Merchant-based token sharing

• US 9,818,111 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2013
• Issued: 11/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Shift4 Corporation (Shift4 Payments, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Shift4 Corporation (Shift4 Payments, Inc.)
• Inventors: Cronic, Kevin James, Sommers, Steven Mark, Oder, II, John David, Oder, John David, Calandrelli, Steven, Fried, Jeremy B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Steven S
• Application Number:
  US13/796,969
• Publication Number:
  US 20130191286A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,708 Days
• Field of Search: 705 64- 66
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0855 involving a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/24 Credit schemes, i.e. "pay after"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3821 Electronic credentials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/385 using an alias or single-use codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4014 Identity check for transactions

Abstract

One embodiment of the present disclosure provides a system and associated processes for sharing cardholder data (CHD) between a merchant that utilizes tokenization and a second merchant that may or may not utilize tokenization. In one embodiment, the merchant, or an employee of the merchant, can use the system and associated processes to reacquire CHD from a tokenization provider system. In one embodiment, the merchant identifies to the tokenization provider system a desire to share CHD, which is associated with a token, with a second merchant. The merchant and/or the tokenization provider system can then invite the second merchant to register with the tokenization provider system. Once registered with the tokenization provider system, the second merchant can access any CHD that the merchant associated with the second merchant.

Claims

1. A system for sharing cardholder data, the system comprising:

a computing system of a first merchant, the computing system comprising computer hardware, the computing system programmed to;

receive cardholder data (CHD) associated with a cardholder;

provide the CHD electronically to a tokenization provider system comprising computer hardware;

discard the CHD;

receive electronically a token from the tokenization provider system associated with the CHD, the token formatted in a format so as to be processed as if the token were the CHD;

receive a request from a user to perform a transaction with a second merchant; and

in response to receipt of the request, send a merchant identifier of the second merchant to a tokenization access system;

the tokenization access system comprising computer hardware, the tokenization access system programmed to;

generate an authorization factor in response to receiving the merchant identifier of the second merchant from the computing system of the first merchant;

associate the authorization factor with the token;

generate the machine-readable code by including the authorization factor and the merchant identifier in the machine-readable code; and

provide the machine-readable code to the second merchant;

the tokenization provider system programmed to, subsequent to the tokenization access system providing the machine-readable code to the second merchant;

receive the authentication factor from a point-of-sale (POS) system;

retrieve the CHD associated with the token by using the authentication factor; and

transmit the CHD to the POS system; and

the POS system programmed to;

scan the machine-readable code;

extract the authentication factor from the machine-readable code;

provide the authentication factor to the tokenization provider system;

receive authorization to perform a transaction with the CHD associated with the token that is associated with the authentication factor at the tokenization provider system; and

cause the transaction to be performed with the CHD at the tokenization provider system without receiving the CHD.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing system communicates with the tokenization provider system over a network.