Systems and methods to identify carrier information for transmission of billing messages

• US 8,589,290 B2
• Filed: 08/11/2011
• Issued: 11/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Boku Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Boku Incorporated
• Inventors: Baskerville, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Maguire, Lindsay M.
• Application Number:
  US13/207,721
• Publication Number:
  US 20120041870A1
• Time in Patent Office: 831 Days
• Field of Search: 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 20/16 Payments settled via telecommunication systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/223 based on the use of peer-to-peer networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3255 using mobile network messaging services for payment, e.g. SMS

Abstract

In one aspect, a system includes an interchange with a data storage facility. The interchange includes a common format processor and a plurality of converters to interface with a plurality of different controllers of mobile communications. The converters are configured to communicate with the common format processor in a common format and to communicate with the controllers in different formats. The interchange is to receive a request identifying a phone number, a payment amount and a payee, and in response, use a pinging message to determine telecommunication carrier information of the phone number, select a converter, determine a set of premium messages in accordance with the telecommunication carrier information, and use the selected converter to transmit the set of premium messages to the phone number to collect funds to pay the payee on behalf of a user of the mobile phone.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

storing, in a data storage facility of an interchange telecommunication carrier, information for each of a plurality of phone numbers;

receiving, in the interchange, a request identifying a phone number, a payment amount and a payee;

in response to the request, determining whether the phone number received in the request matches a phone number in the data storage facility having telecommunication carrier information;

if the phone number does not have telecommunication carrier information in the data storage facility, transmitting from the common format processor a pinging message in accordance with the phone number;

receiving, at the interchange, a response to the pinging message;

identifying from the response, by the interchange, telecommunication carrier information of the phone number;

if the phone number does have telecommunication carrier information in the data storage facility then skipping the transmission of the pinging message;

preparing at least one charging message based on the payment amount to be transmitted via a telecommunication carrier of a mobile phone at the phone number identified in the response or the data storage facility; and

transmitting, from the interchange, the at least one charging message to the mobile phone using the telecommunication carrier information, wherein the telecommunication carrier of the mobile phone is to collect funds from a user of the mobile phone according to at least the payment amount and to provide the at least a portion of the funds to the interchange, wherein the interchange is to pay the at least a portion of amount to the payee in accordance with the request.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a set of predetermined prices based on the telecommunication carrier information; and

determining at least one premium message based on the payment amount and a set of predetermined prices for premium messages, the at least one charging message being the at least one premium message.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the interchange including a common format processor and a plurality of converters to interface with a plurality of controllers, the converters configured to communicate with the controllers in different formats, the converters to communicate with the common format processor in a common format, further comprising:

selecting the first converter based on the telecommunication carrier information, the premium message being transmitted using a first converter of the converters according to the telecommunication carrier information.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

transmitting, using the first converter, a text message requesting a confirmation of a payment to the payee;

wherein the transmitting of the at least one premium message is in response to a confirmation response from the user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the confirmation response comprises a text message from the mobile phone at the phone number.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

determining whether the confirmation response comprises a code provided in the text message requesting the confirmation;

wherein the transmitting of the at least one premium message is in response to a determination that the confirmation response comprises a code provided in the text message requesting the confirmation.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining at least one premium message based on the payment amount and a set of predetermined prices for premium messages, the at least one premium message being based on the telecommunication carrier information, the at least one charging message being the at least one premium message.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting of the pinging message comprises a message to initiate a phone call to the phone number.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the response to the pinging message is received from a telecommunications network without an input from the user.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the pinging message comprises a text message destined to the phone number.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the text message identifies the request;

and the response comprises a confirmation from the user to make the payment.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the response comprises a message transmitted from the mobile phone via short message service (SMS).

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting a user interface to the user to receive the request identifying the phone number, wherein the request does not identify the telecommunication carrier information.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the user interface is provided via a web page rendered in a web browser of the user.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the web page is presented in response to a web request redirected from a merchant requesting a payment from the user;

and the interchange is to use the funds to fulfill the payment on behalf of the user.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing in a database the telecommunication carrier information for the phone number after determining the telecommunication carrier information from the first message.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, in the interchange, a second request identifying a second phone number;

querying a database to identify second telecommunication carrier information of the second phone number; and

transmitting at least one charging message to the mobile phone according to the second telecommunication carrier information.

18. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, the instructions causing a computer to perform a method, the method comprising:

storing, in a data storage facility of an interchange telecommunication carrier, information for each of a plurality of phone numbers;

receiving, in the interchange, a request identifying a phone number, a payment amount and a payee;

in response to the request, determining whether the phone number received in the request matches a phone number in the data storage facility having telecommunication carrier information;

if the phone number does not have telecommunication carrier information in the data storage facility, transmitting from the common format processor a pinging message in accordance with the phone number;

receiving, at the interchange, a response to the pinging message;

identifying from the response, by the interchange, telecommunication carrier information of the phone number;

if the phone number does have telecommunication carrier information in the data storage facility then skipping the transmission of the pinging message;

preparing at least one charging message based on the payment amount to be transmitted via a telecommunication carrier of a mobile phone at the phone number identified in the response or the data storage facility; and

transmitting, from the interchange, the at least one charging message to the mobile phone using the telecommunication carrier information, wherein the telecommunication carrier of the mobile phone is to collect funds from a user of the mobile phone according to at least the payment amount and to provide the at least a portion of the funds to the interchange, wherein the interchange is to pay the at least a portion of amount to the payee in accordance with the request.

19. A system, comprising:

a data storage facility; and

an interchange coupled with the data storage facility;

telecommunication carrier information for each of a plurality of phone numbers stored in the data storage facility;

wherein in response to a request identifying a phone number, a payment amount and a payee, the interchange is to determine whether the phone number received in the request matches a phone number in the data storage facility having telecommunication carrier information;

if the phone number does not have telecommunication carrier information in the data storage facility, transmit a pinging message to the phone number;

receive a response to the pinging message and identify telecommunication carrier information of the phone number from the response;

select a first converter from the converters based on the telecommunication carrier information associated with the phone number;

prepare at least one charging message based on the payment amount to be transmitted via a telecommunication carrier of a mobile phone at the phone number identified in the response or the data storage facility; and

transmit the at least one charging message to the mobile phone using the telecommunication carrier of the mobile phone to collect funds from a user of the mobile phone according to at least the payment amount and to provide the at least a portion of the funds to the interchange, wherein the interchange is to pay at least a portion of the amount to the payee in accordance with the request.