Electronic-monetary system

• US 5,953,423 A
• Filed: 12/19/1997
• Issued: 09/14/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Citibank (South Dakota) NA (Citigroup Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Citibank (South Dakota) NA (Citigroup Incorporated)
• Inventors: Rosen, Sholom S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Barron, Jr., Gilberto
• Application Number:
  US08/995,226
• Time in Patent Office: 634 Days
• Field of Search: 380/24, 705/41, 235/380, 235/379, 902/2, 902/26
• US Class Current: 705/65
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/26 Debit schemes, e.g. "pay now"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3676 Balancing accounts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3678 e-cash details, e.g. blinded, divisible or detecting double spending
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3821 Electronic credentials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/16 for devices exhibiting advertisements, announcements, pictures or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0866 by active credit-cards adapted therefor G07F7/1008 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0891 : Revocation or update of secret information, e.g. encryption key update or rekeying
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3263 : involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823

Abstract

An electronic-monetary system having (1) banks or financial institutions that are coupled to a money generator device for generating and issuing to subscribing customers electronic money including electronic currency backed by demand deposits and electronic credit authorizations; (2) correspondent banks that accept and distribute the electronic money; (3) a plurality of transaction devices that are used by subscribers for storing electronic money, for performing money transactions with the on-line systems of the participating banks or for exchanging electronic money with other like transaction devices in off-line transactions; (4) teller devices, associated with the issuing and correspondent banks, for process handling and interfacing the transaction devices to the issuing and correspondent banks, and for interfacing between the issuing and correspondent banks themselves; (5) a clearing bank for balancing the electronic money accounts of the different issuing banks; (6) a data communications network for providing communications services to all components of the system; and (7) a security arrangement for maintaining the integrity of the system, and for detecting counterfeiting and tampering within the system. An embodiment of the invention includes a customer service module which handles lost money claims and links accounts to money modules for providing bank access.

Claims

1. A method for a subscriber using a transaction module to update a credit note for said subscriber'"'"'s bank account at an issuing bank having a teller module, a money generator module, and an on-line accounting system, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) said subscriber selecting, by way of said transaction module, said bank account from which to update said credit note and a requested credit amount indicative of a requested total credit amount for said credit note;

(b) said transaction module establishing a first cryptographically secure session with said teller module;

(c) said transaction module sending a credit request message to said teller module via said first cryptographically secure session, where said credit request message includes a credit update amount corresponding to a net credit amount for said credit note and bank account information corresponding to said bank account;

(d) checking said bank account information to verify its validity;

(e) checking a credit line associated with said subscriber'"'"'s bank account for sufficient funds to provide said requested credit amount;

(f) where a current credit note for said subscriber'"'"'s bank account exists, said transaction module sending said current credit note to said teller module;

(g) said teller module establishing a second cryptographically secure session with said money generator module;

(h) updating said credit line associated with said subscriber'"'"'s bank account according to said requested total credit amount for said credit note;

(i) said teller module sending a create note request to said money generator module, via said second cryptographically secure session, where said create note request includes a requested credit note value;

(j) said money generator module generating a credit note of said requested credit note value;

(k) transferring said credit note to said teller module, via said second cryptographically secure session;

(l) transferring said credit note to said transaction module, via said first cryptographically secure session;

(m) committing said transaction module and said teller module session; and

(n) said teller module committing with said money generator module.

2. The credit update method of claim 1 wherein, where said current credit note exists, in step (c) said net credit amount for said credit note represents a difference between said requested total credit amount and a current credit amount of said current credit note.

3. The credit update method of claim 1, wherein said bank account information comprises an account profile having a bank account number that is digitally signed by a customer service module;

where said step of checking the validity of said bank account information includes the step of checking said digital signature on said account profile with a public key of said customer service module.

4. The credit update method of claim 1, wherein:

step (f) further includes the step of said transaction module sending to said teller module any currency notes and any transferred credit notes stored in said transaction module;

step (f) is followed by the step of said teller module updating said on-line accounting system according to said currency notes and transferred credit notes;

in step (i), said create note request includes a requested currency note value corresponding to the total value of said currency notes and said transferred credit notes stored in said transaction module;

crediting a money issued account in said on-line accounting system by said requested currency note value;

step (j) includes the step of said money generator module generating a currency note of said requested currency note value;

step (k) includes the step of transferring said currency note to said teller module, via said second cryptographically secure session; and

step (l) includes the step of transferring said currency note to said transaction module, via said first cryptographically secure session.