Contactless prepaid product for transit fare collection

• US 8,738,485 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2007
• Issued: 05/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dixon, Philip B., Hammad, Ayman, El-Awady, Khalid
• Primary Examiner(s): Shafi, Muhammad
• Assistant Examiner(s): Malhotra, Sanjeev
• Application Number:
  US11/966,233
• Publication Number:
  US 20090171682A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,342 Days
• Field of Search: 705/8, 705/22, 705/26, 705/35, 705/39, 705/40, 705/44, 705/50, 705/74, 703/6, 701/117, 709/203, 711/167, 713/182, 235/60.12, 235/380, 235/383, 235/384, 235/492, 340/10.41, 340/572.7, 379/121.02, 380/202, 380/270, 604/20, 194/205, 463/25
• US Class Current: 705/35
• 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: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3278 RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4037 Remote solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0281 Customer communication at a business location, e.g. providing product or service information, consulting

Abstract

Transaction processing in an offline environment for a prepaid product comprising a portable consumer device includes responding to presentation of the prepaid product at a reader for offline processing by initiating operation of the prepaid product, receiving data from the prepaid product at the reader that indicates the prepaid product is associated with a prepaid account balance, determining that the prepaid product is in a negative balance condition, and taking preventive action in response to the negative balance condition such that future acceptance of the prepaid product at a reader is prevented.

Claims

1. A method of processing a transaction, the processing method comprising:

responding to presentation of a portable consumer device at a reader adapted for offline processing by initiating operation of the portable consumer device, wherein the portable consumer device operates in a locked status or a not locked status;

receiving data from the portable consumer device for a current transaction at the offline reader, wherein the received data indicates the portable consumer device is associated with a prepaid account balance for a prepaid product;

determining at the offline reader that the prepaid account balance is in a negative balance condition in response to predictive processing that determines a next anticipated charge to the prepaid account balance and identifies a situation in which the next anticipated charge to the prepaid account balance will result in an insufficient account balance to cover the next anticipated charge; and

taking preventive action at the offline reader in response to the negative balance condition such that future acceptance of the portable consumer device at any reader is prevented, wherein taking preventive action comprises issuing a lock command from the offline reader to the portable consumer device such that the portable consumer device is in the locked status and will be unresponsive to any reader requests for information after conclusion of the current transaction, wherein the preventive action is not taken if the prepaid account balance was not determined to be in the negative balance condition, and wherein the preventive action is initiated only by the offline reader.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein taking preventive action comprises setting a blocking bit in a memory location of the portable consumer device.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein taking preventive action comprises placing the portable consumer device on a hot list of devices to be refused acceptance.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein taking preventive action comprises setting a locking command at the portable consumer device.

5. The method as defined in claim 4, wherein setting the locking command comprises an instruction sent from the reader to the portable consumer device that causes the prepaid product to execute locking code that causes the portable consumer device to cease responding to a reader activation from any reader.

6. The method as defined in claim 5, wherein the portable consumer device will respond to an activation from an online source.

7. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein determining that the prepaid account balance is in the negative balance condition comprises initiating a predictive analysis that determines if the portable consumer device has an insufficient prepaid account balance for expected future account activity.

8. The method as defined in claim 7, wherein the predictive analysis comprises processing that assesses past account activity of the portable consumer device and determines a value for the prepaid account balance below which comprises the negative balance condition such that the portable consumer device will have the insufficient prepaid account balance for the expected future account activity.

9. The method as defined in claim 7, wherein the negative balance condition comprises a balance that is not sufficient to fund a predetermined transaction amount.

10. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the predictive processing comprises checking a consumer'"'"'s charging history or ridership history to examine historic patterns of use and to predict future uses of the prepaid account.

11. A portable consumer device comprising:

a base; and

a computer readable medium on the base, wherein the computer readable medium stores code for a locking command, wherein the portable consumer device operates in a locked status or a not locked status, wherein the locking command causes the portable consumer device to respond to a locking instruction sent from a reader adapted for offline processing to the portable consumer device during offline processing for a current transaction, wherein the locking instruction is generated by the offline reader in response to predictive processing that determines a prepaid account balance is in a negative balance condition in response to determining a next anticipated charge to the prepaid account balance and identifying a situation in which the next anticipated charge to the prepaid account balance will result in an insufficient account balance to cover the next anticipated charge, and wherein the offline reader responds to the locking instruction by executing the stored code such that the portable consumer device will operate in the locked status and will cease responding to a reader activation from any reader after conclusion of the current transaction, wherein the locking instruction is not generated if the prepaid account balance was not determined to be in the negative balance condition, and wherein the preventive action is initiated only by the offline reader.

12. The portable consumer device as defined in claim 11, wherein the portable consumer device will respond to an activation from an online source.

13. The portable consumer device as defined in claim 11, wherein the portable consumer device is a card.

14. The portable consumer device as defined in claim 11, wherein the portable consumer device is a contactless device.

15. The portable consumer device as defined in claim 11, wherein the portable consumer device comprises a wireless communication device.

16. The portable consumer device as defined in claim 15, wherein the wireless communication device receives the locking command in an over-the-air communication.

17. The portable consumer device as defined in claim 15, wherein the wireless communication device responds to an activation received from an online source in an over-the-air communication.

18. The portable consumer device as defined in claim 11, wherein the predictive processing comprises checking a consumer'"'"'s charging history or ridership history to examine historic patterns of use and to predict future uses of the prepaid account.

19. A reader configured to receive data from a portable consumer device, wherein the reader includes:

communication interface to a data network for online network communication, wherein the reader is also adapted for offline processing; and

a processor that responds to presentation of the portable consumer device at the reader when offline by initiating operation of the portable consumer device, wherein the portable consumer device operates in a locked status or a not locked status, receiving data from the portable consumer device for a current transaction wherein the received data indicates that the portable consumer device is associated with a prepaid account balance for a prepaid product, determines that the prepaid account balance is in a negative balance condition in response to predictive processing that determines a next anticipated charge to the prepaid account balance and identifies a situation in which the next anticipated charge to the prepaid account balance will result in an insufficient account balance to cover the next anticipated charge, and takes preventive action in response to the negative balance condition such that future acceptance of the portable consumer device at any reader is prevented, wherein the preventive action comprises issuing a lock command from the offline reader to the portable consumer device such that the portable consumer device is in the locked status and will be unresponsive to any reader requests for information after conclusion of the current transaction, wherein the preventive action is not taken if the prepaid account balance was not determined to be in the negative balance condition, and wherein the preventive action is initiated only by the offline reader.

20. The reader as defined in claim 19, wherein the reader takes preventative action by setting a blocking bit in a memory location of the portable consumer device.

21. The reader as defined in claim 19, wherein taking preventive action comprises placing the portable consumer device on a hot list of devices to be refused acceptance.

22. The reader as defined in claim 19, wherein taking preventive action comprises setting a locking command at the portable consumer device.

23. The reader as defined in claim 22, wherein setting the locking command comprises an instruction sent from the reader to the portable consumer device that causes the portable consumer device to execute locking code that causes the portable consumer device to cease responding to a reader activation from any reader.

24. The reader as defined in claim 23, wherein the portable consumer device will respond to an activation from an online source.

25. The reader as defined in claim 19, wherein determining that the prepaid account balance is in the negative balance condition comprises initiating a predictive analysis that determines if the portable consumer device has an insufficient prepaid account balance for expected future account activity.

26. The reader as defined in claim 25, wherein the predictive analysis comprises processing that assesses past account activity of the portable consumer device and determines a value for the prepaid account balance below which comprises the negative balance condition such that the portable consumer device will have the insufficient prepaid account balance for the expected future account activity.

27. The reader as defined in claim 25, wherein the negative balance condition comprises a balance that is not sufficient to fund a predetermined transaction amount.

28. The reader as defined in claim 19, wherein the predictive processing comprises checking a consumer'"'"'s charging history or ridership history to examine historic patterns of use and to predict future uses of the prepaid account.