Method and apparatus for message correction in a transaction authorization service

• US 7,729,989 B1
• Filed: 09/19/2007
• Issued: 06/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Huang, Chih-Jen, Gupta, Diwakar, Yuen, Philip, George, Michael M., Yuen, Gerald
• Primary Examiner(s): Kyle; Charles R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Norman; Samica L
• Application Number:
  US11/858,002
• Time in Patent Office: 986 Days
• Field of Search: 705/44, 713/201
• US Class Current: 705/44
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network 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 20/405 Establishing or using transaction specific rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

A transaction processing and authorization service. A transaction initiation message received from a source entity by the service may include one or more errors. The service may, in response to receiving an incorrect transaction initiation message, contact the source entity via a second communications channel and allow the source entity to correct the faulty transaction initiation message during the communication session. The service may allow the source entity to correct only incorrect or missing portions of the transaction initiation message, and thus the source entity may not be required to re-enter the entire message. Correction of the transaction initiation message may be performed as part of an authorization contact from the service to the source entity on a communications channel, and thus the correction may not require any extra communications attempts or sessions between the service and the source entity.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable by the processor to implement a transaction authorization service configured to;

receive a transaction initiation message from a source entity indicating the initiation of a transaction between the source entity and a target entity, wherein the message is received via a first communications channel;

in response to detecting one or more errors in content of the transaction initiation message from the source entity, initiate a communication session from the transaction authorization service to the source entity via a second communications channel;

during said communication session;

obtain a correction for each of the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message from the source entity; and

obtain information authorizing the transaction from the source entity;

wherein the correction for each of the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message and the information authorizing the transaction are obtained during the same communication session between the transaction authorization service and the source entity on the second communications channel.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the transaction authorization service is configured to complete the transaction between the source entity and the target entity, wherein, to complete the transaction between the source entity and the target entity, the transaction authorization service is configured to transfer funds from an account of the source entity to an account of the target entity.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the information authorizing the transaction is an identifier associated with the source entity.

4. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the first communications channel and the second communications channel are the same communications channel.

5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the first communications channel and the second communications channel are different communications channels.

6. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the transaction initiation message from the source entity indicating the initiation of the transaction between the source entity and the target entity includes information identifying the target entity and a monetary amount to be transferred from the source entity to the target entity.

7. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message includes an error in the monetary amount to be transferred from the source entity to the target entity, and wherein, to obtain a correction for each of the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message from the source entity, the transaction authorization service is configured to:

communicate to the source entity a message requesting the source entity to provide a correction for the error in the monetary amount to be transferred from the source entity to the target entity; and

receive from the source entity a correction for the error in the monetary amount to be transferred from the source entity to the target entity.

8. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message includes an error in the information identifying the target entity, and wherein, to obtain a correction for each of the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message from the source entity, the transaction authorization service is configured to:

communicate to the source entity a message requesting the source entity to provide a correction for the error in the information identifying the target entity; and

receive from the source entity a correction for the error in the information identifying the target entity.

9. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein the transaction initiation message from the source entity indicating the initiation of the transaction between the source entity and the target entity further includes a user security phrase known only to the source entity and the transaction authorization service, wherein the user security phrase is used by the transaction authorization service to authenticate that the transaction initiation message is from the source entity.

10. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message includes an error in the user security phrase, and wherein, to obtain a correction for each of the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message from the source entity, the transaction authorization service is configured to:

communicate to the source entity a message requesting the source entity to provide a correction for the error in the user security phrase; and

receive from the source entity a correction for the error in the user security phrase.

11. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the first communications channel is a text messaging channel, and wherein the transaction initiation message is a text message.

12. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

performing, on one or more computers;

receiving, at a transaction authorization service, a transaction initiation message from a source entity indicating the initiation of a transaction between the source entity and a target entity, wherein the message is received via a first communications channel;

in response to detecting one or more errors in content of the transaction initiation message from the source entity, initiating a communication session from the transaction authorization service to the source entity via a second communications channel;

during said communication session;

obtaining a correction for each of the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message from the source entity; and

obtaining information authorizing the transaction from the source entity;

wherein said obtaining a correction for each of the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message and said obtaining information authorizing the transaction are performed during the same communication session between the transaction authorization service and the source entity on the second communications channel.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising completing the transaction between the source entity and the target entity, wherein said completing the transaction between the source entity and the target entity comprises transferring funds from an account of the source entity to an account of the target entity.

14. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the transaction initiation message from the source entity indicating the initiation of the transaction between the source entity and the target entity includes information identifying the target entity and a monetary amount to be transferred from the source entity to the target entity.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message includes an error in the monetary amount to be transferred from the source entity to the target entity, and wherein said obtaining a correction for each of the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message from the source entity comprises:

communicating to the source entity a message requesting the source entity to provide a correction for the error in the monetary amount to be transferred from the source entity to the target entity; and

receiving from the source entity a correction for the error in the monetary amount to be transferred from the source entity to the target entity.

16. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message includes an error in the information identifying the target entity, and wherein said obtaining a correction for each of the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message from the source entity comprises:

communicating to the source entity a message requesting the source entity to provide a correction for the error in the information identifying the target entity; and

receiving from the source entity a correction for the error in the information identifying the target entity.

17. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the transaction initiation message from the source entity indicating the initiation of the transaction between the source entity and the target entity further includes a user security phrase known only to the source entity and the transaction authorization service, wherein the user security phrase is used by the transaction authorization service to authenticate that the transaction initiation message is from the source entity.

18. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message includes an error in the user security phrase, and wherein said obtaining a correction for each of the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message from the source entity comprises:

communicating to the source entity a message requesting the source entity to provide a correction for the error in the user security phrase; and

receiving from the source entity a correction for the error in the user security phrase.

19. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the first communications channel is a text messaging channel, and wherein the transaction initiation message is a text message.

20. A computer-accessible storage medium, comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement a transaction authorization service configured to:

receive a transaction initiation message from a source entity indicating the initiation of a transaction between the source entity and a target entity, wherein the message is received via a first communications channel;

in response to detecting one or more errors in content of the transaction initiation message from the source entity, initiate a communication session from the transaction authorization service to the source entity via a second communications channel;

during said communication session;

obtain a correction for each of the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message from the source entity; and

obtain information authorizing the transaction from the source entity;

wherein the correction for each of the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message and the information authorizing the transaction are obtained during the same communication session between the transaction authorization service and the source entity on the second communications channel.

21. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 20, wherein the transaction authorization service is configured to complete the transaction between the source entity and the target entity, wherein, to complete the transaction between the source entity and the target entity, the transaction authorization service is configured to transfer funds from an account of the source entity to an account of the target entity.

22. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 20, wherein the transaction initiation message from the source entity indicating the initiation of the transaction between the source entity and the target entity includes a monetary amount to be transferred from the source entity to the target entity, wherein the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message includes an error in the monetary amount to be transferred from the source entity to the target entity, and wherein, to obtain a correction for each of the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message from the source entity, the transaction authorization service is configured to:

communicate to the source entity a message requesting the source entity to provide a correction for the error in the monetary amount to be transferred from the source entity to the target entity; and

receive from the source entity a correction for the error in the monetary amount to be transferred from the source entity to the target entity.

23. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 20, wherein the transaction initiation message from the source entity indicating the initiation of the transaction between the source entity and the target entity includes information identifying the target entity, wherein the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message includes an error in the information identifying the target entity, and wherein, to obtain a correction for each of the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message from the source entity, the transaction authorization service is configured to:

communicate to the source entity a message requesting the source entity to provide a correction for the error in the information identifying the target entity; and

receive from the source entity a correction for the error in the information identifying the target entity.

24. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 20, wherein the transaction initiation message from the source entity indicating the initiation of the transaction between the source entity and the target entity includes a user security phrase known only to the source entity and the transaction authorization service, wherein the user security phrase is used by the transaction authorization service to authenticate that the transaction initiation message is from the source entity, wherein the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message includes an error in the user security phrase, and wherein, to obtain a correction for each of the one or more errors in the content of the transaction initiation message from the source entity, the transaction authorization service is configured to:

communicate to the source entity a message requesting the source entity to provide a correction for the error in the user security phrase; and

receive from the source entity a correction for the error in the user security phrase.

25. The computer-accessible storage medium as recited in claim 20, wherein the first communications channel is a text messaging channel, and wherein the transaction initiation message is a text message.