METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR GROSS SETTLEMENT BY USE OF AN OPAQUE BLOCKCHAIN

• US 20170148016A1
• Filed: 11/24/2015
• Published: 05/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mastercard International Incorporated (MasterCard Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Mastercard International Incorporated (MasterCard Incorporated)
• Inventors: DAVIS, Steven Charles
• Granted Patent: US 11,562,353 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3827 Use of message hashing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/389 Keeping log of transactions for guaranteeing non-repudiation of a transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3239 involving non-keyed hash functions, e.g. modification detection codes [MDCs], MD5, SHA or RIPEMD
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/50 using hash chains, e.g. blockchains or hash trees

Abstract

A method for confirmation of an electronic transaction using a blockchain includes: receiving transaction data, the transaction data including a transaction amount and currency code; generating a transaction message formatted based on one or more standards including a first data element configured to store the transaction amount, a second data element configured to store the currency code, and a third data element configured to store an invoice identifier; transmitting the transaction message to a financial institution via a payment network; receiving a return message from the financial institution via the payment network formatted based on the one or more standards and including a data element configured to store the transaction amount, currency code, and invoice identifier; and generating a hash value based on application of hashing algorithms to the transaction amount, currency code, and invoice identifier stored in the data element included in the received return message.

Claims

1. A method for confirmation of an electronic transaction using a blockchain, comprising:

receiving, by a receiving device of a processing server, a data signal superimposed with transaction data, wherein the transaction data includes data related to an electronic transaction including at least a transaction amount and currency code;

generating, by a data generation module of the processing server, a transaction message for the electronic transaction, wherein the transaction message is formatted based on one or more standards and includes a plurality of data elements including at least a first data element configured to store the transaction amount, a second data element configured to store the currency code, and a third data element configured to store an invoice identifier;

electronically transmitting, by a transmitting device of the processing server, the generated transaction message to a financial institution via a payment network;

receiving, by the receiving device of the processing server, a return message from the financial institution via the payment network, wherein the return message is formatted based on the one or more standards and includes at least a single data element configured to store the transaction amount, currency code, and invoice identifier; and

generating, by a hashing module of the processing server, a hash value based on application of one or more hashing algorithms to the transaction amount, currency code, and invoice identifier stored in the single data element included in the received return message.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the receiving device of the processing server, a blockchain, wherein the blockchain includes a plurality of blocks and, for each block of the plurality of blocks, a header and one or more transaction values; and

validating, by a validation module of the processing server, the electronic transaction based on existing of a transaction value for a block included in the plurality of blocks included in the received blockchain that corresponds to the generated hash value.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein

the generated transaction message further includes a message type indicator indicative of an authorization request, and

the received return message further includes a message type indicator indicative of an authorization response.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating, by the data generation module of the processing server, the invoice identifier based on at least additional data included in the transaction data superimposed on the received data signal.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the third data element is reserved for private use according to the one or more standards.

6. A method for confirmation of an electronic transaction using a blockchain, comprising:

receiving, by a receiving device of a processing server, a transaction message from a financial institution via a payment network, wherein the transaction message is formatted based on one or more standards and includes a plurality of data elements including at least a first data element configured to store the transaction amount, a second data element configured to store the currency code, and a third data element configured to store an invoice identifier;

generating, by a data generation module of the processing server, a return message, wherein the return message is formatted based on the one or more standards and includes at least a single data element configured to store a transaction amount, currency code, and invoice identifier;

generating, by a hashing module of the processing server, a hash value based on application of one or more hashing algorithms to the transaction amount, currency code, and invoice identifier stored in the single data element in the generated return message;

electronically transmitting, by a transmitting device of the processing server, the generated return message to the financial institution via the payment network; and

electronically transmitting, by the transmitting device of the processing server, the generated hash value to a computing device configured to post the generated hash value to a blockchain via a communication network.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

receiving, by the receiving device of the processing server, the blockchain, wherein the blockchain includes a plurality of blocks and, for each block of the plurality of blocks, a header and one or more transaction values; and

validating, by a validation module of the processing server, the electronic transaction based on existing of a transaction value for a block included in the plurality of blocks included in the received blockchain that corresponds to the generated hash value.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein

the received transaction message further includes a message type indicator indicative of an authorization request, and

the generated return message further includes a message type indicator indicative of an authorization response.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the transaction amount, currency code, and invoice identifier stored in the single data element included in the generated return message are signed by a transaction processing module of the processing server.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the third data element is reserved for private use according to the one or more standards.

11. A system for confirmation of an electronic transaction using a blockchain, comprising:

a hashing module of a processing server;

a receiving device of the processing server configured to receive a data signal superimposed with transaction data, wherein the transaction data includes data related to an electronic transaction including at least a transaction amount and currency code;

a data generation module of the processing server configured to generate a transaction message for the electronic transaction, wherein the transaction message is formatted based on one or more standards and includes a plurality of data elements including at least a first data element configured to store the transaction amount, a second data element configured to store the currency code, and a third data element configured to store an invoice identifier; and

a transmitting device of the processing server configured to electronically transmit the generated transaction message to a financial institution via a payment network, wherein

the receiving device of the processing server is further configured to receive a return message from the financial institution via the payment network, wherein the return message is formatted based on the one or more standards and includes at least a single data element configured to store the transaction amount, currency code, and invoice identifier, and

the hashing module of the processing server is configured to generate a hash value based on application of one or more hashing algorithms to the transaction amount, currency code, and invoice identifier stored in the single data element included in the received return message.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

a validation module of the processing server, wherein

the receiving device of the processing server is further configured to receive a blockchain, wherein the blockchain includes a plurality of blocks and, for each block of the plurality of blocks, a header and one or more transaction values, and

the validation module of the processing server is configured to validate the electronic transaction based on existing of a transaction value for a block included in the plurality of blocks included in the received blockchain that corresponds to the generated hash value.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein

the generated transaction message further includes a message type indicator indicative of an authorization request, and

the received return message further includes a message type indicator indicative of an authorization response.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the data generation module of the processing server is further configured to generate the invoice identifier based on at least additional data included in the transaction data superimposed on the received data signal.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the third data element is reserved for private use according to the one or more standards.

16. A system for confirmation of an electronic transaction using a blockchain, comprising:

a receiving device of a processing server configured to receive a transaction message from a financial institution via a payment network, wherein the transaction message is formatted based on one or more standards and includes a plurality of data elements including at least a first data element configured to store the transaction amount, a second data element configured to store the currency code, and a third data element configured to store an invoice identifier;

a data generation module of the processing server configured to generate a return message, wherein the return message is formatted based on the one or more standards and includes at least a single data element configured to store a transaction amount, currency code, and invoice identifier;

a hashing module of the processing server configured to generate a hash value based on application of one or more hashing algorithms to the transaction amount, currency code, and invoice identifier stored in the single data element in the generated return message; and

a transmitting device of the processing server configured to

electronically transmit the generated return message to the financial institution via the payment network, and

electronically transmit the generated hash value to a computing device configured to post the generated hash value to a blockchain via a communication network.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising:

a validation module of the processing server, wherein

the receiving device of the processing server is further configured to receive the blockchain, wherein the blockchain includes a plurality of blocks and, for each block of the plurality of blocks, a header and one or more transaction values, and

the validation module of the processing server is configured to validate the electronic transaction based on existing of a transaction value for a block included in the plurality of blocks included in the received blockchain that corresponds to the generated hash value.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein

the received transaction message further includes a message type indicator indicative of an authorization request, and

the generated return message further includes a message type indicator indicative of an authorization response.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the transaction amount, currency code, and invoice identifier stored in the single data element included in the generated return message are signed by a transaction processing module of the processing server.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the third data element is reserved for private use according to the one or more standards.

21. A method for storing confirmations of electronic transactions using a blockchain, comprising:

storing, in a memory of a processing server, a blockchain, wherein the blockchain includes a plurality of blocks and, for each block of the plurality of blocks, a header and a plurality of transaction values, where each transaction value of the plurality of transaction values is a hash value related to an electronic transaction and generated based on at least a transaction amount, currency code, and invoice identifier associated with the related electronic transaction;

receiving, by a receiving device of the processing server, a set of new hash values, wherein each new hash value is related to an additional electronic transaction, and where each new hash value is generated based on application of one or more hashing algorithms to a transaction amount, currency code, and invoice identifier associated with the respective additional electronic transaction;

executing, by a querying module of the processing server, a query on the memory to identify a preceding block of the plurality of blocks included in the blockchain based on data stored in the header included in each respective block;

generating, by a generation module of the processing server, a proof of work value based on performing one or more predetermined actions;

generating, by the generation module of the processing server, a new block, wherein the new block includes at least a new header and the set of new hash values, and wherein the new header includes at least a reference to the identified preceding block and the generated proof of work value; and

electronically transmitting, by a transmitting device of the processing server, the generated new block to one or more computing devices associated with the blockchain.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein

the header included in each block of the plurality of blocks includes a time value, and

identifying the preceding block includes identifying a block where the time value included in the included header is most recent to a present time.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein

the header included in each block of the plurality of blocks includes a reference identifier, and

the reference to the identified preceding block included in the new header corresponds to the reference identifier included in the header included in the identified preceding block.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the one or more predetermined actions includes solving for a complex mathematical problem.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein a difficulty of the complex mathematical problem is set by the one or more computing devices associated with the blockchain.

26. A system for storing confirmations of electronic transactions using a blockchain, comprising:

a memory of a processing server configured to store a blockchain, wherein the blockchain includes a plurality of blocks and, for each block of the plurality of blocks, a header and a plurality of transaction values, where each transaction value of the plurality of transaction values is a hash value related to an electronic transaction and generated based on at least a transaction amount, currency code, and invoice identifier associated with the related electronic transaction;

a receiving device of the processing server configured to receive a set of new hash values, wherein each new hash value is related to an additional electronic transaction, and where each new hash value is generated based on application of one or more hashing algorithms to a transaction amount, currency code, and invoice identifier associated with the respective additional electronic transaction;

a querying module of the processing server configured to execute a query on the memory to identify a preceding block of the plurality of blocks included in the blockchain based on data stored in the header included in each respective block;

a generation module of the processing server configured to

generate a proof of work value based on performing one or more predetermined actions, and

generate a new block, wherein the new block includes at least a new header and the set of new hash values, and wherein the new header includes at least a reference to the identified preceding block and the generated proof of work value; and

a transmitting device of the processing server configured to electronically transmit the generated new block to one or more computing devices associated with the blockchain.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein

the header included in each block of the plurality of blocks includes a time value, and

identifying the preceding block includes identifying a block where the time value included in the included header is most recent to a present time.

28. The system of claim 26, wherein

the header included in each block of the plurality of blocks includes a reference identifier, and

the reference to the identified preceding block included in the new header corresponds to the reference identifier included in the header included in the identified preceding block.

29. The system of claim 26, wherein the one or more predetermined actions includes solving for a complex mathematical problem.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein a difficulty of the complex mathematical problem is set by the one or more computing devices associated with the blockchain.