Card management system and method

• US 7,689,505 B2
• Filed: 06/02/2008
• Issued: 03/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Consumerinfo.com Incorporated (Experian plc)
• Original Assignee: Mighty Net, Inc. (Experian plc)
• Inventors: Kasower, Sheldon
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel; Jagdish N
• Assistant Examiner(s): HAMILTON, SARA CHANDLER
• Application Number:
  US12/131,548
• Publication Number:
  US 20080255980A1
• Time in Patent Office: 666 Days
• Field of Search: 705/35, 705/38
• US Class Current: 705/38
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/24 Credit schemes, i.e. "pay after"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3555 Personalisation of two or more cards
• 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 30/016 After-sales
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/122 Online card verification

Abstract

A method of registering a credit card user'"'"'s credit card information by a credit card management organization. A card user accesses the card management computer system in a computer network. The method provides a user interface whereby the user grants authorization to the card management organization to obtain the card user'"'"'s credit report from a credit reporting bureau. The method further transmits a request for the user'"'"'s credit report to a credit reporting bureau and automatically downloads the user'"'"'s credit report when received. The method further parses the credit report to determine a card issuer for each card on the credit report using a database of card issuer aliases. The method then fully or partially automatically registers each card with the user'"'"'s account in the card management association and then presents the opportunity to the user to review and edit each card.

Claims

1. A method of registering a card user'"'"'s card information with a card management organization, the method comprising the steps of:

a card management organization'"'"'s computer requesting a card user'"'"'s credit report from a credit reporting bureau;

a card management organization'"'"'s computer receiving the card user'"'"'s credit report having real-time card information for one or more of the user'"'"'s cards from the credit reporting bureau;

the card management organization'"'"'s computer extracting the real-time card information for each card from the card user'"'"'s credit report;

the card management organization'"'"'s computer automatically marking selected credit card type trade lines from the real-time card information as potential cards to be automatically registered in the card management organization'"'"'s computer;

the card management organization'"'"'s computer automatically and in real-time fully or partially registering the potential cards;

the card management organization'"'"'s computer generating and presenting a user interface having the real-time card information for each of the potential cards that were fully or partially registered after receiving the card user'"'"'s credit report;

the card management organization'"'"'s computer requesting the card user to verify the accuracy of the card user'"'"'s real-time card information; and

the card management organization'"'"'s computer storing the card user'"'"'s verified real-time card information in the card management organization'"'"'s computer when verification of the accuracy of the card user'"'"'s real time card information is received from the card user.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising:

the card management organization'"'"'s computer establishing a credit card issuer for each card from the card user'"'"'s credit report by using a database within the card management organization'"'"'s computer, the database having known aliases of a plurality of credit card issuers.

3. The method as set forth in claim 1 comprising the additional steps of:

the card management organization'"'"'s computer providing a user interface presenting at least one of a plurality of card management services provided by the card management organization and selectable by the card user; and

the card management organization'"'"'s computer storing data input by the card user associated with the selected card management service into a database connected to the card management'"'"'s computer system.

4. The method as set forth in claim 3, wherein said plurality of card management services includes services selected from the group consisting of:

reporting a lost or stolen card, registering a new card wherein the card user inputs associated new card data, a change of address, a request for a new card, notification of a billing dispute, a request for a copy of a bill, a change in marital status; and

a change in name and a request for an increase in credit line.

5. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein registering the potential cards includes, for each potential card, at least one of:

inputting associated card data into a database connected to the card management'"'"'s computer system, inputting change of address information into the database, inputting reporting lost or stolen credit card information into the database, inputting request for a new card information into the database, inputting notification of a billing dispute information into the database, inputting request for a copy of a bill information into the database, inputting request for a change in marital status or name change information into the database, inputting increase in credit line information into the database, storing a record of the associated data in the database, and providing a confirmation that the issuing organization has been contacted and provided the associated card data.

6. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising parsing the real-time card information into a database connected to the card management'"'"'s computer system.

7. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising determining a credit card issuer from the real-time card information using the card management organization'"'"'s database of known card issuer aliases.

8. The method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising automatically and in real-time fully or partially registering the potential cards according to one of the following conditions:

(a) if the card issuer and its respective card are fully identified;

(b) if only the card issuer of a respective card is known;

or (c) if either the card issuer or its respective card do not match.