Decoding systems with a decoding engine running on a mobile device and using financial transaction card information to create a send funds application on the mobile device

• US 9,135,618 B1
• Filed: 04/21/2014
• Issued: 09/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Square Inc (Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.))
• Inventors: Dorsey, Jack, Henderson, William, Grassadonia, Brian, McKelvey, James M., Wen, Xuancong
• Primary Examiner(s): Haupt, Kristy A
• Application Number:
  US14/257,962
• Time in Patent Office: 512 Days
• Field of Search: 235/380, 235/441, 235/491, 235/493
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/347 Passive cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3567 Software being in the reader
• 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 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: G07F 7/0886 the card reader being portable for interacting with a POS or ECR in realizing a payment transaction

Abstract

A decoding system has a decoding engine running on a mobile device. The decoding engine decodes signals produced from a read of a first party'"'"'s financial transaction card. The decoding engine accepts and initializes incoming signals from a read of the first party'"'"'s financial transaction card. A transaction engine runs on the mobile device and is coupled to the decoding engine. The transaction engine receives as its input decoded first party'"'"'s financial transaction card information from the decoding engine. At least a portion of a first party'"'"'s financial card information or information relative to a first party'"'"'s financial account is used to create a mobile device payment application on the mobile device.

Claims

1. A decoding system, comprising:

a decoding engine running on a mobile device, the decoding engine being configured to decode incoming signals describing a first party'"'"'s financial payment card, the incoming signals being received from a card reader coupled to the mobile device; and

a transaction engine running on the mobile device and coupled to the decoding engine that is configured to process a financial transaction between the first party and a second party using the first party'"'"'s financial payment card and through a payment system, wherein the first party'"'"'s financial payment card information is not shared with the second party.

2. The decoding system of claim 1, wherein the first party'"'"'s financial payment card is at least one of:

a card associated with a financial account at a financial institution, a credit card, a debit card, a pre-paid card, or a financial card associated with a third-party funding source.

3. The decoding system of claim 1, wherein the decoding engine is further configured to accept and to initialize incoming signals from the card reader until the signals reach a steady state, to detect the read of the first party'"'"'s financial payment card once the incoming signals are in the steady state, to identify peaks in the incoming signals, and to digitize the identified peaks into a plurality of bits that describe the first party'"'"'s financial payment card.

4. The decoding system of claim 1, wherein the incoming signals result from a swipe of a first party'"'"'s financial payment card through the card reader.

5. The decoding system of claim 1, wherein the incoming signals result from a touch of the first party'"'"'s financial payment card to the card reader.

6. The decoding system of claim 1, wherein information describing the first party'"'"'s financial payment card is stored in a payment application on the mobile device.

7. The decoding system of claim 6, wherein the payment application is able to be accessed to transfer funds to a financial account associated with the second party from a financial account associated with the first party'"'"'s financial payment card without having to again process the first party'"'"'s financial payment card through the card reader.

8. The decoding system of claim 6, wherein the payment application is able to be accessed to transfer funds from a financial account associated with the second party to a financial account associated with the first party'"'"'s financial payment card without having to process the first party'"'"'s financial payment card through the card reader.

9. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, by a mobile device, data describing a first party'"'"'s financial payment card;

extracting, from the data, information describing the first party'"'"'s financial payment card in a payment application running on the mobile device;

receiving, through the payment application, a request to process a transfer of funds between the first party and a second party; and

processing, using the payment application and through a payment system, the transfer of funds using the information describing the first party'"'"'s financial payment card.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, where receiving, by a mobile device, data describing the first party'"'"'s financial payment card further comprises at least one of:

reading the first party'"'"'s financial payment card through a card reader coupled to the mobile device, receiving input describing the first party'"'"'s financial payment card though an interface presented on a display screen of the mobile device, or receiving input describing the first party'"'"'s financial account information though the interface presented on the display screen of the mobile device.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the second party is selected from a phone listing stored in the mobile device.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the selected second party is not associated with the payment system, and wherein the payment system is configured to send the second party an electronic message providing the second party with an option to open an account with the payment system.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, processing, using the payment application and through the payment system, the transfer of funds using the information describing the first party'"'"'s financial payment card further comprises:

processing, through the payment system, the transfer of funds from a financial account associated with the first party to a financial account associated with the second party.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein processing, using the payment application and through the payment system, the transfer of funds using the information describing the first party'"'"'s financial payment card further comprises:

processing, through the payment system, the transfer of funds from a financial account associated with the second party to a financial account associated with the first party.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the first party'"'"'s financial payment card is at least one of:

a card associated with a financial account at a financial institution, a credit card, a debit card, a pre-paid card, or a card associated with a third-party funding source.

16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions, the instructions when executed by a processor causing the processor to perform the operations of:

receiving, by a mobile device, data describing a first party'"'"'s financial payment card;

extracting, from the data, information describing the first party'"'"'s financial payment card in a payment application running on the mobile device;

receiving, through the payment application, a request to process a transfer of funds between the first party and a second party; and

processing, using the payment application and through a payment system, the transfer of funds using the information describing the first party'"'"'s financial payment card.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the second party is selected from a phone listing stored in the mobile device.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the selected second party is not associated with the payment system, and wherein the payment system is configured to send the second party an electronic message providing the second party with an option to open an account with the payment system.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein processing, using the payment application and through the payment system, the transfer of funds using the information describing the first party'"'"'s financial payment card further comprises:

processing, through the payment system, the transfer of funds from a financial account associated with the first party to a financial account associated with the second party.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein processing, using the payment application and through the payment system, the transfer of funds using the information describing the first party'"'"'s financial payment card further comprises:

processing, through the payment system, the transfer of funds from a financial account associated with the second party to a financial account associated with the first party.