Systems and methods for enrolling users in a payment service

• US 8,504,475 B2
• Filed: 08/09/2010
• Issued: 08/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brand, Olivier, Trifiletti, Gregory, Lindelsee, Mike
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Jagdish
• Application Number:
  US12/853,101
• Publication Number:
  US 20110035319A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,093 Days
• Field of Search: 705/35, 705/38, 705/40, 705/39
• US Class Current: 705/39
• 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 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention are direction to systems, apparatuses and methods for enrolling users in a payment service that enables an individual (“a presenter”) to conduct a payment transaction with another party (“an acceptor”) more efficiently in situations where the individual has multiple payment accounts. One embodiment of the invention is directed to a method comprising presenting to a user a plurality of payment accounts associated with the user, receiving from the user a selection of an alias account identifier for each of the payment accounts, and storing in a database data that associates the selected alias account identifiers with the payment accounts.

Claims

1. A method of enrolling a user in a payment service, comprising:

receiving, by a server computer from a consumer device of the user, a request to enroll the user in the payment service, wherein the request includes a user identifier associated with the user;

verifying, by the server computer, that the user identifier is unique to the user across a plurality of account issuers, by;

accessing a consumer database having a plurality of user identifiers provided by the account issuers; and

reviewing the user identifiers in the consumer database to ensure that the user identifier associated with the user is not associated with another user;

if the user identifier is verified as being unique, redirecting, by the server computer, the consumer device of the user to an interface of an account issuer computer system of at least one of the account issuers that;

holds a payment account that is associated with the user, wherein the account issuer computer system uses the user identifier associated with the user to identify a payment account associated with the user and enables the user to use the consumer device to assign an alias account identifier to the payment accounts;

receiving, by the server computer, from the account issuer computer system of the at least one of the account issuers data that identifies a payment account and an alias account identifier that the user assigned to the payment account; and

storing, by the server computer, in the consumer database the alias account identifier that the user assigned to the payment account.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the server computer, from the at least one of the account issuers a verification that the user identifier is associated with the user requesting enrollment in the payment service.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the user identifier is a mobile telephone number that is associated with the user requesting enrollment in the payment service.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one of the account issuers verifies that the mobile telephone number is associated with the user requesting enrollment in the payment service, by:

sending an enrollment code, via a network, to a mobile device associated with the mobile telephone number; and

requesting that the user requesting enrollment in the payment service input the enrollment code into a webpage associated with the at least one account issuer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the account issuers enables the user to access the account issuer computer system using the consumer device to select an authentication channel for authenticating the payment account.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving, by the server computer, from the at least one of the account issuers the authentication channel that was selected by the user to use for authenticating the payment account.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the authentication channel is selected from a group consisting of interactive voice response, web, mobile web, and mobile application.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

verifying, by the server computer, that the alias account identifier that the user assigned to the payment account is unique relative to one or more other aliases assigned to one or more other payment accounts associated with the user.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending, by the server computer, to the at least one account issuer a confirmation that the user has been enrolled in the payment service.

10. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code adapted to be executed by a processor to implement a method of enrolling a user in a payment service, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, from a consumer device of the user, a request to enroll the user in the payment service, wherein the request includes a user identifier associated with the user;

verifying that the user identifier is unique to the user across a plurality of account issuers, by;

accessing a customer database having a plurality of user identifiers provided by the account issuers; and

reviewing the user identifiers in the consumer database to ensure that the user identifier associated with the user is not associated with another user;

if the user identifier is verified as being unique, redirecting the consumer device of the user to an interface of an account issuer computer system of at least one of the account issuers that holds a payment account that is associated with the user, wherein the account issuer computer system uses the user identifier associated with the user to identify a payment account associated with the user and enables the user to use the consumer device to assign an alias account identifier to the payment account;

receiving from the account issuer computer system of the at least one of the account issuers data that identifies a payment account and an alias account identifier that the user assigned to the payment account; and

storing in the consumer database the alias account identifier that the user assigned to the payment account.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 10 wherein the computer readable program code is further adapted to be executed by the processor to implement the step of:

receiving from the at least one of the account issuers a verification that the user identifier is associated with the user requesting enrollment in the payment service.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the user identifier is a mobile telephone number that is associated with the user requesting enrollment in the payment service.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the at least one of the account issuers verifies that the mobile telephone number is associated with the user requesting enrollment in the payment service, by:

sending an enrollment code, via a network, to a mobile device associated with the mobile telephone number; and

requesting that the user requesting enrollment in the payment service input the enrollment code into a webpage associated with the at least one account issuer.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one of the account issuers enables the user to access the account issuer computer system using the consumer device to select an authentication channel for authenticating the payment account.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving, by the server computer, from the at least one of the account issuers the authentication channel that was selected by the user to use for authenticating the payment account.

16. A server computer comprising:

a processor, and a non-transitory computer readable medium coupled to the processor, the non-transitory computer readable medium comprising code, executable by the processor for performing a method of enrolling a user in a payment service, the method comprising;

receiving, from a consumer device of the user, a request to enroll the user in the payment service, wherein the request includes a user identifier associated with the user;

verifying that the user identifier is unique to the user across a plurality of account issuers, by;

accessing a customer database having a plurality of user identifiers provided by the account issuers; and

reviewing the user identifiers in the consumer database to ensure that the user identifier associated with the user is not associated with another user;

if the user identifier is verified as being unique, redirecting the consumer device of the user to an interface of an account issuer computer system of at least one of the account issuers that holds a payment account that is associated with the user, wherein the account issuer computer system uses the user identifier associated with the user to identify a payment account associated with the user and enables the user to use the consumer device to assign an alias account identifier to the payment account;

receiving from the account issuer computer system of the at least one of the account issuers data that identifies a payment account and an alias account identifier that the user assigned to the payment account; and

storing in the consumer database the alias account identifier that the user assigned to the payment account.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein method further comprises:

receiving from the at least one of the account issuers a verification that the user identifier is associated with the user requesting enrollment in the payment service.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the user identifier is a mobile telephone number that is associated with the user requesting enrollment in the payment service.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the at least one of the account issuers verifies that the mobile telephone number is associated with the user requesting enrollment in the payment service, by:

sending an enrollment code, via a network, to a mobile device associated with the mobile telephone number; and

requesting that the user requesting enrollment in the payment service input the enrollment code into a webpage associated with the at least one account issuer.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the at least one of the account issuers enables the user to access the account issuer computer system using the consumer device to select an authentication channel for authenticating the payment account.