Method and system for authorizing a commercial transaction

• US 20030161503A1
• Filed: 03/27/2003
• Published: 08/28/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LumenVox, LLC.
• Original Assignee: Michael Kramer
• Inventors: Kramer, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 6,934,849 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/115
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/305 using wired telephone networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/385 using an alias or single-use codes
• 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: G07C 9/37 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/00 Speaker identification or verification techniques

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and system for authorizing a commercial transaction between a customer and a goods or service provider via an authorization service provider with authentication of the customer by comparing a biometric sample of the customer with a biometiic model of the customer stored with the authorization service provider. The telephone link between the supplier and the authorization service provider is set up via a router which associates the real telephone number of the authorization service provider and the telephone number of the supplier with a virtual telephone number and transmits a code which is calculated by the router and the authorization provider with the aid of the same algorithm. The telephone link is accepted by the authorization service provider if the supplier is registered with the authorization service provider under the transmitted number and if the transmitted code corresponds to the calculated code contained by said authorization service provider. An identifier and biometric code of the customer are transmitted to the authorization service provider in addition to the amount which is to be transferred. The transaction is initiated by the authorization provider if the correspondence between the biometric sample and the stored biometric model exceeds a predetermined thresh-old value.

Claims

1. A method for authorizing a commercial transaction between a customer and a goods-and-service provider (GSP) via an authorization service provider, the method including authentication of the customer by comparing a biometric sample of the customer with the customer'"'"'s biometric model stored with the authorization service provider, the method comprising the following steps:

a) establishing a telephone link over a communication network between the GSP and the authorization service provider via a router,

wherein the router

assigns a real telephone number of the authorization service provider to a virtual telephone number, and

transmits the GSP'"'"'s telephone number and a code that is calculated simultaneously by the router and the authorization service provider by means of the same algorithm,

b) acceptance of the telephone link by the authorization service provider when the GSP is registered with the authorization service provider under the transmitted telephone number and when the transmitted code is identical to the code calculated by the authorization service provider,

c) transmission of a customer'"'"'s identifier from the customer to the authorization service provider via the established telephone link,

d) transmission of a biometric sample of the client over the established telephone link,

e) conveyance of the amount to be transferred and of any other data that may be necessary for the transaction from the customer to the authorization service provider via the established telephone link, and

f) initiating the transaction by the authorization service provider when correspondence between the biometric sample and the stored biometric model of the customer is greater than a predetermined threshold value.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized by that

the biometric sample is a string of words repeated by the customer, which string of words has previously been transmitted to the customer by the authorization service provider,

the stored biometric model is a voice print of the customer,

the verification of correspondence between the repeated string of spoken words and the stored voice print is based on a speaker'"'"'s individual voice peculiarities, and

the initiation of the transaction by the authorization service provider proceeds only when the repeated string of words consists of the same words in the same order as the previously transmitted string of words,

wherein the string of words is not known to the customer prior to a respective authorization process.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized by that

the customer transmits the biometric sample via a video-telephone installed by the GSP,

wherein the biometric probe is an electronic image of the customer'"'"'s face and the stored biometric model is a stored electronic image of the customer'"'"'s face.

4. The method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the identifier as well as the data necessary for the transaction are input by voice.

5. The method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the identifier is the customer'"'"'s name.

6. The method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the initiation of the transaction is communicated directly to the GSP by the authorization service provider.

7. The method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the initiation of the transaction is confirmed by the authorization service provider directly to the customer via the established telephone link.

8. The method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that for each new authorization process, a link to the authorization service provider (ASP) via an electronic transmitter is established to ASP'"'"'s real telephone numbers that change regularly, to avoid continuous electronic dialing of the ASP by unauthorized third parties and to enhance link security.

9. A system for authorizing a commercial transaction between a customer and a goods-or-service provider (GSP) via an authorization service provider, the transaction including authentication of the customer by comparing a biometric sample of the customer with a biometric model of the customer stored with the authorization service provider, the system comprising

a router, installed on the GSP'"'"'s side, for assigning a real telephone number of the authorization service provider to a virtual telephone number, for calculating a code and for transmitting the telephone number and the code,

a connection means for calculating a code simultaneously with the router and using same algorithm, and for verifying, in the course of establishing a link between the GSP and the authorization service provider, whether the GSP is registered with the authorization service provider at the telephone number transmitted by the router, and whether the code transmitted by the router coincides with the code calculated by the connection means, the connection means also for receiving, via the established telephone link, a customer'"'"'s identifier, a customer'"'"'s biometric model and the amount to be transferred,

a memory, disposed within the authorization service provider'"'"'s area, for storing a biometric model of the customer,

a comparator means, disposed within the authorization service provider'"'"'s area, for verifying a correspondence between the biometric sample with the stored biometric model of the customer, and

a control-and-evaluation unit disposed within the authorization service provider'"'"'s area for initiating the transaction when the correspondence between the biometric sample and the stored biometric model is greater than a predetermined threshold value.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein

the system comprises a speech recognition means,

the comparator means comprises a text-independent voice recognition means,

the biometric sample is a string of words to be repeated by the customer that has previously been generated by the control-and-evaluation unit and conveyed to the customer by the connection means,

the stored biometric model is a voice print of the customer,

the text-independent voice recognition means is for verifying the correspondence between the string of words repeated by the customer and the stored voice print with regard to a speaker'"'"'s characteristic individual voice peculiarities, and

the control-and-evaluation unit is for initiating the transaction only when the repeated string of words consists of the same words in the same order as the previously generated word string,

wherein the string of words is not known to the customer prior to each respective authorization process.