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

• US 8,666,897 B2
• Filed: 10/04/2012
• Issued: 03/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• 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:
  US13/645,156
• Publication Number:
  US 20130036055A1
• Time in Patent Office: 516 Days
• Field of Search: 705/10, 705/44, 705 39- 40, 705/64, 704/275, 726/4, 235/380
• 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. A method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device for granting an authorization, a request for the authorization of a transaction involving a transaction account, wherein the request for authorization comprises an 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 transaction account, a price of the purchase associated with the request for authorization, a credit limit on the transaction account, an item identification number, a forbidden item category, an item category, and an authorization limit stored in the database and corresponding to the transaction account.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the authorization limits are independently definable for each one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising verifying that a beneficiary of the transaction account is permitted to set authorization limits on use of the transaction account.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the authorization limit is at least one of:

a limit based on merchant type;

a limit based on merchant name;

a limit based on a dollar amount; and

a limit based on merchant location.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the authorization limit includes user-defined limits.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the authorization limit includes the forbidden item category.

7. An article of manufacture including a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a computer-based system for granting an authorization, cause the computer-based system to be capable of performing operations comprising:

receiving, by the computer-based system, a request for the authorization of a transaction involving a transaction account, wherein the request for authorization comprises an employee identification number, an item identification number, an item category and a number of items; and

determining, by the computer-based system, whether to grant the request for authorization based on an unpaid balance of the transaction account, a price of the purchase associated with the request for authorization, a credit limit on the transaction account, an item identification number, a forbidden item category, an item category, and an authorization limit stored in the database and corresponding to the transaction account.

8. The article of claim 7, further comprising verifying that a beneficiary of the transaction account is permitted to set authorization limits on use of the transaction account.

9. The article of claim 7, wherein the authorization limit is at least one of:

a limit based on merchant type;

a limit based on merchant name;

a limit based on a dollar amount; and

a limit based on merchant location.

10. The article of claim 7, wherein the authorization limit includes user-defined limits.

11. The article of claim 7, wherein the authorization limit includes the forbidden item category.

12. A system comprising:

a processor for granting an authorization,

a tangible, non-transitory memory configured to communicate with the processor,

the tangible, non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the processor, cause the processor to be capable of performing operations comprising;

receiving, by the processor, a request for the authorization of a transaction involving a transaction account, wherein the request for authorization comprises an 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 transaction account, a price of the purchase associated with the request for authorization, a credit limit on the transaction account, an item identification number, a forbidden item category, an item category, and an authorization limit stored in the database and corresponding to the transaction account.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the authorization limits are independently definable for each one of the plurality of financial transaction instruments.

14. The system of claim 12, further comprising verifying that a beneficiary of the transaction account is permitted to set authorization limits on use of the transaction account.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the authorization limit is at least one of:

a limit based on merchant type;

a limit based on merchant name;

a limit based on a dollar amount; and

a limit based on merchant location.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the authorization limit includes user-defined limits.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the authorization limit includes the forbidden item category.