System and method for granting access to a system

• US 8,452,267 B2
• Filed: 11/24/2010
• Issued: 05/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Eazybreak OY
• Original Assignee: Eazybreak OY
• Inventors: Friman, Kai-Erik
• Primary Examiner(s): Doan, Kiet
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vu, Michael T.
• Application Number:
  US12/953,610
• Publication Number:
  US 20110130126A1
• Time in Patent Office: 916 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 455/420, 455/408, 455/432.1, 455/558, 455/466, 705/26, 705/34, 705/38, 705/40, 705/75
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3255 using mobile network messaging services for payment, e.g. SMS
• 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: H04M 3/38 Graded-service arrangements, i.e. some subscribers prevented from establishing certain connections queuing arrangements H04Q3/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42382 Text-based messaging services in telephone networks such as PSTN/ISDN, e.g. User-to-User Signalling or Short Message Service for fixed networks

Abstract

A method and system for granting access to a service is based on a received request and a communication between a subscriber, client and a service provider.

Claims

1. A method for providing a mobile payment service, the method comprising:

storing, in a service system of a service provider of the mobile payment service, merchant accounts for merchants registered to the service, wherein a merchant account comprises a unique code allocated to premises of the merchant;

storing, in the service system, client accounts for clients registered to the service, wherein a client is a client of the service provider and a client account comprises subscribers and subscriber numbers associated with the client and rules concerning use of the service by the subscribers associated with the client;

storing, in the service system, subscriber accounts for subscribers registered to the service, wherein a subscriber is a user of the mobile payment service;

receiving funds allocated by a client for being used in said mobile payment service by subscribers associated with said client;

receiving from a mobile terminal of a subscriber a message that comprises the unique code allocated to premises of the merchant,

checking, in the service system, on the basis of the received message, funds allocated by the client associated with the subscriber and rules related to the client associated with the subscriber, to determine which service is granted, and

sending a response message to the mobile terminal of said subscriber, which response message can be used for paying for a service and/or a product offered by said merchant to the subscriber at the premises, and wherein said response message comprises a code that comprises a fixed part and a variable part, wherein said variable part is usable for verifying the response message for avoiding fraud.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a subscriber identification code is used for analyzing the rules in said checking of the received message.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said checking of the received message, a sending number of the received message is compared to subscriber phone numbers in a database of the service system.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said rules concerning use of the service by the subscribers associated with the client are individual or group based.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said rules concerning use of the service by the subscribers associated with the client are location based.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said received message comprises solely the unique code allocated to premises of the merchant.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said received message comprises further information in addition to the unique code allocated to premises of the merchant.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the unique code allocated to premises of the merchant comprises additional information about the requested service.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein a merchant account comprises an own unique code for each premises of the merchant.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein said fixed part is the unique code allocated to premises of the merchant included in the received message or a varying daily code.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein said variable part is a running number.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises transferring from funds allocated by said client to said merchant an amount of funds that corresponds to the granted service.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the premises of the merchant comprises multiple premises, each at a different location.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the unique code corresponding to a specific premises of the merchant is obtained by scanning a code identifier at the specific premises of the merchant.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the response message is presented to the merchant at the premises to pay for the service or product.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the client account is an employer and the subscriber account is an employee.

17. A service system configured to provide a mobile payment service, wherein the system comprises at least:

a database configured to store merchant accounts for merchants registered to the mobile payment service, wherein a merchant account comprises a unique code allocated to premises of the merchant,

a database configured to store client accounts for clients registered to the service, wherein a client is a client of the service provider and a client account comprises subscribers/subscriber numbers associated with the client and rules concerning use of the service by the subscribers associated with the client,

a database configured to store subscriber accounts for subscribers registered to the service, wherein a subscriber is a user of the mobile payment service,

an interface configured to receive funds allocated by a client for being used in said mobile payment service by subscribers associated with said client,

a messaging module configured to receive from a mobile terminal of a subscriber a message that comprises the unique code allocated to premises of a merchant,

a management module configured to check, in the service system, on the basis of the received message, funds allocated by the client associated with the subscriber and rules related to the client associated with the subscriber, to determine which service is granted, and

a messaging module configured to send a response message to the mobile terminal of said subscriber, which response message can be used for paying a service and/or a product offered by said merchant and said response message comprises a code that comprises a fixed part and a variable part, wherein said variable part is usable for verifying the response message for avoiding fraud.