Pre-paid telephone calling card linked to a stored value account

• US 6,507,644 B1
• Filed: 06/08/1999
• Issued: 01/14/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: WorldCom, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Ford, David, Henderson, Karl, Bond, James Duke, Mir, Kamran
• Primary Examiner(s): BARNIE, REXFORD N
• Application Number:
  US09/327,727
• Time in Patent Office: 1,316 Days
• Field of Search: 379/114, 379/144, 379/112, 379/91.01, 379/115, 379/127, 379/130, 379/120, 379/121, 379/114.2, 379/114.15, 379/114.17, 379/114.18, 379/114.21, 235/380
• US Class Current: 379/114.2
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/342 Cards defining paid or billed services or quantities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/389 Keeping log of transactions for guaranteeing non-repudiation of a transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0014 for vending, access and use of specific services not covered anywhere else in G07F17/00 meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity G07F15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/025 by means, e.g. cards, providing billing information at the time of purchase, e.g. identification of seller or purchaser, quantity of goods delivered or to be delivered
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/68 Payment of value-added services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/00 Prepayment of wireline communication systems, wireless communication systems or telephone systems using a coded card to authorise calls from a telephone set H04M1/675
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/026 Constructional features
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/10 Account details or usage
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/103 using SIMs (USIMs) or calling cards
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2017/12 using calling, telephone credit/debit cards
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0196 Payment of value-added services, mainly when their charges are added on the telephone bill, e.g. payment of non-telecom services, e-commerce, on-line banking

Abstract

Systems and methods for facilitating the use of a pre-paid card linked to a stored value card account (e.g., a debit type card associated with an available, remaining money value, etc.). The system and method include and involve a data storage system for storing data related to a pre-paid card and a stored value card account. The stored value card account is maintained and managed by a stored value card processing system. The stored value card processing system stores a money value applicable to purchases and telephone calls. The system and method also include and involve a pre-paid telephone calling card processing system that is coupled to the data storage system and is configured to receive a request to initiate a telephone call in relation to the prepaid telephone calling card and to instruct the stored value card processing system to adjust the money value in relation to the telephone call.

Claims

1. A system for facilitating the use of a pre-paid card linked to a stored value card account, comprising:

a data storage system for storing data related to the pre-paid card and a stored value card account, said stored value card account maintained by a stored value card processing system, said stored value card processing system storing a money value applicable to purchases and telephone calls; and

a pre-paid telephone calling card processing system coupled to said data storage system and configured to receive a request to initiate a telephone call in relation to the pre-paid card and to instruct said stored value card processing system to adjust said money value in relation to said telephone call.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said data storage system and said pre-paid telephone calling card processing system are remotely located.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said telephone calls are long distance type telephone calls.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said pre-paid telephone calling card processing system is further configured to convert said money value into a number of telephone service units to be used to make said telephone calls.

5. A method of using a pre-paid telephone calling/stored value care, comprising the steps of:

accessing a pre-paid telephone calling card processing system during a pre-paid telephone calling card call via a telephone network;

entering a card identifier corresponding to data addressable by said pre-paid telephone calling card processing system, said data corresponding to a stored value card account associated with an amount of spendable money for use against telephone calls and non-telephone purchases;

accessing said stored value account to retrieve said amount of spendable money; and

storing said amount of spendable money within said pre-paid telephone calling card processing system so that telephone calls can be made in relation thereto.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said telephone network is the publicly switched telephone network (PSTN).

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said pre-paid telephone calling card processing system further operates to convert said amount of spendable money into a corresponding number of telephone call usage units.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said telephone call usage units are minutes.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein said accessing step further comprises the step of communicating with a stored value card processing system to query said stored value card account maintained thereby and to retrieve said amount of spendable money.

10. A system for facilitating the use of a pre-paid telephone calling/stored value card, comprising:

data storage system for storing data corresponding to the pre-paid telephone calling/stored value card; and

a pre-paid telephone calling card processing system coupled to said data storage system and configured to receive a request to make an outbound telephone call in relation to the pre-paid card during an access call over a telephone network, to access a stored value card processing system to retrieve a stored value corresponding to a remaining amount of spendable money associated with the pre-paid card and to cause said stored value card processing system to debit said remaining amount of spendable money based on said outbound telephone call.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said data storage system and said pre-paid telephone calling card processing system are remotely located.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein said outbound call is a long distance telephone call.

13. A method for facilitating the use of a pre-paid card, comprising the steps of:

storing data corresponding to the pre-paid card, the pre-paid card corresponding to a stored value card account maintained by a stored value card processing system wherein said system is capable of adjusting value associated with said pre-paid card to effectuate either a telephone call or a non-telephone call transaction;

receiving a request to make an outbound telephone call during an. access call over a telephone network; and

causing said stored value card processing system to adjust a remaining money value stored thereby based on said outbound telephone call.

14. A method of using a pre-paid telephone calling/stored value card, comprising the steps of:

accessing a pre-paid telephone calling card processing system during a telephone service access call via a telephone network;

entering a card identifier corresponding to data addressable by said pre-paid telephone calling card processing system, said data addressable by said pre-paid telephone calling card processing system including a key to corresponding data maintained by a stored value card processing system, said corresponding data including a remaining money value capable of being used for making a telephone call and a non-telephone call purchase;

entering a terminating telephone number to make said telephone call; and

automatically initiating an outbound telephone call based on said terminating telephone number and causing said stored value card processing system to adjust said remaining money value based on said telephone call.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said automatically initiating step comprises causing said stored value card processing system to debit said remaining money value based on said telephone call.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of converting said remaining money value to telephone service usage units.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said telephone service usage units are minutes.