MOBILE COMMUNICATION DEVICE TRANSACTION CONTROL SYSTEMS

• US 20090037294A1
• Filed: 07/22/2008
• Published: 02/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Bango.net Limited (Bango PLC)
• Original Assignee: Bango.net Limited (Bango PLC)
• Inventors: Malhotra, Anil
• Application Number:
  US12/177,479
• Publication Number:
  US 20090037294A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1403 Architecture for metering, charging or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1453 Methods or systems for payment or settlement of the charges for data transmission involving significant interaction with the data transmission network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

A method of enabling a user of a mobile device to select a billing method for a transaction to acquire an item of content, the method comprising: implementing steps on a meta-payment server, comprising: logging content provider data and content item metadata for a plurality of items of content, said content item metadata comprising a link; logging phone network data comprising a user identification number; storing a list of available payment methods, each with allowed types of content for which a payment using the payment method may be made and a maximum transaction value; generating/identifying an account for said user comprising, a transaction history for said user defining previous successful and unsuccessful payments made by said user and the payment method for each; receiving a request from a content provider comprising a request for said meta-payment server to serve a list of payment methods to said user in response to said content provider; receiving a request from said user to purchase a said item of content by activation of said link; reading said content item metadata for said identified item of content; reading a recent portion of said transaction history data for said user; identifying a plurality of available payment methods for said user to pay for said item of content by filtering said available payment methods using said portion of said transaction history and said content item metadata for said item of content in association with said payment method data; and sending from said meta-payment server to said user, as a mobile web page, said identified selection of a plurality of available payment methods as a set of links each of said links activating a respective said payment method, together with a price of said item of content such that by selecting a said link the user is able to pay by the selected method.

Claims

1. A method of enabling a user of a mobile device to select a billing method for a transaction to acquire an item of content, the method comprising:

implementing steps on a meta-payment server, said meta-payment server communicating with a plurality of billing servers for a plurality of payment providers, a plurality of content providers and one or more phone networks each having a plurality of said users, the steps comprising;

logging content provider data from one or more of said content providers, said content provider data comprising a content provider identification, and content item metadata for a plurality of items of content, said content item metadata comprising a resource location address for a link to be displayed by said content provider on a content provider mobile web site for access by a said user to obtain a said item of content, price data associated with said item of content, and a content item identifier identifying said item of content;

logging phone network data from said phone network, said phone network data comprising at least a user identification number of said user;

storing in a data store a list of available payment methods, each having payment method data defining allowed types of content for which a payment using the payment method may be made and a maximum transaction value;

generating an account or identifying an existing account for said user using said user identification number, said account comprising, in an account data store, a transaction history for said user, wherein said transaction history comprises data defining previous successful and unsuccessful payments made by said user and said payment method for each said payment;

receiving a content provider request from a content provider or from a content provider via a user, said content provider request comprising a request for said meta-payment server to serve a list of payment methods to said user in response to said content provider receiving a request from said user to purchase a said item of content by activation of said link, said item of content being identified by a said content item identifier provided with said content provider request;

reading said content item metadata for said identified item of content;

reading a recent portion of said transaction history data for said user from said account data store;

identifying a selection comprising a plurality of said available payment methods for said user to pay for said item of content by filtering said available payment methods using said portion of said transaction history and said content item metadata for said item of content in association with said payment method data; and

sending from said meta-payment server to said user via said phone network of said user, as a mobile web page, said identified selection of a plurality of available payment methods as a set of links each of said links activating a respective said payment method, together with a price of said item of content such that by selecting a said link the user is able to pay by the selected method.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein each link of said set of links activating a respective said payment method comprises a link to said meta-payment server, the method further comprising sending from said meta-payment server to a said billing server identified by said selected payment method, billing data comprising said user identification number of said user and an amount to bill said user.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said identified selection of a plurality of available payment methods sent to said user is ranked according to one or both of a likelihood of a successful payment being completed and an estimated speed of completion of said payment for said user, responsive to said transaction history data for a plurality of said users.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said method is performed without registration of a said user with said meta-payment server.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of said payment methods has a requirement for a minimum transaction value, wherein said payment method data includes data defining a said minimum transaction value for said payment method, and wherein said method further comprises identifying selection of a said payment method with a minimum transaction value by a said user and storing a difference between said price of said item of content and said minimum transaction value of said price is less than said minimum transaction value, and offsetting a price of a subsequent purchase of an item of content by said stored difference.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said payment method data includes payment option combination data defining when one of said payment methods is not permitted to be offered to a user in a selection with a second of said payment methods, the method further comprising restricting said selection of available payment methods using said payment option combination data.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said link resource location address includes said content item identifier as part of said resource location address.

8. A method as claimed in claim 6 further comprising storing a plurality of content item addresses for a single said content item identifier, each for presenting said content using a different data format on a said mobile device and wherein the method further comprises detecting in real time a said data format of said mobile device used by said user and aborting said transaction for said user to acquire said item of content if said detected data format of said mobile device does not correspond to a data format in which said item of content is available.

9. A carrier carrying computer program code to implement the method of claim 1.

10. A meta-payment server including the carrier of claim 9.

11. A method of determining a preferred transaction method for a transaction between a user and a content provider, the transaction involving an item of content, the method comprising:

for each of one or more possible transaction methods, determining whether a transaction method is permissible between the said user and the said content provider for the said item of content; and

selecting a preferred transaction method and a next preferred transaction method from one or more permissible transaction methods according to rules.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein each of said one or more permissible transaction methods has an associated speed of transaction and wherein selecting a preferred transaction method comprises selecting a transaction method having a fastest speed of transaction.

13. A method according to claim 11, wherein each of said one or more permissible transaction methods has an associated transaction error rate and wherein selecting a preferred transaction method comprises selecting a transaction method having a lowest transaction error rate.

16. A computer readable medium carrying processor control code for controlling a processor to carry out the method of claim 11.

17. Hardware configured to, when running, carrying out the method of claim 11.

14. A method of optimising speed of transaction for a transaction between a user and a content provider, the method comprising:

for each of one or more possible transaction methods, determining whether a transaction method is permitted between the said user and the said content provider for the said item of content; and

selecting a fastest transaction method from one or more permitted transaction methods.

15. A method of minimising transaction error rate for a transaction between a user and a content provider, the method comprising:

for each of one or more possible transaction methods, determining whether a transaction method is permitted between the said user and the said content provider for the said item of content; and

selecting a transaction method having a lowest transaction error rate from one or more permitted transaction methods.

18. An apparatus for enabling a user of a mobile device to select a billing method for a transaction to acquire an item of content, the apparatus comprising a meta-payment server configured to communicate with a plurality of billing servers for a plurality of payment providers, a plurality of content providers and one or more phone networks each having a plurality of said used, the meta-payment sever comprising:

—

means for logging content provider data from one or more of said content providers, said content provider data comprising a content provider identification, and content item meta data for a plurality of items of content, said content item meta data comprising a resource location address for a link to be displayed by said content provider on a content provider mobile web site for access by a said user to obtain a said item of content, price data associated with said item of content, and a content item identifier identifying said item of content;

means for logging phone network data from said phone network, said phone network data comprising at least a user identification number of said user;

means for storing in a data store a list of available payment methods, each having payment method data defining allowed types of content for which a payment using the payment method may be made and a maximum transaction value;

means for generating an account or identifying an existing account for said user using said user identification number, said account comprising, in an account data store, a transaction history for said user, wherein said transaction history comprises data defining previous successful and unsuccessful payments made by said user and said payment method for each said payment;

means for receiving a content provider request from a content provider or from a content provider via a user, said content provider request comprising a request for said meta-payment server to serve a list of payment methods to said user in response to said content provider receiving a request from said user to purchase a said item of content by activation of said link, said item of content being identified by a said content item “

Bango No.”

identifier provided with said content provider request;

means for reading said content item metadata for said identified item of content;

means for reading a recent portion of said transaction history data for said user from said account data store;

means for identifying a selection comprising a plurality of said available payment methods for said user to pay for said item of content by filtering said available payment methods for said user to pay for said item of content by filtering said available payment methods using said portion of said transaction history and said content item meta data for said item of content in association with said payment method data; and

means for sending from said meta-payment server to said user via said phone network of said user, as a mobile web page, said identified selection of a plurality of available payment methods as a set of links each of said links activating a respective said payment method, together with a price of said item of content such that by selecting a said link the user is able to pay by the selected method.

19. An apparatus for determining a preferred transaction method for a transaction between a user and a content provider, the transaction involving an item of content, the apparatus comprising:

a data memory storing one or more possible transaction methods; and

a processor coupled to said data memory and to program memory storing processor control code for controlling the processor, when running, to;

for each of said one or more possible transaction methods, determine whether a transaction method is permissible between the said user and the said content provider for the said item of content; and

select a preferred transaction method from one or more permitted transaction methods according to rules.