Apparatus for secure financial transactions

• US 8,573,494 B2
• Filed: 11/27/2011
• Issued: 11/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Icashe Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Tyfone Incorporated
• Inventors: Narendra, Siva G., Tadepalli, Prabhakar, Spitzer, Thomas N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D
• Application Number:
  US13/304,663
• Publication Number:
  US 20120067964A1
• Time in Patent Office: 709 Days
• Field of Search: 235/449, 235/494, 235/493, 235/375, 235/380, 235/386, 235/392, 235/451, 235/379
• US Class Current: 235/451
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06187 with magnetically detectable marking
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06206 the magnetic marking being emulated
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07 with integrated circuit chips
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0703 the battery being onboard of a handheld device, e.g. a smart phone or PDA
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0727 the arrangement being a circuit facilitating integration of the record carrier with a hand-held device such as a smart phone of PDA
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/073 Special arrangements for circuits, e.g. for protecting identification code in memory protection against unauthorised use of computer memory G06F12/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07741 comprising a first part operating as a regular record carrier and a second attachable part that changes the functional appearance of said record carrier, e.g. a contact-based smart card with an adapter part which, when attached to the contact card makes the contact card function as a non-contact card
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07758 arrangements for adhering the record carrier to further objects or living beings, functioning as an identification tag
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07762 the adhering arrangement making the record carrier wearable, e.g. having the form of a ring, watch, glove or bracelet record carriers for insertion in the human body for medical purposes A61B90/00; record carriers adapted for attachment to animals A01K11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• 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 20/327 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 20/353 Payments by cards read by M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces

Abstract

An electronic transaction card communicates with an add-on slot of an intelligent electronic device. The add-on slot may be a memory card slot. The intelligent electronic device may be a mobile phone or other device with or without network connectivity. The electronic transaction card may have magnetic field producing circuitry compatible with magnetic card readers, smartcard circuitry, other point-of-sale interfaces, or any combination thereof.

Claims

1. An apparatus compatible with an add-on slot in an intelligent electronic device, the apparatus including nonvolatile memory accessible by the intelligent electronic device, and a point of sale interface, wherein the point of sale interface receives power from the intelligent electronic device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the point-of-sale interface comprises circuitry to produce at least one time-varying magnetic field.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the intelligent electronic device comprises a mobile device.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the intelligent electronic device comprises a mobile phone.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus comprises a memory card.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the add-on slot comprises a memory card slot.

7. An apparatus for performing a financial transaction comprising:

means for communicating through an add-on slot in an intelligent electronic device; and

means for producing at least one time-varying magnetic field to represent financial transaction data, wherein the means for producing receives power from the add-on slot.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the intelligent electronic device comprises a mobile device.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the intelligent electronic device comprises a mobile phone.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising memory accessible through the means for communicating through an add-on slot.

11. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the means for producing at least one time-varying magnetic field includes circuitry compatible with a hybrid smartcard reader.

12. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the means for producing at least one time-varying magnetic field includes smartcard circuitry.

13. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the apparatus comprises a memory card.

14. An apparatus comprising:

means for communicating through an add-on slot in an intelligent electronic device;

circuitry for producing at least one time-varying magnetic field to represent transaction data; and

means for storing the transaction data.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the transaction data comprises financial transaction data.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the intelligent electronic device comprises a mobile device.

17. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the intelligent electronic device comprises a mobile phone.

18. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the apparatus comprises a memory card.

19. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the add-on slot comprises a memory card slot.

20. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the circuitry for producing at least one time-varying magnetic field includes smartcard circuitry.