DELAYED TRANSIT FARE ASSESSMENT

• US 20080183565A1
• Filed: 03/01/2007
• Published: 07/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dixon, Phil, Hammad, Ayman A., El-Awady, Khalid
• Granted Patent: US 10,055,735 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/13
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/027 involving a payment switch or gateway
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/085 involving remote charge determination or related payment systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0855 involving a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/32 using wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices
• 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 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3821 Electronic credentials
• 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 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4016 involving fraud or risk level assessment in transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/00 Arrangements or apparatus for collecting fares, tolls or entrance fees at one or more control points handling coins or valuable papers, e.g. banknotes, G07D; apparatus for vending or hiring articles or services activated by coins, credit cards, paper currency or the like G07F7/00, G07F17/00

Abstract

At each of a plurality of point of sale terminals (POS) of a merchant, for each of a plurality of consumers, where each consumer seeks to conduct a transaction with the merchant for a good or service at a cost by using a payment device issued by an issuer in a payment system, data is read from a payment device. The data can include an identifier for an account issued by an issuer. Information is stored for each transaction and the consumer is permitted to receive the good or service from the merchant. After the consumer has received the good or service, a batch of the transaction are processed to derive there from the respective costs that are assessable to the respective accounts, where the merchant can be a transit system, the consumer a rider thereon, and the transaction can be access to a facility thereof.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

at each of a plurality of point of service terminals (POS) of a merchant, for each of a plurality of consumers each seeking to conduct a transaction with the merchant for a good or service at a cost by using a payment device issued by an issuer in a payment system;

reading data from a data storage region of the payment device, wherein the data includes an indication of an account issued by the issuer;

storing information for each said transaction; and

permitting the consumer to receive the good or service from the merchant;

and

deriving after each said permitting, for at least one of the transactions, one or more said costs assessable to respective said accounts.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the at least one of the transactions includes a batch of the transactions.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the deriving is in accordance with a predetermined policy set by the merchant.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the information stored for each said transaction comprises the date and time thereof, an identification of the merchant, and at least some of the data read from the data storage region of the payment device.

5. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein:

a plurality of the payment devices are associated with each said account;

the data read from the data storage region of the payment device further includes the identifier for the account; and

the identifier for the account includes an identification for the particular said payment device of the plurality of the payment devices that are associated with the account.

6. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the storing further comprises:

evaluating, using the identifier for the account, whether the transaction is validated; and

for each said transaction that is validated, permitting the consumer to conduct the transaction to receive the good or service.

7. The method as defined in claim 6, wherein the evaluating comprises using an processing system that is not in communication with the issuer.

8. The method as defined in claim 6, wherein the evaluating comprises using an payment processing system in communication with the issuer and remote from each said POS terminal.

9. The method as defined in claim 6, wherein the evaluating further comprises:

forming a balance inquiry communication addressed to the issuer;

receiving, in response to the communication addressed to the issuer, a balance of the account in an communication.

10. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the payment device is within a mobile device selected from the group consisting of a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a fob, and an expert system including a substrate having embedded therein a contactless element including a chip capable of use as a transaction payment mechanism for each said access transaction.

11. A method comprising:

at each of a plurality of access system readers in an access system, for each of a plurality of riders each seeking to conduct an access transaction for access to a facility of the access system using a payment device issued by an issuer in a payment system;

reading data from a data storage region of the payment device,

wherein the data includes an identifier for an account issued by the issuer;

storing information for each said access transaction; and

permitting the rider access to the facility of the access system; and

deriving after each said permitting, for at least one of the access transactions, one or more fares assessable to respective said accounts.

12. The method as defined in claim 11, wherein the at least one of the access transactions includes of a batch of the access transactions.

13. The method as defined in claim 11, wherein the reading, the storing, and the permitting are all performed within a time period not exceeding one (1) second.

14. The method as defined in claim 11, wherein the deriving is in accordance with a predetermined fare policy for the access system.

15. The method as defined in claim 14, wherein the predetermined fare policy for the access system comprises one or more classifications of each said access transaction selected from the group consisting of:

an entry into the facility of the transit system;

an exit from the facility of the transit system;

a distance for one said entry and a corresponding said exit;

a transfer from one said facility of the transit system to another said facility of the transit system;

the sequential number of each said transfer in a predetermined time period;

a direction of travel in the transit system;

a classification of the rider corresponding to the payment device;

peak and off peak travel time periods;

a calendar holiday travel time period; and

combinations of the foregoing.

16. The method as defined in claim 11, further comprising retrieving the at least one of the access transactions from the plurality of transit system readers.

17. The method as defined in claim 16, wherein the retrieving occurs at after each said access transaction.

18. The method as defined in claim 11, wherein the information stored for each said access transaction comprises the date and time thereof, an identification of the transit system reader, and at least some of the data read from the data storage region of the payment device.

19. The method as defined in claim 11, wherein:

a plurality of the payment devices are associated with each said account;

the data read from the data storage region of the payment device further includes an identifier for the account; and

the identifier for the account includes an identification for the particular said payment device of said plurality of said payment devices that are associated with the account.

20. The method as defined in claim 11, wherein the data is contactlessly read from the data storage region of the payment device.

21. The method as defined in claim 11, wherein the payment device is a contactless payment device.

22. The method as defined in claim 11, wherein the storing further comprises:

evaluating, using the identifier for the account, whether the access transaction is validated; and

for each said access transaction that is validated, permitting the rider to conduct the access transaction to gain said access.

23. The method as defined in claim 22, wherein the evaluating comprises using a processing system that is not in communication with the issuer.

24. The method as defined in claim 23, wherein the processing system cross-references the identifier for the account to a list of other said identifiers for other said accounts to determine whether the identifier for the account is validated for the access transaction.

25. The method as defined in claim 23, wherein the evaluating comprises using a processing system in communication with the issuer and remote from each said transit system reader.

26. The method as defined in claim 25, wherein the processing system cross-references the identifier for the account to a list of other said identifiers corresponding to other said accounts to determine whether the account is validated for the access transaction.

27. The method as defined in claim 22, wherein the evaluating further comprises:

forming a balance inquiry communication addressed to the issuer;

receiving, in response to the communication addressed to the issuer, a balance of the account in an communication.

28. The method as defined in claim 11, further comprising forming one or more communications each addressed to a member of the payment system for the collection by the transit system of one or more said assessable fares.

29. The method as defined in claim 28, wherein each said communication contains information about the collection in a classification selected from the group consisting of pay per said assessable fare, aggregation of a plurality of said assessable fares, and stored value against which the assessable fares are deducted, and combinations thereof.

30. The method as defined in claim 28, wherein the member is selected from the group consisting of an issuer, an acquirer, a transaction processor for said assessable fares, and combinations thereof.

31. The method as defined in claim 11, wherein the payment device is selected from the group consisting of a credit card, a debit card, a stored value card, a pre-paid card, and combinations thereof.

32. The method as defined in claim 11, wherein the payment device is within a mobile device selected from the group consisting of a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a fob, and an expert system including a substrate having embedded therein a contactless element including a chip capable of use as a transaction payment mechanism for each said access transaction.

33. A method comprising:

at each of a plurality of transit system readers in a transit system, for each of a plurality of riders each seeking to conduct an access transaction for access to a facility of the transit system using a payment device issued by an issuer in a payment system;

reading data from a data storage region of the payment device, wherein the data includes an identifier of an account issued by the issuer;

storing information for each said access transaction;

evaluating, using the identifier for the account and a processing system that is remote from the transit system reader and not in communication with the issuer, whether the access transaction is validated; and

for each said access transaction that is validated, permitting the rider to conduct the access transaction to gain said access to the facility of the transit system;

retrieving at least one of the access transactions from the plurality of transit system readers after the occurrence of each said access transaction;

deriving in accordance with a predetermined fare policy for the transit system after each said permitting, for at least one of said access transactions, one or more fares assessable to respective said accounts; and

forming one of more communications each addressed to a member of the payment system for the collection by the transit system of one or more said assessable fares.

34. The method as defined in claim 33, wherein the reading, storing, evaluating, and permitting are all performed within a time period not exceeding one (1) second

35. The method as defined in claim 33, wherein the payment device is selected from the group consisting of a credit card, a debit card, a stored value card, a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, a fob, and an expert system including a substrate having embedded therein a contactless element including a chip capable of use as a transaction payment mechanism for each said access transaction.