METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MICROPAYMENT TRANSACTIONS

• US 20100241569A1
• Filed: 10/14/2009
• Published: 09/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Heartland Payment Systems Incorporated (Global Payments Incorporated), Silvio Micali
• Original Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Rivest, Ronald L., Micali, Silvio
• Granted Patent: US 8,983,874 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/64
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/027 involving a payment switch or gateway
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0425 the cheque being electronic only
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/29 characterised by micropayments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3825 Use of electronic signatures

Abstract

A micropayment system and method is presented for a payor U to establish payment to payee M for a transaction T, which typically has a very low value T_V. The micropayment scheme minimizes the bank'"'"'s processing costs, while at the same time eliminating the need for users and merchants to interact in order to determine whether a given micropayment should be selected for payment. In one embodiment, the micropayment scheme includes time constraints, which require that an electronic check C for the transaction T be presented to a bank B for payment within a predetermined time/date interval. In another embodiment, the micropayment scheme includes a selective deposit protocol, which guarantees that a user is never charged in excess of what he actually spends, even within a probabilistic framework. In another embodiment, the micropayment scheme includes a deferred selection protocol, which provides the bank with control and flexibility over the payment selection process.

Claims

1. A method of establishing payment for a transaction T, the method comprising:

A. a first party deriving from T a data string C related to T, and causing a second party to receive at least a portion of said data string C;

B. the second party associating with said at least a portion of C an item V, wherein V is substantially unpredictable by the first party;

C. the second party determining whether V satisfies a property P, and if so, the second party causing a third party to receive information I enabling the third party to verify whether V satisfies said property P;

D. the third party, upon receiving I, verifying whether V satisfies said property P; and

E. the third party causing a fourth party to receive an amount A, only if V satisfies said property P.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of said data string C is authenticated.

3. A method according to claim 1,

wherein the step of the second party determining whether V satisfies a property P does not require an interaction between the second party and the first party.

4. A method according to claim 2, wherein said portion of said data string is authenticated by a fifth party on behalf of the first party.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of the first party deriving the data string C from T includes the step of the first party creating a digital signature for at least a portion of T, using a secret key of the first party.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein said digital signature of said first party comprises at least one of:

(a) a deterministic signature;

(b) a randomized signature;

(c) an off-line signature;

(d) an on-line signature; and

(e) an identity-based signature.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of the second party associating the item V with C includes the step of the second party creating a digital signature for at least a portion of C, using a secret key of the second party.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein said digital signature of said second party is a deterministic signature.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein said data string C comprises at least one of:

a digital signature for at least a portion of said transaction T, wherein said digital signature is computed using a secret key of the first party;

a message authentication code, wherein said message authentication code value is computed using a secret key of the first party; and

iii) an electronic check.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein said item V comprises at least one of:

a) a digital signature for C, wherein said digital signature is computed using a secret key of the second party; and

b) a message authentication code value, wherein said message authentication code value is computed using a secret key known to the second party.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of said second party causing said third party to receive said information I includes at least one of:

a) the second party sending I to the third party;

b) the second party asking a fifth party to send Ito the third party; and

c) the second party posting I in a file, and said third party retrieving I from said file.

12. A method according to claim 1, further including the step of the second party checking, after receiving C, the authenticity and integrity of C.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the second party makes use of public verification information that is related to the first party, in order to check the authenticity and integrity of C.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein said public verification information comprises the first party'"'"'s public key that corresponds to the first party'"'"'s secret key, in a public key digital signature scheme.

15. A method according to claim 13, wherein the step of the second party making use of said public verification information includes at least one of:

(a) the second party obtaining said public verification information from the first party;

(b) the second party obtaining said public verification information from information transmitted by the first party in association with said data string C;

(c) the second party obtaining said public verification information from a digital certificate; and

(d) the second party obtaining said public verification information from information about the first party that is publicly available.

16. A method according to claim 1, wherein the second party and the fourth party are identical.

17. A method according to claim 1, wherein said second party and said third party are identical.

18. A method according to claim 1, wherein V satisfies P only if:

F(V)<

s,

wherein F is function, and

wherein s is a constant.

19. A method according to claim 18, wherein 0<

s<

1.

20. A method according to claim 18, wherein F is a public function that takes arbitrary bit strings as input, and returns as output a number greater than 0 and less than 1.

21-117. -117. (canceled)