Multi-mode payment system and method

Abstract

Systems, methods, devices, and computer program code are provided to receive a payment card and mobile identification information from a mobile device associated with a user, determine account and mobile device qualifications and capabilities, and if the mobile device is NFC enabled, trigger a tokenization process to generate a tokenization record associated with the payment card, and transmit the tokenization record to the user. Payment card information associated with the user is securely stored, and card reference information associated with at least one of (i) the tokenized record, and (ii) the stored payment card information is communicated to the mobile device for use in a transaction.

Description

Multimodal payment systems and methods

[0001] This application is a divisional application of Mastercard International Inc.'s patent application No. 201680042018.5, filed on July 22, 2016, entitled "Multi-mode Payment System and Method". Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit and priority of U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 195,446, filed July 22, 2015, and U.S. Patent Application No. 15 / 216,322, filed July 21, 2016, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes. Technical Field

[0003] This invention relates to payment systems and methods, and more particularly to multimodal payment systems and methods. Background Technology

[0004] The inventors have now recognized the opportunity for a very convenient way to implement and access the advantages of a digital wallet. More specifically, the inventors have recognized the need for a digital wallet that allows two different payment modes through a single wallet, including a mode that allows users to make payment transactions at points of sale that support Near Field Communication (“NFC”) transactions and at points of sale that do not support NFC transactions. Summary of the Invention

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, a method is provided, comprising: receiving payment card and mobile identification information from a mobile device associated with a user; determining the eligibility and capabilities of an account and a mobile device, and, if the mobile device has NFC capability, triggering a tokenization process to generate a tokenized record associated with the payment card; securely storing the payment card information associated with the user; and transmitting card reference information associated with at least one of the following for use in a transaction: (i) the tokenized record, and (ii) the stored payment card information.

[0006] According to another aspect of the present invention, a mobile device is provided, comprising: a display screen; a communication port; a processor; a memory; and a program, wherein the program is stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the processor. The program includes: receiving payment card information from a user; transmitting the payment card information and information identifying the mobile device to a remote wallet server; and receiving card reference information generated from the remote wallet server for use in a transaction, the card reference information being associated with at least one of: (i) a token card record, and (ii) an identifier associated with payment card information stored on the remote wallet server, wherein the card reference information is generated at least in part based on the capabilities of the mobile device. Attached Figure Description

[0007] Features and advantages of some embodiments of the invention and their implementations will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate preferred and exemplary embodiments and are not necessarily drawn to scale, wherein: FIG1 is a block diagram illustrating a payment system provided according to aspects of the invention.

[0008] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating a payment card registration process that can be performed using the system of Figure 1 according to an aspect of the present invention.

[0009] Figure 3 is a block diagram of a device according to some embodiments of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0010] Typically, to illustrate the concepts of embodiments of the present invention, a wallet service system allows a user to access their digital wallet at a point of sale by providing payment information to a POS terminal. According to the present invention, a digital wallet can be used at a POS terminal that supports NFC transactions, a terminal that supports barcode or "QR code" transactions, or a terminal that supports NFC or barcode transactions. Embodiments provide systems and methods that allow users to register payment card information so that the digital wallet can be accessed in transactions at different types of POS terminals. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the user's mobile device may not support NFC transactions (e.g., the mobile device may not be "NFC-enabled"). Embodiments of the present invention allow such a device to be used in transactions using barcode payment methods.

[0011] Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to FIG1, which is a block diagram illustrating a payment system 100 according to some embodiments. System 100 includes multiple devices and components, including a mobile device 120 having a mobile wallet application 122 that interacts with a remote wallet platform 102 via a wireless connection 124. Wallet platform 102 may be operated by or on behalf of an entity such as Mastercard International to facilitate transactions according to the invention. Wallet platform 102 may have multiple components or communicate with multiple components, including one or more wallet servers 104, one or more wallet databases 106, and one or more card archive (“COF”) databases 108 (which can be configured and controlled to ensure data and transmission security in compliance with Payment Card Industry (“PCI”) security standards).

[0012] Wallet platform 102 can further communicate with tokenization service 170 (e.g., Mastercard Digital Enablement Service (“MDES”) provided by Mastercard International) and one or more merchant acquiring systems 150.

[0013] According to some embodiments, system 100 can be operated to allow users operating mobile device 120 to configure, install, or update digital wallet 122 to operate in accordance with the present invention. Once users have configured their mobile device 120, system 100 can be operated to facilitate transactions involving mobile wallet 122 and merchants. For example, mobile wallet 122 can be used in transactions at a point of sale (“POS”) 130 associated with merchant system 140. According to some embodiments, POS 130 can be a near field communication (“NFC”) enabled point of sale device or a QR code enabled point of sale device (or a POS based on other barcodes or images). Embodiments allow transactions based on the operating modes supported by the POS and the operating modes supported by mobile device 120 (e.g., mobile device 120 that does not support NFC communication can be used for transactions using QR codes, while NFC-enabled mobile device 120 can be used for both NFC and QR code transactions).

[0014] Mobile device 120 may be a smartphone or other mobile device, for example, an Apple iPhone, an Android phone, or any phone capable of accessing and displaying web content or accessing the internet. In some embodiments, mobile device 120 communicates with remote wallet platform 102 using a cellular or wireless network. In some embodiments, mobile device 120 may have a camera (not shown) or other image capture device that allows mobile device 120 to capture images or representations of barcodes or QR codes. For example, a user can operate mobile device 120 to take a digital image of a QR code displayed on or at a merchant's point-of-sale device or to capture an image of a QR code displayed on or at a merchant's point-of-sale device to initiate a payment transaction using the present invention. As will be further described below, according to some embodiments, QR codes can be used to initiate and conduct transactions. In some embodiments, mobile device 120 may be configured such that a user can operate the camera of mobile device 120 to take an image of a QR code or capture an image of a QR code, and then automatically share or transmit the image to remote wallet platform 102 by selecting a mobile wallet icon displayed on a sharing window of mobile device 120. The mobile wallet can be displayed on the sharing window by enabling the sharing attribute in the metadata of the mobile wallet application. This will help users capture QR code images and then allow them to choose an option in the mobile wallet application to share the QR code (making it transmitted to wallet platform 102). This is also a convenient way to conduct transactions even when the mobile device 120 is locked or unlocked, without launching the mobile wallet application.

[0015] For example, on an Android mobile device, the camera option can be selected from the lock screen, or after unlocking the mobile device, capturing a QR code, sharing the QR code with a mobile wallet, and operating the mobile wallet to send the QR code to the wallet server. Once the wallet server receives the QR code, it will scan and parse the QR code, prepare a transaction / authorization request, and send the transaction request to the acquirer or other entity in the payment network. As will be further described below, a user wishing to conduct a transaction initiated by a QR code can easily and efficiently initiate a transaction by operating the camera of the mobile device 120 from the lock or unlock screen of the mobile device 120, capturing the QR image encoding, and sharing or sending it to a remote wallet platform 102 for further processing as described below by selecting the mobile wallet icon from the sharing window of the mobile device 120.

[0016] POS 130 may include a reader component that allows the POS device to act as an NFC reader to read information from mobile device 120. POS 130 may also be configured to allow the presentation or display of a QR code (or may have an associated static QR code). For the purpose of processing retail transactions, the reader component and POS 130 may be located in the premises of a retail store and operated by a retailer's salesperson. For the purpose of conducting this transaction, Figure 1 illustrates mobile device 120 interacting with POS 130 via communication link 126.

[0017] As shown in Figure 1, system 100 may further include one or more computers 150 operated by an acquirer (acquiring financial institution). Acquiring party 150 may operate in a conventional manner to receive authorization requests for transactions from POS 130 or commercial system 140. Acquiring party 150 may route authorization requests via payment network 160 to an issuer device or system 180 operated by the issuer of a payment card account associated with mobile wallet 122 of mobile device 120. Authorization responses generated by issuer 180 may be sent back to POS 130 via payment network 160 and acquiring party 150.

[0018] A well-known example of a payment network is a system known as “Banknet,” which is operated by Mastercard International, its assignee.

[0019] The issuer device 180 may be operated by or on behalf of a financial institution (“FI”) that issues payment card accounts to individual users. For example, the issuer device 180 may perform the following functions: (a) receiving and responding to requests for authorization of transactions for payment card accounts, the fees of which are borne by the payment card accounts issued by the FI; and (b) tracking and storing transactions and maintaining account records.

[0020] The components of system 100 shown in Figure 1 are only those required to process a single transaction. A typical payment system can handle numerous purchase transactions (including simultaneous transactions) and may include a significant number of payment card issuers and their computers, a significant number of acquirers and their computers, and numerous merchants and their POS terminals and associated nearby reader components. The system may also include a large number of payment card account holders who carry mobile devices running mobile wallets to initiate payment transactions by presenting their relevant payment card account information to the reader components of the POS terminal.

[0021] Referring now to Figure 2, an exemplary process 200 that can be implemented using system 100 will be described in Figure 2, wherein a user operating mobile device 120 can register one or more payment accounts for use in system 100.

[0022] Process 200 may begin at 202, where the system (e.g., wallet platform 102 of Figure 1) receives payment card and mobile identification information from a user of mobile device 120 (e.g., a mobile device that has previously downloaded mobile wallet 122 or downloaded mobile wallet 122 during process 200). Wallet platform 102 performs processing to determine eligibility and device capabilities (e.g., it may include determining whether mobile device 120 supports NFC payment functionality and whether the payment account is eligible for use in the mobile wallet system). If mobile device 120 has NFC capability, processing continues at 208, where a tokenization process is triggered (to tokenize the payment credential). Processing continues at 210, where a card token and payment credential are received (e.g., from a remote token service such as service 170 of Figure 1). Processing continues at 214, where the payment card credential is stored (e.g., stored in a COF database such as database 108 of Figure 1) and a card reference identifier is generated. Processing continues at 214, where a card reference identifier is transmitted for storage on mobile device 120. If it is determined that mobile device 120 has NFC capability, processing can continue at 212, where a card token (which in some embodiments also includes a card reference identifier) ​​can be transmitted to mobile wallet 122 of mobile device 120 via wallet server 104.

[0023] Typically, this feature will allow the user to add one or more payment cards to the wallet application 122. In some embodiments, the process may differ if the mobile device and mobile wallet application use Host Card Emulation (“HCE”). For example, if the mobile wallet application uses HCE, the wallet platform 102 may be required to interact with the tokenization provider 170 to download the token / payment credential associated with the user's payment card and used during payment. However, after adding a payment card on an HCE-based phone, the user should be able to make contactless payments and / or QR code payments, but only after successfully adding the payment card. Generally, the user experience of the process 200 will be similar for both non-HCE and HCE / NFC-based devices.

[0024] Typically, process 200 can also be described as follows. First, the user enters their payment card details by interacting with a mobile wallet application. Next, the mobile wallet application sends the payment card details along with the user's mobile device fingerprint and mobile device details to the wallet platform. The wallet platform 102 receives the card information, as well as the user information and user device information. Once the wallet server 102 determines whether the mobile device 120 is capable of making NFC-based transactions, it triggers the tokenization process by sending the payment card details to the tokenization system 170.

[0025] If wallet platform 102 identifies that the user's mobile device 120 cannot perform NFC-based transactions, wallet platform 102 stores the user's payment card credentials (stored in COF database 108) and responds to the user using information including the result and card reference identifier. If the payment card is tokenizable and the tokenization process has been successfully completed, the card token / payment credential is downloaded to the mobile wallet application, and wallet platform 102 responds to the mobile wallet application using the card reference information.

[0026] At this point, the user is ready to conduct transactions using the mobile wallet application. If the payment card is tokenizable and the mobile device supports NFC transactions, the mobile wallet can be used for either NFC-based or QR code-based transactions. A cardholder verification method (“CVM”) required or selected by the issuer may be applied or enforced during process 200. In some embodiments, the payment card issuer may also be consulted during process 200 to verify the payment card details and validity.

[0027] Transactions involving a mobile wallet according to the present invention will now be described. In a first example, a transaction will be described where the payment card is successfully registered (using the process in Figure 2) and the merchant location supports NFC transactions (but not QR code transactions). In such a scenario, the transaction can proceed as follows.

[0028] 1. The user launches the mobile wallet application on their mobile device.

[0029] 2. The user has at least one loaded card capable of making NFC and QR code-based transactions.

[0030] 3. After learning from the merchant that the merchant supports NFC transactions, the user selects the NFC symbol to complete the transaction.

[0031] 4. The application opens an NFC session, and before transmitting transaction data, the application can ask the user to enter a PIN to complete the transaction.

[0032] 5. The user enters a PIN, and the transaction information is transmitted to the NFC terminal.

[0033] 6. Conduct the transaction according to the normal NFC transaction routing.

[0034] 7. Users can receive confirmation messages wirelessly or retrieve transaction status from the backend system / wallet platform based on the card reference identifier.

[0035] In the second example transaction, a user who has already registered their card using the process in Figure 2 wishes to make a transaction using their mobile wallet at a merchant location that accepts QR code payments (but not NFC transactions). The user launches the mobile wallet application on their mobile device and selects the desired payment card by interacting with the application. The user learns from the merchant that they only accept QR code payments and not NFC payments, so the user activates the camera screen on their mobile device 120 to make a QR code-based payment transaction. The following steps occur: 1. After entering all transaction information such as the final amount, purchase details, merchant details, etc., the merchant generates a QR code at the terminal (or, the merchant may display a static QR code at the POS that encodes merchant information instead of transaction information).

[0036] 2. Users select their desired payment card from the wallet application.

[0037] 3. The wallet application prompts the user to select a payment method.

[0038] 4. Since the merchant does not accept NFC-based transactions, the user chooses the QR code mode.

[0039] 5. Depending on the needs of the wallet provider or issuer, users may be required to enter a security code / PIN.

[0040] 6. The user scans the QR code at the POS terminal.

[0041] 7. The wallet application scans the QR code, extracts the data within the QR code, and sends the transaction details to the wallet platform.

[0042] 8. The wallet platform receives transaction requests from the wallet application, verifies the information, extracts the card reference identifier from the transaction request, maps the actual PAN (from the COF database) from the card reference identifier, and establishes a transaction authorization request for the merchant acquiring party or processor.

[0043] 9. Once a transaction authorization request is created, the wallet platform sends a request to the merchant acquiring party.

[0044] 10. The merchant acquiring party checks and verifies the transaction request and forwards the authorization request to the issuing party.

[0045] 11. The issuer authorizes the transaction and responds to the merchant acquiring party.

[0046] 12. The merchant acquiring party sends a response to the wallet platform and sends other responses to the merchant (via SMS or other channels).

[0047] 13. The wallet platform receives transaction confirmation information from the merchant acquiring party, records basic transaction information, and sends a transaction success response to the wallet application.

[0048] 14. The wallet application displays a success message to the user.

[0049] According to some embodiments, the second example transaction (or other transactions involving QR codes) can be efficiently performed by a user who has already installed the mobile wallet application of the present invention on a mobile device 120 with a camera. In some embodiments, a user can initiate a payment transaction by simply interacting with the camera of their mobile device 120 from the lock screen of the mobile device or by activating the camera of the mobile device 120 after unlocking the mobile device 120 and capturing an image of the QR code at a merchant location (or in printed materials, websites, etc.). In some embodiments, the act of capturing the image allows the user to choose to “share” the captured image or send it to an endpoint or location associated with the remote wallet server 102. Metadata associated with the mobile device 120 may be sent along with the image, allowing the remote wallet server 102 to identify the user and / or the mobile device 120 as associated with a participant who has registered one or more payment card accounts using the wallet server. That is, in such embodiments, steps 1-7 (or portions thereof) of the second example transaction can be performed quickly and efficiently by the user operating the camera of the mobile device 120 to capture an image of the QR code. In some embodiments, the user may be required to log in or otherwise launch the mobile wallet application before operating the camera to capture the image; in other embodiments, the user may only be required to launch the camera application to initiate the transaction.

[0050] In some embodiments of System 100, individuals with multiple payment card accounts (potentially from different issuers) can register with a wallet service provider to set up their own digital wallets for maintenance by the service provider. For example, they can do this by interacting with a webpage operated by the wallet service provider's computer. Once an individual user has created a user account via the webpage, he / she can request the wallet service provider's computer to create his / her digital wallet, which may take the form of a data partition stored in a database on the wallet service provider's computer. The user can also utilize software tools provided by the wallet service provider's computer to add one or more of the user's payment card accounts to his / her digital wallet. In some embodiments, this can be accomplished by authorizing the wallet service provider's computer to contact the issuer of the payment card account to initiate a process of loading the relevant account data into the user's digital wallet. In some embodiments, as part of this process, the issuer may contact the user to confirm that the request from the wallet service provider's computer was indeed authorized by the user.

[0051] Figure 3 illustrates a remote wallet platform computer server 300, which may be associated with, for example, the system 100 of Figure 1. The remote wallet platform computer server 300 includes a processor 310, such as one or more commercially available central processing units (“CPUs”) in the form of a single-chip microprocessor, coupled to a communication device 320 configured to communicate via a communication network (not shown in Figure 3). The communication device 320 may be used, for example, to communicate with one or more remote administrators or computers and / or communication devices (e.g., PCs and smartphones). Note that communications exchanged via the communication device 320 may utilize security features, such as those between public internet users and the internal networks of financial institutions or service providers. Security features may be associated with, for example, web servers, firewalls, and / or PCI infrastructure. The remote wallet platform computer server 300 also includes an input device 340 (e.g., a mouse and / or keyboard for inputting information about mobile wallets, transactions, etc.) and an output device 350 (e.g., outputting requests, reports, etc.).

[0052] Processor 310 also communicates with storage device 330. Storage device 330 may include any suitable information storage device, including combinations of magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk drives), optical storage devices, mobile phones, and / or semiconductor memory devices. Storage device 330 stores program 315 or application programs for controlling processor 310. Processor 310 executes the instructions of program 315 to operate according to any of the embodiments described herein. For example, processor 310 may perform or manage transactions in conjunction with a mobile device (e.g., the mobile device described in FIG. 1).

[0053] Specifically, the processor 310 can be used to receive information from the mobile device 120 to allow users to register payment card information, making the information accessible to mobile wallet applications on mobile devices in transactions at different types of POS terminals.

[0054] Program 315 may be stored in a compressed, uncompiled, and / or encrypted format. Program 315 may also include other program elements, such as operating systems, database management systems, and / or device drivers used by processor 310 to interact with peripheral devices.

[0055] As used herein, information may be “received” or “transmitted” by, for example: (i) a remote wallet computer server 300 of another device; or (ii) a software application or module within a remote wallet computer server 300 of another software application, module, or any other source.

[0056] In some embodiments (as shown in FIG3), storage device 330 also stores wallet server database 106 and card archive database 108 (as described above in conjunction with FIG1). Note that the databases described herein are merely examples and may store additional and / or different information. Moreover, various databases may be split or combined according to any embodiment described herein. For example, wallet server database 106 and / or card archive database 108 may be combined and / or linked to each other within program 315.

[0057] In addition to including payment card accounts such as credit card and debit card accounts in their digital wallets, users can also include other types of accounts, such as gift card accounts, loyalty reward accounts, earnings spending accounts, transfer accounts, etc. Accounts can all be linked from a single payment network, or a user's digital wallet can contain accounts linked from more than one payment network.

[0058] As used herein and in the appended claims, the term "computer" should be understood to include a single computer or two or more computers communicating with each other.

[0059] As used herein and in the appended claims, the term “processor” should be understood to include a single processor or two or more processors communicating with each other.

[0060] As used herein and in the appended claims, the term "memory" should be understood to include a single memory or storage device or two or more memory or storage devices.

[0061] The flowcharts and descriptions in this document should not be construed as specifying a fixed order in which the method steps described therein should be performed. Rather, the method steps may be performed in any feasible order.

[0062] As used herein and in the appended claims, the term "payment card account" includes a credit card account, a deposit account accessible to the account holder using a debit card, a prepaid card account, or any other type of account that can complete payment transactions. The term "payment card account number" or "PAN" includes a number identifying a payment card system account or a number carried on a payment card, or a number used to define the route of a transaction in a payment system that processes debit card and / or credit card transactions. The term "payment card" includes credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, or other types of payment instruments, which can be physical cards or virtual cards.

[0063] As used herein and in the appended claims, the term "payment card system" refers to a system for processing purchase transactions and related transactions. An example of such a system is one operated by Mastercard International, the assignee of this disclosure. In some embodiments, the term "payment card system" may be limited to a system by which member financial institutions issue payment card accounts to individuals, businesses, and / or other organizations.

[0064] Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions, and modifications that are obvious to those skilled in the art can be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method comprising: Receive payment card and mobile identification information from the mobile device associated with the user; The eligibility and capabilities of the account and mobile device are determined, and if the mobile device has NFC capability, a tokenization process is triggered to generate a tokenized record associated with the payment card; Securely store the payment card information associated with the user; And transmit card reference information associated with at least one of the following to the mobile device for use in transactions: (i) the tokenized record, and (ii) the stored payment card information.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: This prompts the user of the mobile device to select a desired payment mode for the transaction, wherein a first payment mode uses the tokenized record and a second payment mode uses card reference information associated with the stored payment card information.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, If the mobile device does not have NFC capability, then the payment card information associated with the user is stored.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein, The first payment method can be used at merchant locations that accept NFC transactions.

5. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: Receive the selection of the first payment mode; And transmit card reference information associated with the tokenized record from the mobile device to the payment terminal.

6. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: Receive the selection of the second payment mode; And transmit card reference information associated with the stored payment card information from the mobile device to the remote wallet platform.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The card transfer reference information also includes: operating the mobile device to capture code from the point of sale location without actually launching the mobile application; and transferring the code to the remote wallet platform.

8. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: Retrieve the default stored payment card information; The stored payment card information is associated with transaction information identified based on the code; And complete the transaction using the stored payment card information and the transaction information.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein, Operating the mobile device to capture the code also includes operating the mobile device's camera to capture an image of the code.

10. A mobile device, comprising: Display screen; Communication port; processor; Memory; The program, stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the processor, includes: receiving payment card information from a user; transmitting the payment card information and information identifying the mobile device to a remote wallet server; and receiving card reference information generated from the remote wallet server for use in a transaction, the card reference information being associated with at least one of: (i) a token card record, and (ii) an identifier associated with the payment card information stored on the remote wallet server, wherein the card reference information is generated at least in part based on the capabilities of the mobile device.

11. The mobile device according to claim 9, wherein, The procedure further includes: causing a prompt to be displayed to a user of the mobile device to select a desired payment mode for the transaction, wherein a first payment mode uses a tokenized card record and a second payment mode uses an identifier associated with payment card information stored in the remote wallet server.

12. The mobile device according to claim 9, wherein, If the mobile device has NFC capability, a tokenized card record is generated.

13. The mobile device according to claim 9, wherein, If the mobile device does not have NFC capability, it receives an identifier associated with payment card information stored on the remote wallet server.

14. The mobile device according to claim 10, wherein, The first payment method can be used at merchant locations that accept NFC transactions.

15. The mobile device according to claim 10, further comprising: Receive the selection of the first payment mode; And transmit card reference information associated with the tokenized card record from the mobile device to the payment terminal.

16. The mobile device of claim 10, further comprising: Receive the selection of the second payment mode; And the transmission from the mobile device to the remote wallet platform of an identifier associated with payment card information stored on the remote wallet server.

17. The mobile device according to claim 15, wherein, Transmitting the identifier further includes: operating the mobile device to capture a code from a point-of-sale location without actually opening the mobile application; and transmitting the code to the remote wallet platform.

18. The mobile device of claim 16, further comprising: This enables the remote wallet server to obtain the default stored payment card information; The remote wallet server associates the stored payment card information with the transaction information identified based on the code. And complete the transaction using the stored payment card information and the transaction information.

19. The mobile device according to claim 16, wherein, Operating the mobile device to capture the code also includes operating the mobile device's camera to capture an image of the code.

Images