Personally customizable credit card accounts

• US 7,552,088 B2
• Filed: 02/22/2005
• Issued: 06/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Malcolm, Jerry Walter
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, JAGDISH
• Application Number:
  US11/062,421
• Publication Number:
  US 20050144123A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,582 Days
• Field of Search: 705/35, 705/39, 705/35.38
• US Class Current: 705/39
• 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 20/24 Credit schemes, i.e. "pay after"
• 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 20/405 Establishing or using transaction specific rules
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

Account holders may specify vendor-specific charge restrictions for charging transactions against their accounts, where each vendor-specific charge restriction includes a unique identifier for the corresponding vendor to which the charge restriction is applicable. When a charge authorization request is received for a charge against an account having vendor-specific charge restrictions set by the account holder, the vendor identifier is extracted from the charge authorization request and employed to determine whether any charge restrictions are applicable to the requesting vendor.

Claims

1. A method for managing charging transactions, comprising:

receiving, within a data processing system, from an owner of a chargeable account number and in association with the chargeable account number, a designation of at least one specified vendor as a member of an allowed vendors listing, said designation including a corresponding amount limit chargeable by the specified vendor, said corresponding amount limit being a specified amount within a defined duration of time, said allowed vendor listing having associated therewith a decline all others flag, wherein if said decline all others flag is set, charging authorization requests from vendors not listed in said allowed vendors listing are declined;

identifying each vendor in the allowed vendor listing with a vendor specific identification;

storing the designated specified vendor member of the allowed vendor listing and corresponding amount limit including the duration of time in association with the associated vendor identification in a database associated with the data processing system;

receiving, within the data processing system, from the owner of the chargeable account number and in association with the chargeable account number, a designation of at least one specified excluded vendor as a member of an excluded vendor listing;

identifying each vendor in the excluded vendor listing with a vendor specific identification;

storing vendor identification of the at least one specified excluded vendor in the database associated with the data processing system;

receiving, at the data processing system, from a requesting vendor a current charging transaction authorization request associated with the chargeable account number, said current charging transaction authorization request including an identification of a vendor requesting the authorization, an amount of a charge, and a time of the transaction;

comparing the current charging transaction information with the allowed vendor listing and excluded vendor information stored in the database;

determining whether the decline all others flag associated with the allowed vendors listing is set;

determining whether the requesting vendor for the current charging transaction is identified on the allowed vendors listing;

if the charging vendor is not on the allowed vendors listing and if the decline all others flag is set, declining the current charging transaction;

if the charging vendor is not on the allowed vendors listing, determining if the charging vendor is on the excluded vendors listing;

if the charging vendor is on the excluded vendors listing, declining the current charging transaction;

if the charging vendor is on the allowed vendors listing, determining, by the data processing system, whether the current charging transaction for a specified amount by the charging vendor to the chargeable account number is within the designated amount limit chargeable by the charging vendor within the defined duration of time; and

,

if the current charging transaction for a specified amount by the charging vendor to the chargeable account number is within the designated amount limit chargeable by the charging vendor within the defined duration of time, approving the current charging transaction.