METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONDUCTING PRE-AUTHORIZED FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS

• US 20160092874A1
• Filed: 04/04/2014
• Published: 03/31/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: O'Regan, Alan Joseph, Huxham, Horatio Nelson
• Application Number:
  US14/782,146
• Publication Number:
  US 20160092874A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3221 Access to banking information through M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3223 Realising banking transactions through M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/385 using an alias or single-use codes
• 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 20/407 Cancellation of a transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 2220/00 Business processing using cryptography postage metering system using cryptography G06Q2250/05
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/50 using hash chains, e.g. blockchains or hash trees

Abstract

A method and system for conducting a pre-authorized financial transaction is disclosed. A security gateway receives a pre-authorization token and a consumer alias from a merchant or an acquirer of the merchant. The token identifies a pre-authorized financial transaction and the token and alias have previously been provided to the merchant by a consumer. The alias is matched with a stored alias to identify an electronic device of the consumer. An authorization request is transmitted to the electronic device. A confirmation message or a denial message is received by the security gateway in response to the authorization request. Upon receiving a confirmation message, payment credentials associated with a selected payment instrument of the consumer and required for conducting the pre-authorized transaction are transmitted to the merchant or the acquirer of the merchant for use in completing the transaction.

Claims

1. A method of conducting a pre-authorized financial transaction, the method carried out at a security gateway and comprising:

receiving a pre-authorization token and a consumer alias from a merchant or an acquirer of the merchant, the pre-authorization token identifying a pre-authorized financial transaction and the token and alias having previously been provided to the merchant by a consumer;

identifying an electronic device of the consumer corresponding to the alias by matching the alias with an alias stored in association with a consumer record;

transmitting an authorization request to the electronic device;

receiving from the electronic device either a confirmation message or a denial message in response to the authorization request;

in response to receiving a confirmation message, transmitting payment credentials associated with a selected payment instrument of the consumer and required for conducting the pre-authorized transaction to the merchant or the acquirer of the merchant for use in completing the transaction; and

in response to receiving a denial message, transmitting a denial notification to the merchant or the acquirer of the merchant.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pre-authorization token is generated by the electronic device of the consumer.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a request from the electronic device to cancel the pre-authorized financial transaction identified by the pre-authorization token or to alter details of the financial transaction; and

either cancelling the financial transaction or altering details of the financial transactions based on the request received from the electronic device.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the authorization request transmitted to the electronic device includes details of the financial transaction, including one or more of:

a payment amount, a date of payment, merchant information, and a selected payment instrument.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the financial transaction is a direct debit transaction in which the acquirer of the merchant withdraws funds in favor of the merchant from a financial account of the consumer associated with the selected payment instrument.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the financial transaction is a recurring payment and wherein the pre-authorization token remains valid for each recurring payment.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the confirmation message received from the electronic device of the consumer includes an instruction indicating a selected payment instrument.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the confirmation message received from the electronic device of the consumer includes the payment credentials required for conducting the pre-authorized transaction.

9. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the selected payment instrument represents a mobile banking account.

10. A method of conducting a pre-authorized financial transaction, the method carried out at an electronic device of a consumer and comprising:

generating a pre-authorization token which identifies a pre-authorized financial transaction, the token being generated such that the consumer is capable of providing the token and a consumer alias to a merchant for onward transmission to a security gateway, the security gateway matching the alias with an alias stored in association with a consumer record to identify the electronic device of the consumer;

receiving an authorization request from the security gateway; and

transmitting to the security gateway either a confirmation message or a denial message in response to the authorization request.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the authorization request received from the security gateway prompts the consumer to confirm or deny the pre-authorized transaction.

12. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the step of transmitting to the security gateway either a confirmation message or a denial message in response to the authorization request is preceded by the step of:

using a predefined authorization setting to determine whether to confirm or deny the pre-authorized transaction, and generating a confirmation message or a denial message in accordance with the predefined authorization setting.

13. A method as claimed in claim 10, including the step of receiving, by input of the consumer, either an instruction to alter details relating to the financial transaction identified by the pre-authorization token or an instruction to cancel the financial transaction.

14. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the instruction to alter details relating to the financial transaction includes a selection of a payment instrument to link to the pre-authorization token.

15. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the instruction to alter details relating to the financial transaction or the instruction to cancel the financial transaction is received at the electronic device after the pre-authorization token has been provided to the merchant.

16. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein payment credentials are stored on the electronic device in an encrypted format, the payment credentials being associated with a selected payment instrument of the consumer and required for conducting the pre-authorized transaction, and wherein the confirmation message includes the payment credentials.

17. A method as claimed in claim 16, wherein more than one set of payment credentials are stored on the electronic device, each set of payment credentials corresponding to a different payment instrument of the consumer.

18. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the electronic device is a mobile phone.

19. A system for conducting a pre-authorized financial transaction, comprising:

a security gateway including;

a token receiving component for receiving a pre-authorization token and a consumer alias from a merchant or an acquirer of the merchant, the pre-authorization token identifying a pre-authorized financial transaction and the token and alias having previously been provided to the merchant by a consumer;

an identifying component for identifying an electronic device of the consumer corresponding to the alias by matching the alias with an alias stored in association with a consumer record;

a transmitting component for transmitting an authorization request to the electronic device;

an authorization component for receiving from the electronic device either a confirmation message or a denial message in response to the authorization request;

and wherein, in response to receiving a confirmation message, the transmitting component transmits payment credentials associated with a selected payment instrument of the consumer and required for conducting the pre-authorized transaction to the merchant or the acquirer of the merchant for use in completing the transaction; and

in response to receiving a denial message, the transmitting component transmits a denial notification to the merchant or the acquirer of the merchant.

20. A system as claimed in claim 19, further comprising:

an electronic device of a consumer including;

a token generating module for generating the pre-authorization token such that the consumer is capable of providing the token to the merchant;

a request receiving component for receiving the authorization request from the security gateway; and

a transmitting component for transmitting either the confirmation message or the denial message to the security gateway in response to the authorization request.

21. A system as claimed in claim 20, wherein the electronic device further includes one or both of a token modification module for altering details of the financial transaction identified by the pre-authorization token and a token deletion module for cancelling the financial transaction, the token modification module and the token deletion module permitting the financial transaction to be respectively modified and cancelled after the pre-authorization token has been provided to the merchant.

22. A system as claimed in claim 20, wherein the payment credentials are stored in a secure element associated with the electronic device.

23. A system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the secure element is a hardware security module (HSM) or includes a HSM.

24. A system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the HSM is part of a cryptographic expansion device attached to a communication component of the electronic device, the HSM having a public processing unit and a secure processing unit, the secure processing unit being accessible by the communication component and/or the electronic device only through the public processing unit.

25. A computer program product for conducting pre-authorized financial transactions, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium having stored computer-readable program code for performing the steps of:

receiving a pre-authorization token and a consumer alias from a merchant or an acquirer of the merchant, the pre-authorization token identifying a pre-authorized financial transaction and the token and alias having previously been provided to the merchant by a consumer;

identifying an electronic device of the consumer corresponding to the alias by matching the alias with an alias stored in association with a consumer record;

transmitting an authorization request to the electronic device;

receiving from the electronic device either a confirmation message or a denial message in response to the authorization request;

in response to receiving a confirmation message, transmitting payment credentials associated with a selected payment instrument of the consumer and required for conducting the pre-authorized transaction to the merchant or the acquirer of the merchant for use in completing the transaction; and

in response to receiving a denial message, transmitting a denial notification to the merchant or the acquirer of the merchant.