Method and system for authorizing a commercial transaction

• US 6,934,849 B2
• Filed: 07/13/2001
• Issued: 08/23/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: LumenVox, LLC.
• Original Assignee: Voice Trust AG
• Inventors: Kramer, Michaek, Tacke, Jörg
• Primary Examiner(s): Morse, Gregory
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Tongoc
• Application Number:
  US10/332,466
• Publication Number:
  US 20030161503A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,502 Days
• Field of Search: 713/161, 713/168, 713/186, 705/18, 705/44, 705/1, 705/26, 705/39, 705/78, 705/53, 705/67, 705/75, 705/76, 379/220.01, 379/221.02, 382/115, 382/181
• US Class Current: 713/186
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/305 using wired telephone networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/385 using an alias or single-use codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/37 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/00 Speaker identification or verification techniques

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and system for authorizing a commercial transaction between a customer and a goods or service provider via an authorization service provider with authentication of the customer by comparing a biometric sample of the customer with a biometric model of the customer stored with the authorization service provider. The telephone link between the supplier and the authorization service provider is set up via a router which associates the real telephone number of the authorization service provider and the telephone number of the supplier with a virtual telephone number and transmits a code which is isochronously calculated by the router and the authorization provider with the aid of the same algorithm. The telephone link is accepted by the authorization service provider if the supplier is registered with the authorization service provider if the supplier is registered with authorization service provider under the transmitted number and if the transmitted code corresponds to the calculated code contained by said authorization service provider. An identifier and biometric code of the customer are transmitted to the authorization service provider in addition to the amount which is to be transferred. The transaction is initiated by the authorization provider if the correspondence between the biometric sample and the stored biometric model exceeds a predetermined thresh old value.

Claims

1. A method for authorizing a commercial transaction between a customer and a goods-and-service provider (GSP) via an authorization service provider, the method including authentication of the customer by comparing a string of words transmitted from the customer with a voice print of the customer stored with the authorization service provider, the method comprising the following steps:

a) establishing a telephone link via a communication network between the GSP and the authorization service provider via a router,

wherein the router

assigns a real telephone number of the authorization service provider to a virtual telephone number, and

transmits the GSP'"'"'s telephone number and a code that is calculated simultaneously by the router and the authorization service provider by means of the same algorithm,

b) acceptance of the telephone link by the authorization service provider if the GSP is registered with the authorization service provider under the transmitted telephone number and if the transmitted code is identical to the code calculated by the authorization service provider,

c) transmission of a customers identifier from the customer to the authorization service provider via the established telephone link,

d) transmission of a string of words to the customer by the authorization service provider

e) transmission of the string of words repeated by the customer via the established telephone link,

f) conveyance of the amount to be transferred and of any other data that may be necessary for the transaction from the customer to the authorization service provider via the established telephone link, and

g) initiating the transaction by the authorization service provider if correspondence between the string of words transmitted from the customer and the stored voice print of the customer is greater than a predetermined threshold value,

wherein the verification of correspondence between the repeated string of spoken words and the stored voice print is based on the customers individual voice peculiarities,

the initiation of the transaction by the authorization service provider proceeds only if the repeated string of words consists of the same words in the same order as the previously transmitted string of words, and

the string of words is unknown to the customer prior to a respective authorization process.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identifier as well as the data necessary for the transaction are input by voice.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identifier is the customer'"'"'s name.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the initiation of the transaction is communicated directly to the GSP by the authorization service provider.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the initiation of the transaction is confirmed by the authorization service provider directly to the customer via the established telephone link.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein for each new authorization process, a link to the authorization service provider (ASP) via an electronic transmitter is established to ASP'"'"'s real telephone numbers that change regularly, to avoid continuous electronic dialing of the ASP by unauthorized third parties and to enhance link security.

7. A system for authorizing a commercial transaction between a customer and a goods-or-service provider (GSP) via an authorization service provider, the transaction including authentication of the customer by comparing a string of words transmitted from the customer with a voice print of the customer stored with the authorization service provider, the system comprising:

a router, installed on the GSP'"'"'s side, for assigning a real telephone number of the authorization service provider to a virtual telephone number, for calculating a code and for transmitting the telephone number and the code,

a connection means for calculating a code simultaneously with the router and using same algorithm, and for verifying, in the course of establishing a link between the GSP and the authorization service provider, whether the GSP is registered with the authorization service provider at the telephone number transmitted by the router, and whether the code transmitted by the router coincides with the code calculated by the connection means, the connection means also for conveying to the customer a generated string of words not known to the customer prior to each respective authorization process, for receiving, via the established telephone link, a customer'"'"'s identifier, a string of words repeated by the customer after the generated string of words, and the amount to be transferred,

a memory, disposed within the authorization service providers area, for storing a voice print of the customer,

a comparator means, disposed within the authorization service provider'"'"'s area and comprising a voice recognition means for verifying a correspondence of the transmitted string of words with the stored voice print of the customer with regard to a speakers characteristic individual voice peculiarities, and

a control-and-evaluation unit disposed within the authorization service provider'"'"'s area for generating the string of words to be conveyed to and to be repeated by the customer and for initiating the transaction if the correspondence between the transmitted string of words and the stored voice print is greater than a predetermined threshold value and if the repeated string of words consists of the same words in the same order as the previously generated word string.