Systems and methods to process payments via account identifiers and phone numbers

• US 8,583,496 B2
• Filed: 04/26/2011
• Issued: 11/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Boku Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Boku Incorporated
• Inventors: Yoo, David, Ringewald, Erich L., Britto, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Gart, Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Masud, Rokib
• Application Number:
  US13/094,459
• Publication Number:
  US 20120173348A1
• Time in Patent Office: 931 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 705/26, 705/44, 705/36, 705/17
• US Class Current: 705/17
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/16 Payments settled via telecommunication systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3255 using mobile network messaging services for payment, e.g. SMS
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/326 Payment applications installed on the mobile devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/001 Interfacing with vending machines using mobile or wearable devices

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided to facilitate transactions via mobile communications. In one aspect, a system includes a data storage facility and an interchange coupled with the data storage facility that stores data associating a phone number of a user and an account identifier of the user. The interchange includes a common format processor and a plurality of converters to interface with a plurality of different controllers of mobile communications. The converters are configured to communicate with the controllers in different formats and with the common format processor in a common format. The common format processor uses one of the converters to transmit premium messages to the phone number to collect funds via a telecommunication carrier, receives a payment request having the account identifier, identifies the phone number based on the account identifier, and makes a payment on behalf of the user using the collected funds.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

storing, with a computing apparatus, a plurality of phone numbers;

storing, with the computing apparatus, a plurality of funding sources in association with each phone number;

receiving, in the computing apparatus, a payment request, the payment request identifying an account identification number issued by a bank to a user and a transaction amount, the account identification number representing an account of the user at the bank;

determining, using the computing apparatus in response to receiving the payment request, a phone number associated with the account identification number identified in the payment request;

determining, using the computing apparatus in response to identifying the phone number, a funding source associated with the phone number, wherein the funding source is selected from the funding sources stored in association with the phone number based on at least one of user preferences and system rules to select the funding source; and

processing, by the computing apparatus, the transaction amount identified in the payment request, the payment request using the funding source associated with the phone number, the funding source being different from the account at the bank identified by the account identification number, wherein the processing of the transaction includes transmitting a payment request to a payment server selected based on the funding source.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the payment request is received from the bank.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing, in the computing apparatus, account data to associate the phone number with the account identification number;

wherein the determining of the phone number is based on the account data.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the account is one of:

a credit account, a debit account, a stored value account, a gift card account, a prepaid account, a checking account and a savings account.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

communicating, by the computing apparatus, with a mobile phone at the phone number to confirm the payment request.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the communicating comprises communicating with a mobile phone at the phone number to confirm the account identification number received in the payment request.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the communicating comprises one of:

transmitting a text message to the mobile phone at the phone number;

receiving a text message from the mobile phone at the phone number;

communicating with a mobile application running on the mobile phone at the phone number;

pushing a notification to the mobile phone at the phone number; and

communicating with the mobile phone via a mobile interface.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

communicating, by the computing apparatus, with the bank, a payment network, or a merchant acquirer for authorization of a transaction in an amount according to the payment request.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the communicating with the mobile phone is in response to an authorization approval of the transaction obtained by communicating with the bank.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the computing apparatus is configured to obtain the approval without subsequently requesting settlement of the transaction.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the funding source is one of:

a credit account, a debit account, a prepaid account, a checking account, a savings account, a payment intermediary account, a stored value account, a gift card account, a phone bill, and premium short message service messages.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the funding source is a stored value account uniquely identified by the phone number.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the computing apparatus, a set of one or more premium messages based on an amount of the payment request; and

transmitting, from the computing apparatus, the set of one or more premium messages to a mobile phone at the phone number, wherein a telecommunications carrier is to charge the mobile phone according to the set of one or more premium messages.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving comprises receiving the payment request from a point of sales (POS) terminal;

and the POS terminal is configured to communicate with a mobile device via near field communication (NFC) to obtain the account identification number.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the mobile device comprises a mobile phone.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the payment request is received via one of:

internet;

mobile application;

web browser;

personal computer;

tablet computer;

mobile phone; and

television.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving comprises receiving the payment request from a payment card reader responsive to the payment card reader reading a payment card carrying the account identification number;

and the payment card that is read by the payment card reader is one of;

a credit card, a debit card, a prepaid card, and a banking card.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the funding source is identified by one of:

a phone number;

an email address;

a card number;

an account number; and

a login for a social networking website.

18. A tangible non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute a method comprising:

storing, with a computing apparatus, a plurality of phone numbers;

storing, with the computing apparatus, a plurality of funding sources in association with each phone number;

receiving, in the computing apparatus, a payment request, the payment request identifying an account identification number issued by a bank to a user and a transaction amount, the account identification number representing an account of the user at the bank;

determining, using the computing apparatus in response to receiving the payment request, a phone number associated with the account identification number identified in the payment request;

determining, using the computing apparatus in response to identifying the phone number, a funding source associated with the phone number, wherein the funding source is selected from the funding sources stored in association with the phone number based on at least one of user preferences and system rules to select the funding source; and

processing, by the computing apparatus, the transaction amount identified in the payment request, the payment request using the funding source associated with the phone number, the funding source being different from the account at the bank identified by the account identification number, wherein the processing of the transaction includes transmitting a payment request to a payment server selected based on the funding source.

20. A system, comprising:

a data storage facility to store account data associating a phone number of a user and an account identifier of the user; and

an interchange coupled with the data storage facility, the interchange including a common format processor and a plurality of converters to interface with a plurality of controllers, the converters configured to communicate with the controllers in different formats, the converters to communicate with the common format processor in a common format, the common format processor to use one converter of the converters to transmit one or more messages to collect funds via a payment source, the common format processor to store a plurality of phone numbers, store a plurality of funding sources in association with each phone number, receive a payment request having the account identifier and a transaction amount and use the account data to identify the phone number based on the account identifier in response to the payment request in response to the identification of the phone number, to identify a funding source associated with the phone number, wherein the funding source is selected from the funding sources stored in association with the phone number based on at least one of user preferences and system rules to select the funding source, the common format processor to process the transaction amount identified in the payment request, the payment request using the funding source associated with the phone number, the funding source being different from the account at the bank identified by the account identification number, wherein the processing of the transaction includes transmitting a payment request to a payment server selected based on the funding source.