Refundable prepaid telephone card
First Claim
1. A prepaid calling card ensemble, comprising:
- a calling card having printed thereon an ID code which is to be entered by a consumer onto a telephone keypad to thereby gain access to a prepaid telephone account associated with said ID number;
a replacement document, physically decoupled from said calling card, having printed thereon a replacement code which is different from but related to said ID code in accordance with a relationship maintained in secret by the issuer of said calling card;
wherein said calling card and said replacement document are securely disposed within a sealed envelope until purchased by a customer; and
wherein said replacement document is dispensed from at least one of an ATM machine and a POS terminal.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A prepaid transaction instrument, such as a prepaid telephone card, comprises an identification code for use by a consumer in gaining access to a prepaid telephone account associated with the identification code and a replacement code related to the identification code according to a secret relationship maintained by the issuer of the card. The replacement code may be printed on a separate and distinct document from the identification code or may be printed on the same document as the identification code, but on a separable portion of the document. If the consumer loses the prepaid card, the issuer of the prepaid card issues a replacement card to the consumer when provided with the replacement code by the consumer.
194 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A prepaid calling card ensemble, comprising:
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a calling card having printed thereon an ID code which is to be entered by a consumer onto a telephone keypad to thereby gain access to a prepaid telephone account associated with said ID number; a replacement document, physically decoupled from said calling card, having printed thereon a replacement code which is different from but related to said ID code in accordance with a relationship maintained in secret by the issuer of said calling card; wherein said calling card and said replacement document are securely disposed within a sealed envelope until purchased by a customer; and wherein said replacement document is dispensed from at least one of an ATM machine and a POS terminal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A prepaid calling card, comprising:
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a first portion including a unique identification code associated with said calling card and wherein said identification code is used by a consumer to gain access to a prepaid telephone account associated with said identification code; and a second portion including a replacement code which is related to said identification code in accordance with a relationship maintained secretly by an issuer of said calling card, wherein said second portion is dispensed from at least one of an ATM machine and a POS terminal; and wherein said replacement code is useful by a consumer to obtain from said issuer a replacement card when said prepaid calling card is lost. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for distributing by an issuer a prepaid transaction instrument to a consumer, comprising the steps of:
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issuing to the consumer a first transaction instrument, said first transaction instrument having an identification code associated with said first transaction instrument for providing access to a transaction account, and a replacement code which is related to said identification code in accordance with a secret relationship maintained by the issuer; and issuing a second transaction instrument to the consumer when the consumer notifies the issuer of said replacement code and that said first transaction instrument is lost, wherein said first and second transaction instruments are dispensed by an ATM machine. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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Specification