Credit card system and method

• US 8,756,150 B2
• Filed: 01/26/2009
• Issued: 06/17/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Orbis Patents Limited (MasterCard Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Orbis Patents Limited (MasterCard Incorporated)
• Inventors: O'Donnell, Graham, Flitcroft, Daniel I
• Primary Examiner(s): Abdi, Kambiz
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vyas, Abhishek
• Application Number:
  US12/359,971
• Publication Number:
  US 20090134217A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,968 Days
• Field of Search: 705 35- 40
• US Class Current: 705/38
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• 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 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/16 Payments settled via telecommunication systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/24 Credit schemes, i.e. "pay after"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/34 using cards, e.g. integrated circuit [IC] cards or magnetic cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/342 Cards defining paid or billed services or quantities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/354 Card activation or deactivation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3552 Downloading or loading of personalisation data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/357 Cards having a plurality of specified features
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/385 using an alias or single-use codes
• 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 20/4016 involving fraud or risk level assessment in transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/00 Complete banking systems; Coded card-freed arrangements adapted for dispensing or receiving monies or the like and posting such transactions to existing accounts, e.g. automatic teller machines data processing equipment for bank accounting G06Q40/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/2055 : Anti-skimming aspects at ATMs
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/025 : by means, e.g. cards, providing billing information at the time of purchase, e.g. identification of seller or purchaser, quantity of goods delivered or to be delivered
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 : by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 : Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/12 : Card verification
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/122 : Online card verification

Abstract

A credit card system is provided which has the added feature of providing additional limited use credit card numbers and/or cards. These numbers and/or cards can be used for a single or limited use transaction, thereby reducing the potential for fraudulent reuse of these numbers and/or cards. The credit card system finds application to “card remote” transactions such as by phone or Internet. Additionally, when a single use or limited use credit card is used for “card present” transactions, so called “skimming” fraud is eliminated. Various other features enhance the credit card system which will allow secure trade without the use of elaborate encryption techniques. Methods for limiting, distributing and using a limited use card number, controlling the validity of a limited use credit card number, conducting a limited use credit card number transaction and providing remote access devices for accessing a limited use credit card number are also provided.

Claims

1. In a financial transaction system capable of using at least one limited use transaction card number, which is deactivated upon a use-triggered condition, a method of processing a transaction initiated by a customer presenting the limited use transaction card number to a merchant, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, in a central processing system, said limited use transaction card number, which is associated with a master account number of a customer and has use limitations different from limitations on the master account number, routed from the merchant;

remapping, in the central processing system, the limited use transaction card number with the master account number;

determining, in the central processing system, whether said limited use transaction card number has been deactivated because at least one use-triggered condition, which occurs subsequent to assignment of the at least one limited use transaction card number, has been satisfied; and

transmitting a signal to a facility which issued the master account number, the signal including original transaction details but with the limited use-transaction card number remapped to be the master account number if the limited use transaction card number has not been deactivated.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the limited transaction card number is linked to an organization selected from a group consisting of:

a utility, a public network service provider, a telephone company, a bank account, a prepaid account and a credit card issuer.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

linking the limited use transaction card number to an organization;

transmitting a signal to the organization which is linked to the limited use transaction card number, the signal including original transaction details if the limited use transaction card number has not been deactivated;

receiving the results from the organization which performed a credit check to determine whether authorization can be obtained against the limited use transaction card number; and

transmitting a signal to the merchant with the results of the authorization determining step for the limited use transaction card number.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting a signal to the merchant denying authorization if the limited use transaction card number has been deactivated.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether authorization can be obtained against the master account number;

remapping the results of the authorization determining step to the limited use transaction card number for transmission to the merchant; and

transmitting a signal to the merchant with the results of the authorization determining step for the limited use transaction card number.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising authorizing the transaction based on the results of the authorization determining step.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising declining authorization of the transaction based on the results of the authorization determining step.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the master account number is a master transaction card account number.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the use-triggered condition is satisfied when a predetermined number of uses of the limited use transaction card number is reached.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the predetermined number is one.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein a limited use associated with the limited use transaction card number permits multiple transactions, and the use-triggered condition is satisfied when the aggregate value of the transactions exceeds a predetermined sum.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein a limited use associated with the limited use transaction card number limits use of the card to a specific class of use.

8. In a financial transaction system capable of using at least one limited use transaction card number, which is deactivated upon a use-triggered condition which occurs subsequent to assignment of the at least one limited use transaction card number, a method of conducting a transaction involving the limited use credit card comprising the steps of:

facilitating, in a central processing system, a transaction by a customer presenting a limited use transaction card number, which is associated with a master transaction card number, to a merchant;

receiving, in the central processing system, said limited use transaction card number routed by the computer processing system;

determining, in the computer processing system, whether said limited use transaction card number has been deactivated because at least one use-triggered condition has been satisfied;

transmitting a signal to a master credit card issuing facility which issued the limited use transaction card number, the signal including original transaction details but with the limited use transaction card number remapped to be the master transaction card number if the limited use transaction card number has not been deactivated;

receiving in the computer processing system, a signal from the credit card issuing facility indicating if authorization has been obtained against the master transaction card number;

remapping, in the central processing system, the results of the authorization determining step to the limited use transaction card number for transmission to the merchant; and

transmitting a signal to the merchant with the results of authorization for the limited use transaction card number.