Method and system for performing electronic money transactions

• US 6,029,151 A
• Filed: 12/12/1997
• Issued: 02/22/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Nikander, Pekka
• Primary Examiner(s): MacDonald, Allen R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel, Jagdish
• Application Number:
  US08/989,927
• Time in Patent Office: 802 Days
• Field of Search: 705/39, 705/40, 380/21, 380/24, 380/33
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/065 using e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0855 involving a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/16 Payments settled via telecommunication systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/24 Credit schemes, i.e. "pay after"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/363 with the personal data of a user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/381 Currency conversion
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0866 by active credit-cards adapted therefor G07F7/1008 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/102 applying security measure for e-commerce
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0281 Proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/68 Payment of value-added services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0196 Payment of value-added services, mainly when their charges are added on the telephone bill, e.g. payment of non-telecom services, e-commerce, on-line banking

Abstract

The present invention relates to electronic monetary systems in general, and in particular to measures for making their use easier for an average user. The present invention is based on the idea that the use of electronic money is greatly simplified for a non-expert user, if the Internet Service Provider of the user takes care of the payments, and adds corresponding charges on the user'"'"'s telephone bill. Such functionality requires the intervention of the ISP in the transmissions between a user and a third party, i.e. intercepting the electronic payment requests sent by a merchant. According to the present invention, the ISP uses electronic money on behalf of the user, and charges the payments on the user'"'"'s telephone bill. The ISP can take care of all technical details necessary for obtaining different forms of electronic money in a centralized manner, and all users of the ISP can use the electronic money obtained by the ISP simply by allowing the ISP to add corresponding charges to their telephone bills. Further, the ISP can obtain all major forms of electronic money, whereafter a user can choose the most economical way of payment, if a merchant accepts payments in more than one form of electronic money.

Claims

1. An electronic payment transaction system in a node joining a first telecommunications network and a second telecommunications network comprising

an electronic wallet means for converting electronic money transaction messages into conventional transactions, and

an electronic payment intercepting means for redirecting to said electronic wallet means at least a part of electronic money transaction messages arriving from the first telecommunications network and addressed to users in the second telecommunications network.

2. A system according to claim 1 comprising

means for sending accounting signals to the second telecommunications network to change the balance of the user'"'"'s account with a sum corresponding to a received electronic money payment request addressed to the user and for sending an electronic money payment into the first telecommunications network.

3. A system according to claim 2 comprising

means for collecting more than one transaction of a user on an account internal to the system, before effecting a transaction between the system and the user.

4. A system according to claim 1 wherein the first telecommunications network is a TCP/IP network.

5. A system according to claim 4 wherein the first telecommunications network is the Internet network.

6. A system according to claim 1 wherein the second telecommunications network is a conventional PSTN telephone network.

7. A system according to claim 1 wherein the second telecommunications network has means for supporting ISDN connections.

8. A system according to claim 1 wherein the second telecommunications network is a cellular mobile telecommunications network.

9. A system according to claim 1 comprising transaction control means for allowing a user to confirm or decline transaction requests.

10. A system according to claim 1 comprising means for allowing a user to initiate an electronic payment transaction.

11. A method for performing electronic money transactions comprising the steps of

receiving an electronic money transaction request from a first telecommunications network addressed to a user in a second telecommunications network,

redirecting said request to an electronic wallet means instead of said user, and

transforming in said electronic wallet means the electronic transaction request to corresponding accounting signals for changing the balance of an account corresponding to said user.

12. A method according to claim 11 further comprising the step of sending accounting signals to the second telecommunications network to change the balance of the account of the user with a sum corresponding to the requested transaction, as a response to the request.

13. A method according to claim 11 further comprising the step of sending an electronic payment into the first telecommunications network in response to a payment request.

14. A method according to claim 11 further comprising the step of checking, whether the user has authorized the transaction, and if the user has not authorized the transaction, sending a signal denying the transaction in response to the transaction request.

15. An electronic payment transaction system joining a first telecommunications network and a second telecommunications network, the system comprising an electronic payment intercepting means including:

means for intercepting request for payment messages corresponding to electronic money in a first form, which messages arrive from the first telecommunications network and are addressed to a user in the second telecommunications network;

means for converting said request for payment messages into messages corresponding to electronic money in a second form; and

means for sending said converted request for payment messages to the user.

16. A system according to claim 15 wherein the first telecommunications network is a TCP/IP network.

17. A system according to claim 16 wherein the first telecommunications network is the Internet network.

18. A system according to claim 15 wherein the second telecommunications network is a conventional PSTN telephone network.

19. A system according to claim 15 wherein the second telecommunications network has means for supporting ISDN connections.

20. A system according to claim 15 further including transaction control means for allowing a user to confirm or decline a transaction request.

21. A system according to claim 20, wherein confirmation of a transaction request causes a debit in a user'"'"'s account of electronic money in the second form, and said means for converting converts the debited amount into the first form of electronic money and, further including a transmission means for sending the amount of the first form of money to a requesting party in said first network.

22. A method for performing electronic money transactions comprising the steps of:

intercepting request for payment messages corresponding to electronic money in a first form, said messages arriving from the first telecommunications network and addressed to a user in the second telecommunications network;

converting said request for payment messages into messages corresponding to electronic money in a second form; and

sending said converted request for payment messages to a user.

23. A method according to claim 22 further comprising the step of sending an electronic payment into the first telecommunications network in response to a payment request.