Provisioning electronic transaction card in mobile device

• US 7,954,717 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2010
• Issued: 06/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Icashe Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Tyfone Incorporated
• Inventors: Narendra, Siva G., Tadepalli, Prabhakar, Spitzer, Thomas N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D
• Application Number:
  US12/962,953
• Publication Number:
  US 20110077052A1
• Time in Patent Office: 181 Days
• Field of Search: 235/380, 235/375, 235/382, 235/492, 235/487, 235/493, 235/451, 235/472.01, 235/472.02, 235/472.03, 235/462.45, 235/462.46
• US Class Current: 235/451
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06187 with magnetically detectable marking
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06206 the magnetic marking being emulated
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07 with integrated circuit chips
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0703 the battery being onboard of a handheld device, e.g. a smart phone or PDA
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0727 the arrangement being a circuit facilitating integration of the record carrier with a hand-held device such as a smart phone of PDA
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/073 Special arrangements for circuits, e.g. for protecting identification code in memory protection against unauthorised use of computer memory G06F12/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07741 comprising a first part operating as a regular record carrier and a second attachable part that changes the functional appearance of said record carrier, e.g. a contact-based smart card with an adapter part which, when attached to the contact card makes the contact card function as a non-contact card
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07758 arrangements for adhering the record carrier to further objects or living beings, functioning as an identification tag
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07762 the adhering arrangement making the record carrier wearable, e.g. having the form of a ring, watch, glove or bracelet record carriers for insertion in the human body for medical purposes A61B90/00; record carriers adapted for attachment to animals A01K11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• 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 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/353 Payments by cards read by M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces

Abstract

An electronic transaction card communicates with an add-on slot of an intelligent electronic device. The add-on slot may be a memory card slot. The intelligent electronic device may be a mobile phone or other device with or without network connectivity. The electronic transaction card may have magnetic field producing circuitry compatible with magnetic card readers, smartcard circuitry, other point-of-sale interfaces, or any combination thereof.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a mobile device, a communication over a network; and

programming an electronic transaction card with smartcard circuitry in an add-on slot of the mobile device in response to the communication.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving a communication over a network comprises receiving a communication over a wired network.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving a communication over a network comprises receiving a communication over a wireless network.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving a communication over a network comprises receiving a communication over a cellular telephone network.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein programming an electronic transaction card comprises programming an electronic transaction card to operate as a credit card.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein programming an electronic transaction card comprises programming an electronic transaction card to operate as a debit card.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein programming an electronic transaction card comprises programming an electronic transaction card to operate as a stored value card.

8. A method comprising:

receiving, at an intelligent electronic device with a memory card slot, a communication over a network; and

programming a memory card with smartcard circuitry in the memory card slot of the intelligent electronic device in response to the communication.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein receiving a communication over a network comprises receiving a communication over a wired network.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein receiving a communication over a network comprises receiving a communication over a wireless network.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein receiving a communication over a network comprises receiving a communication over a cellular telephone network.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein programming a memory card comprises programming the memory card to operate as a credit card.

13. The method of claim 8 wherein programming a memory card comprises programming the memory card to operate as a debit card.

14. The method of claim 8 wherein programming a memory card comprises programming the memory card to operate as a stored value card.

15. A method comprising:

receiving, at a mobile phone with a memory card slot, a communication over a network; and

in response to the communication, programming a memory card in the memory card slot of the mobile phone to perform financial transactions.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein receiving a communication over a network comprises receiving a communication over a wired network.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein receiving a communication over a network comprises receiving a communication over a wireless network.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein receiving a communication over a network comprises receiving a communication over a cellular telephone network.

19. The method of claim 15 wherein programming a memory card comprises programming the memory card to operate as a credit card.

20. The method of claim 15 wherein programming a memory card comprises programming the memory card to operate as a debit card.

21. The method of claim 15 wherein programming a memory card comprises programming the memory card to operate as a stored value card.