Point-of-sale (POS) voice authentication transaction system

• US 6,601,762 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2001
• Issued: 08/05/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Piotrowski, Tony E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kim, Ahshik
• Application Number:
  US09/882,079
• Publication Number:
  US 20020190124A1
• Time in Patent Office: 781 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/380, 235/382, 235/379, 235/383, 705/43, 704/273
• US Class Current: 235/382
• 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 20/40145 Biometric identity checks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/37 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/38 Graded-service arrangements, i.e. some subscribers prevented from establishing certain connections queuing arrangements H04Q3/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/387 using subscriber identification cards

Abstract

A system and method for providing voice authentication during a sale transaction through a telephone system or other communication means, wherein users to the service may require voice authentication as a prerequisite to conduct a conventional credit card or debit transaction. The voice authentication step is performed based on a comparison between a previously recorded voice message and the voice message inserted through the system using the voice browser and the voice recognition technology.

Claims

1. A method for verifying a user'"'"'s identity using a voice input, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) initiating a commercial transaction using a point-of-sale terminal operated by a commercial establishment;

(b) prompting said user to speak, via the point-of-sale terminal, at least one word corresponding to predetermined voice reference data;

(c) comparing the at least one word to said voice reference data to establish a voice match; and

(d) if a match is established, enabling the commercial establishment to complete the commercial transaction,

wherein said database is remotely accessed using a voice web-based markup (VoiceXML) language protocol.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, if a match is not established, canceling the commercial transaction.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said voice reference data includes personal information of said user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said voice reference data is stored in a database associated with a plurality of users.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the commercial transaction is a credit or debit card transaction.

6. A method for verifying a user'"'"'s identity in order to complete a commercial transaction using a point-of-sale terminal operated by a commercial establishment, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) prompting said user, via the point-of-sale terminal, to speak voice reference information;

(b) recognizing and storing each of said spoken voice reference information in a storage means for subsequent retrieval;

(c) allowing for the establishment of a remote connection to the storage means upon receiving a request to verify the user'"'"'s identity in connection with the commercial transaction;

(d) receiving a voice utterance of one or more words corresponding to at least one word that is used to create said voice reference information;

(e) comparing said transmitted voice utterance with said stored voice reference data to establish a voice match; and

,

(f) providing an indication to the commercial establishment as to whether the voice match is located or not,

wherein the remote connection is achieved using a voice web-based markup (VoiceXML) language protocol.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of repeating said steps (d)-(f) if a match is not established.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein said request to verify the user'"'"'s identity is performed according to a predetermined schedule.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the commercial transaction includes a credit or debit card transaction at a point of sale terminal.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein said request to verify the user'"'"'s identity is performed in real time.

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of enabling said user to access one or more services from said service provider system if a match is established.

12. A point of sale terminal comprising:

a voice input device for inputting voice data of a user;

an input device for inputting information related to a credit or debit card transaction requested by the user.

means for requesting verification that the user is an authorized user of the credit or debit card,

wherein the verification is a voice authentication process performed using the voice data input by the user, and the verification of the user'"'"'s identity can be performed on a periodic basis or in real time,

wherein the means for verifying includes a voice browser that uses a voice web-based markup (VoiceXML) language protocol.