Remote credit card authentication system
First Claim
1. A method for remote credit card authentication comprising the steps of:
- initiating a purchase transaction in which a purchaser provides credit card information from a purchaser location;
transmitting said credit card information to a credit card database;
requesting provision of personal information associated with said purchaser;
obtaining said personal information, including at least one fingerprint image, from the purchaser at said purchaser location, wherein said at least one fingerprint image is not included within the credit card information contained on the credit card;
processing said at least one fingerprint image in a stand-alone device, said stand-alone device being connected as an add-on unit whereat said purchase transaction is initiated;
transmitting said obtained personal information including said processed at least one fingerprint image to said credit card database;
processing, in said credit card database, said obtained personal information to match said personal information with stored personal information including at least one fingerprint image of the owner of the credit card; and
providing a message to said purchaser location in accordance with the results of said processing step for completion of said purchase transaction.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for providing secure transactions with credit cards by adding a fingerprint scanner at the point-of-sale to obtain fingerprint data, so that a credit card company database can verify the fingerprint data against stored fingerprint information and verify the transaction accordingly. The method is integrated into the existing negotiation protocol between a point-of-sale system and a credit card company database, and uses a human fingerprint and a secure algorithm. The credit card company has the customer fingerprint for comparison on its existing database, and the existing credit card operation will be usual, with the fingerprint data added to it to authenticate and secure the operation via the communication media while making a point-of-sale purchase. In the case of an Internet purchase, the inventive method incorporates an authorization adaptor connected to the user PC, and once the user has made the purchase request, an encrypted communication is then commenced in which a token is sent by the credit card company to the user PC, requesting fingerprint data. The authorization adaptor provides the fingerprint scan, and sends the data to the user PC in encrypted form, for transfer to the credit card company by a secure communication, for authorization. The fingerprint scanner is based on use of a new sensor employing a technology that maps and matches fingerprints, using coincidence of the features (minutia) on as few as twelve similar points, to determine a match.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method for remote credit card authentication comprising the steps of:
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initiating a purchase transaction in which a purchaser provides credit card information from a purchaser location;
transmitting said credit card information to a credit card database;
requesting provision of personal information associated with said purchaser;
obtaining said personal information, including at least one fingerprint image, from the purchaser at said purchaser location, wherein said at least one fingerprint image is not included within the credit card information contained on the credit card;
processing said at least one fingerprint image in a stand-alone device, said stand-alone device being connected as an add-on unit whereat said purchase transaction is initiated;
transmitting said obtained personal information including said processed at least one fingerprint image to said credit card database;
processing, in said credit card database, said obtained personal information to match said personal information with stored personal information including at least one fingerprint image of the owner of the credit card; and
providing a message to said purchaser location in accordance with the results of said processing step for completion of said purchase transaction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A remote credit card authentication system comprising:
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means for initiating a purchase transaction in which a purchaser provides credit card information from a purchaser location;
means for transmitting said credit card information to a credit card database;
means for requesting provision of personal information associated with said purchaser;
means for obtaining said personal information, including at least one fingerprint image, from the purchaser at said purchaser location, wherein said at least one fingerprint image is not included within the credit card information contained on the credit card;
means provided as a stand-alone device for processing said at least one fingerprint image, said stand-alone device being connected as an add-on unit to said means for initiating said purchase transaction;
means for transmitting said obtained personal information including said processed at least one fingerprint image to said credit card database;
means for processing, in said credit card database, said obtained personal information to match said personal information with stored personal information including at least one fingerprint image of the owner of the credit card; and
means for providing a message to said purchaser location in accordance with the results of said processing step for completion of said purchase transaction. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. In an Internet-based purchasing environment comprising a website adapted for processing a user purchase transaction and a purchaser terminal for enabling such a purchase transaction, a method for remote credit card authentication comprising the steps of:
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initiating the purchase transaction in which a purchaser provides credit card information from the purchaser terminal;
transmitting to a credit card database in a secured manner a request for a unique encryption token;
generating said encryption token;
transmitting said encryption token to the purchaser terminal while requesting provision of at least one fingerprint image of the purchaser;
obtaining said at least one fingerprint image from the purchaser at a reader device associated with the purchaser terminal, wherein said at least one fingerprint image is not included within the credit card information contained on the credit card;
encrypting said at least one fingerprint image using said encryption token in said reader device, said reader device being connected as an add-on unit to said purchaser terminal whereat said purchase transaction is initiated;
transmitting said credit card information and said obtained at least one fingerprint image in encrypted form from said reader device to the purchaser terminal;
transmitting said credit card information and said obtained at least one fingerprint image in encrypted form from the purchaser terminal to said credit card database;
decrypting from said encrypted form said credit card information and said obtained at least one fingerprint image in said credit card database;
processing said decrypted credit card information and at least one fingerprint image to be matched with stored personal information in said credit card database including at least one fingerprint of the owner of the credit card; and
providing a message to said purchaser terminal in accordance with the results of said processing step for completion of said purchase transaction. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification