System and method for providing a financial transaction instrument with user-definable authorization criteria

• US 8,301,566 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2005
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Liberty Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (American Express Company)
• Inventors: Mears, Stuart Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Dass, Harish T.
• Application Number:
  US11/255,306
• Publication Number:
  US 20070214079A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,567 Days
• Field of Search: 705/44, 705/26, 705/30, 705 38- 41, 235/380, 235/375
• 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 20/40 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 20/405 Establishing or using transaction specific rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03

Abstract

Authorization limits on the use of a financial transaction instrument, such as a credit card and the like, may be set by an owner of a financial account corresponding to the financial transaction instrument. The owner provides information identifying the owner, the financial account, and the financial transaction instrument corresponding to the financial account to a computer, and also provides an owner-defined authorization limit on use of the financial transaction instrument to the computer. The authorization limit is stored in a database, which is accessed when there is a request to authorize a purchase to be made with the financial transaction instrument. The owner may communicate with the computer via a Web site, an automated call program, a kiosk, or the like.

Claims

1. An article of manufacture including a computer readable storage medium having non-transitory instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by the computing device, information identifying an owner of a single financial account, the single financial account and at least one of a plurality of financial transaction instruments corresponding to the financial account;

receiving, by the computing device, from the owner, authorization limits on use of each one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments and a forbidden item category, wherein the authorization limits are independently definable for each one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments;

storing, by the computing device, the authorization limit in a database;

receiving, by the computing device, a request for authorization of a transaction involving the at least one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments, wherein the request for authorization comprises store information, employee identification number, an item identification number, an item category and a number of items; and

determining, by the computing device, whether to grant the request for authorization based on an unpaid balance of the single transaction account, a price of the purchase associated with the request for authorization, a credit limit on the single transaction account, the item identification number, the forbidden item category, the item category, and the authorization limit stored in the database and corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments.

2. The article according to claim 1, further comprising:

verifying, prior to the storing, that the owner is permitted to set authorization limits on use of the plurality of financial transaction instruments.

3. The article according to claim 2, wherein the authorization limit is one of:

a limit based on merchant type;

a limit based on merchant name;

a limit based on a dollar amount;

a limit based on merchant location; and

a combination thereof.

4. An article of manufacture including a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by the computing device, a request for authorization of a purchase to be charged to a single financial account corresponding to a plurality of financial transaction instruments, wherein the request for authorization comprises store information, employee identification number, an item identification number, an item category and a number of items;

determining, by the computing device, whether the purchase is permitted to be charged to the single financial account, based on account information corresponding to the single financial account; and

determining, by the computing device, whether the one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments is permitted to be used to pay for the purchase, based on an unpaid balance of the single transaction account, a price of the purchase associated with the request for authorization, a credit limit on the single transaction account, the item identification number, a forbidden item category, the item category, and user-defined limit information corresponding to each one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments and set by an owner of the financial account, wherein the user-defined limit information is independently definable for each one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments, and wherein the user-defined limit information includes the forbidden item category.

5. The article according to claim 4, further comprising:

accessing at least one database to obtain the account information and the user-defined limit information.

6. An apparatus comprising a processor and a non-transitory memory storing a program executable by the processor, wherein the program includes computer code for implementing a method for enabling an owner of a single financial account to set authorization limits on use of a plurality of financial transaction instruments corresponding to the single financial account, the apparatus comprising:

receiving, by the processor, information identifying the owner, the single financial account, and at least one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments corresponding to the financial account;

receiving, by the processor, from the owner, authorization limits on use of each one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments and a forbidden item category, wherein the authorization limits are independently definable for each one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments;

storing, by the processor, the authorization limit in a database;

receiving;

by the processor, a request for authorization of a transaction involving the at least one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments, wherein the request for authorization comprises store information, employee identification number, an item identification number, an item category and a number of items; and

determining, by the processor, whether to grant the request for authorization based on an unpaid balance of the single transaction account, a price of the purchase associated with the request for authorization, a credit limit on the single transaction account, the item identification number, the forbidden item category, the item category, and the authorization limit stored in the database and corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the computer system includes at least one computer.

8. An apparatus comprising a processor and a memory storing a program executable by the processor, wherein the program includes computer code for implementing a method for determining whether to authorize a purchase for which one of a plurality of financial transaction instruments corresponding to a single financial account is presented for payment, the apparatus comprising:

a computer system receiving a request for authorization of a purchase to be charged to the financial account corresponding to the plurality of financial transaction instruments, wherein the request for authorization comprises store information, employee identification number, an item identification number, an item category and a number of items;

the computer system determining whether the purchase is permitted to be charged to the single financial account, based on an unpaid balance of the single financial account, a price of the purchase associated with the request for authorization, a credit limit on the single financial account; and

the computer system determining whether the one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments is permitted to be used to pay for the purchase, based on the item identification number, a forbidden item category, the item category, and user-defined limit information corresponding each one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments and set by an owner of the single financial account, wherein the user-defined limit information is independently definable for each one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments and wherein the user-defined limit information includes the forbidden item category.

9. A computer-implemented system for enabling an owner of a single financial account to set authorization limits on use of a plurality of financial transaction instruments corresponding to the financial account, the system comprising:

a communication unit, which functions to receive information provided by the owner, the information identifying the owner, the financial account, and at least one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments corresponding to the single financial account, and the information including authorization limits on use of each one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments, wherein the authorization limits are independently definable for each one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments and wherein the authorization limits include a forbidden item category;

a storage unit, which functions to store the authorization limit in a database;

an evaluation module, which functions to determine whether to grant a request for authorization of a transaction involving the at least one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments, wherein the request for authorization comprises store information, employee identification number, an item identification number, an item category and a number of items, based on an unpaid balance of the single financial account, a price of the purchase associated with the request for authorization, a credit limit on the single financial account, the item identification number, the forbidden item category, the item category, and the authorization limit stored in the database and corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments; and

a central processor, which functions to control operation of the communication module and the storage unit.

10. A computer-implemented system for determining whether to authorize a purchase for which one of a plurality of financial transaction instruments corresponding to a single financial account is presented for payment, the system comprising steps of:

a communication unit, which functions to receive a request for authorization of a purchase to be charged to the financial account corresponding to the plurality of financial transaction instruments, wherein the request for authorization comprises store information, employee identification number, an item identification number, an item category and a number of items;

an account evaluation unit, which functions to determine whether the purchase is permitted to be charged to the single financial account, based on an unpaid balance of the single transaction account, a price of the purchase associated with the request for authorization, a credit limit on the single transaction account;

a user-limit evaluation unit, which functions to determine whether the one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments is permitted to be used to pay for the purchase, based on user-defined limit information corresponding to each one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments and set by an owner of the single financial account, and the item identification number, a forbidden item category, the item category, wherein the user-defined limit information is independently definable for each one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments and wherein the user-defined limit information includes the forbidden item category;

a storage unit, which functions to store the account information and the user-defined limit information in at least one database; and

a central processor, which functions to control operation of the communication unit, the account evaluation unit, the user-limit evaluation unit, and the storage unit.