ELECTRONIC NETWORK ACCESS DEVICE

• US 20090240592A1
• Filed: 03/23/2009
• Published: 09/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: First Data Corporation (Fiserv Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: First Data Corporation (Fiserv Incorporated)
• Inventors: Dragt, Bruce A., Force, Gordon F., Baumgart, Mark D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,321,338 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/17
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• 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 20/347 Passive cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

Methods and systems are described for processing transactions. The methods and systems enable a consumer to present a customer identifier, such as a merchant loyalty or membership card or other identifier as a payment device at a point of sale. In one implementation, a personal account number is generated by appending a proprietary routing code to a customer registration account number so that the personal account number is formatted for transmission as a payment device number over an electronic funds transfer network. In another implementation, the customer registration account number comprises the proprietary routing code. A preferred payment account identifier is accessed, based on the personal account number, from a database base, and a transaction approval message is constructed comprising the preferred payment account identifier. The account from which payment is made may be a credit account, a demand deposit account, a stored value account, or another kind of account.

Claims

1. A method of processing an electronic payment, comprising:

receiving, at a point of sale system comprising a computer executing a program stored on a computer readable medium, at the time of a purchase transaction, a customer identification device presented by a consumer as a payment device;

identifying a customer registration account number of a customer registration account associated with the customer identification device;

receiving a personal identification number (PIN) from the consumer and verifying that the PIN matches a reference PIN previously associated with the customer registration account;

forming a generated personal account number (PAN) by appending a proprietary routing code to the customer registration account number, the PAN formatted for transmission as a payment device number over an electronic funds transfer network;

forwarding information about the transaction, including the generated PAN and a transaction amount, to an acquirer of payment transactions;

accessing, based on the generated PAN, from a database stored on a computer readable medium, a preferred payment account identifier previously provided by the holder of the customer registration account, the preferred payment account identifier identifying a financial account from which payments are to be made when the customer identification device is used as the payment device; and

initiating payment of the transaction from the financial account.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the proprietary routing code comprises seven digits.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the proprietary routing code comprises the numeral “

1”

as its first digit.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the generated PAN is 19 digits long.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising padding the generated PAN with zeros between the proprietary routing code and the customer registration account number.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the financial account is a credit card account, and wherein initiating payment of the transaction from the financial account further comprises routing the transaction information to an issuer of the credit card account for transaction approval.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the financial account is a demand deposit account, and wherein initiating payment of the transaction from the financial account further comprises creating and transmitting an automated clearing house file that instructs that the demand deposit account be debited the transaction amount.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the financial account is a stored value account, and wherein initiating payment of the transaction from the financial account further comprises routing the transaction information to an issuer of the stored value account for transaction approval.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising enrolling the consumer in a customer registration program, and wherein enrolling the consumer in the customer membership program further comprises:

receiving, from the consumer, identifying information about the consumer;

receiving, from the consumer, the preferred payment account identifier;

providing, to the consumer, the customer registration account number; and

associating, in the database, the preferred payment account identifier with the customer registration account number.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer identification device is a customer registration card.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer identification device is a biometric aspect of the consumer.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer identification device is a telephone number.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer identification device is a card having the customer registration account number encoded on a magnetic strip.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer identification device provides the customer registration account number via a radio frequency signal.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the financial account is a first financial account and the preferred payment account identifier is a first preferred payment account identifier, and further comprising, at a time after enrollment is completed:

receiving, from a customer, an indication that a second financial account is to be the preferred payment account;

receiving, from the customer, a second preferred payment account identifier identifying a second financial account; and

recording, in the database, the second preferred payment account identifier.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the proprietary routing code is not in the format of a standard bank identification number.

17. A method of processing an electronic payment, comprising:

receiving, at a point of sale system comprising a computer executing a program stored on a computer readable medium, at the time of a purchase transaction, a customer identification device presented by a consumer as a payment device;

identifying a customer registration account number of a customer registration account associated with the customer identification device, the customer registration account number being formatted for transmission as a payment device number over an electronic funds transfer network, and the customer registration account number comprising as its initial digits a proprietary routing code that is not in the format of a standard bank identification number;

forwarding information about the transaction, including the customer registration account number and a transaction amount, to an acquirer of payment transactions;

receiving a personal identification number (PIN) from the consumer and verifying that the PIN matches a reference PIN previously associated with a customer registration account identified by the customer registration account number;

accessing, based on the customer registration account number, from a database stored on a computer readable medium, a preferred payment account identifier previously provided by the holder of the customer registration account, the preferred payment account identifier identifying a financial account from which payments are to be made when the customer identification device is used as the payment device; and

initiating payment of the transaction from the financial account.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the proprietary routing code comprises seven digits.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the proprietary routing code comprises the numeral “

1”

as its first digit.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the customer registration account number is 19 digits long.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the financial account is a credit card account, and wherein initiating payment of the transaction from the financial account further comprises routing the transaction information to an issuer of the credit card account for transaction approval.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the financial account is a demand deposit account, and wherein initiating payment of the transaction from the financial account further comprises creating and transmitting an automated clearing house file that instructs that the demand deposit account be debited the transaction amount.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein the financial account is a prepaid card account, and wherein initiating payment of the transaction from the financial account further comprises routing the transaction information to an issuer of the prepaid card account for transaction approval.

24. The method of claim 17, further comprising enrolling the consumer in a customer registration program, and wherein enrolling the consumer in the customer registration program further comprises:

receiving, from the consumer, identifying information about the consumer;

receiving, from the consumer, the preferred payment account identifier;

providing, to the consumer, the customer registration account number; and

associating the preferred payment account identifier with the customer registration account number.

25. The method of claim 17, wherein the customer identification device is a card having the customer registration account number encoded on a magnetic strip.

26. The method of claim 17, wherein the customer identification device provides the customer registration account number via a radio frequency signal.

27. The method of claim 17, wherein the financial account is a first financial account and the preferred payment account identifier is a first preferred payment account identifier, and further comprising, at a time after enrollment is completed:

receiving, from the consumer, an indication that a second financial account is to be the preferred payment account;

receiving, from the consumer, a second preferred payment account identifier identifying the second financial account; and

recording, in the database, the second preferred payment account identifier.

28. A customer identification device comprising a stored customer registration account number, wherein the customer registration account number is formatted for transmission as a payment device number over an electronic funds transfer network, and has as its initial digits a proprietary routing code that is not a standard bank identification number.

29. The customer identification device of claim 28, wherein the customer identification device is a card comprising a magnetic strip, and wherein the customer registration account number encoded on the magnetic strip.

30. The customer identification device of claim 28, wherein the customer identification device stores the customer registration account number electronically, and is configured to provide the customer registration account number to a reader via a radio frequency signal.

31. A point of sale system comprising a computer executing a program stored on a computer readable medium, the point of sale system configured to:

receive, at a point of sale at the time of a purchase transaction, a customer identification device presented by a consumer as a payment device;

identify a customer registration account number of a customer registration account associated with the customer identification device;

form a generated personal account number (PAN) by appending a proprietary routing code to the customer registration account number, the PAN formatted for transmission as a payment device number over an electronic funds transfer network;

forward information about the transaction, including the generated PAN and a transaction amount, to an acquirer of payment transactions.

32. The point of sale system of claim 31, wherein the proprietary routing code is not in the format of a standard bank identification number.

33. A method of processing a transaction, comprising:

receiving, by a host computer executing a program stored on a computer readable medium, from a merchant, transaction information comprising a personal account number, the personal account number formatted for transmission as a payment device number over an electronic funds transfer network;

recognizing that the personal account number comprises a proprietary routing code that is not a standard bank identification number;

accessing, based on the personal account number, from a database stored on a computer readable medium, a preferred payment account identifier, the preferred payment account identifier identifying a financial account from which payments are to be made; and

initiating payment of the transaction from the financial account.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the personal account number is a generated personal account number formed by appending the proprietary routing code to a customer registration account number.

35. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

receiving, at the host computer system, a personal identification number (PIN) transmitted by the merchant; and

verifying that the PIN matches a reference PIN previously associated with the personal account number.

36. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

receiving, from an issuer of the financial account, an indication of whether the transaction is approved; and

forwarding the indication to the merchant.

37. A method of processing a transaction, the method comprising:

receiving, at a point of sale system executing a program stored on a computer readable medium, a customer identification device presented by a consumer as a payment device;

identifying a customer registration account number of a customer registration account associated with the customer identification device;

forming a generated personal account number (PAN) by appending a proprietary routing code to the customer registration account number, the PAN formatted for transmission as a payment device number over an electronic funds transfer network;

forwarding information about the transaction, including the generated PAN and a transaction amount, to an acquirer of payment transactions.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the proprietary routing code comprises seven digits.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein the proprietary routing code comprises the numeral “

1”

as its first digit.

40. The method of claim 37, wherein the generated PAN is 19 digits long.

41. The method of claim 37, further comprising padding the generated PAN with zeros between the proprietary routing code and the customer registration account number.

42. A system for processing transactions, the system comprising:

a host computer executing a program stored on a computer-readable medium; and

an interface for receiving transaction information over a network;

wherein, under control of the stored program, the host computer

receives, from a merchant via the network, transaction information comprising a personal account number, the personal account number formatted for transmission as a payment device number over an electronic funds transfer network;

recognizes that the personal account number comprises a proprietary routing code that is not a standard bank identification number;

accesses, based on the personal account number, from a database stored on a computer readable medium, a preferred payment account identifier, the preferred payment account identifier identifying a financial account from which payments are to be made; and

initiates payment of the transaction from the financial account.

43. The system of claim 42, the personal account number is a generated personal account number formed by appending the proprietary routing code to a customer registration account number.

44. The system of claim 42, wherein the host computer further:

receives a personal identification number (PIN) transmitted by the merchant; and

verifies that the PIN matches a reference PIN previously associated with the personal account number.

45. The system of claim 42, wherein the host computer further:

receives, from an issuer of the financial account, an indication of whether the transaction is approved; and

forwards the indication to the merchant.