METHODS AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR SMARTPHONE PAYMENTS

• US 20140244494A1
• Filed: 03/11/2013
• Published: 08/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Davis, Bruce L., Rodriguez, Tony F.
• Granted Patent: US 9,965,756 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/41
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/227 characterised in that multiple accounts are available, e.g. to the payer
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/306 using TV related infrastructures external card used for payment with client device H04N21/4185
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/321 using wearable devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/326 Payment applications installed on the mobile devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3274 using a pictured code, e.g. barcode or QR-code, being displayed on the M-device
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/36 using electronic wallets or electronic money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/363 with the personal data of a user
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/005 Image watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0051 Embedding of the watermark in the spatial domain
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/42 for ticket printing or like apparatus , e.g. apparatus for dispensing of printed paper tickets or payment cards
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/32 including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system or for message authentication, e.g. authorization, entity authentication, data integrity or data verification, non-repudiation, key authentication or verification of credentials
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/60 Context-dependent security

Abstract

To make a payment, a smartphone presents artwork for a payment card (e.g., a Visa card) that has been selected by a user from a virtual wallet of such cards. Encoded in the displayed artwork is payment information that has been encrypted with a context-dependent session key. A cooperating system (e.g., a retailer'"'"'s point of sale system) uses a camera to capture an image of the artwork, and independently creates the session key from its own context sensor(s), enabling decryption of the payment information. Such technology provides a superior transaction security model at a fraction of the cost of competing chip card payment systems (which require, e.g., expensive physical cards, and single-purpose reader hardware). A great variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.

Claims

1. A method employing a user'"'"'s portable device, the device including a display and a sensor module, the method including the acts:

presenting a payment user interface using the display, the user interface identifying plural virtual wallet cards including plural payment service cards, said payment service cards representing plural possible payment services including at least one of American Express, VISA and MasterCard, the user interface enabling a user to select a desired one of said payment services for issuing a payment;

generating context-based authentication data, the authentication data depending in part on data from the device sensor module;

presenting artwork using the display, the artwork indicating the selected payment service and including a logo for American Express, Visa, or MasterCard; and

providing information, including both the context-based authentication data and data corresponding to the selected payment service, from the device to a cooperating system, in connection with issuing a payment;

wherein;

the logo in the presented artwork confirms to the user that the desired payment service has been selected for a payment; and

the method enables the user to issue payments using a user-selected one of said plural payment services, without requiring the user to carry plural physical cards for said payment services.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the artwork includes a machine-readable representation of said information, wherein said information is provided optically from the device to the cooperating system.

3. The method of claim 1 in which the user interface enables the user to select plural of said virtual wallet cards, one of the selected cards being a payment service card, and another of the selected cards being a merchant card, the method further including providing data corresponding to both the payment service card and the merchant card to the cooperating system.

4. The method of claim 1 in which the authentication data depends in part on data from a sensor module selected from the group:

an audio sensor, a motion sensor, a pose sensor, a barometric pressure sensor, and a temperature sensor.

5. The method of claim 1 in which the method further includes prompting the user for entry of correct validation information before the information is provided to the cooperating system, and wirelessly sending location data to a recipient if N consecutive attempts to enter correct validation information fail.

6. The method of claim 1 in which the authentication data is also user device-based, wherein the authentication data is logically bound to both context and to the user device.

7. The method of claim 1 that further includes presenting said payment user interface in response to user activation of a control in an online shopping user interface, through which the user has selected one or more items for purchase.

8-10. -10. (canceled)

11. An improved checkout system including a camera, a processor, and a memory, the memory containing instructions configuring the checkout system to perform acts including:

using the camera to capture first image data depicting a product presented for purchase by a user, to aid in identifying the product;

also using the same camera to capture second image data depicting artwork from a display of a user portable device, the artwork being associated with a payment service and including a VISA, MasterCard or American Express logo, the artwork also including machine-readable data encoding plural bit auxiliary data;

decoding the auxiliary data; and

using the decoded auxiliary data in connection with authenticating a payment transaction serviced by VISA, MasterCard or American Express.

12. The checkout system of claim 11 in which the first image data comprises the second image data.

13. The checkout system of claim 11 in which the instructions configure the checkout system to derive context information about the portable device by processing the second image data, wherein said derived context information is used in conjunction with the decoded auxiliary data to authenticate the payment transaction.

14. The checkout system of claim 13 in which the derived context information comprises information about pose or motion of the user portable device.

15. A method employing a user'"'"'s portable device, comprising:

presenting, using a display of the device, a user interface that presents plural virtual wallet cards;

receiving user input selecting two of said virtual wallet cards; and

providing information corresponding to said two virtual wallet cards to a cooperating system, in connection with a purchase transaction.

16. The method of claim 15 in which a first of said two selected virtual wallet cards is associated with an American Express, Visa, or MasterCard payment service, and a second of said two selected virtual wallet cards is associated with a merchant.

17. The method of claim 16 in which the two selected wallet cards comprise two virtual payment cards, and the method further includes providing a user interface feature enabling the user to apportion part of a payment to a first of the payment cards, and the balance of the payment to a second of the payment cards.

18. The method of claim 17 in which said user interface feature comprises a touch-activated slider feature.

19. The method of claim 17 in which the method further includes presenting a graphical image of a composite payment card, the graphical image including incomplete artwork associated with the first payment card, combined with incomplete artwork associated with the second payment card.

20-25. -25. (canceled)