Method and apparatus for ordering goods, services and content over an internetwork using a virtual payment account
First Claim
1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having executable components stored on a system comprising at least one buyer computer, at least one seller computer and a commerce gateway for purchasing a product from the at least one seller computer using a virtual payment account associated with the at least one buyer computer, the commerce gateway maintaining virtual payment accounts, interfacing with credit processing servers and authorizing and settling product purchases using the virtual payment accounts maintained by the commerce gateway, wherein the executable components purchase said product by:
- (i) in response to said at least one seller computer receiving a request from said at least one buyer computer to purchase said product, said at least one seller computer returning a purchase order to said at least one buyer computer;
(ii) in response to said at least one buyer computer receiving said purchase order, said at least one buyer computer identifying said virtual payment account as a payment source for the purchase of said product and transmitting an authentication request to said commerce gateway requesting authentication of said virtual payment account as a payment source for the payment of the purchase of said product, wherein said at least one buyer computer identifies said virtual payment account as a payment source for the purchase of said product by retrieving a digital certificate associated with said virtual payment account and wherein said digital certificate is generated by an authenticator component upon approval of said virtual payment account and included in said authentication request transmitted to said commerce gateway and comprises a public key encryption pair;
(iii) in response to said commerce gateway receiving said authentication request, said commerce gateway determining whether said virtual payment account is associated with said digital certificate and if said virtual payment account is valid;
(iv) in response to determining that said virtual payment account is associated with said digital certificate and that said virtual payment account is valid, said commerce gateway transmitting an account identification container to said at least one buyer computer;
(v) in response to said at least one buyer computer receiving said account identification container, said at least one buyer computer transmitting a purchase confirmation including said account identification container to said at least one seller computer;
(vi) in response to said at least one seller computer receiving said purchase confirmation, said at least one seller computer transmitting an authorization request to said commerce gateway;
(vii) in response to said commerce gateway receiving said authorization request, said commerce gateway determining whether said virtual payment account may be used to pay for said product;
(viii) in response to said commerce gateway determining that said virtual payment account may be used to pay for said product, said commerce gateway transmitting a transaction authorization from said commerce gateway to said at least one seller computer and settling the purchase of said product by charging said virtual payment account for a cost associated with the purchase of said product; and
(xi) in response to said at least one seller computer receiving said transaction authorization, said at least one seller computer arranging for said product to be provided to a buyer associated with said at least one buyer computer.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A virtual payment system for paying for goods, services and content ordered over an internetwork comprising a commerce gateway component and a credit processing server component (53) is disclosed. Buyers and sellers becomes registered participants by applying for virtual payment buyer and seller accounts. Once an account is established, a digital certificate is stored on the registered participant'"'"'s computer. A buyer can then order a product, i.e., goods, services or content from a seller and charge it to the virtual payment account. When the product is shipped, the seller notifies the commerce gateway component, which in turn notifies the credit processing server, which applies the charges to the buyer'"'"'s virtual payment account. The buyer can settle the charges using a prepaid account, a credit account, or by using reward points earned through use of the virtual payment card. A buyer may create sub-accounts.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having executable components stored on a system comprising at least one buyer computer, at least one seller computer and a commerce gateway for purchasing a product from the at least one seller computer using a virtual payment account associated with the at least one buyer computer, the commerce gateway maintaining virtual payment accounts, interfacing with credit processing servers and authorizing and settling product purchases using the virtual payment accounts maintained by the commerce gateway, wherein the executable components purchase said product by:
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(i) in response to said at least one seller computer receiving a request from said at least one buyer computer to purchase said product, said at least one seller computer returning a purchase order to said at least one buyer computer; (ii) in response to said at least one buyer computer receiving said purchase order, said at least one buyer computer identifying said virtual payment account as a payment source for the purchase of said product and transmitting an authentication request to said commerce gateway requesting authentication of said virtual payment account as a payment source for the payment of the purchase of said product, wherein said at least one buyer computer identifies said virtual payment account as a payment source for the purchase of said product by retrieving a digital certificate associated with said virtual payment account and wherein said digital certificate is generated by an authenticator component upon approval of said virtual payment account and included in said authentication request transmitted to said commerce gateway and comprises a public key encryption pair; (iii) in response to said commerce gateway receiving said authentication request, said commerce gateway determining whether said virtual payment account is associated with said digital certificate and if said virtual payment account is valid; (iv) in response to determining that said virtual payment account is associated with said digital certificate and that said virtual payment account is valid, said commerce gateway transmitting an account identification container to said at least one buyer computer; (v) in response to said at least one buyer computer receiving said account identification container, said at least one buyer computer transmitting a purchase confirmation including said account identification container to said at least one seller computer; (vi) in response to said at least one seller computer receiving said purchase confirmation, said at least one seller computer transmitting an authorization request to said commerce gateway; (vii) in response to said commerce gateway receiving said authorization request, said commerce gateway determining whether said virtual payment account may be used to pay for said product; (viii) in response to said commerce gateway determining that said virtual payment account may be used to pay for said product, said commerce gateway transmitting a transaction authorization from said commerce gateway to said at least one seller computer and settling the purchase of said product by charging said virtual payment account for a cost associated with the purchase of said product; and (xi) in response to said at least one seller computer receiving said transaction authorization, said at least one seller computer arranging for said product to be provided to a buyer associated with said at least one buyer computer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification