Secure mobile payment system

• US 8,229,852 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2008
• Issued: 07/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Carlson, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): RANKINS, WILLIAM E
• Application Number:
  US12/145,352
• Publication Number:
  US 20080319905A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,491 Days
• Field of Search: 705/39
• US Class Current: 705/44
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/385 using an alias or single-use codes
• 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 20/403 Solvency checks
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for conducting a transaction that includes receiving a pseudo account identifier that corresponds to a primary account identifier. The pseudo account identifier may be received at a portable wireless device and may be generated by a remote server computer. The portable wireless device can receive the pseudo account identifier over a first network and provide the pseudo account identifier to an access device. The access devices generally comprises a reader that can receive the pseudo account identifier, and thereafter send a message to request authorization of a transaction. The authorization request message may include the pseudo account identifier and is sent to a payment processing network. The authorization request message is sent to the payment processing network over a second network. The payment processing network may then process the authorization message and return a response that indicates if the transaction is authorized or not.

Claims

1. A method of conducting a transaction comprising:

receiving a PIN or password to unlock a portable wireless device;

receiving a selection of an account from a plurality of accounts displayed on the portable wireless device;

in response to receiving the selection of the account, sending a request for and receiving a pseudo account identifier that corresponds to a consumer'"'"'s account identifier associated with the selected account at the portable wireless device, wherein the pseudo account identifier was previously generated by a remote server computer and was previously sent over a first network prior to receiving the pseudo account identifier, wherein the pseudo account identifier was generated in response to the selection of the account by the consumer without additional input from the consumer and wherein generation of the pseudo account identifier by the remote server computer and retrieval of the pseudo account identifier by the portable wireless device are transparent to the consumer, wherein the consumer is unaware that the pseudo account identifier was generated by the remote server computer and was received at the portable wireless device; and

providing the pseudo account identifier to an access device comprising a reader, wherein the access device is at a merchant and wherein the access device thereafter sends an authorization request message comprising the pseudo account identifier to a payment processing network comprising the remote server computer over a second network, wherein the payment processing network converts the pseudo account identifier in the authorization request message back to the consumer'"'"'s account identifier and forwards the authorization request message to an issuer of the selected account, wherein the issuer thereafter sends an authorization response message, and wherein the access device thereafter receives the authorization response message from the issuer via the payment processing network, wherein the authorization response message indicates if the transaction is approved or not approved;

wherein the first network is a communications network and the second network is a transaction processing network, wherein the pseudo account identifier is transmitted from an RF communications element in the portable wireless device to the access device, and wherein the pseudo account identifier is received from the remote server computer via a long range communications element in the portable wireless device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the authorization response message is printed on a receipt that is generated by the access device, and the consumer receives the authorization response message by receiving the receipt.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the authorization response message was sent to the consumer over the first network.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the account identifier is a primary account number and wherein the pseudo account identifier is a pseudo account number.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the access device comprises a contactless reader.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote server computer initiates sending the pseudo account identifier to the portable wireless device.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising if the long range communications element cannot receive the pseudo primary account identifier, providing the consumer'"'"'s account identifier to the access device instead of the pseudo account identifier.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the use of the pseudo account identifier is transparent to the merchant such that the merchant has no knowledge as to whether the pseudo account identifier or consumer'"'"'s account identifier is being used in the transaction.

19. The method of claim 6 wherein the pseudo account identifier expires after a predetermined number of transactions.

9. A method comprising:

receiving a request for a pseudo account identifier corresponding to a first account identifier, wherein the request is received over a first network, wherein the request for the pseudo account identifier is generated by the portable wireless device in response to a selection by a consumer of an account associated with the first account identifier without additional input from the consumer;

generating, by a remote server computer, a pseudo account identifier corresponding to the first account identifier;

sending the generated pseudo account identifier to the portable wireless device over the first network, wherein the portable wireless device is thereafter capable of performing one or more transactions by providing the pseudo account identifier to an access device, and wherein generation of the pseudo account identifier by the remote server computer and retrieval of the pseudo account identifier by the portable wireless device is transparent to the consumer, wherein the consumer is unaware that the pseudo account identifier was previously generated in response to the selection of the account associated with the first account identifier from a plurality of accounts displayed on the portable wireless device;

receiving an authorization request message comprising the pseudo account identifier over a second network;

converting the pseudo account identifier in the authorization request message to the first account identifier and forwarding the authorization request message to an issuer of the selected account, wherein the issuer thereafter sends an authorization response message;

receiving the authorization response message; and

forwarding the authorization response message received from the issuer to the access device;

wherein the first network is a communications network and the second network is a transaction processing network, wherein the pseudo account identifier is transmitted from an RF communications element in the portable wireless device to the access device, and wherein the pseudo account identifier is received from the remote server computer via a long range communications element in the portable wireless device.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising storing the generated pseudo account identifier and its corresponding first account identifier.

11. A method comprising:

receiving, by an access device, a pseudo primary account identifier from a portable wireless device, wherein said pseudo primary account identifier corresponds to a primary account identifier and was generated without input from a consumer and the generation and retrieval of the pseudo account identifier is transparent to the consumer, wherein the consumer is unaware that the pseudo account identifier was generated by a remote server computer and was requested by the portable wireless device, wherein the pseudo account number was previously generated in response to a selection of an account associated with the first account identifier from a plurality of accounts displayed on the portable wireless device;

sending, by the access device, a transaction authorization request comprising the pseudo primary account identifier to a payment processing network, wherein the pseudo primary account identifier is thereafter converted to the primary account identifier, wherein the transaction authorization request is processed to approve or deny the transaction, and wherein the transaction authorization request with the primary account identifier is sent to an issuer of the primary account identifier; and

receiving, by the access device, an authorization response message from the issuer via the payment processing network, wherein the authorization response message indicates if the transaction is approved or not approved;

wherein the transaction authorization request is sent to the payment processing network over a transaction processing network, wherein the pseudo account identifier is transmitted from an RF communications element in the portable wireless device to the access device, and wherein the pseudo account identifier is received from the remote server computer via a long range communications element in the portable wireless device.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising printing a receipt that indicates if the transaction is approved or not approved.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the pseudo account identifier is received by the access device comprising a contactless reader.

14. A portable wireless device for performing proximity transactions comprising:

a long range wireless communication element;

a short range communication element;

a processor coupled to the long range wireless communication element and the short range communication element;

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising computer code for receiving a PIN or password from a consumer to unlock the portable wireless device, computer code for receiving a selection of an account from the consumer, computer code for receiving a pseudo account identifier that corresponds to a primary account identifier associated with the selected account, wherein the pseudo account identifier is generated by a remote server computer and was sent over a first network and is received by the portable wireless device using the long range communication element, wherein the pseudo account identifier was generated in response to the selection of the account by the consumer without additional input from the consumer and the generation and retrieval of the pseudo account identifier is transparent to the consumer, wherein the consumer is unaware that the pseudo account identifier is generated by the remote server computer and was requested by the portable wireless device, wherein the pseudo account number was previously generated in response to a selection of an account associated with the first account identifier from a plurality of accounts displayed on the portable wireless device, computer code for providing the pseudo account identifier to an access device comprising a reader using the short range communication element, and computer code for storing at least one primary account identifier,

wherein the portable wireless device is a phone, wherein the pseudo account identifier is transmitted from an RF communications element in the portable wireless device to the access device, and wherein the pseudo account identifier is received from the remote server computer via a long range communications element in the portable wireless device.

15. The portable wireless device of claim 14 further comprising a user interface module, wherein the user interface module allows the user to select one of the at least one primary account identifiers.

16. The portable wireless device of claim 14 wherein the memory coupled to the processor further comprises computer code for enabling and disabling the device.

17. The portable wireless device of claim 14 wherein the memory coupled to the processor further comprises computer code for selecting a primary account identifier to be used for a transaction.

18. The portable wireless device of claim 14 wherein the short range communications element is an RF communications element.