Payment card with internally generated virtual account numbers for its magnetic stripe encoder and user display

• US 7,472,829 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2005
• Issued: 01/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fitbit, Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Qsecure Inc.
• Inventors: Brown, Kerry Dennis
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Michael G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Haupt; Kristy A
• Application Number:
  US11/297,014
• Publication Number:
  US 20060124756A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,125 Days
• Field of Search: 235/380, 235/492, 235/382.5, 235/493, 235/449, 705/41, 705/44, 705 65- 67
• US Class Current: 235/382.5
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06206 the magnetic marking being emulated
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/342 Cards defining paid or billed services or quantities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/351 Virtual cards
• 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 20/3674 involving authentication
• 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: G06Q 20/4037 Remote solvency checks
• 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: G07F 7/0833 Card having specific functional components

Abstract

A payment card comprises an internal virtual account number generator and a user display for online transactions. Offline transactions with merchant card readers are enabled by a magnetic array positioned behind the card'"'"'s magnetic stripe on the back. The internal virtual account number generator is able to program the magnetic bits encoded in the magnetic stripe to reflect the latest virtual account number. The internal virtual account number generator produces a sequence of virtual numbers that can be predicted and approved by the issuing bank. Once a number is used, it is discarded and put on an exclusion list.

Claims

1. A payment card comprising:

a plastic carrier with the dimensions of a credit card;

a magnetic stripe disposed in a rear surface providing for a combination of fixed, permanent data bits and programmable data bits in one magnetic data to be read by an external legacy card reader;

a magnetic array positioned in the magnetic stripe and providing for one part of a virtual account number (VAN) to be internally updated in said programmable data bits of said magnetic data from below without assistance from an external device; and

a VAN generator embedded in the plastic carrier and connected to communicate at least some part of said VAN to the magnetic array;

wherein, each new VAN belongs to a sequence of numbers that can be predicted and used to authenticate a transaction instigated through an external legacy card reader.

2. The payment card of claim 1, further comprising:

a user display disposed within the plastic carrier and connected to the VAN generator, and for showing said VAN long enough to enable a payment transaction which was not instigated through an external legacy card reader.

3. The payment card of claim 1, further comprising:

an expiration date field included with said VAN and providing for increased transaction security levels by using an expiration date data to more securely identify a valid account holder.

4. The payment card of claim 1, further comprising:

a means for disposing of each new VAN after use that includes putting it on an externally maintained exclusion list.

5. The payment card of claim 1, further comprising:

a micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) device which includes the magnetic array and magnetic stripe and is implemented with thin-film semiconductor technologies.

6. The payment card of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of coils included with the magnetic array and magnetic stripe, and each coil having a fixed-position for magnetic data-writing of bits that can be read by said external legacy card reader.

7. The payment card of claim 1, wherein the magnetic stripe provides for the retention of a sequence of magnetically recorded data bits, and further comprises:

a plurality of coils each associated in parallel with corresponding ones of the sequence of magnetically recorded data bits;

a multiplexer for selecting three adjacent ones of said coils at a time;

a set of three capacitors providing for the holding of programming charges addressable through the multiplexer and dischargeable to said three adjacent coils in each of a series of programming cycles; and

a sequencer to advance an address for the multiplexer and ultimately providing for a complete programming of all programmable data bits in the magnetic stripe.

8. A circuit for internally programming data bits beneath a magnetic stripe, comprising:

a longitudinal magnetic stripe disposed on the surface of a substrate and providing for the retention of a sequence of magnetically recorded data bits;

a plurality of coils each associated in parallel with corresponding ones of the sequence of magnetically recorded data bits, and embedded beneath the magnetic stripe;

a multiplexer for selecting three adjacent coils at a time;

a set of three capacitors to hold programming charges that are addressed through the multiplexer and discharged to said three adjacent coils in each programming step; and

a sequencer to advance an address for the multiplexer and ultimately providing for a complete programming of all programmable data bits in the magnetic stripe.

9. A method for programming a sequence of magnetically recorded data bits in a longitudinal magnetic stripe disposed on the surface of a substrate, wherein a plurality of addressable coils are each associated in parallel with corresponding ones of the sequence of magnetically recorded data bits and embedded beneath the magnetic stripe, and a set of three capacitors are used to hold programming charges that are addressed through the multiplexer and discharged into sets of three adjacent coils in each of a series of programming steps.

10. A payment card system, comprising:

a payment card;

a virtual account number generator internal to the payment card;

a user display for online transactions disposed on the payment card;

a magnetic array positioned in a programmable part of a magnetic stripe disposed on the payment card;

a magnetic recording that is a combination of fixed, permanent data bits disposed in said magnetic stripe, and programmable data bits from the magnetic array, and providing for offline transactions with merchant card readers;

wherein, the internal virtual account number generator is able to program the magnetic bits encoded in the magnetic stripe to reflect a latest virtual account number, and the internal virtual account number generator produces a sequence of virtual numbers that can be predicted and approved by an issuing bank, and once a number is used, it is discarded and put on an exclusion list; and

wherein, the security level of an unchanging part of the virtual account number represented by said fixed, permanent data bits is increased by including an expiration date field.