METHOD AND APPARATUS ENABLING IMPROVED PROTECTION OF CONSUMER INFORMATION IN ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS

• US 20130226721A1
• Filed: 04/08/2013
• Published: 08/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: RPX Clearinghouse LLC (RPX Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Rockstar Consortium US LP (Rockstar Consortium Inc.)
• Inventors: Chmara, Thomas P., Wallace, Raymond Bruce, Stark, Ryan
• Application Number:
  US13/858,446
• Publication Number:
  US 20130226721A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/21
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/42 Confirmation, e.g. check or permission by the legal debtor of payment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03

Abstract

According to a commercial method of the present invention, a merchant forwards transaction data to a consumer. If the consumer accepts the transaction, a payment command is forwarded to a service provider. The service provider selectively applies authentication before approving payment. Once payment is approved, the service provider forwards a payment instruction, including consumer account information, to a payment service. The payment service forwards payment to the merchant and a payment confirmation is returned to the service provider and, through the service provider, to the consumer. The service provider stores information about each transaction performed by each subscriber. Consumer identity is protected because it is only exchanged between the service provider and the payment service, and is not made available to the merchant. In addition, the storage of the transaction information by various devices facilitates the return process and adds marketing capability to the service provider.

Claims

1. A merchant transaction system for facilitating transactions with consumers, the merchant transaction system comprising:

a transmitter at a point of sale;

a computing system having at least one processor configured to;

receive merchant inputs defining a transaction;

provide transaction information uniquely identifying the transaction to the transmitter at the point of sale for transmission of the transaction information to a mobile consumer device at the point of sale, thereby enabling the mobile consumer device to uniquely identify the transaction to a payment confirmation service provider system; and

a receiver configured to receive the transaction information and associated payment information from the payment confirmation service provider system.

2. The merchant transaction system of claim 1, wherein the transmitter is a radio transmitter.

3. The merchant transaction system of claim 2, wherein the transmitter is a short range radio transmitter.

4. The merchant transaction system of claim 3, wherein the transmitter is a Bluetooth transmitter.

5. The merchant transaction system of claim 2, wherein the transmitter is a cellular radio transmitter.

6. The merchant transaction system of claim 1, wherein the transaction information comprises a transaction identifier.

7. The merchant transaction system of claim 6, wherein the transaction information comprises a merchant identifier and a value of the transaction.

8. The merchant transaction system of claim 6, wherein the transaction information comprises a transacted item identifier.

9. The merchant transaction system of claim 7, wherein the transaction information comprises at least one payment option.

10. The merchant transaction system of claim 9, wherein the transaction information indicates a respective payment service for each payment option.

11. The merchant transaction system of claim 10, wherein the transaction information comprises a respective merchant identifier for each payment service.

12. The merchant transaction system of claim 6, wherein the transaction information comprises a time stamp.

13. The merchant transaction system of claim 1, comprising plural transmitters at plural points of sale.

14. A method of operating a merchant transaction system to facilitate transactions with consumers, the merchant transaction system comprising a transmitter at a point of sale, a computing system having at least one processor, and a receiver, the method comprising operating the at least one processor to:

receive merchant inputs defining a transaction;

provide transaction information uniquely identifying the transaction to the transmitter at the point of sale for transmission of the transaction information to a mobile consumer device at the point of sale, thereby enabling the mobile consumer device to uniquely identify the transaction to a payment confirmation service provider system; and

to receive the transaction information and associated payment information from the payment confirmation service provider system.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the transmitter is a radio transmitter.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the transmitter is a short range radio transmitter.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the transmitter is a Bluetooth transmitter.

18. A method of executing a transaction between a consumer and a merchant comprising:

receiving, at a point of sale by a mobile consumer device, a message comprising an offer associated with a transaction from a merchant device at the point of sale, the offer including a transaction tuple comprising one or more elements uniquely associating the transaction with a consumer/merchant pair, and a plurality of payment options for paying for the transaction, the plurality of payment options identifying different ways to pay for the transaction; and

forwarding, by the mobile consumer device, a payment communication including a transaction identifier and the selected payment option of the plurality of payment options to a service provider for facilitating payment to the merchant via the selected payment option.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises determining, by the mobile consumer device, a selected payment option of a plurality of payment options.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein determining the selected payment option of the plurality of payment options comprises receiving, by the mobile consumer device, user input identifying the selected payment option of the plurality of payment options.