METHOD OF MAKING SECURE ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS USING COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES AND BIOMETRIC DATA

• US 20080040274A1
• Filed: 10/19/2006
• Published: 02/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ampacash Corporation
• Original Assignee: Chijioke Chukwuemeka Uzo
• Inventors: UZO, Chijioke Chukwuemeka
• Granted Patent: US 9,177,314 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/44
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/305 using wired telephone networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• 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 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

Methods and systems for carrying out financial transactions include creating unique aliases for payment instrument having associated identification numbers, associating the created aliases to the payment instruments and enabling consumer use of the aliases to carry out financial transactions. Various special point-of-sale devices may be employed to carry out the financial transactions.

Claims

1. A method of carrying out a financial transaction, comprising the steps of:

creating a unique alias for a previously established payment instrument having an associated identification number;

associating the created alias to the previously established payment instrument;

enabling consumer use of the alias to carry out a financial transaction employing the payment instrument.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the alias is an image.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the alias is a digital image;

and the step of enabling consumer use includes scanning in an image at a merchant location to produce a digital image and commencing the financial transaction between the consumer and the merchant based upon the alias and the digital image produced from scanning in the image.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the alias is one of a photograph and a diagram.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising creating multiple aliases and associating each of the created aliases to the same payment instrument.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein creating the unique alias is carried out by a consumer associated with the payment instrument designating the unique alias.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling consumer use of the alias to carry out a financial transaction employing the payment instrument is carried out without the consumer providing the identification number associated with the payment instrument.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the created alias does not include data that identifies an issuer of the payment instrument.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising issuing payment instruments by multiple issuers, each of the payment instruments having an associated unique alias.

10. The method of claim 9, comprising storing a record of each association in a global database.

11. The method of claim 9, comprising providing, for each of the issuers, a respective local database containing records for each payment instrument issued by the respective issuer, each record mapping the respective payment instrument to the associated alias;

and providing a global database having a record of all of the created aliases, each record in the global database associating the respective alias to an identity of the issuer that issued the payment instrument associated with the respective alias.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein at least some of the records in the global database do not identify identification numbers of the payment instruments to which the aliases are associated.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of enabling consumer use of the alias includes the steps of:

identifying the issuer of the payment instrument associated with the alias used by the consumer based on data in one of the records in the global database; and

identifying the identification number of the payment instrument based on data in one of the records in the local database of the identified issuer.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the alias of the payment instrument is a telephone number of a telephone associated with the consumer associated with the payment instrument.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the payment instrument has no associated physical device with which a financial transaction may be carried out.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of creating a unique alias includes the steps of:

commencing a telephone call by a consumer between the telephone associated with the consumer and a clearing server;

identifying by the clearing server a telephone number of the telephone associated with the consumer;

designating the alias as the identified telephone number.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of identifying by the clearing server a telephone number of the telephone associated with the consumer is carried out by employing caller ID.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of enabling consumer use, includes the steps of:

receiving a telephone call from a consumer;

identifying the telephone number of the consumer by employing caller ID; and

identifying a payment instrument associated with the identified telephone number.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of enabling consumer use, further includes the steps of:

receiving a pin number from the consumer supplied during the telephone call;

authorizing the financial transaction based on at least the identified payment instrument and the received pin number.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the pin number is associated with the alias, and the pin number is not associated with the established payment instrument prior to creating the alias.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the telephone call from a consumer is received by a merchant device associated with a merchant with whom the consumer is having a financial transaction.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein a location of the merchant device is remote from a location of the merchant.

23. The method of claim 14, further comprising removing the association to the payment instrument of the telephone number of the telephone associated with the consumer.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising, after removing the association to the payment instrument of the telephone number of the telephone associated with the consumer, associating a new telephone number of a telephone associated with the consumer with the payment instrument.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising removing the association of the alias to the payment instrument.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein the previously established payment instrument does not have a user pin number associated therewith;

and the step of creating includes generating a user pin number and associating the generated user pin number with the created alias; and

the step of enabling consumer use includes verifying receipt of the user pin number from the consumer during the financial transaction.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the alias of the payment instrument is an email address of the consumer associated with the payment instrument.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the step of creating the unique alias includes the steps of:

receiving by a clearing server an email with the email address of the consumer as a designated sender of the email; and

designating the alias of the payment instrument as the designated sender of the email received by the clearing server.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the step of enabling consumer use includes the steps of:

identifying an email address of an email sent from a consumer to a merchant;

identifying a payment instrument associated with the identified email address.

30. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of enabling consumer use includes the steps of:

accessing a point-of-sale device by a merchant to instruct the point-of-sale device to commence a financial transaction between the merchant and a consumer, the point-of-sale device being disposed in a vicinity of the merchant;

accessing a special point-of-sale device by the consumer to further commence the financial transaction between the merchant and the consumer, the special point-of-sale device being disposed at a location remote from the merchant;

implementing the financial transaction after both accessing the point-of-sale device by the merchant is carried out and accessing the special point-of-sale device by the consumer is carried out.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the step of accessing the point-of-sale device by the merchant is carried out utilizing a special card resembling a payment instrument.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the step of implementing the financial transaction is carried out only if the step of accessing the point-of-sale device by the merchant and the step of accessing the special point-of-sale device by the consumer are carried out within a predetermined period of time of one another.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the predetermined period of time is less than one minute.

34. The method of claim 1, wherein the alias is biometric data.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the step of enabling consumer use includes the consumer providing the biometric data employing a digital camera.

36. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of enabling consumer use includes the steps of:

receiving from the consumer the alias for the previously established payment instrument, an amount to be transferred from the previously established payment instrument to a second payment instrument associated with a second consumer, and the alias associated with the second payment instrument; and

commencing a transfer of funds in the amount designated from the previously established payment instrument to the second payment instrument.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the alias associated with the second payment instrument is a telephone number of a telephone associated with the second consumer.

38. The method of claim 37, further comprising the steps of automatically calling the telephone number of the telephone associated with the second consumer after commencing the transfer of funds, and informing the second consumer of the transfer during the telephone call.

39. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of enabling consumer use includes the steps of:

receiving from the consumer the alias for the previously established payment instrument, an amount to be transferred from the previously established payment instrument to a new payment instrument to be associated with a second consumer, and a new alias to be associated with the new payment instrument;

creating the new payment instrument;

associating the new alias with the created new payment instrument; and

commencing a transfer of funds in the amount designated from the previously established payment instrument to the created new payment instrument.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the new alias is a telephone number of a telephone associated with the second consumer.

41. The method of claim 40, further comprising the steps of automatically calling the telephone number of the telephone associated with the second consumer after commencing the transfer of funds, and informing the second consumer of the transfer during the telephone call.

42. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of enabling consumer use includes the steps of:

receiving from the consumer the alias for the previously established payment instrument, an amount to be withdrawn from the previously established payment instrument; and

withdrawing funds in the amount designated by the consumer; and

supplying to the consumer the funds in a form of cash.

43. The method of claim 1, comprising providing a card associated with the payment instrument to the consumer, the card including first and second magnetic stripes, the first magnetic stripe containing data sufficient to identify a first network, the second magnetic stripe containing data sufficient to identify a second network;

and wherein the step of enabling consumer use includes reading data from one of the first and second magnetic stripes to carry out a financial transaction entailing a selected one of the first and second networks.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the step of providing a card includes providing a card having the first magnetic stripe on a first surface of the card and having the second magnetic stripe on a second surface of the card.

45. The method of claim 43, wherein the card includes indicia to identify that the first magnetic stripe is associated with the first network and to identify that the second magnetic stripe is associated with the second network;

wherein the step of enabling consumer use includes ascertaining the magnetic stripe to read based on the indicia and a desired network in which to process the financial transaction.

46. The method of claim 1, comprising establishing a new payment instrument having an alias as a telephone number of a telephone associated with a consumer;

and enabling consumer use of the new payment instrument by the consumer commencing a telephone call using the telephone associated with the consumer.

47. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of enabling consumer use of the alias includes depositing by the consumer funds into the payment instrument.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein the step of depositing by the consumer of funds into the payment instrument includes supplying cash from the consumer to a merchant with whom the consumer is having the financial transaction.

49. The method of claim 47, wherein the alias of the payment instrument is a telephone number of a telephone associated with the consumer associated with the payment instrument;

and the method further comprising commencing a telephone call to the telephone number of the telephone associated with the consumer after the funds are deposited, and informing the consumer of the deposit during the telephone call.

50. The method of claim 1, further comprising enabling a consumer to deposit cash via a merchant into a payment instrument having an alias as a telephone number of a telephone associated with the consumer.

51. The method of claim 1, further comprising enabling the consumer to transfer funds associated with the payment instrument having the associated alias to a second payment instrument having an associated physical card, and enabling consumer use of the associated physical card with an automated teller machine to withdraw funds in a form of cash from the second payment instrument.

52. A special point of sale device associated with a merchant, comprising:

telephone communication input adapted to receive a telephone communication from a consumer;

a processor for identifying a calling telephone number of the received telephone communication;

data input adapted to receive one of an amount of a financial transaction between the merchant and the consumer and a code designating a product to be purchased by the consumer from the merchant, the code corresponding to an amount of the financial transaction;

a transaction processing communication component adapted to supply to a clearing server the calling telephone number, the amount of the financial transaction and data identifying the merchant, and to receive from the clearing server data indicative of whether the financial transaction is approved or rejected.

53. The device of claim 52, wherein the telephone communication input is adapted to receive via the telephone communication a pin number from the consumer;

and the transaction processing communication component is adapted to provide the received pin number to the clearing server.

54. The device of claim 52, wherein the processor is adapted to identify the calling telephone number in accordance with a caller ID technique.

55. The device of claim 52, wherein the processor is adapted to identify the calling telephone number by a consumer manual entry of the calling telephone number.

56. A method of carrying out a financial transaction, comprising the steps of:

providing to a merchant by a clearing server a secret phrase corresponding to a payment instrument of a consumer with whom the merchant initiated a financial transaction;

providing to a consumer by the clearing server identification data corresponding to an identity of the merchant to whom the secret phrase was provided;

commencing the financial transaction between the consumer and the merchant if the identification data corresponds to the identity of the merchant who initiated the financial transaction.

57. The method of claim 56, wherein the step of providing to a merchant includes the steps of providing by the consumer to the merchant an ID code corresponding to the payment instrument of the consumer;

providing by the merchant to the clearing server the provided ID code; and

providing by the clearing server to the merchant the secret phrase corresponding to the payment instrument corresponding to the provided ID code.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein the ID code is an alias associated with the payment instrument.

59. The method of claim 56, wherein the step of commencing the financial transaction includes terminating the financial transaction if the identification data provided by the clearing server does not identify the merchant with whom the consumer seeks to carry out a financial transaction.

60. The method of claim 56, wherein the step of commencing the financial transaction includes providing by the consumer to the merchant an identification code necessary to carry out the financial transaction if the identification data corresponds to the identity of the merchant who initiated the financial transaction.

61. The method of claim 56, wherein the identification data that corresponds to the identity of the merchant is a URL of a website of the merchant, and the step of commencing the financial transaction is carried out if the URL of the website of the merchant based on the identification data matches a URL of a website visited by the consumer to commence the financial transaction.

62. A method of carrying out a financial transaction, comprising the steps of:

creating a unique one-time alias for a previously established payment instrument having an associated identification number;

associating the created alias to the previously established payment instrument;

enabling consumer use of the one-time alias to carry out a single financial transaction employing the payment instrument.

63. The method of claim 62, wherein the step of enabling consumer use includes supplying the one-time alias from the consumer to a merchant;

supplying the one-time alias from the merchant to a clearing server; and

carrying out the financial transaction if the one-time alias is supplied to the clearing server within a preset time interval after creation of the one-time alias.

64. The method of claim 63, wherein the preset time interval is equal to or smaller than one minute.

65. The method of claim 62, wherein the one-time alias represents a one-time pin for the payment instrument.