Persistent Dynamic Payment Service

Abstract

The invention comprises online methods, systems, and software for improving the processing of payments from financial accounts, particularly credit and debit card payments made from consumers to merchants in online transactions. The preferred embodiment of the invention involves inserting a trusted third party online service into the payment authorization process. The trusted third party authenticates the consumer and authorizes the proposed payment in a single integrated process conducted without the involvement of the merchant. The authentication of the consumer is accomplished over a persistent communication channel established with the consumer before a purchase is made. The authentication is done by verifying that the persistent channel is open when authorization is requested. Use of the third party services allows the consumer to avoid revealing his identity and credit card number to the merchant over a public network such as the Internet, while maintaining control of the transaction during the authorization process.

Description

[0001] This application is a continuation of our co-pending application Ser. No. 10 / 066,174 which application claimed the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60 / 304,819 filed on Jul. 11, 2001, both of which applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The invention pertains to online methods, systems and software for improving the privacy, anonymity, security and control of cardholders over their private financial and personal information in making online payments in a transaction over a network where online e-commerce transactions are carried out, such as the Internet. [0004] 2. Background of the Prior Art [0005] Security, privacy, and anonymity have become major issues in e-commerce transactions. The e-commerce concept depends on the premise that it is possible to access a purchaser's financial accounts for payments in a manner that will provide purchasers with the confidence to participate an...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0022] The instant invention comprises systems, software and online methods which offer online users privacy, anonymity, security and control over their private financial data while making electronic payments as part of transaction over networks such as the public Internet or private networks. In particular, embodiments of the invention improve the existing methods and systems for making and authorizing payments during e-commerce transactions and payments between peers.

Problems solved by technology

Security, privacy, and anonymity have become major issues in e-commerce transactions.

Yet, deficiencies of the system are well known, including the following: 1. theft of a purchaser's financial information enabling the recipient of the financial information to conduct fraudulent transactions, 2. lack of dynamic ability to review, reconsider, and even modify aspects of a transaction after the “buy” button is clicked on the merchant's site literally during the payment process, 3. lack of flexibility in structuring a payment among various accounts of different types (e.g., credit cards, debit cards, checking accounts, and etc.), 4. lack of privacy—the merchant has access to the payer's name, billing address, credit card number and other personal information which may be correlated against purchases and even sold to third parties, and 5. merchant records associated with online transactions are a concentrated financial information target for organized attack by criminals and terrorists.

The scheme is complex, and depends on many participants conforming to a new process specification.

The approach is also limited to protection of the credit card number but not protection of the privacy of the cardholder himself.

The approach similarly does not provide dynamic control during payment processing of the transaction.

These approaches deal primarily with new systems and methods for secure transactions and do not provide a cardholder with an improved means of payment over existing payment systems.

However, the challenge to adoption of Linehan's invention is that unlike today's situation where virtually any cardholder with browser access to the Internet can complete a transaction with virtually any merchant, Lineham requires that all four parties to a transaction (consumer, merchant, Acquiring bank, and Issuing bank) must have adopted the protocol to complete a transaction.

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