Systems and methods for providing payment hotspots

• US 9,449,318 B2
• Filed: 10/01/2014
• Issued: 09/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sundaram, Magesh Babu Meignana
• Primary Examiner(s): Savusdiphol, Paultep
• Application Number:
  US14/504,204
• Publication Number:
  US 20160098696A1
• Time in Patent Office: 720 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/379
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/027 involving a payment switch or gateway
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/223 based on the use of peer-to-peer networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/326 Payment applications installed on the mobile devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3278 RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/384 using social networks

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for facilitating payments between users of the system such as person-to-person payments using a payment hotspot. A payment hotspot or payspot may be generated by a first user device of a first user to facilitate a transfer of funds between the first user and the second user. The payspot may be a virtual payment portal that allows secure payment between the users without either of the users having to provide identifying information to the other user. The payspot may be accessed by the second user based on the proximity of a second user device of the second user to the first user device or the first user may provide an identification code of the payspot to the second user. The second user may access the payspot by communicating with a payment server with the second user device, through the first user device.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a non-transitory memory; and

one or more hardware processors coupled to the non-transitory memory and configured to read instructions from the non-transitory memory to cause the system to perform operations comprising;

receiving a first request from a first user device of a first user to generate a payment hotspot;

in response to receiving the first request, associating the first user with a payment hotspot identifier to be broadcasted by short-range communications circuitry of the first user device;

in response to short-range communications circuitry of a second user device of a second user detecting the payment hotspot identifier, receiving a second request for a payment from the second user device; and

facilitating a transfer of funds to the first user from the second user based on the second request.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating the payment hotspot identifier; and

transmitting the payment hotspot identifier to the first user device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise receiving the payment hotspot identifier directly from the second user device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise receiving the payment hotspot identifier from the second user device by receiving the payment hotspot identifier from the second user device via the first user device.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a server comprising the non-transitory memory and the one or more hardware processors,

wherein the first user device is configured to generate the payment hotspot by broadcasting the payment hotspot identifier.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the second user device is configured to:

detect the payment hotspot identifier broadcast by the first user device; and

provide the second request for the payment to the server.

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

receiving a plurality of additional requests for additional payments from a plurality of additional second user devices; and

facilitating a plurality of additional transfers of funds to the first user based on the plurality of additional requests.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the facilitating comprises transferring the funds from an account of the second user to an account of the first user.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the payment hotspot is provided within a communication range of the short-range communications circuitry of the first user device, and wherein the short-range communications circuitry of the first user device comprises near field communications circuitry or Bluetooth communications circuitry.

10. A method, comprising:

receiving a first request from a first user device of a first user to generate a payment hotspot;

in response to receiving the first request, associating, by one or more processors, the first user with a payment hotspot identifier to be broadcasted by short-range communications circuitry of the first user device;

in response to short-range communications circuitry of a second user device of a second user detecting the payment hotspot identifier, receiving, by the one or more processors, a second request for a payment from the second user device; and

facilitating, by the one or more processors, a transfer of funds to the first user from the second user based on the request.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

generating, by the one or more processors, the payment hotspot identifier; and

providing, by the one or more processors, the payment hotspot identifier to the first user.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising receiving, by the one or more processors, the payment hotspot identifier from the second user device via the first user device.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising generating, via the short-range communications circuitry of the first user device, the payment hotspot by broadcasting the payment hotspot identifier.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising detecting, via short-range communications circuitry of the second user device, the payment hotspot identifier broadcast by the first user device;

and

providing, by the second user device, the second request to make the payment.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the payment hotspot is provided within a communication range of the short-range communications circuitry of the first user device, and wherein the short-range communications circuitry of the first user device comprises near field communications circuitry or Bluetooth communications circuitry.

16. A mobile device of a first user, comprising:

short-range communications circuitry;

a payspot generation module configured to;

receive a payment hotspot identifier from a payment provider server, and

generate a payment hotspot by operating the short-range communications circuitry to broadcast the payment hotspot identifier; and

a payspot interaction module configured to provide access to the payment provider server for a second mobile device of a second user for requesting processing, by the payment provider server, of a transfer of funds between accounts of the first user and the second user.

17. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the payspot generation module is configured to request the payment hotspot identifier from the payment provider server.

18. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the payspot generation module is configured to provide the payment hotspot by broadcasting the identifier with the short-range communications circuitry within a communication range of the short-range communications circuitry.

19. The mobile device of claim 18, wherein the short-range communications circuitry comprises near field communications circuitry or Bluetooth communications circuitry.