Payment transaction method and payment transaction system

• US 7,478,065 B1
• Filed: 12/23/1999
• Issued: 01/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Swisscom AG (Government of Switzerland)
• Original Assignee: Swisscom Mobile AG (Government of Switzerland)
• Inventors: Schlegel, Georges, Ritter, Rudolf, Lauper, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell; James P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Trotter; Scott
• Application Number:
  US10/168,387
• Time in Patent Office: 3,309 Days
• Field of Search: 705/21, 705/16, 705/17, 705/39, 705/41
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/223 based on the use of peer-to-peer networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices

Abstract

Payment transaction method and payment transaction system in which payment transactions between customers with portable mobile devices (1), for example mobile radio telephones, and a plurality of payment terminals (2) are carried out at a service point (5), the payment terminal (2) responsible for a payment transaction informing the respective customer about its payment terminal identification and a total transaction amount, the customer indicating the payment terminal identification to the mobile device (1) and the mobile device (1) transmitting a transaction initiation record, comprising the payment terminal identification as well as a customer identification, via a contactless device interface (11-21) to the payment terminal (2) as well as via a mobile radio network (6) to a central transaction unit (4), the payment terminal (2) transmitting, after receipt of the transaction initiation record, a transaction placing record comprising a service point identification, the payment terminal identification and the total transaction amount, via a communication network (3) to the central transaction unit (4), and the central transaction unit (4) transmitting a payment request, comprising at least the total transaction amount, to the mobile device (1) from which the transaction initiation record was transmitted.

Claims

1. A payment transaction method between a user having a portable mobile device and a service point that includes a plurality of payment terminals, each of the plurality of terminals including a payment terminal identification that distinguishes each of the plurality of payment terminals of the service point from each other, the method comprising:

determining a total amount of a transaction by a payment terminal of the service point and informing a user about the total amount of the transaction and about a payment terminal identification identifying the payment terminal;

indicating the payment terminal identification to the mobile device;

first preparing a transaction initiation record in the mobile device by linking the payment terminal identification of said indicating to a user identification identifying the user the transaction initiation record including the payment terminal identification and the user identification;

first transmitting the transaction initiation record from the mobile device via a contact-less interface to the payment terminal of said indicating;

second transmitting the transaction initiation record from the mobile device via a mobile radio network to a central transaction unit;

second preparing a transaction placing record by the payment terminal after receiving the transaction initiation record from said second transmitting, the transaction placing record including the user identification, the payment terminal identification, and a total amount of the transaction;

third transmitting said transaction placing record by the payment terminal via a communication network to the central transaction unit; and

fourth transmitting a payment request by the central transaction unit via the mobile radio network to the mobile device that performed said first and second transmitting.

2. The payment transaction method according to claim 1, further comprising:

third preparing a payment record with the mobile device by linking the payment request to the user identification; and

fifth transmitting the payment record from the mobile device via the mobile radio network to the central transaction unit.

3. The payment transaction method according to claim 2, wherein said third preparing further includes:

inserting indications about a mode of payment in the payment record.

4. The payment transaction method according to claim 1, wherein said second preparing further includes:

inserting a service point identification by the payment terminal into the transaction placing record; and

crediting the total amount of the transaction to the service point of the payment terminal.

5. The payment transaction method according the claim 1, further comprising:

authenticating a user at the mobile device with a biometric feature before said indicating the payment terminal identification.

6. The payment transaction method according to claim 1, further comprising:

initial transmitting of the payment terminal identification of the payment terminal to the mobile device via the contact-less interface, and

said indicating the payment terminal identification further includes,

operating input elements of the mobile device to accept the payment terminal that was identified by said initial transmitting.

7. The payment transaction method according to claim 1, further comprising:

verifying a solvency of the user in the central transaction unit.

15. The payment transaction method according to claim 1, wherein said first transmitting further comprises:

transmitting the transaction initiation record from the mobile device by a first contact-less port of the mobile device to a second contact-less port of the payment terminal.

8. A payment transaction system comprising:

a central transaction unit;

a portable mobile device having a first contact-less interface and configured to communicate with the central transaction unit via a mobile radio network;

a service point including a plurality of payment terminals having second contact-less interfaces, the first contact-less interfaces configured to send data to the second contact-less interface, the plurality of payment terminals each having a payment terminal identification that distinguishes each of the plurality of payment terminals from each other, the plurality of payment terminals include an information device configured to inform a user about the payment terminal identification, and configured to inform the user about the total amount of a transaction for a payment transaction,

wherein the mobile device further includes,

a transaction initiation module configured to receive a payment terminal identification indicated by the user, to prepare a transaction initiation record including a linkage of the indicated payment terminal identification to a user identification, the transaction initiation record including the payment terminal identification and the user identification, and to transmit the transaction initiation record by the first contact-less interface to the respective payment terminal, and to transmit the transaction initiation record via a mobile radio network to a central transaction unit,

wherein the plurality of payment terminals further include,

a transaction placing module configured to prepare a transaction placing record after receipt of the transaction initiation record from the mobile device, the transaction placing record including the user identification, the payment terminal identification, and the total amount of the transaction for the respective payment transaction, and to transmit the transaction placing record via a communication network to the central transaction unit, and

wherein the central transaction unit further includes,

a payment request module configured to transmit a payment request including the total amount of the transaction for the respective payment transaction via the mobile radio network to the mobile device that sent the transaction initiation record.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the mobile device further comprises:

a payment record module configured to prepare a payment record including a payment request received by the mobile device from the central transaction unit, and a user identification for the respective user, and configured to transmit the payment record via the mobile radio network to the central transaction unit.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the payment record module further comprises an input device configured to insert indications about the mode of payment into the payment record.

11. The system according to claim 8, wherein the transaction placing module further comprises:

an input device configured to insert a service point identification into the transaction placing record before sending the transaction placing record, and

the central transaction unit further comprises,

a crediting module configured to credit the total amount of the transaction for the respective payment transaction to the service point identified through the service point identification.

12. The system according to claim 8, wherein the mobile device further includes:

an authentication module configured to receive a biometric feature from the user and to authenticate the user on a basis of the received biometric feature.

13. The system according to claim 8, wherein the plurality of payment terminals each further comprise:

a payment terminal identification module configured to transmit the payment terminal identification via the second contact-less device interface directly to the first contact-less interface of the mobile device, and

the transaction initiation module further comprises a receiver configured to accept a command entered by the user by operating elements of the mobile device and configured to receive the payment terminal identification for the respective payment terminal corresponding to the acceptance command.

14. The system according to claim 8, wherein the central transaction unit further comprises:

a solvency checking module configured to check a solvency of the user.