

wherein each transaction record in the database system includes a payor account identifier and provides space for information indicative of a transaction outcome of the respective transaction, wherein the one or more characteristic values include one or more correlation values indicative of a temporal correlation length relating to the transaction outcome of successive payment transactions for the same payor account in the first set of transaction records, and wherein the setting engine is configured to select the second set of transaction records to span a time period satisfying a predetermined condition in relation to the temporal correlation length represented by at least on of the one or more correlation values.

3. The transaction authorization system of claim 2,

wherein the setting engine is configured to select the second set of transaction records to span a time period at least equal to the temporal correlation length represented by at least one of the one or more correlation values.

4. The transaction authorization system of claim 2,

wherein the evaluation engine is configured to determine one or more transaction outcome correlation functions in relation to the first set of transaction records and set a characteristic magnitude of the one or more transaction outcome correlation functions as a respective correlation value.

5. The transaction authorization system of claim 1,

wherein the evaluation engine is configured to re-select the plurality of first sets of transaction records and determine one or more characteristic values in relation to each selected first set, and wherein the setting engine is configured to select the second set of transaction records in accordance with one or more characteristic values determined in relation to a selected one of the first sets of transaction records.

6. The transaction authorization system of claim 5,

wherein the evaluation engine is configured to re-select the plurality of first sets of transaction records at predetermined time intervals and/or whenever a predetermined number of transaction records have been newly recorded in the database system and re-determine the one or more characteristic values in relation to each re-selected set.

7. The transaction authorization system of claim 5,

wherein the evaluation engine is configured to select the first sets of transaction records based on payee-related information in the transaction records.

8. The transaction authorization system of claim 1,

wherein the authorization engine is configured to perform the analysis in relation to a received request for authorization of a first-type payment transaction, wherein the transaction records stored in the database system include transaction records for second-type payment transactions, and wherein the evaluation engine is configured to include transaction records for second-type payment transactions in the first set and/or wherein the setting engine is configured to include transaction records for second-type payment transaction in the second set.

9. The transaction authorization system of claim 8,

wherein the transaction records for second-type payment transactions each include a transaction request answer code generated by a remotely located further transaction authorization system, and wherein the evaluation engine is configured to evaluate the first set by referring to the transaction request answer code in the transaction records for second-type payment transactions included in the first set and/or wherein the setting engine is configured to evaluate the selected second set by referring to the transaction request answer code in the transaction records for second-type payment transactions included in the selected second set.

10. The transaction authorization system of claim 1,

wherein the setting engine is configured to determine one or more conditional probabilities in relation to the selected second set and the set the at least one attribute threshold value based on the one or more conditional probabilities, the conditional probabilities indicative of a probability of one or more realizations of one or more first transaction-related parameters.

11. A transaction authorization method, comprising:

receiving a request for authorization of an electronic payment transaction,

performing an analysis in relation to the received authorization request and determining an authorization output based on the analysis, the analysis including application of one or more checking rules of the if-then clause type comparing one or more transaction-related attributes to one or more predefined attribute threshold values,

accessing a database system storing transaction records for a plurality of past electronic payment transactions,

evaluating a first set of stored transaction records to determine one or more characteristic values related to the first set,

selecting a second set of stored transaction records in accordance with at least one of the one or more characteristic values,

evaluating the selected second set of transaction records and

setting at least one attribute threshold value in at least on checking rule based on the evaluation of the second set of transaction records.

12. The transaction authorization method of claim 11,

wherein each transaction record in the database system includes a payor account identifier and provides space for information indicating a transaction outcome of the respective transaction and the one or more characteristic values include one or more correlation values indicative of a temporal correlation length relating to the transaction records, further comprising:

selecting the second set of transaction records to span a time period satisfying a predetermined condition in relation to the temporal correlation length represented by at least one of the one or more correlation values.

13. The transaction authorization method of claim 12, further comprising:

selecting the second set of transaction records to span a time period at least equal to the temporal correlation length represented by at least one of the one or more correlation values.

14. The transaction authorization method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining one or more transaction outcome correlation functions in relation to the first set of transaction records,

setting a characteristic magnitude of the one or more transaction outcome correlation functions as a respective correlation value.

15. The transaction authorization method of claim 11, further comprising:

selecting a plurality of first sets of transaction records,

determining one or more characteristic values in relation to each selected first set,

selecting the second set of transaction records in accordance with one or more characteristic values determined in relation to a selected one of the first sets of transaction records.

16. The transaction authorization method of claim 15, further comprising:

re-selecting the plurality of first sets of transaction records at predetermined time intervals and/or whenever a predetermined number of transaction records have been newly recorded in the database system,

re-determining the one of more correlation values in relation to each re-selected set.

17. The transaction authorization method of claim 15, further comprising:

selecting the first sets of transaction records based on payee-related information in the transaction records.

18. The transaction authorization method of claim 11, wherein the transaction records stored in the database system include transaction records for second-type payment transactions, further comprising:

performing the analysis in relation to a received request for authorization of a first-type payment transaction,

including transaction records for second-type payment transactions in the first set and/or including transaction records for second-type payment transactions in the second set.

19. The transaction authorization method of claim 18,

wherein the transaction records for second-type payment transactions each include a transaction request answer code generated by a remotely located further transaction authorization system further comprising:

evaluating the first set by referring to the transaction request answer code in the transaction records for second-type payment transactions included in the first set and/or

evaluating the selected second set by referring to the transaction request payment transactions Included in the selected second set.

20. The transaction authorization method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining one or more conditional probabilities in relation to the selected second set and set the at least one attribute threshold value based on the one or more conditional probabilities, the conditional probabilities indicative of a probability of one or more realizations of one or more first transaction-related parameters under the condition of one or more realizations of one or more second transaction-related parameters.

21. A computer-readable information storage medium, the medium storing program code means adapted to effect, when executed by a computer system, execution of a method as claimed in claim 11.

22. A signal transmitted in a communications system, the signal embodying program code means adapted to effect, when executed by a computer system, execution of a method as claimed in claim 11.

23. A computer program product including program code means adapted to effect, when executed by computer system, execution of a method as claimed in claim 11.