Secure cards and methods

• US 8,152,056 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2008
• Issued: 04/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Veritec Incorporated (Matthews Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Veritec Incorporated (Matthews Group LLC)
• Inventors: Johanns, Lawrence J., VonKlinggraeff, Henning W.
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, THIEN MINH
• Application Number:
  US12/317,247
• Publication Number:
  US 20090140044A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,208 Days
• Field of Search: 235/380, 235/382, 235/375, 235/492, 235/493, 235/381, 235/486, 235/487, 705/41, 705/35, 705/37, 705/39
• US Class Current: 235/380
• 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 20/347 Passive cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40145 Biometric identity checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/257 electronically G07C9/26 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/12 Card verification

Abstract

The present invention generally relates to credit cards and debit cards. More particularly, the present invention relates to security methods and techniques that can be used with credit and debit cards and the like in order to provide protection against unauthorized use.

Claims

1. A method of making a secure card, the method comprising the steps of:

obtaining information to be encoded including account information related to a first transaction account;

obtaining information to be encoded including account information related to a second transaction account;

encoding the account information of the first transaction account and the second transaction account;

generating a coded mark, the coded mark comprising a matrix of data cells that represent encoded information of the first and second transaction accounts; and

providing the coded mark of encoded information on a surface of a card so that by decoding the coded mark, a transaction can be conducted with respect to one of the first and second transaction accounts.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information to be encoded comprises alphanumeric information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the information to be encoded comprises graphical information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the information to be encoded comprises biometric information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the information to be encoded comprises functional account information related to a plurality of financial transaction cards.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of encoding the information comprises encoding the information into Reed-Solomon blocks.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of encoding the information comprises using error correction and detection.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating a coded mark comprises compressing the information to be encoded.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing the coded mark of encoded information on a surface of a card comprises printing the coded mark on a surface of the card.

10. A method of making a secure card, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of independently functional financial transaction cards, each financial transaction card associated with a financial account;

obtaining information to be encoded including financial account information related to a plurality of the financial transaction cards;

generating a coded two-dimensional mark, the coded mark comprising a matrix of data cells that represent functional information related to each of the independently functional financial transaction cards; and

providing the coded two-dimensional mark having the functional information related to each of the independently functional financial transaction cards on a surface of a card, wherein the coded two-dimensional mark can be read and decoded so that a financial transaction with any one of the financial accounts of each of the plurality of transaction cards can be completed.

11. A method of using a secure card, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a secure card having a coded two-dimensional mark comprising a matrix of data cells on the surface of the secure card, the matrix of data cells within the coded two-dimensional mark representing functional account information related to a plurality of independently functional financial transaction accounts;

reading and decoding the coded two-dimensional mark for obtaining the functional account information of a plurality of independently functional financial transaction accounts;

receiving a selection of selecting one of the financial transaction accounts; and

completing a financial transaction with the selected financial account.

12. A system for conducting financial transactions based upon the use of a transaction card, the system comprising:

a card reader programmed to read and decode a coded two-dimensional mark;

a display for showing selected information obtained from the transaction card including information related to multiple different financial transaction accounts;

a control system for presenting the multiple different financial transaction accounts on the display as decoded from the coded two-dimensional mark, the control system also for receiving a selection from the multiple different financial transaction accounts as made by a user, and for selectively completing a financial transaction including contact with an authority of a financial transaction account for approval using data related to one of the multiple financial transaction accounts that uses information as selected from the display and additional information obtained from the two-dimensional mark related to the selected financial transaction account.

13. The system of claim 12, further including a read of biometric information from the card holder in communication with the control system, the control system further providing a function to compare the read biometric information from the reader with information coded and read from the two-dimensional mark for identification of the card holder authentication.