System and method for a prepaid card issued by a foreign financial institution

• US 20020194124A1
• Filed: 05/23/2002
• Published: 12/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Liberty Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (American Express Company)
• Inventors: Hobbs, Chris, Rubinshtein, Tomer, Park, Grace
• Granted Patent: US 7,401,049 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1085 involving automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3672 initialising or reloading thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/381 Currency conversion
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

A system and method for providing a reloadable prepaid card account maintained by a foreign financial institution is provided. The foreign financial institution is provided with a domestic payment network authorization code, such as the bank identification number approved by the American Banking Association. The BIN along with a prepaid account number is loaded onto a prepaid card corresponding to the prepaid account. A prepaid cardholder may present the prepaid card to a merchant system for completion of a transaction request. The merchant system may be accessed domestically and may recognize the BIN as belonging to the foreign financial institution authorized to transact business on the merchant'"'"'s domestic payment network. The merchant may seek satisfaction of the transaction request by submitting the transaction request to an acquirer which may forward the transaction request to the foreign financial institution for processing. The foreign financial institution may provide funds to the merchant system to satisfy the transaction request, and the provided funds may be converted to the currency of the country in which the merchant system is accessed by the prepaid cardholder.

Claims

1. A system for providing a prepaid card account, said prepaid card account for effecting payment of goods and services domestically, said system comprising:

a prepaid card account including an account number, said account number including an account domestic payment network system code where said prepaid card account is at least partially maintained by a foreign financial institution;

a merchant system at least a portion of which is located domestically, said merchant system including a merchant server, said merchant server configured to receive at least one of said account number and a transaction request;

a customer interface configured to provide said account number to said domestic merchant server; and

a foreign financial institution system configured to communicate with said merchant server.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said merchant system further includes a merchant point of sale (POS) device configured to communicate with said customer interface and said merchant server, said POS device configured to receive said account number and provide said account number and a transaction request to said merchant server.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein said prepaid card account is reloadable.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein said prepaid card account is fully maintained by a foreign financial institution.

5. A system according to claim 2, wherein said foreign financial institution system further includes a financial institution server configured to communicate with said merchant server.

6. A system according to claim 5, wherein said foreign financial institution system further includes a financial Institution database configured to communicate with said financial institution server, said financial institution database including a plurality of distinct prepaid card account storage locations wherein at least one of said plurality of distinct prepaid card account storage locations stores a unique prepaid card number, said unique prepaid card number corresponding to said prepaid card account number.

7. A system according to claim 6, wherein said prepaid card account number further includes a unique transaction routing code, said routing code corresponding to said foreign financial institution system.

8. A system according to claim 7, wherein said merchant server provides said prepaid card account number and said transaction request to said financial institution server, in accordance with at least one of said account domestic payment network system code and said unique transaction routing code.

9. A system according to claim 8, wherein said foreign financial institution server is configured to match said account number to said corresponding one of said plurality of prepaid card numbers, said foreign financial institution server further configured to retrieve said corresponding prepaid card number in response to said transaction request, said prepaid card number including prepaid account information.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein said prepaid card number is characterized by a predetermined monetary value.

11. A system according to claim 10, wherein said foreign financial institution server is configured to compare said transaction request to said predetermined monetary value, and provide to said merchant system at least one of a transaction authorized or transaction denied message, said transaction authorized message being provided where said transaction request is less than or equal to said predetermined monetary value, said transaction denied message being provided where said transaction request is more than said predetermined monetary value.

12. A system according to claim 11, wherein said financial institution is characterized by a financial institution domestic payment network system code, said financial institution domestic payment network system code corresponding to said account domestic payment network system code.

13. A system according to claim 12, wherein said financial institution server is configured to provide a monetary amount to said merchant server in response to said transaction request.

14. A system according to claim 13, wherein said financial institution server is configured to provide said monetary amount in accordance with existing monetary exchange rates.

15. A system according to claim 14, wherein said prepaid card number is characterized by an expiration date, and said transaction request is characterized by a transaction request date.

16. A system according to claim 15, wherein said merchant system server provides said transaction request date to said financial institution system server.

17. A system according to claim 16, wherein said financial institution server is configured to compare said transaction request date to said expiration date, said merchant server further configured to return a transaction denied message where said transaction date occurs later in time than said expiration date.

18. A system according to claim 17, further including a sponsor configured to communicate with said financial institution system server, said sponsor configured to provide said predetermined monetary value to said financial institution for establishing said prepaid account spending limit, said spending limit corresponding to said predetermined monetary amount, said predetermined monetary value provided in a currency capable of being processed by said financial institution system.

19. A system according to claim 18, wherein said financial institution server is configured to reload said spending limit in response to said provided predetermined monetary value.

20. A system according to claim 19, wherein said sponsor is configured to provide an updated expiration date to said financial institution server, said updated expiration date corresponding to at least one of said prepaid card numbers, said updated expiration date configured to replace said prepaid card expiration date correlating to said one of said prepaid card accounts.

21. A system according to claim 20, wherein said financial institution server is configured to provide a portion of said predetermined monetary value to said sponsor at said expiration date, said portion of said predetermined value being provided in the currency of the country of at least one of said foreign financial institution and said sponsor.

22. A method for facilitating a prepaid card account maintained by a foreign financial institution, said prepaid card account for effecting payment of goods and services domestically, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a domestic payment network system code to the foreign financial institution, where the foreign financial institution is located abroad, the foreign financial institution including a foreign financial system server and foreign financial institution database;

establishing a prepaid account on the foreign financial institution database, the prepaid account being characterized by an account number;

receiving the account number from a merchant system, where the merchant system is located domestically the merchant system including a merchant server;

facilitating providing the account number and a transaction request to the foreign financial institution, the account number being provided in accordance with at least one of the domestic payment network system code and a routing code;

facilitating matching the account number to the prepaid account; and

facilitating satisfying the transaction request.

23. A method according to claim 22, wherein said establishing a prepaid account further includes facilitating providing the foreign financial institution a predetermine monetary value corresponding to the prepaid account spending limit.

24. A method according to claim 23, wherein facilitating inputting the account number in a merchant system further includes facilitating providing the account number to at least one of a customer interface and merchant point of sale (POS) device.

25. A method according to claim 24, wherein facilitating matching the account number to the prepaid account includes facilitating correlation of the account number to the established prepaid account.

26. A method according to claim 25, wherein facilitating satisfying the transaction request includes facilitating the steps of comparing the transaction request to the predetermined monetary value, retrieving at least a portion of the predetermine monetary value, and forwarding the portion of the predetermined monetary value to the merchant system.

27. A method according to claim 26, wherein said forwarding the portion of the predetermined monetary value includes the step of converting the monetary value into the currency of the country in which the merchant system is located, the converting of monetary value being done in accordance with established currency conversion tables.

28. A method according to claim 27, further including facilitating reloading at least a portion of the predetermined monetary value in response to a depleted funds condition.

29. A method according to claim 28, wherein said facilitating satisfying the transaction request includes providing to the merchant system at least one of the prepaid account balance of funds available, transaction history, and expiration date.

30. A method according to claim 29 further including updating a prepaid account expiration date.

31. A method according to claim 30, further including facilitating providing a portion of the predetermined funds to at least one of a sponsor and a prepaid cardholder upon the prepaid account expiration date, the portion of the funds being provided in the currency of the country in which at least one of the sponsor and prepaid cardholder is located.