Credit card spending authorization control system

• US 5,914,472 A
• Filed: 09/23/1997
• Issued: 06/22/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Citicorp Holdings Incorporated (Citigroup Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gorini, Dominick, Westrich, Robert S., Goldman, Shelley B., Foladare, Mark Jeffrey, Wang, Shaoqing, Silverman, David Phillip
• Primary Examiner(s): Porta, David P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dunn, Drew A.
• Application Number:
  US08/936,002
• Time in Patent Office: 637 Days
• Field of Search: 235/379, 235/380, 235/382, 235/382.5, 340/825.33, 705/35, 705/44
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/227 characterised in that multiple accounts are available, e.g. to the payer
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/403 Solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4037 Remote solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/405 Establishing or using transaction specific rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02

Abstract

A system and method for allowing a parent to control the use of an ancillary credit or debit transaction card which is issued to a child. A central computer communicates with an issuer computer having a data base containing account information and spending limits for the transaction card and the parent can set a spending limit for the ancillary card given to the child. When the child presents the ancillary transaction card to a merchant in payment of merchandise, the merchant swipes the card and contacts a central computer for card authorization. If the credit limit of the ancillary card holder has been exceeded according to the data base, a method of contacting the parent is transmitted to the central computer. The central computer initiates contact with the parent via two-way communications, for example, two way pager, cellular telephone, or other personal communication service, and queries the parent whether to authorize the transaction by increasing the spending limit of the ancillary cardholder or refusal of the transaction. The parent responds to the central computer via the two-way communications device, and the central computer forwards an approval/refusal code to the merchant. In this manner, a parent can control the maximum transaction card spending by a child.

Claims

1. A system for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user using the transaction card by permitting the account holder to approve or refuse a spending amount exceeding a predetermined value, said system comprising:

a card issued to a card user from a card issuer having a card number, the card number including an account number;

wherein when the card user uses the issued card to procure goods or services from a merchant via a card transaction, the merchant seeks approval from the card issuer of the transaction;

a central computer having a first database of card issuers;

a first issuer computer having a second database of spending limits pre-approved by the account holder, a third database of spending limits pre-approved by the card issuer, and a fourth database of a contact method for contacting the account holder;

wherein said central computer retrieves approval or refusal of the transaction from the first issuer computer, and wherein the refusal of a transaction is accompanied by the method for contacting the account holder;

central computer contact means for contacting said account holder for approval or refusal of an increase in the procurement limit of the card user'"'"'s card for the transaction;

and wherein the central computer passes the account holder'"'"'s approval or refusal of the pending transaction to the merchant.

2. The system for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user according to claim 1, wherein the means for contacting the account holder is a call placed by the central computer to an account holder'"'"'s cellular telephone.

3. The system for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user according to claim 1, wherein the means for contacting the account holder is a call placed by the central computer to an account holder'"'"'s 2-way paging device.

4. The system for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user according to claim 1, wherein the means for contacting the account holder is a communication established by the central computer to an account holder'"'"'s 2-way personal communications device.

5. The system for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user according to claim 1, wherein approval of the transaction by the account holder is an approval of an amount greater than the card user'"'"'s pre-approved spending limit.

6. The system for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user according to claim 1, wherein said central computer contacting means transmits transaction information to said account holder, said transaction information including any of the following:

what is being purchased, where the transaction is occurring, the identity of the merchant requesting the approval, and the name of the card user.

7. The system for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user according to claim 1, wherein the first, second, third and fourth databases are components of a single database.

8. The system for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user according to claim 1, wherein each of the first, second, third and fourth databases are accessible by the central computer or the issuer computer.

9. The system for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user according to claim 1, wherein the central computer and the issuer computer are components of either a single computer or a computer network.

10. A method for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user, comprising the steps of:

a) a merchant communicating a card number, account number and transaction information to a central computer;

b) the central computer checks the transaction information and approves the transaction if the amount of the transaction is less than a pre-approved spending limit imposed by said account holder;

c) if the transaction amount is greater than the pre-approved spending limit imposed by said account holder, the central computer initiates communications with said account holder;

d) contacting said account holder using a 2-way communications device and notifying the account holder of the transaction information and amount and asking the account holder for approval or refusal of the transaction, said account holder transmitting transaction approval or refusal to the central computer;

e) if the account holder approved the transaction, the central computer transmits an approval code to the merchant; and

f) if the account holder refuses the transaction, the central computer transmits a refusal code to the merchant.

11. The method for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user according to claim 10, wherein the central computer retrieves the spending approval code and refusal code from an issuer computer.

12. A method for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user using the credit or debit type transaction card by requiring the account holder to authorize a spending amount exceeding a predetermined value comprising the following steps:

a merchant enters a card number from the credit or debit type transaction card and a transaction amount into a communications device which transmits the card number and transaction amount to a central computer;

a central computer comprising a database having a first field for the card number and a second field for a parent controlled spending limit receives the merchant transmitted card number and transaction amount information and retransmits this information to an issuer computer;

the issuer computer, having a second database of spending limits pre-approved by the account holder, a third database of spending limits pre-approved by the card issuer, and a fourth database of a contact method for contacting the account holder receives the card number and transaction information and compares the received information to the database limits, resulting in one of the following;

1) if the received transaction amount is below the pre-approved spending limit, the issuer computer transmits an approval code to the central computer, or

2) if the received transaction amount is greater than the pre-approved spending limit for the ancillary card and less than the pre-approved spending limit for the account holder, the issuer computer transmits an approval code and account holder notification information to the central computer, or

3) if the received transaction amount is greater than the pre-approved spending limit for the account holder account, the issuer computer transmits a transaction refusal code to the central computer;

the central computer receives the transaction approval or transaction refusal from the issuer computer and either

1) forwards the approval code to the merchant if the transaction amount is below the pre-approved account holder limit, or

2) forwards the refusal code to the merchant if the transaction amount is greater than the pre-approved account holder'"'"'s account limit, or

3) contacts the account holder using two-way communications devices, informing the account holder that the spending limit for the card user has been reached and asking the account holder whether the card user'"'"'s spending limit can be increased and to what level; and

if the account holder chooses to increase the spending limit, the central computer transmits the transaction approval code to the merchant, however, if the card holder refuses an increased amount for the transaction, the central computer transmits a refusal code to the merchant.

13. The method for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user according to claim 12, wherein when said central computer contacts said account holder, said central computer transmits transaction information to said account holder.

14. The method for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user according to claim 12, wherein the first, second, third and fourth databases are components of a single database.

15. The method for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user according to claim 12, wherein each of the first, second, third and fourth databases are accessible by the central computer or the issuer computer.

16. The method for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user according to claim 12, wherein the central computer and the issuer computer are components of either a single computer or a computer network.

17. A system for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user using the transaction card by permitting the account holder to approve or refuse a spending amount exceeding a predetermined value, the system comprising:

a card issued to a card user from a card issuer having a card number, the card number including an account number;

wherein when the card user uses the issued card to procure goods or services from a merchant via a card transaction, the merchant seeks approval from the card issuer of the transaction;

a central computer having a first database of card issuers, a second database of spending limits pre-approved by the account holder, and a third database of a contact method for contacting the account holder;

a first issuer computer having a fourth database of account spending limits pre-approved by the card issuer;

wherein said central computer retrieves approval or refusal of the transaction from the first issuer computer;

central computer contact means for contacting said account holder for approval or denial of the transaction;

and wherein the first central computer passes the account holder approval or refusal of the transaction to the merchant.

18. The system for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user according to claim 17, wherein the means for contacting the account holder is a call placed by the central computer to an account holder'"'"'s cellular telephone.

19. The system for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user according to claim 17, wherein the means for contacting the account holder is a call placed by the central computer to an account holder 2-way paging device.

20. The system for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user according to claim 17, wherein for contacting the account holder is a communication initiated by the central computer to an account holder 2-way personal communications device.

21. The system for authorizing monetary transactions for the procurement of goods, services or distribution of currency using a credit or debit type transaction card while allowing an account holder to control spending by a card user according to claim 17, wherein approval of the transaction by the account holder is an approval of an amount greater than the pre-approved spending limit.