TEMPORARY CONSENSUS SUBNETWORK IN A DISTRIBUTED NETWORK FOR PAYMENT PROCESSING

• US 20160224949A1
• Filed: 10/01/2015
• Published: 08/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ripple Luxembourg S.A.
• Original Assignee: Ripple Labs Inc.
• Inventors: Thomas, Stefan, Way, Robert D.
• Granted Patent: US 11,386,404 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 20/401 Transaction verification

Abstract

In a method, computer readable medium, or system for making a payment transaction between a payor having an associated payor computer with a ledger storage for the payor and a payee having an associated payee computer with a ledger storage for the payee in a consensus payment network having a plurality of nodes each comprising a respective computer with ledger storage and relying on consensus determinations, an initiator is provided for making the payment transaction between the payor and the payee, the initiator being either the payor, the payee, or an intermediary having an associated intermediary computer. The respective initiator computer creates a temporary payment transaction consensus subnetwork comprising a set of validation nodes acceptable to both the payor and the payee, the set of validation nodes comprising fewer than all of said plurality of nodes in the payment network. The initiator with the respective client computer processes the payment transaction via the consensus payment network from the payor to the payee based on a determination of consensus by the consensus network.

Claims

1. A method for making a payment transaction between a payor having an associated payor computer with a ledger storage for the payor and a payee having an associated payee computer with a ledger storage for the payee in a consensus payment network having a plurality of nodes each comprising a respective computer with ledger storage and relying on consensus determinations, comprising the steps of:

providing an initiator for making the payment transaction between the payor and the payee, the initiator being either the payor, the payee, or an intermediary having an associated intermediary computer;

the respective initiator computer creating a temporary payment transaction consensus subnetwork comprising a set of validation nodes acceptable to both the payor and the payee, the set of validation nodes comprising fewer than all of said plurality of nodes in the payment network; and

the respective initiator computer processing the payment transaction via the consensus payment network from the payor to the payee based on a determination of consensus by the consensus subnetwork.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the intermediary comprises at least one of an individual, a company, a credit card company, a clearing house, a market maker, an exchange, and a foreign exchange.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

the intermediary computer comprising one of the node computers of said payment network, and wherein the intermediary is acceptable to both the payor and the payee.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein only one payor and only one payee are provided but a plurality of intermediaries are provided for making the payment transaction between the payor and the payee.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein a plurality of payors are provided.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein a plurality of payees are provided.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein providers contribute said nodes to create said consensus network, and each provider rates remaining providers based on subjective trust and creates a respective provider trust list for the respective node computer.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein stakeholder computers are all computers having a stake in the payment transaction, and the initiator computer determines the consensus subnetwork by collecting trust lists from each stakeholder computer, intersecting the trust lists, and a quorum for the subnetwork as the number of nodes necessary for the subnetwork to reach agreement.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the initiator computer submits the proposed transaction for validation to each member node computer of the consensus subnetwork.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein each member node computer of the consensus subnetwork validates the proposed transaction and conditionally applies it to the respective ledger of the member node computer.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein each member node computer broadcasts its validation decision to the consensus subnetwork.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein each member node computer waits for the quorum from the consensus subnetwork and if the quorum votes to validate the transaction, each member node computer permanently commits the conditionally applied transaction, or if the quorum does not vote to validate the transaction the member node computers of the subnetwork roll back the proposed transaction.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein optionally member node computers broadcast decisions to remaining node computers in the payment network.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the creating of the temporary payment transaction consensus subnetwork comprises:

the initiator computer receiving a payor node list of nodes acceptable to the payor, receiving a payee node list of nodes acceptable to the payee, and determining a consensus node list, said consensus node list identifying nodes in said consensus subnetwork which comprise said set of validation nodes acceptable to both the payor and the payee.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

upon processing the transaction, member node computers of the temporary payment transaction consensus subnetwork broadcast all ledger changes to remaining node computers in the payment network.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the consensus node list is deleted once one or more of the payment transactions is complete.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the created temporary payment consensus subnetwork is transaction specific and is no longer used after said payment transaction.

18. A non-transitory tangible computer readable medium having a program thereon for making a payment transaction between a payor having an associated payor computer and a payee having an associated payee computer in a consensus payment network having a plurality of nodes each comprising a respective computer with ledger storage and relying on consensus determinations, and wherein an initiator is provided who is either the payor, the payee, or an intermediary having an associated intermediary computer for making the payment transaction between the payor computer and the payee computer, said program performing the steps of:

causing the respective initiator computer to create a temporary payment transaction consensus subnetwork comprising a set of validation nodes acceptable to both the payor and the payee, the set of validation nodes comprising fewer than all of said plurality of nodes in the payment network; and

causing the respective initiator computer to process the payment transaction via the consensus payment network from the payor to the payee based on a determination of consensus by the consensus subnetwork.

19. A system for making a payment transaction between a payor and a payee, comprising:

the payor having an associated payor computer with a ledger storage for the payor;

the payee having an associated payee computer with a ledger storage for the payee;

a consensus payment network having a plurality of nodes each comprising a respective computer with ledger storage and relying on consensus determinations;

an initiator for making the payment transaction between the payor and the payee, the initiator being either the payor, the payee, or an intermediary having an associated intermediary computer;

the respective initiator computer creating a temporary payment transaction consensus subnetwork comprising a set of validation nodes acceptable to both the payor and the payee, the set of validation nodes comprising fewer than all of said plurality of nodes in the payment network; and

the respective initiator computer processing the payment transaction via the consensus payment network from the payor to the payee based on a determination of consensus by the consensus subnetwork.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the intermediary comprises at least one of an individual, a company, a credit card company, a clearing house, a market maker, an exchange, and a foreign exchange.

21. The system of claim 19 further comprising:

the intermediary computer comprising one of the node computers of said payment network, and wherein the intermediary is acceptable to both the payor and the payee.

22. The system of claim 19 wherein only one payor and only one payee are provided but a plurality of intermediaries are provided for making the payment transaction between the payor and the payee.

23. The system of claim 19 wherein a plurality of payors are provided.

24. The system of claim 19 wherein a plurality of payees are provided.

25. The system of claim 19 wherein providers contribute said nodes to create said consensus network, and each provider rates remaining providers based on subjective trust and creates a respective provider trust list for the respective node computer.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein stakeholder computers are all computers having a stake in the payment transaction, and the initiator computer determines the consensus subnetwork by collecting trust lists from each stakeholder computer, intersecting the trust lists, and a quorum for the subnetwork as the number of nodes necessary for the subnetwork to reach agreement.

27. The system of claim 26 wherein the initiator computer submits the proposed transaction for validation to each member node computer of the consensus subnetwork.

28. The system of claim 27 wherein each member node computer of the consensus subnetwork validates the proposed transaction and conditionally applies it to the respective ledger of the member node computer.

29. The system of claim 28 wherein each member node computer broadcasts its validation decision to the consensus subnetwork.

30. The system of claim 29 wherein each member node computer waits for the quorum from the consensus subnetwork and if the quorum votes to validate the transaction, each member node computer permanently commits the conditionally applied transaction, or if the quorum does not vote to validate the transaction the member node computers of the subnetwork roll back the proposed transaction.

31. The system of claim 30 wherein optionally member node computers broadcast decisions to remaining node computers in the payment network.

32. The system of claim 19 wherein the creating of the temporary payment transaction consensus subnetwork comprises:

the initiator computer receiving a payor node list of nodes acceptable to the payor, receiving a payee node list of nodes acceptable to the payee, and determining a consensus node list, said consensus node list identifying nodes in said consensus subnetwork which comprise said set of validation nodes acceptable to both the payor and the payee.

33. The system of claim 19 further comprising:

upon processing the transaction, member node computers of the temporary payment transaction consensus subnetwork broadcast all ledger changes to remaining node computers in the payment network.

34. The system of claim 32 wherein the consensus node list is deleted once one or more of the payment transactions is complete.

35. The system of claim 19 wherein the created temporary payment consensus subnetwork is transaction specific and is no longer used after said payment transaction.