Recurring transaction processing

• US 7,970,705 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2009
• Issued: 06/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Patterson, Barbara
• Primary Examiner(s): Colbert; Ella
• Assistant Examiner(s): GREENE, DANIEL LAWSON
• Application Number:
  US12/608,215
• Publication Number:
  US 20100299253A1
• Time in Patent Office: 607 Days
• Field of Search: 705/35, 705/40, 705/39, 705/41, 705/44, 235/380
• US Class Current: 705/44
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• 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 20/227 characterised in that multiple accounts are available, e.g. to the payer
• 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 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• 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

Abstract

Techniques for processing of recurring payments are provided that do not require merchants to update consumer account information when a consumer is issued a new account number for a payment card or the like. For example, when a consumer is issued a new account number by an issuer, the new account number can be provided to a payment processing network. A server computer in the payment processing network then identifies any recurring payments associated with the user'"'"'s old account number and provides the consumer with a list of merchants for which the consumer had established recurring payments associated with the old account number. The consumer is then provided the opportunity to select those merchants for whom the consumer wishes to continue the recurring payments using the new account number. The payment processing network then creates a mapping between the old account number and the new account number for the merchants designated by the consumer and continues to process recurring payment authorization requests received from the designated merchants using the old account information. As a result, the merchants do not need to make any updates to the consumer account information maintained by the merchants, and the consumer is provided with the ability to easily select which merchants can continue processing recurring payments using the old account number.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a server computer, old account information associated with a user, wherein the old account information is to be replaced with new account information;

generating a list of merchants associated with a set of recurring payments, wherein the recurring payments are made using the old account information;

providing the list of merchants for the user; and

receiving a response from the user, the response indicating whether to continue processing recurring payments for the merchants using the new account information,

wherein the old account information is associated with an old payment card and the new account information is associated with a new payment card, wherein the old payment card and the new payment card are issued from the same issuer,

wherein the response from the user indicates that an authorized merchant in the list of merchants is to be paid using a recurring payment process using the new account information, and wherein the method further comprises, after receiving the response from the user,

receiving an authorization request message from the authorized merchant, and

sending an authorization response message to the authorized merchant, wherein the authorization response message indicates whether or not the authorization request message is approved or denied,

and wherein the method further comprises,

modifying the authorization request message to exclude the old account information and to include the new account information, and

sending the modified authorization request message to the issuer,

wherein the authorization request message comprises a recurring payment indicator, an account number, a merchant identifier, and a transaction amount.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the merchants include one or more of a telephone company, a cable television company, or a utility company.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the list of merchants is provided to the user using a graphical user interface, which comprises a web page, and wherein the method further comprises:

generating and sending a message to the user, which directs the user to the web page.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the authorization request message is a first authorization request message and wherein the authorization response message is a first authorization response message, and wherein the response from the user indicates that a merchant in the list of merchants is not to be paid using a recurring payment process using the new account information and is an unauthorized merchant, and wherein the method further comprises, after receiving the response from the user:

receiving a second authorization request message from the unauthorized merchant; and

sending a second authorization response message to the unauthorized merchant, wherein the second authorization response message indicates that the second authorization request message is denied.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the server computer is present in a payment processing network located between issuers and acquirers.

6. The method of claim 1,

wherein the authorized merchant does not store the new account information.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the server computer is present in a payment processing network located between issuers and acquirers.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the method further comprises receiving, at the server computer, registration information from one or more of the merchants in the list of merchants.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the authorized merchant stores the old account information, but not the new account information.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the server computer is present in a payment processing network located between issuers and acquirers.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising code executable by a processor, for implementing a method comprising:

receiving, at a server computer, old account information associated with the user, wherein the old account information is to be replaced with new account information;

generating a list of merchants associated with a set of recurring payments, wherein the recurring payments are made using the old account information;

providing the list of merchants for the user; and

receiving a response from the user, the response indicating whether to continue processing recurring payments for the merchants using the new account information, wherein the old account information is associated with an old payment card and the new account information is associated with a new payment card, wherein the old payment card and the new payment card are issued from the same issuer,

wherein the response from the user indicates that an authorized merchant in the list of merchants is to be paid using a recurring payment process using the new account information, and wherein the method further comprises, after receiving the response from the user,

receiving an authorization request message associated from the authorized merchant, and

sending an authorization response message to the authorized merchant, wherein the authorization response message indicates whether or not the authorization request message is approved or denied,

and wherein the method further comprises,

modifying the authorization request message to exclude the old account information and to include the new account information, and

sending the modified authorization request message to the issuer,

wherein the authorization request message comprises a recurring payment indicator, an account number, a merchant identifier, and a transaction amount.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein the list of merchants is provided to the user using a graphical user interface, which comprises a web page, and wherein the method further comprises:

generating and sending a message to the user, which directs the user to the web page.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the authorization request message is a first authorization request message and wherein the authorization response message is a first authorization response message, and wherein the response from the user indicates that a merchant in the list of merchants is not to be paid using a recurring payment process using the new account information and is an unauthorized merchant, and wherein the method further comprises, after receiving the response from the user:

receiving a second authorization request message associated from the unauthorized merchant; and

sending a second authorization response message to the unauthorized merchant, wherein the second authorization response message indicates that the second authorization request message is denied.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein the authorized merchant stores the old account information, but not the new account information.

15. A server computer comprising:

a processor; and

a computer readable medium coupled to the processor, the computer readable medium comprising code executable by a processor, for implementing a method comprising (i) receiving, at a server computer, old account information associated with the user, wherein the old account information is to be replaced with new account information, (ii) generating a list of merchants associated with a set of recurring payments, wherein the recurring payments are made using the old account information, (iii) providing the list of merchants for the user, and (iv) receiving a response from the user, the response indicating whether to continue processing recurring payments for the merchants using the new account information, wherein the old account information is associated with an old payment card and the new account information is associated with a new payment card, wherein the old payment card and the new payment card are issued from the same issuer,

wherein the response from the user indicates that an authorized merchant in the list of merchants is to be paid using a recurring payment process using the new account information, and wherein the method further comprises, after receiving the response from the user,

receiving an authorization request message from the authorized merchant; and

sending an authorization response message to the authorized merchant, wherein the authorization response message indicates whether or not the authorization request message is approved or denied,

and wherein the method further comprises,

modifying the authorization request message to exclude the old account information and to include the new account information, and

sending the modified authorization request message to the issuer,

wherein the authorization request message comprises a recurring payment indicator, an account number, a merchant identifier, and a transaction amount.

16. The server computer of claim 15 wherein the authorized merchant stores the old account information, but not the new account information.