Processing transactions of different payment devices of the same issuer account

• US 8,256,666 B2
• Filed: 03/01/2007
• Issued: 09/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dixon, Phil, Hammad, Ayman A., El-Awady, Khalid
• Primary Examiner(s): Sharifzada, Ali
• Application Number:
  US11/681,179
• Publication Number:
  US 20080179395A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,014 Days
• Field of Search: 235/379, 235/380, 235/383, 235/375
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/027 involving a payment switch or gateway
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/085 involving remote charge determination or related payment systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0855 involving a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• 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 20/32 using wireless devices
• 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 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3821 Electronic credentials
• 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 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4016 involving fraud or risk level assessment in transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/00 Arrangements or apparatus for collecting fares, tolls or entrance fees at one or more control points handling coins or valuable papers, e.g. banknotes, G07D; apparatus for vending or hiring articles or services activated by coins, credit cards, paper currency or the like G07F7/00, G07F17/00

Abstract

Each portable payment device associated with a single account within a payment processing system is distinguished using track data. The track data from the portable payment device is read at each of a plurality of merchant point of sale terminals (POS). Rather than relying on the PAN alone, a merchant may utilizes the track data, or a proxy thereof, as the unique identifier for the portable payment device. The merchant may then process transactions involving the portable payment device based on the unique identifier. For example, in the transit environment the transit fare for each rider with different portable payment devices but the same account can be calculated using the unique identifier, such as the full track data read from both tracks of the corresponding portable payment devices.

Claims

1. At each of a plurality of point of sale terminals (POS) of a merchant that is a transit agency, for each of a plurality of consumers each seeking to conduct a transaction with the merchant for a ride service at a cost by using a payment device issued by an issuer in a payment system, a method comprising a plurality of steps each being performed by hardware executing software, wherein the steps include:

reading data from a data storage region of the payment device that includes;

a Primary Account Number (PAN) assigned by the issuer of the payment device and upon which at least one said consumer is to conduct said transaction for the ride service with the merchant, wherein the PAN can be used to conduct other transactions with other merchants that are not transit agencies; and

a payment device distinguishing code assigned by the issuer and uniquely identifying the payment device with respect to the PAN among a plurality of payment devices that are associated with the PAN;

determining, at the point of sale terminal of the merchant, a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) of the payment device based at least in part on both the PAN and the payment device distinguishing code;

storing the GUID in a transit agency database, wherein the GUID is associated with information regarding the ride service;

deriving a fare for said transaction using the information associated with the GUID and stored in the transit agency database; and

sending the GUID and the fare for processing by the payment system.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the data from the data storage region of the payment device conforms to a magnetic stripe data (MSD) configuration in a track one/track two format that includes a Primary Account Number (PAN) corresponding to said account and statically stored in the payment device.

3. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein the data from the data storage region of the payment device further comprises issuer discretionary data with:

an issuer discretionary track space in the data in the track one/track two format; and

data in one or more cardholder name locations of the data in the track one/track two format.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, comprising determining, using the GUID, whether the merchant is to permit the corresponding said transaction.

5. The method as defined in claim 4, wherein, for each said transaction with the merchant, the transaction occurs in less than one (1) second.

6. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the payment device is within a mobile device selected from the group consisting of a personal digital assistant, a wireless telephone, and an expert system including a substrate having embedded therein a contactless element including a chip capable of use as a transaction payment mechanism for each said access transaction.

7. A computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computing system, the computing system performs the steps of the method as defined in claim 1.

23. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising indicating, at the point of sale terminal of the merchant, an approval status with respect to the ride service based at least in part on a verification of the PAN.

24. The method as defined in claim 23, wherein the PAN includes at least one check digit and the method further comprises, at the point of sale terminal of the merchant, verifying the PAN based at least in part on the at least one check digit.

25. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the GUID is determined by data written to the data storage region of the payment device as specified by a payment system standard and independent of the merchant.

26. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the GUID is unique independent of merchant.

27. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the payment device distinguishing code uniquely identifies the payment device among the plurality of payment devices with respect to the PAN and not otherwise.

8. A method of conducting a plurality of access transactions at a transit agency, wherein each of the plurality of access transactions are to be conducted using a portable consumer device associated with an account issued by an issuer in a payment system, the method comprising a plurality of steps each being performed by hardware executing software, wherein the steps include:

for each of the plurality of access transactions, at least;

receiving, from a reader of a transit agency, access transaction application data from said portable consumer device, wherein;

the access transaction application data has a predetermined data field configuration for use with the reader of the transit agency; and

the predetermined data field configuration of the access transaction application data includes;

a Primary Account Number (PAN) assigned by said issuer of said account associated with said portable consumer device, wherein the PAN can be used to conduct other transactions with merchants that do not provide mass transit services; and

an issuer discretionary code assigned by said issuer and uniquely identifying the portable consumer device with respect to the PAN among a plurality of portable consumer devices that are associated with the PAN;

determining, at the reader of the transit agency, a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) of the portable consumer device based at least in part on both the PAN and the issuer discretionary code; and

storing the GUID in a transit agency database, wherein the GUID is associated with information regarding said access transaction; and

for each GUID stored in the transit agency database, at least;

deriving a total fare for all said access transactions associated with the GUID; and

sending the GUID and the total fare for processing by the payment system.

9. The method as defined in claim 8, wherein the portable consumer device comprises a contactless smart card device.

10. A computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computing system, the computing system performs the steps of the method as defined in claim 8.

11. The method as defined in claim 8, wherein:

the predetermined data field configuration of the access transaction application data conforms to a magnetic stripe data (MSD) configuration in a track one/track two format; and

information in the track one/track two format includes the PAN.

12. The method as defined in claim 11, wherein the access transaction application data further comprises issuer discretionary data that includes:

an issuer discretionary track space in the data in the track one/track two format; and

data in one or more cardholder name locations of the data in the track one/track two format.

13. The method as defined in claim 8, further comprising for each of the plurality, of access transactions, checking the GUID against a list of other said GUIDs to determine whether the transit agency should permit the corresponding said access transaction.

14. The method as defined in claim 8, wherein:

each said access transaction is for a rider each seeking access to a facility of the transit agency using the portable consumer device; and

the total fare is derived using at least one of the group consisting of;

using an entrance to one said facility and an exit from another said facility to calculate said access fare on a basis of the length between the entrance and the exit;

using a transfer from one said facility to another said facility to calculate said access fare on a basis one or more said transfers;

using a time period between respective said transfers to calculate said access fare;

using the number said transfers after a first said access to one said facility to calculate said access fare; and

using a direction of travel period between different said facilities to calculate said access fare.

15. At each of a plurality of transit system readers in a transit system, for each of a plurality of riders each seeking to conduct an access transaction on an account for access to a facility of the transit system using a payment device issued by an issuer of the account in a payment system, a method comprising a plurality of steps each being performed by hardware executing software, wherein the steps include:

reading data from a data storage region of the payment device, wherein;

the data conform to a magnetic stripe data (MSD) configuration in a track one/track two format; and

the data in the track one/track two format includes;

a Primary Account Number (PAN) corresponding to an account and determined by the issuer of the payment device, wherein;

the PAN is statically stored in static memory of the payment device; and

the PAN can be used by the rider to conduct other transactions with merchants other than merchants providing mass transit services; and

an issuer discretionary code, in the static memory of the payment device, uniquely identifying the payment device with respect to the PAN among a plurality of payment devices that are associated with the PAN;

determining, at the transit system reader, a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) of the payment device based at least in part on both the PAN and the issuer discretionary code;

storing the GUID in a transit agency database located on a transit agency computer, wherein the GUID is associated with information regarding the access transaction; and

processing at least one GUID stored in the transit agency database to, at least;

determine a fare for the access transaction; and

receive payment from the corresponding account.

16. The method as defined in claim 15, further comprising determining, using the GUID and a list of said GUIDs, whether the transit system is to permit the corresponding said access transaction to permit the rider the sought access to the facility of the transit system.

17. The method as defined in claim 15, wherein:

the fare for the access transaction is determined in accordance with a predetermined fare policy for the transit system; and

the predetermined fare policy for the transit system comprises one or more classifications of each said access transaction selected from the group consisting of;

an entry into the facility of the transit system;

an exit from the facility of the transit system;

a distance for one said entry and a corresponding said exit;

a transfer from one said facility of the transit system to another said facility of the transit system;

the sequential number of each said transfer in a predetermined time period;

a direction of travel in the transit system;

a classification of the rider corresponding to the payment device;

peak and off peak travel time periods;

a calendar holiday travel time period; and

combinations of the foregoing.

18. The method as defined in claim 15, wherein the data is contactlessly read from the data storage region of the payment device.

19. The method as defined in claim 15, further comprising determining, using the GUID, whether the transit system is to permit the corresponding said access transaction so as to permit the rider the sought access to the facility of the transit system by, at least:

forming a balance inquiry communication addressed to the issuer of the corresponding said PAN; and

receiving, in response to the communication addressed to the issuer, a balance of corresponding said PAN in an communication.

20. The method as defined in claim 15, wherein the steps further comprise forming one of more communications each addressed to a member of the payment system for the collection by the transit system of one or more said access fares.

21. The method as defined in claim 20, wherein each said communication contains information about the collection in a classification selected from the group consisting of pay per said access fare, aggregation of a plurality of said access fares, and stored value against which the access fares are deducted, and combinations thereof.

22. The method as defined in claim 20, wherein the member is selected from the group consisting of the issuer, an acquirer, a payment processor for said access fares, and combinations thereof.