Default phone bill charging

• US 9,129,320 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2012
• Issued: 09/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Boku Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Boku Incorporated
• Inventors: Martin, Matthew J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Niquette, Robert R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Liz P
• Application Number:
  US13/369,117
• Publication Number:
  US 20130204745A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,308 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/16 Payments settled via telecommunication systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/42 Confirmation, e.g. check or permission by the legal debtor of payment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/88 Provision for limiting connection, or expenditure
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/882 for continuing the call beyond the limit using an alternative, e.g. alternative account
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/00 Prepayment of wireline communication systems, wireless communication systems or telephone systems using a coded card to authorise calls from a telephone set H04M1/675
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/20 with provision for recharging the prepaid account or card, or for credit establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/204 on-line recharging, e.g. cashless

Abstract

A consumer payment control system receives a request to increase a stored value of the consumer account by a credit value, transmits a funding request to a consumer account funding infrastructure, the funding request including a credit value, and increases a stored value of the consumer account by the credit value. A communication and routing module receives a charge request, including an amount and identifies a selected one of the consumer accounts. A transaction processing system processes the charge request based on an account detail of the selected consumer account. The consumer payment control system determines whether a top-up confirmation has been received from the consumer account funding infrastructure after a predetermined period of time, and causes charging of the consumer account if the top-up confirmation has not been received.

Claims

1. A computer system for managing electronic transactions, comprising:

a server computer system including;

a processor;

a computer-readable medium connected to the processor;

a network interface device connected to the processor; and

a set of instructions on the computer-readable medium, the set of instructions being executable by the processor and including;

a data store;

a plurality of consumer accounts stored in the data store, each consumer account having a first consumer account identifier;

a stored value in the consumer account;

a consumer payment control system receiving a request to increase a stored value of the consumer account by a credit value, transmitting, in response to receiving the request to increase the stored value, a funding request to the consumer account funding infrastructure, the funding request including a credit value, and increasing, in response to receiving the request to increase the stored value, the stored value of the consumer account by the credit value;

a communication and routing module that receives a charge request over the network interface device, the charge request including an amount and a second consumer account identifier and identifies, in response to receiving the charge request, a selected one of the consumer accounts by associating one of the first consumer account identifiers with the second consumer account identifier;

a transaction processing system that processes, in response to receiving the charge request, the charge request based on an account detail of the selected consumer account by transmitting at least one message to a carrier server using an account detail of the consumer account for charging of a phone account on the carrier server for an amount based on the amount in the charge request, wherein the consumer payment control system determines whether a top-up confirmation has been received from the consumer account funding infrastructure after a predetermined period of time after processing the charge request, and transmitting at least one message to the carrier server to refund the phone account on the carrier server for an amount based on the amount in the charge request, the phone account only being refunded if the top-up confirmation has been received and not when the top-up confirmation has not been received.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the message using an account detail of the consumer account is transmitted before the predetermined period of time, wherein the consumer payment control system transmits a confirmation request to a consumer device, wherein the stored value is only increased before receiving the top-up confirmation if a confirmation is received in response to the confirmation request.

3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the message using an account detail of the consumer account is a message for a direct billing of a carrier account, the account detail being an identification for identifying the carrier account, and an amount to charge the carrier account.

4. The computer system of claim 3, wherein the consumer payment control system settles with the carrier computer system by receiving funds from carrier computer system based on the charge to the carrier account.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the message using an account detail of the consumer account is at least one premium message that is transmitted through a carrier network to a mobile phone, the account detail being an identifier of the mobile phone, the at least one premium message resulting in a charge of a carrier account of the mobile phone.

6. The computer system of claim 5, wherein the consumer payment control system settles with the carrier computer system by receiving funds from carrier computer system based on the charge to the carrier account.

7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the instructions further comprise:

a login module receiving login information from a user computer system over the network interface device;

a funding source storing module storing a funding source in the consumer account, access to the funding source storing module by the user computer system to store the funding source only being permitted upon successful login based on the login information, wherein the funding module routes the funding request based on the funding source.

8. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the set of instructions further includes:

an interface for the consumer account transmitted over the network interface device to a consumer computer system, the interface for the consumer account including details of the consumer account.

9. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the transaction processing system includes:

a transaction validation module that compares the stored value with the amount, wherein the account lookup and debit module only reduces the stored value with the amount, wherein the stored value is (i) only reduced if the stored value is at least as much as the amount and (ii) not reduced if the stored value is less than the amount, and transmits a confirmation over the network interface device (i) to accept the charge request only if the stored value is at least as much as the amount and (ii) to deny the charge request if the stored value is less than the amount.

10. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the stored value is not permitted to go below a carrier fee amount before the top-up confirmation has been received from the consumer account funding infrastructure after a predetermined period of time.

11. A computer-based method of managing electronic transactions, comprising:

storing, with a processor, a plurality of consumer accounts in a data store, each consumer account having a first consumer account identifier;

saving, with the processor, a stored value in the consumer account;

receiving, with the processor, a request to increase a stored value of the consumer account by a credit value;

transmitting, with the processor, in response to receiving the request to increase the stored value, a funding request to the consumer account funding infrastructure, the funding request including a credit value;

increasing, with the processor, in response to receiving the request to increase the stored value, the stored value of the consumer account by the credit value;

receiving, with the processor, a charge request over the network interface device, the charge request including an amount and a second consumer account identifier;

identifying, with the processor, in response to receiving the charge request, a selected one of the consumer accounts by associating one of the first consumer account identifiers with the second consumer account identifier;

processing, with the processor, in response to receiving the charge request, the charge request based on an account detail of the selected consumer account by transmitting at least one message to a carrier server using an account detail of the consumer account for charging of a phone account on the carrier server for an amount based on the amount in the charge request;

determining, with the processor, whether a top-up confirmation has been received from the consumer account funding infrastructure after a predetermined period of time after processing the charge request; and

transmitting, with the processor, at least one message to the carrier server to refund the phone account on the carrier server for an amount based on the amount in the charge request, the phone account only being refunded if the top-up confirmation has been received and not when the top-up confirmation has not been received.

12. The computer-based method of claim 11, wherein the message using an account detail of the consumer account is transmitted before the predetermined period of time, further comprising:

transmitting a confirmation request to a consumer device, wherein the stored value is only increased before receiving the top-up confirmation if a confirmation is received in response to the confirmation request.

13. The computer-based method of claim 11, wherein the message using an account detail of the consumer account is a message for a direct billing of a carrier account in a carrier computer system, the account detail being an identification for identifying the carrier account, and an amount to charge the carrier account.

14. The computer-based method of claim 13, further comprising:

settling, with the processor, with the carrier computer system by receiving funds from carrier computer system based on the charge to the carrier account.

15. The computer-based method of claim 11, wherein the message using an account detail of the consumer account is at least one premium message that is transmitted through a carrier network to a mobile phone, the account detail being an identifier of the mobile phone, the at least one premium message resulting in a charge of a carrier account of the mobile phone.

16. The computer-based method of claim 15, further comprising:

settling, with the processor, with the carrier computer system by receiving funds from carrier computer system based on the charge to the carrier account.

17. The computer-based method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving, with the processor, login information from a user computer system over the network interface device;

storing, with the processor, a funding source in the consumer account, access to the funding source storing module by the user computer system to store the funding source only being permitted upon successful login based on the login information, wherein the funding module routes the funding request based on the funding source.

18. The computer-based method of claim 17, further comprising:

transmitting an interface for the consumer account over the network interface device to a consumer computer system, the interface for the consumer account including details of the consumer account.

19. The computer-based method of claim 11, further comprising:

comparing, with the processor, the stored value with the amount, wherein the stored value is (i) only reduced if the stored value is at least as much as the amount and (ii) not reduced if the stored value is less than the amount; and

transmitting, with the processor, a confirmation over the network interface device (i) to accept the charge request only if the stored value is at least as much as the amount and (ii) to deny the charge request if the stored value is less than the amount.

20. The computer-based method of claim 19, wherein the stored value is not permitted to go below a carrier fee amount before the top-up confirmation has been received from the consumer account funding infrastructure after a predetermined period of time.