Method and system for micropayment transactions

• US 8,983,874 B2
• Filed: 10/14/2009
• Issued: 03/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Heartland Payment Systems Incorporated (Global Payments Incorporated), Silvio Micali
• Original Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Micali, Silvio, Rivest, Ronald L.
• Primary Examiner(s): OBEID, MAMON A
• Application Number:
  US12/579,313
• Publication Number:
  US 20100241569A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,980 Days
• Field of Search: 705 50- 79, 235/370, 235/380
• US Class Current: 705/79
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/027 involving a payment switch or gateway
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0425 the cheque being electronic only
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/29 characterised by micropayments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3825 Use of electronic signatures

Abstract

A micropayment system and method is presented for a payor U to establish payment to payee M for a transaction T, which typically has a very low value T_V. The micropayment scheme minimizes the bank'"'"'s processing costs, while at the same time eliminating the need for users and merchants to interact in order to determine whether a given micropayment should be selected for payment. In one embodiment, the micropayment scheme includes time constraints, which require that an electronic check C for the transaction T be presented to a bank B for payment within a predetermined time/date interval. In another embodiment, the micropayment scheme includes a selective deposit protocol, which guarantees that a user is never charged in excess of what he actually spends, even within a probabilistic framework. In another embodiment, the micropayment scheme includes a deferred selection protocol, which provides the bank with control and flexibility over the payment selection process.

Claims

1. A method for a second party to receive payment from a first party for a transaction, the method comprising:

receiving by a second hardware device of the second party a first data string from a first hardware device of the first party, wherein the first data string is derived from a record of the transaction using a secret key of the first party and wherein the first data string is being used as an electronic instrument to request payment for the transaction;

generating by the second party using a second data string derived from the first data string via a secret key of the second party, wherein the second data string is substantially unpredictable by the first party;

determining by the second hardware device of the second party without help from the first party that the second data string has a predetermined property, wherein the second data string having the predetermined property is used to enable payment to the second party for the transaction; and

in response to determining by the second hardware device of the second party that the second data string has the predetermined property, transmitting information to a third hardware device of a third party enabling the third party to verify that the second data string has the predetermined property;

in response to determining by the third hardware device of the third party that the second data string has the predetermined property, receiving by the second party a payment amount associated with the second data string;

wherein the first, second and third hardware devices comprise a processor,

wherein determining by the second party without help from the first party that the second data string has a predetermined property comprises determining that a function of the second data string, F, is less than a selection rate, s,

wherein s is a probability that the second data string would be selected for payment and wherein s is determined by the second party using information received from the third party and 0<

s<

1, and

F is a public function that takes the second data string as input, and returns as output a number greater than 0 and less than 1.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the predetermined property before the transaction.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the predetermined property from at least one of the transaction or the first data string.

4. A method of claim 2, further comprising authenticating at least a portion of the first data string.

5. A method of claim 4, wherein authenticating at least a portion of the first data string comprises authenticating the at least a portion of the first data string using a fifth party on behalf of the first party.

6. A method of claim 1, wherein receiving by the second hardware device of the second party a first data string from the first party, wherein the first data string is derived from the transaction comprises receiving by the second hardware device of the second party a first data string derived from generating a digital signature for at least a portion of the transaction, using a secret key of the first party.