Electronic wallet

• US 5,221,838 A
• Filed: 10/20/1992
• Issued: 06/22/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Puhl, Larry, Wright, Jim, Gutman, Jose, Finkelstein, Louis D.
• Primary Examiner(s): PITTS, HAROLD I
• Application Number:
  US07/964,105
• Time in Patent Office: 245 Days
• Field of Search: 235/379, 235/380, 235/472, 364/704
• US Class Current: 235/379
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/0216 Constructional details or arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/0225 User interface arrangements, e.g. keyboard, display; Interfaces to other computer systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/025 adapted to a specific application
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/325 using wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3276 using a pictured code, e.g. barcode or QR-code, being read by the M-device
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3823 combining multiple encryption tools for a transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0886 the card reader being portable for interacting with a POS or ECR in realizing a payment transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system

Abstract

An electronic wallet includes memory for storing at least a balance corresponding to an account in a financial institution, and a selective call receiver for receiving a wireless message transmitted from a remote transmitter, the wireless message including financial information relating to the balance for confirming a financial transaction with the financial institution. A controller, coupled to the memory and to the receiver, can update the balance in the memory in response to the wireless message.

communication system enters financial transactions into the communication system from one of a plurality of associated portable data devices, and updates the financial transactions from the communication system to the one and to at least a second of the plurality of associated portable data devices via wireless message communication from at least one remote transmitter.

Claims

1. An electronic wallet, comprising:

storing means for storing at least a balance corresponding to an account in a financial institution;

selective call receiving means for receiving a wireless message transmitted from a remote transmitter, the wireless message including financial information relating to the balance for confirming a financial transaction with the financial institution; and

updating means, coupled to the storing means and to the receiving means, for updating the balance in the storing means in response to the wireless message.

2. The electronic wallet of claim 1, further comprising bar code reading means coupled to the storing means for reading into the storing means a representation of bar code information for initiating the financial transaction with the financial institution.

3. The electronic wallet of claim 1, further comprising means for wireless transmitting a message including financial information relating to the balance for initiating the financial transaction with the financial institution.

4. The electronic wallet of claim 1, further comprising means for encrypting and decrypting at least one of a financial information and the balance stored in the storing means, an encryption/decryption key being utilized by the means for encrypting and decrypting for securely receiving and decrypting the financial information relating to the balance, and for decrypting and then encrypting the balance for updating the balance in the storing means in response to the wireless message.

6. The electronic wallet of claim 1, further comprising initiating means, coupled to the storing means and to the selective call receiving means, for initiating a financial transaction, and receiving a confirmation of the financial transaction from the financial institution via the wireless message including financial information relating to the balance.

7. The electronic wallet of claim 6, further comprising modem means coupled to the initiating means for initiating the transaction via modem communication.

8. The electronic wallet of claim 6, further comprising tone transmitting means coupled to the initiating means for initiating the transaction via tone communication.

9. The electronic wallet of claim 6, further comprising verifying means, coupled to the selective call receiving means and to the initiating means, for verifying the initiated financial transaction with the wireless message including financial information relating to the balance.

10. The electronic wallet of claim 1, further comprising printing means coupled to the storing means for printing at least one of a financial information and the balance, and for printing checks/vouchers for initiating financial transactions with the financial institution, each financial transaction being confirmed with a wireless message including financial information relating to the balance.

11. The electronic wallet of claim 1, further comprising magnetic writing means coupled to the storing means for magnetically writing a representation of at least one of a financial information and the balance to a universal financial card for initiating the financial transaction with the financial institution.

12. The electronic wallet of claim 11, further comprising indicating means for indicating the status of the magnetic writing means.

13. The electronic wallet of claim 11, further comprising magnetic reading means coupled to the storing means for magnetically reading into the storing means a representation of financial information from at least one financial card, the representation of financial information stored in the storing means from one of the at least one financial card can be selectively written to the universal financial card for initiating a financial transaction with a financial institution corresponding to the one of the at least one financial card.

14. The electronic wallet of claim 1, further comprising securing means for controlling user access to functions of the electronic wallet, the securing means being responsive to a received wireless message comprising a user access control message.

15. The electronic wallet of claim 14, further comprising means for encrypting and decrypting at least one of a financial information and the balance stored in the storing means using a key stored in the storing means, and wherein the securing means in response to the user access control message erases the key to secure any encrypted at least one of the financial information and the balance and causes a flag to be stored in the storing means to prevent unauthorized use of the electronic wallet.

37. The electronic wallet of claim 1, wherein the selective call receiving means comprises a paging receiver for receiving a page as the remote wireless message from a paging system.

38. The electric wallet of claim 6, wherein the initiating means comprises a transmitting means for transmitting a wireless paging message to a remote paging receiver coupled to a financial computer system of a financial institution to initiate the financial transaction via a paging system, the selective call receiving means subsequently receiving a confirmation of the initiated financial transaction from the financial computer system of the financial institution by receiving a wireless paging message transmitted from a remote paging transmitter, the received wireless paging message including financial information relating to the balance.

5. The electronic wallet of claim 5, wherein the encryption/decryption key is stored in the storing means, and the selective call receiving means being capable of receiving a wireless access control message transmitted from a remote transmitter, the storing means being responsive to the access control message for erasing the encryption/decryption key from the storing means for securing the financial information and the balance stored in the storing means in response to receiving the access control message.

16. In an electronic wallet, a method comprising the steps of:

storing at least a balance corresponding to an account in a financial institution;

automatically initiating a financial transaction with the financial institution from the electronic wallet;

selective call receiving a wireless message transmitted from a remote transmitter, the wireless message including financial information relating to the balance for confirming the financial transaction with the financial institution; and

updating the balance in response to the wireless message.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of reading bar code information for automatically initiating the financial transaction, and wherein the wireless message comprises a confirmation of the financial transaction.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of transmitting a wireless message from the electronic wallet to a remote receiver including information relating to the balance for initiating the financial transaction.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of encrypting at least one of a financial information and the balance and storing the encrypted at least one of the financial information and the balance in the electronic wallet.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of decrypting at least one of an encrypted financial information and an encrypted balance.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the decrypting step decrypts an encrypted financial information included with a received wireless message and further decrypts an encrypted balance stored in the electronic wallet to provide an updatable balance for updating the updatable balance in response to the received financial information included with the wireless message confirming the financial transaction with the financial institution.

22. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of magnetically writing a representation of at least one of a financial information and the balance stored in the electronic wallet to a universal financial card for initiating a financial transaction with the financial institution having an account corresponding to the balance.

23. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of magnetically reading a representation of financial information from at least one financial card corresponding to at least one account in at least one financial institution, storing the read representation of financial information into the electronic wallet, and magnetically writing a representation of the stored financial information corresponding to one of the at least one account to the universal financial card for initiating a financial transaction with the one of the at least one account in the at least one financial institution corresponding to the stored financial information.

24. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of verifying the automatically initiated financial transaction with the received wireless message including financial information relating to the balance for confirming the financial transaction with the financial institution.

25. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of printing at least one of a financial information and the balance, and printing checks/vouchers for initiating financial transactions with the financial institution, each financial transaction being confirmed with a wireless message including financial information relating to the balance.

26. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of storing a flag in the electronic wallet for prohibiting user access to financial functions of the electronic wallet in response to a received wireless message comprising a user access control message.

27. The method of claim 24, further comprising the steps of:

encrypting at least one of a financial information and the balance stored in the electronic wallet using a key stored in the electronic wallet;

decrypting the at least one of the financial information and the balance stored using the key; and

securing any of the encrypted at least one of the financial information and the balance stored in the electronic wallet by erasing the key in response to the received user access control message.

28. A communication system for communicating financial information, comprising:

storing means for storing at least a balance corresponding to an account in a financial institution;

paging system transmitting means coupled to a computer system associated with the financial institution for transmitting a wireless message including information relating to the balance corresponding to the account in the financial institution, the wireless message confirming a financial transaction with the financial institution;

selective call receiving means for receiving the wireless message from the paging system transmitting means; and

updating means, coupled to the storing means and to the selective call receiving means, for updating the balance in the storing means in response to the wireless message.

29. The communication system of claim 28, further comprising initiating means, coupled to the storing means and to the selective call receiving means, for initiating a financial transaction, and wherein the received wireless message comprises a confirmation of the initiated financial transaction.

30. The communication system of claim 29, further comprising verifying means, coupled to the selective call receiving means and to the initiating means, for verifying the initiated financial transaction with the received wireless message.

31. The communication system of claim 29, further comprising modem means coupled to the initiating means for initiating the transaction via modem communication.

32. The communication system of claim 28, further comprising electronic wallet transmitting means, coupled to the storing means and the selective call receiving means, for transmitting a wireless message from an electronic wallet to a paging receiver, the wireless message including information relating to the balance for initiating a financial transaction with the financial institution.

33. A communication system, comprising:

means for entering a financial transaction into the communication system from one of a plurality of associated portable data devices; and

means for updating the financial transaction from the communication system to the one of the plurality of associated portable data devices and to at least a second portable data device of the plurality of associated portable data devices via wireless message communication from at least one remote transmitter.

34. The communication system of claim 33, wherein the communication system comprises a financial institution computer system coupled to a paging system capable of coupling the entered financial transaction to the financial institution computer system, and the updating means comprises a paging system transmitting means coupled to the financial institution computer system for transmitting paging information including wireless message communication to update the financial transaction at the one of the plurality of portable devices and at the at least a second portable data device.

35. The communication system of claim 33, wherein the means for entering a transaction comprises modem means for communicating via modem communication.

36. An electronic wallet, comprising:

storing means for storing at least a balance corresponding to an account in a financial institution;

selective call receiving means for receiving a wireless message transmitted from a remote transmitter, the wireless message including financial information relating to the balance for confirming a financial transaction with the financial institution;

updating means, coupled to the storing means and to the selective call receiving means, for updating the balance in the storing means in response to the wireless message;

wireless message transmitting means, coupled to the storing means and to the selective call receiving means, for initiating a financial transaction with the financial institution by transmitting a wireless message including financial information corresponding to the account, the selective call receiving means operating to receive a confirmation of the financial transaction by receiving the wireless message transmitted from the remote transmitter and including the financial information relating to the balance;

modem means coupled to the initiating means for initiating the financial transaction with the financial institution via modem communication, and then confirming the financial transaction by the selective call receiver subsequently receiving the wireless message from the remote transmitter;

verifying means, coupled to the selective call receiving means and to the wireless message transmitting means, for verifying the financial transaction with the received wireless message including financial information relating to the balance;

printing means coupled to the storing means for printing check/vouchers for initiating financial transactions with the financial institution, each financial transaction being confirmed with a wireless message including financial information relating to the balance;

magnetic reading means coupled to the storing means for magnetically reading into the storing means a representation of financial information from at least one financial card;

magnetic writing means coupled to the storing means for magnetically writing a representation of the financial information stored in the storing means from one of the at least one financial card to a universal financial card for initiating a financial transaction with a financial institution corresponding to the one of the at least one financial card, the financial transaction being confirmed by the selective call receiver subsequently receiving the wireless message from the remote transmitter;

timer means coupled to the storing means for storing time information in the storing means; and

securing means, responsive to a received wireless message having access control information, for prohibiting user access to financial functions of the electronic wallet.