Method and architecture for facilitating payment to e-commerce merchants via a payment service

• US 7,457,778 B2
• Filed: 12/31/2003
• Issued: 11/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Inventors: Listwon, Benjamin Gregg, Levchin, Max R., Kang, David Young-June, Li, David Ching
• Primary Examiner(s): Kalinowski; Alexander
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kanervo; Virpi H
• Application Number:
  US10/749,684
• Publication Number:
  US 20050065881A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,791 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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 20/10 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 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• 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 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/102 applying security measure for e-commerce data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/12 Applying verification of the received information cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/168 above the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

Method and architecture for facilitating payment to e-commerce merchants via a payment service. The method enables consumer users of an electronic storefront hosted by a merchant to make purchases via the payment service, wherein interactions between the electronic storefront and the payment service are transparent to the user. In response to a user check-out request, the user'"'"'s browser is directed to a payment service web site. Information from which authorization for use of the payment service may be determined is passed to the payment service. The payment service then returns the browser to a selected check-out flow hosted by the electronic storefront, wherein the check-out flow provides an option to use the payment service if the user and merchant are authorized to do so, otherwise the check-out flow does not include the payment service option. In one embodiment, an application program interface (API) provided by the payment service is employed by the electronic storefront to facilitate transactions with the payment service.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

serving a first web page via an electronic storefront containing visual content including a check-out option;

receiving a check-out request from a consumer user of the electronic storefront to purchase one or more products from the electronic storefront;

serving a second web page via the electronic storefront containing hidden content including information to redirect a browser client to a web page hosted by a payment service web site, redirection to the web page hosted by the payment service web site causing the browser client to communicate a service cookie, stored by the browser client, to the payment service web site;

extracting user identification information from the service cookie to determine an identify of the consumer user;

determining whether the consumer user is authorized to use the payment service via a check with a corresponding user profile;

determining whether the consumer user is authorized to use the payment service to make purchases from the electronic storefront;

storing information at the payment service web site, the information to redirect the browser client to the web page hosted by the payment service web site, the information including a return URL (uniform resource locator) corresponding to a third web page;

extracting the return URL embedded in the information;

comparing the return URL that is extracted to a return URL corresponding to the third web page to determine whether redirection to the third web page should be performed;

redirecting the browser client to the third web page, the third web page being hosted by the electronic storefront, the redirecting including;

serving a web-based check-out interface, hosted by the electronic storefront, to the browser client used by the consumer user, the check-out interface including an option to enable the consumer user to make a payment for the one or more products via the payment service if it is determined the user is authorized to use the payment service.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending the service cookie containing information to identify the consumer user from the payment service to the browser client.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising authenticating the electronic storefront with the payment service.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the electronic storefront is authenticated by:

selecting a merchant identity (ID) for the electronic storefront to be used for transactions involving the payment service;

providing a merchant ID from the electronic storefront to the payment service; and

comparing the merchant ID that is provided with the merchant ID that was selected to authenticate the user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the merchant ID is provided to the payment service via a URL (uniform resource locator).

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating the web-based check-out interface by employing an application program interface (API) that is provided to the electronic storefront by the payment service.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising serving a web-based check-out interface to the browser client that does not include an option to enable the consumer user to make payment of the one or more products via the payment service if it is determined the user is not authorized to use the payment service to make purchases from the electronic storefront.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the operation of determining whether the consumer user is authorized to use the payment service to make purchases from an electronic storefront is performed without the knowledge of the consumer user.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising embedding information in the URL to the third web page indicating whether the user is authorized to use the payment service.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing an interface to enable an administrator for the electronic storefront to register one or more return URLs with the payment service.