Method and apparatus for authenticating financial transactions

• US 8,090,657 B2
• Filed: 01/03/2001
• Issued: 01/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Electronic Finger Print Technologies Limited
• Original Assignee: Electronic Finger Print Technologies Limited
• Inventors: Mitchell, Colin, Scholz, Kurt Laurence
• Primary Examiner(s): Kalinowski, Alexander
• Assistant Examiner(s): ONYEZIA, CHUKS N
• Application Number:
  US10/169,501
• Publication Number:
  US 20030149661A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,017 Days
• Field of Search: 705/44
• US Class Current: 705/44
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 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 20/4014 Identity check for transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/257 electronically G07C9/26 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/27 with central registration
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/10 together with a coded signal , e.g. in the form of personal identification information, like personal identification number [PIN] or biometric data

Abstract

A system for authentication of financial transactions using a remote terminal includes apparatus for sampling a unique biological identifier of a system user. The system has particular relevance to credit card or other electronic funds transfer transactions whereby the user may complete a transaction over the Internet, or at a merchant'"'"'s remote terminal by using a unique biological identifier in place of the credit card. The unique biological identifier is preferably a finger print which is read by a camera at the personal computer or remote terminal. The image is digitized and forwarded to a clearing house to identify the appropriate account for the required transaction to be processed.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of authenticating a financial transaction requested by a user using a remote terminal, the method comprising:

storing account information in machine readable form at a clearing house, the stored account information relating to one or more financial accounts accessible by at least one individual user,

storing identity information relating to each said financial account at the clearing house, the stored identity information including machine readable information corresponding to a unique biological identifier supplied by at least the one individual user,

submission by the user of a machine readable bank card, credit card, or debit card carrying information that identifies the clearing house storing the individual user'"'"'s unique biological identifier,

said card i) not visually identifying any particular account associated with the individual user, ii) does not visually identify the individual user'"'"'s name, iii) does not electronically identify any account associated with the individual user, and iv) and does not electronically identify the individual user'"'"'s name,

submission by the user of the user'"'"'s unique biological identifier,

submission, by the user, of a transaction request at the remote terminal, and

transmission from the remote terminal to the clearing house of the user'"'"'s submitted unique biological identifier and the user'"'"'s submitted transaction request,

comparing, by the clearing house, of the transmitted user'"'"'s unique biological identifier with the stored identity information,

wherein if the user'"'"'s unique biological identifier matches any of the stored identity information, then the transaction information is compared with the stored account information to which the biological information relates to ascertain whether the requested transaction is allowable, and

if the transaction is allowable, processing the transaction.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the unique biological identifier comprises a fingerprint and the step of the user submitting the user'"'"'s unique biological identifier includes the step of the user placing a selected finger on a transducer supplied at the remote terminal and the remote terminal processing the information from the transducer to derive information relating to the unique biological identifier.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of submission of the user'"'"'s unique biological identifier is repeated if the stored identity information does not match the user'"'"'s unique biological identifier.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of submitting the user'"'"'s unique biological identifier comprises a step of the user holding a selected finger in front of a camera which records a digital image of the finger print.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the remote terminal records the display of the camera'"'"'s output and overlays a sketch of where the user'"'"'s finger should be placed on the image, then searches for a finger image to be placed over the sketch, then when the finger is detected, taking a picture of the finger.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the picture is compressed and transmitted to the clearing house.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said card identifies the clearing house by storing routing information which identifies the clearing house.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the routing information is used by a network to which the remote terminal is connected to direct the unique biological and the transaction request information to the appropriate clearing house.

9. Apparatus for authenticating a financial transaction requested by a user using a remote terminal, the apparatus including:

a database having account information in machine readable form, the account information relating to one or more financial accounts,

the database also storing identity information relating to each account, the identity information including machine readable information corresponding to a unique biological identifier supplied by at least one individual authorised to access at least one of the accounts;

receiving means to receive information, from a remote terminal, corresponding to the user'"'"'s unique biological identifier and information relating to the user'"'"'s transaction request at the remote terminal;

comparing means to compare the received user'"'"'s unique biological identifier with the stored identity information to ascertain the relevant account; and

processing means to process the requested transaction,

wherein the apparatus is configured to associate one or more accounts with the user based on only a match of the user'"'"'s unique biological identifier alone, without reference to any of the user'"'"'s account information and the name of the user.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, including means to compare the requested transaction with rules relating to the account to establish whether the requested transaction can be validly processed.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the remote terminal comprises an EFTPOS machine.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the remote terminal comprises a personal computer and the apparatus is provided in communication with the internet or another computer network.

13. A computer implemented method of authenticating a financial transaction requested by a user using a remote terminal, the method comprising the steps of:

storing account information in a clearing house, the stored account information being in machine readable form and identifying a financial account and a corresponding account number thereof, the financial account being accessible to an individual user;

storing user biological identity information in the clearing house, the stored biological identity information being in machine readable form and uniquely corresponding to the individual user;

submitting a transaction request for authentication and processing, including the substeps of

i) submitting, by the user, a machine readable card,

the card identifying the clearing house storing the biological identity information of the user,

the card being free of any recording of the account number of the financial account accessible to the user,

ii) making a recording of the user'"'"'s biological identity information at a remote terminal,

iii) reading the card submitted by the user to determine the clearing house storing the biological identity information of the user, and

iv) transmitting transaction data of the transaction request and the recording of the user'"'"'s biological identity information, in machine readable form, to the determined clearing house storing the biological identity information of the user; and

authenticating and processing the transaction request by i) confirming that the transmitted recording of the user'"'"'s biological identity information matches the user biological identity information stored in the clearing house, ii) comparing the transmitted transaction data to the stored account information from the clearing house to ascertain whether the requested transaction is allowable, iii) based on the comparison of the transmitted transaction data to the stored account information, making a decision to allow the transaction, and iv) processing the transaction.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein,

the machine readable card is one of a bank card, a credit card, and a debit card.

15. A financial transaction system, comprising:

a clearing house for bank cards or credit cards,

the clearing house storing information relating to plural customers,

the stored information identifying one or more accounts identified for each of the plural customers,

each account associated with an identifier unique to the clearing house,

each account having an information of a biological identifier unique to one of the plural customers and unique to each account; and

a customer card,

the customer card having machine readable information comprising the identifier unique to the clearing house; and

a transaction initiating terminal located remote from the clearing house,

the transaction initiating terminal having a card reader,

the transaction initiating terminal configured to i) acquire, via the card reader, the identifier unique to the clearing house from the machine readable information on the customer card, ii) from the acquired identifier unique to the clearing house, identify the clearing house associated with the customer card, iii) acquire a biological identifier as input from the one customer, and iv) transmit the acquired input biological identifier to the identified clearing house,

wherein the clearing house, upon receiving the input biological identifier transmitted from the transaction initiating terminal, is configured to

i) from all the accounts of the clearing house, identify one of the accounts of the one customer by comparing the received input biological identifier with the information of the biological identifier unique to each account, and,

ii) upon identification of the one account by the comparison matching the received input biological identifier with the information of the biological identifier unique to the one account, proceed with authorization of a financial transaction against the identified one account, and

wherein the customer card can be used in conjunction with any account of any of the plural customers of the clearing house.

16. The financial transaction system of claim 15, wherein the customer card is free from any recorded information other than clearing house identifying information.

17. The financial transaction system of claim 15, wherein the transaction initiating terminal acquires only the identifier unique to the clearing house from the customer card.

18. The financial transaction system of claim 16, wherein the customer card has machine readable information consisting only of the identifier unique to the clearing house, the customer card being free of any recorded information identifying another clearing house and being free of any other recorded information.

19. The financial transaction system of claim 15, wherein,

the clearing house has plural accounts for the one customer,

each of the plural accounts for the one customer has information of a different biological identifier of the one customer uniquely associated therewith, and

wherein the clearing house, upon receiving the input biological identifier transmitted from the transaction initiating terminal, is configured to

i) identify a specific one of the plural accounts of the one customer by comparing the received input biological identifier with the information of the different biological identifier unique to each of the plural accounts of the one customer, and,

ii) upon identification of the specific one account by the comparison matching the received input biological identifier with the information of the biological identifier unique to the specific one account, proceed with authorization of a financial transaction against the identified specific one account.

20. The financial transaction system of claim 15, wherein the clearing house identifies the one account of the one customer, uniquely from all the accounts of the clearing house, by comparing only the received input biological identifier with the information of the biological identifier unique to the one account and stored on the clearing house.