Mobile phone charge card notification and authorization method

• US 7,357,310 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2005
• Issued: 04/15/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Calabrese Stemer LLC
• Original Assignee: Calabrese Stemer LLC
• Inventors: Stemer, Werner, Calabrese, Gerry
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim; Ahshik
• Application Number:
  US11/077,783
• Publication Number:
  US 20060202025A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,131 Days
• Field of Search: 235/379, 235/380, 235/383, 705/64, 705/75
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/325 using wireless networks
• 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: G06Q 20/42 Confirmation, e.g. check or permission by the legal debtor of payment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/425 using two different networks, one for transaction and one for security confirmation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03

Abstract

An added level of security is added to charge card transactions. Upon presenting a credit card for a purchase, for example, the cardholder receives a message on his cell phone that a charge authorization request has been received. The cardholder may also be prompted to reply with a password or a PIN, so as to add a second security authorization.

Claims

1. A payment authorization method, which comprises:

gathering, at a merchant'"'"'s, account information for payment of a customer'"'"'s purchase;

transmitting an authorization request to a financial authorization system requesting payment authorization for the customer'"'"'s purchase via a first transmission channel;

notifying the customer that the authorization request has been received by transmitting, via a second transmission channel independent of and separate from the first transmission channel between the merchant'"'"'s and the financial institution, a notification to a communications device associated with the customer; and

processing the transaction for payment authorization substantially without requiring a direct communications link between the communications device associated with the customer and the merchant'"'"'s and substantially without requiring a response to the notification from the communications device associated with the customer.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the authorization request includes the account information and a monetary amount, and the notification to the communications device associated with the customer includes the monetary amount.

3. In a charge card payment authorization method, wherein a charge is requested at a merchant'"'"'s, account information for payment of a customer'"'"'s purchase is acquired at the merchant'"'"'s, an authorization request is transmitted from a terminal associated with the merchant'"'"'s to a remote charge processing facility, and the charge request is processed, the improvement which comprises:

processing the charge request substantially exclusively through communication between the merchant'"'"'s and the remote processing facility and substantially without requiring activity on the part of the customer, and transmitting a notification of the charge request to a wireless device associated with the customer no later than immediately after authorizing the charge request.

4. The method according to claim 3, which comprises transmitting the notification immediately upon receiving the charge request and prior to authorizing the charge request.