Method for a payment system and a merchant system with an advanced cancellation function

Abstract

A method for a payment system and a merchant system that facilitates payments of small amounts and makes payments safer for users. The payment system of at least one online store records at least one identification number of a user device, receives and verifies a direct debit order, and depends on the identifier of the user device to save the direct debit order. Such a method monitors the total amount of the debit amount in relation to the identification number and requests registration from the user of the user device to clear at least a portion of the total payment amount after a predetermined time interval and / or when a predetermined value of the total payment amount is exceeded. The method of such a payment system further provides unique solutions for canceling purchases, detecting abusers of cancellations, granting trust tokens, and providing quality measures for digital content and merchants providing such content.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention generally relates to a method for a payment system and a merchant system that facilitate a user's payment of a small amount for the purchase of, for example, digital content or a subscription to digital content, and make the payment safer for the user. Specifically, it relates to an exclusive solution related to such a payment method that cancels a purchase or subscription by detecting abusers of cancellation, measures taken against individuals who abuse the cancellation of digital content and / or subscriptions, tracking of cancellations to determine user and merchant satisfaction metrics, and processes and actions based on such metrics to improve the quality of digital content items provided by merchants.

Background Art

[0002] Background

[0002] To enable a purchaser to purchase goods and / or services, a shopping system is known in which a plurality of web servers are interconnected via a network (usually the Internet). Conventionally, a customer selects a specific virtual market, searches for goods and services there, puts them in a virtual shopping cart, and pays for the items at the end of the shopping process. Since it is necessary to fully authenticate individual users or purchasers, the payment process is usually very complex. For this purpose, names and addresses are usually required. For payment transactions, the user has to enter account or credit card information that enables the deduction of the payment amount. The registration process, i.e., the entry of name and address, and / or account or credit card information, is complex. The main problem is that in the case of small amounts of a few cents to 1 euro (0.01 euro to 1.00 euro), customers do not want to register at all. The effort required to obtain goods or information worth a few cents in the market is too great and disproportionate to what is being purchased. Therefore, in the case of payments within the range of less than 1 euro, due to the ratio of effort to reward, the market cannot be established and there is no actual market.

[0003]

[0003] In addition, each individual user desires to ensure that their data is handled confidentially. Usually, a user discloses their information only when they trust the market. Therefore, it is difficult for small businesses to establish such a market or online shop.

[0004]

[0004] For the financial processing of purchases, service providers are currently established that provide a payment system that requires registration only once so that payment transactions can be handled later at multiple online shops via one service provider. Registration for such a central payment system is also very complex. Furthermore, such payment transactions incur costs that, among other things, the online shop has to bear.

[0005]

[0005] The obstacles and starting thresholds associated with such purchases on the Internet are so numerous and high that it is generally clear that potential purchasers will often refrain from such purchases. This applies in particular to the purchase of goods and services that involve only very small amounts. For example, it is highly problematic to require a user's full registration to view a one-page test report that costs about 50 cents.

[0006]

[0006] The inventors of the present invention claim priority to German Patent Application Publication No. 10 2009 050 985.2 filed on October 28, 2009 and German Patent Application Publication No. 10 2009 040 575.5 filed on September 8, 2009, and is a divisional application of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 13 / 394,485 filed on March 6, 2012, which is the U.S. national stage of PCT Application No. PCT / EP2010 / 005435 filed on September 3, 2010, and is a partial continuation application of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 14 / 283,885 filed on May 21, 2014, and is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 15 / 806,945 filed on November 8, 2017 (granted as U.S. Patent No. 11,170,378 on November 9, 2021) (the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety), and have conceived a payment system for ensuring secure payment transactions for use in a corresponding shopping system and a method for performing a plurality of payment transactions.

[0007]

[0007] In particular, such a payment system for at least one online shopping system includes an identification device for recording at least one identification number of the shopper system, an interface device for receiving and verifying a debit order from at least one online shop, the debit order including debit amount to be paid to the online shop, i.e., information related to the price, an interface device, a memory device for storing the debit order together with the associated identification number, and a processing device configured to monitor the total debit amount in relation to the identification number and request registration from the user of the shopper system to settle at least a part of the total payment amount after a predetermined time interval and / or when a predetermined value of the total payment amount is exceeded.

[0008]

[0008] The essential concept of such a payment system is that the payment system records the purchases made by the user in the form of debit orders and also stores identification information enabling preferably unique identification, i.e., an identifier, of the shopper system used. Thus, initially, no information about the user of the shopper system is required. Theoretically, any user can shop and conduct payment transactions in the shopper system.

[0009]

[0009] When a predetermined time interval has elapsed and / or the predetermined value of the total payment amount is exceeded, the payment system requests registration from the user to pay at least a part of the total payment amount. Thus, until then, the user can shop completely anonymously and completely securely against fraud. Individual purchases are associated with the shopper system used by the individual, such as a user device like a PC or a mobile communication device. Only when a predetermined period has elapsed or a predetermined total payment amount has been accumulated, the user has to disclose his identity or at least enter information enabling settlement of the debt.

[0010]

[0010] The payment system reduces the registration threshold for paid content on the Internet to a minimum in order to enable users to consume now and pay later. Users can make a plurality of very small payments (micropayments) and then pay them when the corresponding amounts accumulate. As a result, there is no need to take measures related to each minimum payment transaction, thus saving technical resources. Furthermore, using this payment system, it is possible to access new markets such as markets dealing with payments characterized by very small amounts (e.g., less than 1 euro). Such a payment system also makes the processing of small payments economical. The minimum bank withdrawal fee may be several times higher than the value of the purchased content (e.g., on average 0.20 euros per transaction). Such a payment system can function as a global shopping cart (e.g., across multiple websites) and can aggregate purchases. These are then settled cumulatively, resulting in minimizing the relative fee per transaction. The bank withdrawal transaction is processed only once for, e.g., 20 purchases, thereby reducing the incidental costs incurred for the execution of bank withdrawals. The processing device can be configured so that the system does not request personal data, especially payment information, from the users of the shopper system before sending an approval signal indicating that the payment system does not consider the shopper system untrustworthy until registration.

[0011]

[0011] A method of such a payment system, for example, facilitates the payment of a small amount by a user for the purchase of digital content or a subscription to digital content, and makes the payment safer for the user. The improvements of such a payment system described herein are also unique solutions for detecting and taking countermeasures against individuals who cancel purchases or subscriptions and abuse the cancellation of digital content and / or subscriptions.

[0012]

[0012] The identification device can provide a program that can be executed on the shopper system to record at least one identification number. In many cases, the communication protocol itself preferably enables the recording of an appropriate label that uniquely identifies the shopper system. However, preferably, a program is provided that reads or generates an appropriate identification number for identifying the shopper system and can be executed on the shopper system.

[0013]

[0013] The interface device can be provided with a blacklist of identification numbers, and the device can be configured to reject account debit orders related to the identification numbers included in the blacklist. On the other hand, the processing device can be configured to save the identification numbers of shopper systems not registered by the user in the blacklist after a predetermined time interval and / or when exceeding a predetermined total payment amount for at least partially settling the total payment amount. Therefore, this payment system can exclude bad payers or users, thereby minimizing the resulting losses. This payment system preferably has a very low financial risk because it is used to settle a very small debit amount.

[0014]

[0014] The shopping system may include at least one online shop, such as a merchant accessible via a network equipped with a system such as a web server, in order to provide, for example, an HTML-based sales portal. At least one object is embedded in the sales portal to process debit orders and has a communication link to the payment system. Thus, the interaction between the online shop and the sales portal is possible for this purpose without the user having to take additional means. The online shop embeds an appropriate object, i.e., executable software code, into software code such as HTML code for providing the presence of the shop on the Internet, i.e., one or more web pages of the online shop, and handles payment processing by an object that communicates with the payment system.

[0015]

[0015] The embedded object can be configured to output information regarding the payment system, particularly payment requests and / or account balances. Thus, the user does not need to exert further effort to view their account balance in the payment system. The relevant information is presented as part of the presence of the individual online shop on the Internet. Even if the payment system wishes to send information to the user, the payment system does not need to take proactive means. Instead, the user can wait for the case when they browse an online shop that communicates with the payment system using the shopper system. In this case, the online shop issues information suitable for the payment system to the user of the shopper system.

[0016]

[0016] Such a method for performing a plurality of payment transactions may include storing an identification number of a shopper system, a user device (using which a purchase is transacted at a specific purchase amount in an online store), storing a purchase amount, such as a price, by a payment system together with the identification number, monitoring by the payment system the total payment amount for purchases transacted by the shopper system, sending an approval signal to a merchant system, and issuing a request for settlement of at least a part of the total payment amount to a user of the shopper system when the total payment amount exceeds a predetermined value and / or after a predetermined time interval has elapsed.

[0017]

[0017] Alternatively, the method may include registering a user following the issuance of the request. Thus, unlike conventional systems, there is no immediate registration for the settlement of each purchase amount. Instead, the payment system accumulates the purchase amounts over a relatively long period and later requests settlement.

[0018]

[0018] The registration may include recording bank account and / or credit card information.

[0019]

[0019] The above-mentioned identification number may be a hardware identification number. Preferably, it is the hardware identification number of the shopper system. Such an identification number is a fixed component of a conventional shopper system and can be used for its unique identification. Changing such a number to deceive the payment system according to the present invention is also relatively complicated.

[0020]

[0020] The hardware identification number may include at least a part of a MAC (Media Access Control) address, and / or a processor identification number, and / or a hard disk identification number, and / or an IP address, and / or other unique device numbers, such as a device unique identifier (UDID) of a smartphone.

[0021]

[0021] The identification of the shopper system can be performed using only the hardware identification number. Optionally, other mechanisms for identifying the user and / or the shopper system may be provided. For example, a "local shared object" may be placed on the shopper system. This object may be a flash cookie. To protect this identifier from tampering, the object may be digitally signed. The signature may be realized by a certificate from a public key infrastructure (PKI).

[0022]

[0022] The time interval can be, for example, more than 10 days, and / or more than 1 month, and / or more than 3 months. Preferably, the time interval is calculated from after the input or execution of the first debit order related to a specific identification number.

[0023]

[0023] However, the above payment system does not address or disclose a method for canceling a downloaded digital content and / or subscription ordered, for example, within minutes, hours, days or weeks after such an order has been placed. Considering the communication exchanges that occur between the user, the merchant, and the payment system, especially considering that the user is unknown until an account is created, it is also not easy to discern how such a cancellation can be achieved. The above payment system also does not detect abusers who cancel a downloaded digital content and a subscription to the downloadable content within hours or days and provide an explanation of how to deal with such abusers.

Summary of the Invention

Means for Solving the Problems

[0024] Summary of the Invention

[0024] The present disclosure provides additional features conceived by the inventors that are lacking in the methods of existing payment systems described in the disclosures referenced above. Such additional features enable a user to cancel the purchase or subscription of digital content and provide a detection method and implementation means for users who abuse the cancellation of subscriptions to digital content and / or digital content services.

[0025]

[0025] According to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosed method of a payment system, a processor of such a payment system: (a) receives, via a network, an identifier of a user device and information indicating the price of an item requested to be purchased from a merchant accessible via the network by the user device; (b) determines a creditworthiness indicator associated with the user device based on the user device identifier; (c) when the creditworthiness indicator meets a predetermined condition, transmits an approval signal for the requested item to the merchant accessible via the network without simultaneously requesting payment for the purchase; (d) monitors the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device; (e) when the total outstanding purchase balance exceeds a predetermined threshold amount, transmits a request signal for the settlement of at least a portion of the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier to the user device; (f) in response to receiving a cancellation request from the user device, based on at least one of the duration from acceptance of the purchase request commitment for the item, the previous number of cancellations, the period during which the previous number of cancellations occurred, the time interval from the last cancellation, the creditworthiness indicator, the frequency of previous cancellations, and whether the user device identifier is included in a list of managed abuser device identifiers, determines a cancellation abuse indicator associated with the user device identifier; (g) based on the determined cancellation abuse indicator, determines whether to accept or reject the above cancellation request.

[0026]

[0026] This disclosure provides additional features that enable the determination of user satisfaction metrics and merchant satisfaction metrics based on tracking canceled purchases or subscriptions of digital content items, and to notify users and merchants regarding digital content items and merchants with high cancellation rates in order to make informed decisions, and to perform other actions for sending notifications indicating metrics to a network server that provides an Internet search service, which may affect the ranking of search results of the digital content described above.

[0027]

[0027] According to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosed payment system method directed to the determination and use of user satisfaction metrics, a processor of such a payment system: (a) receives, via a network, an identifier of a user device and information indicating a price of a requested digital content item for purchase from a merchant accessible via the network by the user device; (b) monitors a total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device; (c) when the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device does not exceed a predetermined threshold amount, transmits an approval signal for the requested digital content item to the merchant accessible via the network without simultaneously demanding payment for the purchase; (d) when the total outstanding purchase balance exceeds the predetermined threshold amount, transmits a request signal for settlement of at least a portion of the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier to the user device, and in response to receiving payment of at least a portion of the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier, transmits an approval signal for the requested digital content item to the merchant accessible via the network; (e) determines a user satisfaction metric for the purchased digital content item based on at least one of (i) the number of digital content items purchased by a plurality of user devices including the user device, (ii) the number of cancellations committed for the purchased digital content to the plurality of user devices, and (iii) the number of transfers of the digital content to another user device by at least one of the plurality of user devices; based on the determined user satisfaction metric, (f) transmits a notification indicating the user satisfaction metric to the merchant providing the digital content item, then prepares a notification indicating the user satisfaction metric for transmission to a user device attempting to purchase the digital content item using the payment system, then restricts the number of approval signals transmitted to the merchant for the requested digital content item, and a notification indicating the user satisfaction metric for the digital content item,Perform at least one other action of sending to a network server that provides an Internet search service.,

[0028]

[0028] According to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosed payment system method directed to the determination and use of merchant satisfaction metrics, a processor of such a payment system: (a) receives, via a network, an identifier of a user device and information indicating a price of a requested digital content item for purchase from a merchant accessible via the network by the user device; (b) monitors a total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device; (c) when the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device does not exceed a predetermined threshold amount, transmits an approval signal for the requested digital content item to the merchant accessible via the network without simultaneously demanding payment for the purchase; (d) when the total outstanding purchase balance exceeds the predetermined threshold amount, transmits a request signal for settlement of at least a portion of the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier to the user device, and in response to receiving payment of at least a portion of the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier, transmits an approval signal for the requested digital content item to the merchant accessible via the network; (e) determines a merchant satisfaction metric based on at least one of: (i) the number of purchases of digital content items from the merchant by a plurality of user devices, including the digital content requested by the user device; (ii) the number of cancellations committed for the plurality of purchased digital content items to the plurality of user devices; (iii) the number of purchases in which at least one of the plurality of digital content items is transferred from at least one of the plurality of user devices to another user device; and (iv) the number of user devices among the plurality of user devices that purchase two or more digital content items from the merchant; (f) based on the determined merchant satisfaction metric, transmits a notification indicating the merchant satisfaction metric to the merchant providing the digital content item, and then, for use in transmitting to a user device attempting to purchase one of the plurality of digital content items provided by the merchant using the payment system,Prepare a notification indicating a merchant satisfaction metric, then limit the number of approval signals sent to the merchant for the requested digital content items available from the merchant, and perform at least one other action of sending a notification indicating the merchant satisfaction metric to a network server providing an Internet search service.

[0029]

[0029] Further embodiments are disclosed in the dependent claims.

[0030] Brief Description of the Drawings

[0030] Here, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings using several exemplary embodiments.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0031]

Figure 1

[0031] A shopping system including a shopper system, an online store, and a payment system is shown.

Figure 2

[0032] Individual components of an exemplary embodiment of the payment system of FIG. 1 are shown.

Figure 3

[0033] Exemplary database entries of the payment system of FIGS. 1 and 2 are shown.

Figure 4

[0034] A flowchart of an exemplary order processing process according to the present disclosure is shown.

Figure 5

[0035] A flowchart of an exemplary process that enables detection of a user who abuses the exercise of cancellation of purchased items and exemplary means that can be taken against such a user in subsequent cancellations according to the present disclosure is shown.

Figure 6

[0036] A flowchart of an exemplary process for determining beneficial user satisfaction metrics and merchant status metrics to perform each additional action is shown.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0032]

[0037] In the following description, the same reference numerals are used for parts having the same function and similar functions.

[0033] Detailed Description

[0038] FIG. 1 shows a shopping system according to the present invention. Here, for example, a shopper system 10, which is a user device such as a laptop, a PC, or a mobile terminal, is connected to an online store 20 such as a network-accessible merchant via a network which is the Internet 1 in this case. The online store 20 and the shopper system 10 are also communicably connected to a payment system 30 via the Internet 1. Usually, many other systems are connected to the Internet 1.

[0034]

[0039] FIG. 2 shows the individual components of the payment system 30. The payment system 30 according to the present invention includes an identification device 31 for recording at least one identifier, i.e., an identification number of the shopper system 10, and an interface device 32 for receiving and verifying a debit order from the online store 20, the debit order including information related to the debit amount to be paid to the online store 20, i.e., the purchase price, an interface device 32, a memory device 32 for storing the debit order together with the associated identification number ID, and a processing device 34 for processing the received payment transaction.

[0035]

[0040] Here, the individual devices will be described in more detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4. An exemplary embodiment of a purchase processed by the payment system 30 according to the present invention proceeds as follows.

[0036]

[0041] The user inputs a specific Internet address in the browser operating on the shopper system 10 that the user operates. The browser establishes contact with one or more servers of the online shop 20 and represents the online shop 20's presence on the Internet. This presence on the Internet includes an embedded object that is communicably connected to the interface device 32 of the payment system 30. Accordingly, the payment system 30 can record the identification number ID of the shopper system 10 by means of the embedded object. In this case, for example, this is the MAC address of the shopper system 10. Accordingly, as revealed in step 101 of FIG. 4, the MAC address of the shopper system 10 is recorded.

[0037]

[0042] Subsequently, for example, by determining a creditworthiness indicator, it is checked whether the shopper system 10 is trustworthy (step 102). Such a determination can be made, for example, by the payment system 30, in particular the processing device 34, determining whether there is an account for the received MAC address. If there is a corresponding account, it is determined whether a debit amount has already been added to this account. If it has been added, the individual debit amounts are totaled. If the debit amount does not exceed a predetermined amount (e.g., 3 euros) or the oldest debit order occurred more than a predetermined period (e.g., 3 months) ago, a creditworthiness indicator is generated that satisfies a predetermined condition that enables the payment system 30 to send an approval signal to the online shop 20 indicating that the user is a user who continues to make a purchase (step 104).

[0038]

[0043] However, if the amount to be debited exceeds a predetermined amount (e.g., 3 euros) or if the oldest debit order has exceeded a predetermined time interval, e.g., three months ago, the user of the shopper system 10 is required to settle the additional amount to be debited (step 111). If the user pays the total outstanding amount (step 112), a creditworthiness indicator is generated that satisfies a predetermined condition that enables the payment system 30 to send an approval signal to the online shop to allow the user to continue with the purchase (step 104). Otherwise, a creditworthiness indicator that does not meet the predetermined condition is generated, and the payment system 30 does not send an approval signal to the online shop 20, i.e., warns the online shop 20 to reject the user for the requested purchase (step 113).

[0039]

[0044] For the determination of the creditworthiness indicator, the payment system 03 may additionally verify whether the identifier of the shopper system 10 is included in a managed blacklist of identifiers of user devices that, for example, do not register or are not settled after a predetermined time interval and / or exceed a predetermined total payment amount. Such a blacklist may contain such identifiers for other reasons, such as if the user identifier of the shopper system represents a stolen user device, a device located outside or originating from a specific region or a country or region where imports and exports are prohibited.

[0040]

[0045] Accordingly, if the creditworthiness of the shopper system 10 is acceptable, the transmitted approval signal warns the online shop 20 that the user can make the requested purchase by the shopper system 10 (step 104). For example, access to a paid review of a movie or other digital content can be obtained. In another exemplary embodiment, the user can make a phone call via the Internet 1 or activate or reserve various other services.

[0041]

[0046] In connection with the completion of a purchase, for example, online shop 20 passes the associated reservation in the form of a debit order to payment system 30, particularly interface device 32 (step 105). In step 106, it is checked whether an account of shopper system 10 already exists. In practice, it is determined whether an account has already been established by payment system 30 for the read MAC address. If the account does not exist, an appropriate account is established (step 114). In step 107, payment system 30 (particularly memory device 33) saves the debit order together with the MAC address. Thus, an entry providing information about which purchases have already been transacted with the recorded MAC address is added to the created account.

[0042]

[0047] Next, the user of shopper system 10 can decide whether to make further purchases (step 108). If the user desires, the user can call up the further online presence of further online shop 20 by entering a further Internet address. Thereafter, the recording of the user's MAC address is performed again, and then this is passed to payment system 30 (step 101).

[0043]

[0048] As the above exemplary embodiments reveal, first, payment system 30 records each individual debit order as anonymously as possible. Payment system 30 confirms each debit order to online shop 20, for example by means of an approval signal, so that online shop 20 can basically assume the completion of payment. Payment system 30 can identify shopper system 10 based only on the MAC address.

[0044]

[0049] In this way, the memory device 33 stores the debit order together with the corresponding MAC address. For this purpose, the payment system 30 includes a corresponding database in which a corresponding table is held. An exemplary excerpt from the table held therein is shown in FIG. 3. The table includes, for example, three columns, specifically a first column including the identification of a specific debit order, a second column including the amount to be debited, and a third column including the date on which the debit order was received by the payment system 30. Each row of the table in FIG. 3 corresponds to a debit order. Thus, from the table in FIG. 3, it can be read that 20 euro cents were debited for identification number 222 on July 1, 2009. Further, on September 20, 2009, 5 euro cents were debited for the same MAC address.

[0045]

[0050] The processing device 34 can use these entries to determine the total payment amount from the debited amounts for a specific identification number ID. For example, the total payment amount for identification number 222 is 25 euro cents.

[0046]

[0051] In this way, the payment system 30 can be configured such that when the debt exceeds 1 euro, the user of the shopper system 10 must settle the debt. Thus, in step 102, it is checked whether the total payment amount already accumulated by the system exceeds 1 euro for the user of the shopper system having the identification number 222. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 3, since it does not exceed 1 euro, a creditworthiness indicator is generated that satisfies a predetermined condition that enables the payment system 30 to send an approval signal to the online shop 20 so that the user can make further purchases without having to settle the debt.

[0047]

[0052] In the above exemplary embodiment, in step 102, it is checked whether the shopper system 10 has already accumulated a total payment amount exceeding a specific value (for example, 1 euro). In addition, in step 102, the processing device 34 can check whether a user of the shopper system 10 has used the payment system 30 for a longer time than a specific predetermined time interval. For example, the processing device 34 can check whether the first account debit order of a specific identification number ID is older than three months. In this case, the payment system 30 can be configured to issue an immediate request for settlement of the outstanding amount.

[0048]

[0053] The payment system 30 can also be configured to provide the user with the possibility of settling the accumulated account debit orders at any time. Preferably, the user is encouraged to make an actual payment to the payment system 30 at the earliest possible time by providing a rebate.

[0049]

[0054] The payment system 30 may also include an account monitoring device that monitors the actual incoming payments and deposits them into the account of the shopper system 10. For example, a user can register according to the present invention by entering a username. In exchange, the payment system 30 shows the user an account number and requests the user to present a username and transfer the total payment amount to the corresponding account. Thereafter, the transferred amount is deposited into the account of the shopper system 10 used by the user.

[0050]

[0055] In a further exemplary embodiment, a username or payment reason reference information is automatically generated. Thus, the user remains anonymous as much as possible.

[0051]

[0056] In another exemplary embodiment, the user can enter address data and their full name, and can enter their account number along with this data so that the payment system 30 can debit account debit orders accumulated in the past. Using these entries, future account debit orders can also be made in the form of a lump sum debit either shortly or at the end of a month, quarter, or year.

[0052]

[0057] In the above exemplary embodiment, a MAC address was used to identify the shopper system 10. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that instead of the MAC address, an IP address, an identification number of the operating system, an identification number of the processor, or any other identification number that permits access to the identification information of the shopper system 10 can be used. It is also theoretically possible to use a plurality of these identification numbers ID to improve the reliability of the payment system 30. Further, it is possible to generate a unique key for identifying the shopper system 10 using only some of the identification numbers. The payment system 30 may be further configured to additionally receive information about items requested for purchase by the shopper system 10 from the online shop 20 and further evaluate whether the user device has previously been provided access to such requested items.

[0053]

[0058] In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 1, a shopping system is defined that includes only one shopper system 10 and one online shop 20. Usually, a plurality of shopper systems 10 access one online shop 20. Further, there are a plurality of online shops 20, and these use one or more payment systems 30 according to the present invention.

[0054]

[0059] The identification of shopper system 10 is directed to a specific identification number ID that gives a MAC address, an IP address, an identification number of an operating system, an identification number of a processor, or another identification number that permits access to the identification information of shopper system 10, or includes some of them, and exemplary embodiments have been described above. It is also possible to implement combinations of these methods. Thus, for example, different identification number IDs related to a MAC address, an IP address, or an identification number of a processor may be required. Ultimately, the identification number ID provided by shopper system 10 is used.

[0055]

[0060] It is also possible to request individual identification number IDs according to a sequence. This sequence may be based on the probability that a particular shopper system 10 provides a number or a string. Thus, the payment system 30 can first search for the MAC address. If this cannot be determined, an identification number of a processor or the like is required. It is also conceivable to set a cookie.

[0056]

[0061] Thus, the user can be uniquely assigned a database by a digitally signed cookie. The signed data may include a combined value formed from all previously known user data in order to make misuse more difficult. The cookie can be stored for shopper system 10 using a plurality of techniques (e.g., as an HTTP or flash cookie), and thus can be protected as much as possible against later deletion. If the cookie is deleted in the cookie store when contacting the payment system 30 later, it can be newly created. The cookie may also include a parameter indicating whether the user is already registered or logged in. The user can log in to the interface of the payment system 30 at any time to check their account information.

[0057]

[0062] In a further embodiment of the present invention, the payment system 30 may use a code provided by the user to disclose their identity to the payment system. This code functions as an identification number ID and can be used instead of the hardware identification number of the shopper system 10, such as the MAC address. It is also conceivable that the above-mentioned identification number ID, for example, the code entered for the required hardware identification number, is used.

[0058]

[0063] The code can be, for example, an IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity). The user of the shopper system 10 enters their mobile phone's IMSI, and the payment system 30 opens an account associated with it or adds the amount to be debited to an existing account. The payment system 30 can verify the validity of the given code, i.e., the IMSI, by sending a message to the associated mobile phone, for example, via SMS (Short Message Service). Subsequently, the payment system 30 can request the user to confirm the receipt of the message, for example, by replying to the message or entering the code. If the message is not confirmed, the use of the payment system 30 is prohibited. The verification can be performed only once, preferably at the time of opening an account or for each payment transaction.

[0059]

[0064] To minimize the risk of users who do not make payments if possible (for example, the user uses the payment system 30 until required to settle the debt. Thereafter, the user does not settle the debt and manages without further use of the payment system 30), the payment system 30 may include an evaluation device for contributing to and / or generating a creditworthiness indicator. The evaluation device preferably continuously records statistical data regarding issued account debit orders and / or identification numbers ID. It is possible to record and evaluate further data providing information regarding the type of purchase made and / or the location of the user. For example, the user's IP address can be used to approximately determine the location of the user. Further, the IP address of the Internet provider used by the user can be used to determine an individual having RIPE responsibility, etc. The evaluation device can adapt the payment threshold using the collected statistical data.

[0060]

[0065] For example, based on the IP address, a user assigned to a statistically highly creditworthy group can place account debit orders until the user's account has a negative balance exceeding 2 euros, while a user assigned to a low creditworthy group based on the IP address can only place account debit orders with a total payment amount up to 1 euro at most. Theoretically, the payment system 30 can completely prevent debits before registration if the user is assigned to a very low creditworthy group. Statistics are preferably managed by a database by the evaluation device and can be appropriately analyzed at the first contact with the user and used for the determination of the creditworthiness indicator.

[0061]

[0066] As described above, the identification number ID may at least partially include data stored in a cookie and held by the shopper system 10 or may be derived from such data. Preferably, to prevent deletion of the relevant data, the relevant data is stored multiple times on the shopper system 10. For example, a plurality of cookies may be stored on the shopper system 10, a first cookie being stored directly on the shopper system 10 by the payment system 30, and a second cookie being stored there by the online shop 20. Thus, the payment system 30 can request the identification number ID directly from the shopper system 10 and compare the requested value with the value provided by the online shop 20. To enhance security and anonymity, the identification number ID may be made available to the online shop 20 in an encoded format such that the online shop 20 cannot directly assign a user to a specific identification number ID. Immediately upon the user viewing the same online shop 20 again, the shop requests the identification number ID and passes the number to the payment system. The shopper system 10 may also be directed to the website of the payment system 30, which requests additional cookies with the same or additional identification number ID.

[0062]

[0067] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that there are further possibilities for assigning an identification number ID to the shopper system 10. For example, Internet-compliant communication protocols can be modified to allow for a clear determination regarding the shopper system in which the protocol is used. Commonly used browsers utilize caching of the website in order to provide quick and easy access to the requested website. By individually assigning (web) identification numbers to the cached elements, it is necessary that an updated version of the object with the identification number be requested upon a new call of the site by the shopper system 10. This request by the shopper system 10 enables the payment system 30 to uniquely identify the shopper system 10. The URL can also be modified such that the URL provides the identification number ID or a part thereof.

[0063]

[0068] The disclosed payment service is described in conjunction with the functions of the payment system 30, separately from the functions of the online store 20. However, it will be readily understood that such a payment system can be incorporated into the operations of an online store. For example, operations of such an online store may include receiving, via a network, request information and an identifier of the shopper system, where the request information represents a request to transmit specific digital content to the shopper system, and the transmission of the digital content is subject to a fee; further receiving from the shopper system information indicating receipt of a fee for the digital content; storing information related to the fee in association with the shopper system identifier; monitoring a total outstanding balance of one or more fees associated with a user device identifier; transmitting a request signal for settlement of at least a portion of the total outstanding purchase balance when the total outstanding fee balance exceeds a predetermined threshold amount or when the total outstanding fees over a period exceed a predetermined time interval; and transmitting the requested specific digital content to the user device when the total outstanding fee balance does not exceed a predetermined threshold amount or when the total outstanding fees over a period do not exceed a predetermined time interval.

[0064] Advanced cancellation function

[0069] Figure 5 shows a flowchart of an advantageous exemplary cancellation process 200 that can be used in the payment system of the present disclosure. In Figure 5, process 200 begins at step 210 by receiving a cancellation or refund request from a user device that includes a user device identifier. In response to receiving this, the payment system determines, at step 220, a cancellation abuse identifier value ("CAI") for the received user device identifier. The CAI of the user device identifier can be based on, for example, at least one of the duration since acceptance of a purchase request for an item, the number of previous cancellations, the period during which the previous cancellations occurred, the time interval from the last cancellation, a creditworthiness indicator, the frequency of previous cancellations, and whether the user device identifier is included in a list of managed abuser device identifiers.

[0065]

[0070] Once the CAI is determined, the payment system then determines, at step 230, whether the CAI exceeds a rejection threshold. If it exceeds the rejection threshold, process 200 sends a cancellation request rejection message to the user device at step 240, and process 200 ends. Alternatively, if the CAI does not exceed the rejection threshold at step 230, the payment then determines, at step 250, whether the CAI falls within an enhanced scrutiny range. If the CAI is within such a range, process 200 proceeds to step 255 and sends specific inquiries to the user device, for example, related to the satisfaction of the requested item, the reason for the order request / purchase and / or cancellation. Exemplary inquiries available for sending to the user device at step 255 are, for example, "It seems you didn't like this digital content. Please tell us in detail why, so that the publisher can improve the offering" or "What is the reason you want to return this content? Your answer will help improve the quality."

[0066]

[0071] Next, in response to the query sent in step 255, the corresponding response input by the user and sent by the user device is received by the payment system in step 260. Alternatively, if in step 250 the process 200 determines that the CAI is not within the enhanced scrutiny scope, the process 200 proceeds directly to step 270.

[0067]

[0072] In step 270, the process 200 determines whether to accept or reject the cancellation request based on whether the CAI is within the enhanced scrutiny scope from step 250 or, alternatively, based on whether the response to the query received in step 260 meets certain criteria. If it is determined in step 270 to reject the cancellation request, step 275 is performed by notifying the user device by sending a cancellation request rejection message accordingly. Conversely, if it is determined in step 270 to accept the cancellation request, step 280 is performed to notify the user device that the cancellation request has been accepted and to notify the merchant of the acceptance of the cancellation (thereby effectively notifying the merchant that it will not receive payment for the cancelled item). It is advantageous to make the determination in step 270 to accept or reject such a cancellation in a situation where (a) identifying the user associated with the user device or its identifier, (b) registering or logging in to the payment system or a merchant computer accessible via the network by the user associated with the user device or its identifier, and / or (c) whether the merchant accessible via the network has sent an item to the user device or its identifier is substantially absent.

[0068]

[0073] After step 280 is performed, process 200 proceeds to step 285 and adjusts the outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier before ending the process. According to process 200, the cancellation may advantageously be (a) independent of whether the user device has received the requested digital content item or a subscription for which the digital content has been provided to the user device, (b) independent of whether the user device has confirmed deletion of any digital content received for the cancelled item, and / or (c) in a state where there has been substantially no receipt of payment by the payment system.

[0069]

[0074] As described above, one option for the determination of the CAI at step 220 is to advantageously base such CAI at least in part on the number of previous cancellation requests associated with that user device identifier, in total and / or over a particular period (e.g., several days or months), such that as the number of previous cancellation requests increases, the CAI potentially increases and enters within an enhanced scrutiny scope or exceeds a rejection threshold.

[0070]

[0075] In certain exemplary embodiments, the CAI may be based on a user cancellation request ratio, e.g., the ratio of the number of requested cancellations associated with a user device identifier (or user) over a period of time (e.g., one day, one week, one month, or six months). Such a user cancellation request ratio may be compared to a general user cancellation request ratio, which may be based on, for example, the ratio of the number of purchases made by all user devices (or users) on a global scale or within a particular geographic region, by that user over that period of time using the payment system. If such a CAI slightly exceeds the general user cancellation request ratio by a predetermined amount (e.g., up to 15% at most), the digital content item from the merchant will either undergo enhanced scrutiny in step 250 of FIG. 3, or if the CAI significantly exceeds the general user cancellation request ratio by a predetermined amount, the cancellation requests of such users will be rejected in steps 270 and 275 of FIG. 3.

[0071]

[0076] In another exemplary embodiment, the above CAI is based on a user session cancellation request ratio, e.g., the ratio of the number of requested cancellations associated with a user device identifier (or user) over a predetermined duration, e.g., at least one of a specific time interval or the time of one session while the user device is interacting with a website or a group of websites, to the number of purchases made using the payment system during the above predetermined duration.

[0072]

[0077] The cancellation ratio of a particular digital content item, e.g., the ratio of the number of promised cancellations associated with that digital content item to the number of promised user cancellations for all digital content items in a predetermined category of digital content items, e.g., in digital publishing, may be useful as one element of a user satisfaction metric as follows.

[0073]

[0078] By tracking cancellations of specific digital content items and cancellations related to digital content items provided by respective merchants such as publishers, the payment system may use such information as an element for evaluating the quality of such digital content items and merchants. The quality of such evaluated digital content or merchant is particularly beneficial when a cancellation occurs within 1 day, 1 week, 1 month or up to 6 months from the purchase date.

[0074]

[0079] The cancellation rate of digital content items purchased from a particular merchant can be useful as an element of a merchant satisfaction indicator of the quality of the digital content items provided by that merchant, whereby a low cancellation rate may indicate that higher quality digital content items are being provided, and a high cancellation rate may indicate that lower quality digital content is being provided. An exemplary method for quantifying the quality of digital content items provided by a merchant is to determine a merchant cancellation request ratio for that particular merchant over the same period, based on the ratio of the number of cancellation requests made for that merchant over a period (e.g., 1 month, 3 months or 6 months, etc.).

[0075]

[0080] The merchant cancellation request ratio can also be useful as a measure of the quality of the digital content items provided by that merchant, in the form of a merchant satisfaction indicator based on, for example, comparing the merchant cancellation request ratio to a category request ratio (e.g., based on the ratio of the total number of return requests made to merchants for digital content items in the same predetermined category (such as digital publishing, etc.) over the same period, to the number of digital content items purchased from all or a representative subset of merchants within that predetermined category using the payment system over the same period).

[0076]

[0081] Such a merchant satisfaction indicator can be used by a payment system to limit or otherwise suppress the number of approval signals transmitted for purchases requested by a user device until the merchant satisfaction indicator of such a merchant improves, for example, when the merchant cancellation request ratio exceeds the category cancellation request ratio by a predetermined ratio, such as 25% or more. Further, when one or more digital content items or digital content provided by a particular merchant are exposed to an extremely high cancellation request number, the payment system can stop transmitting approval signals for the purchase of the item or digital content item of the digital content provided by the merchant.

[0077]

[0082] In an alternative embodiment, when the merchant cancellation request ratio exceeds the category cancellation request ratio by a first predetermined ratio range of, for example, 15% to 25%, optionally, in combination with reducing the ratio of approval signals transmitted by the payment system for the purchase of digital content items from that merchant to, for example, 50% of the approval signal transmission rate at that time, an automatic or manual warning that the merchant is experiencing a high cancellation rate can be sent to the merchant, generally or for a particular digital content item. The message to the merchant can propose to the merchant to consider stopping the provision of digital content items experiencing a high cancellation rate, or reducing the price of digital content items for which the cancellation feedback indicates that the price of the digital content item is too high.

[0078]

[0083] Next, if the merchant cancellation request ratio continues to increase by, for example, a second percentage range of 25% to 35% relative to the category cancellation request ratio, accordingly, in conjunction with reducing the ratio of approval signals provided by the payment system for the purchase of digital content items from that merchant to, for example, 25% of the rate at that time, a second notification is sent to the merchant. Further, if the merchant cancellation request ratio continues to increase beyond, for example, 35% relative to the category cancellation request ratio, the payment system stops sending approval signals to the merchant for requests for digital content provided by that merchant.

[0079]

[0084] The quality of digital content items can be further based on other useful user satisfaction indicators related to digital content purchases, including, for example, (a) when a user device does not cancel the purchase and transfers the digital content to another user device or shares it with another user device in another way, (b) when a user device does not cancel and does not transfer the digital content to another user or share it with another user, and (c) when a high cancellation rate occurs for a particular digital content item. These user satisfaction indicators can similarly be used for merchant satisfaction indicators regarding the merchant providing such digital content items. Another merchant satisfaction indicator is the number of times a user device purchases digital content items from a particular merchant within one or more predetermined periods, such as one day, one week, one month, or up to six months, from the initial purchase date or a subsequent purchase date.

[0080]

[0085] Purchasing digital content without user cancellation indicates the satisfaction of the user with the purchased digital content, while purchasing and transferring digital content by the user often indicates relatively high satisfaction by the user. Similarly, purchasing digital content from a merchant without user cancellation indicates the satisfaction with the digital content provided by that merchant, while transferring the purchased digital content from the merchant or purchasing two or more digital content items from the same merchant by the user within a predetermined period often indicates that the quality of the digital content provided by that merchant is at a relatively high level.

[0081]

[0086] Based on the determined user satisfaction indicator, the processor of the payment system may perform at least one of the following actions: (i) sending a notification indicating the user satisfaction indicator to the merchant providing the digital content item; (ii) then preparing a notification indicating the user satisfaction indicator for transmission to the user device attempting to purchase the digital content item using the payment system; (iii) then restricting the number of approval signals sent to the merchant for the requested digital content item; and (iv) sending a notification indicating the user satisfaction indicator for the digital content item to a network server providing an Internet search service.

[0082]

[0087] The user satisfaction index can be based on, for example, a numerical rating system or a star rating system implemented by a payment system. In such an example, a 5-star or 5-point user satisfaction index can be used, and 5 stars or 5 points are given for each purchase of a digital content item that is transferred to (or shared with) another user device (or user) (not cancelled), 4 stars or 4 points are given for each purchase of a digital content item that has not been cancelled or transferred, and 1 star or 1 point (or no star or 0 points) is given for each approval of a cancellation request for a purchased digital content item. In this case, the average rating can be based on the result of dividing the total number of points or stars given to a digital content item by the number of purchases of that digital content item.

[0083]

[0088] Such a rating system can be further used in relation to the merchant satisfaction index, and for example, 5 stars or 5 points are additionally given when a user device purchases multiple digital content items (not cancelled) within a period of 1 day, 1 week, 1 month or up to 6 months.

[0084]

[0089] Based on the determined user satisfaction index, the payment system can perform at least one of the following other actions: (i) sending a notification indicating the merchant satisfaction index to the merchant; (ii) then preparing a notification indicating the merchant satisfaction index for transmission to a user device attempting to purchase one of the multiple digital content items provided by the merchant using the payment system; (iii) then restricting the number of approval signals sent to the merchant for the requested digital content item available from the merchant; and (iv) sending a notification indicating the merchant satisfaction index to a network server providing an Internet search service.

[0085]

[0090] Furthermore, the quality of the purchased digital content and / or the associated merchant can be further based on responses received from the user device in response to a cancellation request, including, for example, responses to a short questionnaire that may be presented in response to the cancellation request, such as the question "Why would you cancel the purchase of this digital content?" Exemplary response options can include: i) poor quality, ii) too high, iii) the topic that the user thought the digital content would cover is not addressed, and / or iv) other.

[0086]

[0091] As described above, for example, a notification indicating a user satisfaction metric and / or a merchant satisfaction metric can be sent to a network service that provides an Internet search service, such as a service available from Google LLC, Microsoft Corp., or Apple Inc., such that it can affect where digital content from that merchant can appear within a list of results generated in response to a search query requested by a ranking and a user device. For example, this useful measure of quality can be used as a resource for the ranking engine of the search system and method described in U.S. Patent No. 9,002,832, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Information indicating a user satisfaction metric and / or a merchant satisfaction metric can also be provided in search results presented to the user device, for example, to enable the user to make an information-based decision regarding whether to purchase a particular digital content item.

[0087]

[0092] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method 300 for determining and advantageously using a user satisfaction indicator and / or a merchant satisfaction indicator for the benefit of a user when identifying and purchasing higher quality content and merchants offering higher quality content. Referring to FIG. 6, in step 310, a payment system receives, via a network, such as the Internet, an identifier of a user device and information indicating the price of a requested digital content item to be purchased from a merchant accessible via the network by the user device. Thereafter, in step 320, the payment system monitors an outstanding balance that the user device may be obligated to pay.

[0088]

[0093] In step 330, the payment system determines whether the sum of an outstanding balance that the user device (or a user known to be the user associated with the user device) may be obligated to pay and the received purchase price of the digital content of interest exceeds a predetermined threshold amount, such as 3 euros. In step 330, if it is determined that the calculated sum does not exceed the predetermined threshold amount, the method further proceeds to step 340, where the purchase is added to the outstanding balance obligated to pay, resulting in an updated outstanding balance obligated to pay, and then, in step 350, the payment system transmits an approval signal to the merchant to provide the digital content of interest to the user device.

[0089]

[0094] However, in step 330, if it is determined that the sum of the unpaid balance for which the user device is obligated to pay and the purchase price of the digital content of interest exceeds a predetermined threshold amount, the method further proceeds to step 360 to perform a clearing operation as described above for the payment of at least a portion of the balance for which payment is due. Next, in step 370, if it is determined that no payment has been received or the received payment is insufficient, method 300 ends. Otherwise, if it is confirmed in step 370 that a sufficient payment has been received by the payment system, method 300 proceeds to step 350 to send an approval signal to the merchant to provide the digital content of interest to the user device.

[0090]

[0095] After sending the approval signal in step 350, method 300 determines, in step 380, the user satisfaction metric and / or the merchant satisfaction metric as described above. The user satisfaction metric for the purchased digital content item can be based on at least one of (i) the number of purchases of the digital content item by a plurality of user devices including the user device, (ii) the number of cancellations committed for the purchased digital content with respect to the plurality of user devices, and (iii) the tracking of the number of purchases if the digital content is transferred to another user device by at least one of the plurality of user devices.

[0091]

[0096] Similarly, the determined merchant satisfaction metric can be based on at least one of: (i) the number of purchases of multiple digital content items from a merchant by multiple user devices, including the digital content requested by the user device; (ii) the number of cancellations committed for the multiple purchased digital content items with respect to the multiple user devices; (iii) the number of purchases if at least one of the multiple digital content items is transferred by at least one of the multiple user devices to another user device; and (iv) the tracking of the number of user devices among the multiple user devices that purchase two or more digital content items from the merchant.

[0092]

[0097] Step 380 may be performed immediately after step 350 or after a period to enable determination of whether the user of the user device wishes to cancel the purchase, which period may be on the order of minutes (e.g., 30 minutes), hours (e.g., 4 - 12 hours) or days (e.g., 1 - 14 days) and is to be understood as such. Additionally, step 380 may advantageously be performed periodically or intermittently by the payment system to increase the amount of data processed to determine the user satisfaction metric and / or the merchant satisfaction metric, taking into account a sufficient number of purchases and cancellations by many user devices.

[0093]

[0098] After determining the user satisfaction index and / or the merchant satisfaction index in step 380, method 300 proceeds to step 390, where, based on the user satisfaction index and / or the merchant satisfaction index, the payment system advantageously takes further actions for the user and the merchant. For example, with respect to the determined user satisfaction index, the payment system may: (i) send a notification indicating the user satisfaction index to the merchant providing the digital content item; (ii) then prepare a notification indicating the user satisfaction index for transmission to the user device attempting to purchase the digital content item using the payment system; (iii) then limit the number of approval signals sent to the merchant for the requested digital content item; and (iv) perform at least one other action, such as sending a notification indicating the user satisfaction index to a network server providing an Internet search service.

[0094]

[0099] Correspondingly, with respect to the determined merchant satisfaction index, the payment system may: send a notification indicating the merchant satisfaction index to the merchant providing the digital content item; then prepare a notification indicating the merchant satisfaction index for transmission to the user device attempting to purchase one of the multiple digital content items provided by the merchant using the payment system; then limit the number of approval signals sent to the merchant for the requested digital content item available from the merchant; and perform at least one other action, such as sending a notification indicating the merchant satisfaction index to a network server providing an Internet search service.

[0095]

[0100] After step 390, method 300 ends.

[0096]

[0101] The determination and tracking of user satisfaction metrics and merchant satisfaction metrics, and the above actions taken based on such metrics, incentivize merchants to provide only higher quality and appropriately priced digital content. Users are incentivized to cancel purchases of low-quality digital items or overpriced digital items without negative consequences (assuming the user is not abusing cancellations), and optionally, as further explained below, may be given trust tokens redeemable for user actions.

[0097]

[0102] Further with respect to Method 200 of FIG. 5, the payment system (or a merchant providing digital content or subscription using the payment system) may not only reject the user's cancellation request at step 240 and / or step 275, but also provide the user with alternative options and use the cancellation request instead or additionally to enable an increase in the business of the payment system and / or the merchant and / or to build trust with the user. For this purpose, rather than rejecting the user's cancellation request, the payment system may, for example, encourage the user to further interact with the payment system or other entities via payment by providing the user with options including (a) answering specific questions related to and / or unrelated to the digital content to be cancelled, (b) sharing their payment system account or specific purchased digital content with friends and / or family and providing the contact information therefor to the payment system, (c) receiving a questionnaire from the payment system or a third party, and / or (d) taking some other or further action, so as to build such trust. As long as the user agrees to and successfully performs one or more of these exemplary options, the user is considered to be building trust with the payment system, whereby the payment system may (i) accept the user's cancellation request and then perform steps 280 and 285, and / or (ii) provide the user or the user device with some "trust tokens" (which may be similar to reward points).

[0098]

[0103] Such trust tokens can then be used for obtaining free or discounted digital content and / or subscriptions, future cancellation of one or more purchases of digital content and / or subscriptions, and / or other benefits. Additional trust tokens can be further obtained by the user or user device achieving threshold milestones for purchasing digital content / subscriptions, sharing digital content / subscriptions with a specified number of friends and / or family, or sharing the user's payment system for use by friends and / or family. Trust tokens can be further obtained by the user device or user providing information regarding the quality of digital content provided by a merchant, such provision being in the form of canceling purchased digital content items that are subject to a high cancellation rate. In this way, the user is rewarded for alerting the payment system to low-quality digital content. These options are intended to motivate the user or their friends and family to use the payment system and / or the legal collection of useful data.

[0099]

[0104] The payment system can optionally further limit the point in time at which the user can request cancellation, for example (a) within a specific period (e.g., a few minutes, hours or days) after purchase of digital content, (b) for a limited number of items purchased during a specific duration (e.g., a cancellation limit of 3 items over 2 weeks) or for a limited number of items relative to the total number of purchases (e.g., only 1 out of 10 purchased items), and / or (c) only for a certain percentage of the purchase price (e.g., a refund or credit of only 80% of the purchase price), including enabling cancellation requests.

[0100]

[0105] Embodiments of the subject matter and the functional operations described in this specification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, tangibly embodied computer software or firmware, computer hardware including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or one or more combinations thereof. Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented as one or more computer programs, i.e., as one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a tangible non-transitory program carrier for execution by, or to control the operation of, a data processing apparatus. Alternatively or additionally, the program instructions can be encoded for transmission to and execution by an appropriate receiver device by a data processing apparatus on an artificially generated propagated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, that is generated to encode information for transmission. A computer storage medium can be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memory device, or one or more combinations thereof.

[0101]

[0106] The terms "processor" and "data processing apparatus" include, by way of example, any kind of apparatus, device, and machine for processing data, including programmable processors, computers, or multiple processors or computers. The apparatus can include special-purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit). The apparatus can also include, in addition to hardware, code that creates an execution environment for its computer programs, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or one or more combinations thereof.

[0102]

[0107] The term "engine" refers to one or more software modules implemented on one or more computers in one or more locations that collectively provide a specific, well-defined function, which is implemented by an algorithm implemented in the module. The software of the engine may be encoded in one or more functional blocks such as a library, platform, software development kit or object. The engine can be implemented on any suitable type of computing device, such as a server, mobile phone, tablet computer, notebook computer, music player, e-book reader, laptop or desktop computer, PDA, smartphone or other stationary or portable device that includes one or more processors and a computer-readable medium. Further, two or more engines may be implemented on the same one or more computing devices.

[0103]

[0108] A computer program (which may also be referred to as or described as a program, software, software application, module, software module, script, or code) can be written in any form of programming language, including compiler-type or interpreter-type languages, or declarative or procedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, for example, as a stand-alone program or module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program may or may not correspond to a file in a file system. The program can be stored as part of a file that holds other programs or data (such as one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), a single file dedicated to that program, or multiple integrated files, for example, files that hold one or more modules, subprograms, or portions of code. A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or placed at one site or distributed across multiple sites and executed on multiple computers interconnected by a communication network.

[0104]

[0109] The processes and logical flows described herein can be performed by one or more programmable computers executing one or more computer programs to operate on input data and generate output. The processes and logical flows can also be performed by special-purpose logic circuitry, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and the apparatus can be implemented as such special-purpose logic circuitry.

[0105]

[0110] A computer suitable for the execution of a computer program includes a general-purpose or special-purpose microprocessor or both, or any other kind of central processing unit (CPU) (by way of example, and based on which it may be). Generally, the CPU receives instructions and data from read-only memory or random access memory or both. The basic elements of a computer are a CPU for performing or executing instructions, and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer includes one or more mass storage devices (such as magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks) for storing data, or is operatively coupled to receive data from, transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices. However, a computer need not be equipped with such devices. A computer may also be embedded in another device, such as, by way of example, a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio or video player, a game console, a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device (such as a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive).

[0106]

[0111] Computer-readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include, by way of example, semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and all forms of nonvolatile memory, media, and memory devices including CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and memory may be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special-purpose logic circuitry.

[0107]

[0112] To provide interaction with a user, embodiments of the subject matter described herein can be implemented on a computer having a display device (e.g., a monitor) for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device (e.g., a mouse or trackball) by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other types of devices can likewise be used to provide interaction with the user. For example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback (e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback), and input received from the user can be in any form including acoustic input, voice input, or tactile input. Additionally, the computer can interact with the user by sending documents to the devices the user uses and receiving documents from those devices, such as by sending a web page to a web browser on the user's client device in response to a request received from, for example, a web browser.

[0108]

[0113] Embodiments of the subject matter described herein can be implemented, for example, in a computing system that includes back-end components as a data server, or a computing system that includes middleware components, such as an application server, or a computing system that includes front-end components, such as a client computer having a graphical user interface or a web browser by which the user can interact with an implementation of the subject matter described herein, or in any combination of one or more such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The components of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication, such as a communication network. Examples of communication networks include local area networks ("LANs") and wide area networks ("WANs"), such as the Internet.

[0109]

[0114] A computing system may include clients and servers. The clients and servers are typically remote from each other and generally interact via a communication network. The relationship between the clients and servers is created by computer programs that are executed on respective computers and have a client-server relationship with each other.

[0110]

[0115] This specification includes many details of specific implementations, but these are not to be construed as limitations on the scope of any invention or as limitations on what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions and interpretations of features that may be specific to particular embodiments of a particular invention. The specific features described herein in connection with separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, the various features described in connection with a single embodiment may also be implemented separately in multiple embodiments or in any suitable subcombination. Features are described above as acting in a particular combination and may in some cases be claimed as such, but one or more features from the claimed combination may optionally be deleted from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or a variant of a subcombination.

[0111]

[0116] Similarly, although operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this is not to be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or sequentially in order to obtain a desirable result, or that all of the illustrated operations be performed. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. The separation of the various system modules and components in the above embodiments is also not to be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, as it is understood that the described program components and systems may generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.

[0112]

[0117] The specific embodiments of the subject matter have been described. Other embodiments are also within the scope of the following claims. For example, the actions recited in the claims may be performed in a different order and still obtain desirable results. As an example, the processes illustrated in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require the particular order or sequential order illustrated to obtain desirable results. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous.

[0113]

[0118] It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments of the present invention described above, as variations of the specific embodiments may be made and still those variations may be included within the scope of the appended claims.

[0114]

[0119] The present invention is further illustrated by the following numbered paragraphs. 1. A computer-implemented method for a payment system, comprising: receiving, via a network, an identifier of a user device and information indicating the price of an item requested to be purchased from a merchant accessible via the network by the user device; determining a creditworthiness indicator associated with the user device based on the user device identifier; when the creditworthiness indicator meets a predetermined condition, transmitting an approval signal for the requested item to the merchant accessible via the network without simultaneously requesting payment for the purchase; monitoring a total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device; when the total outstanding purchase balance exceeds a predetermined threshold amount, transmitting a request signal for settlement of at least a portion of the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier to the user device; In response to receiving a cancellation request from a user device, determining a cancellation abuse indicator associated with the user device identifier based on at least one of the duration since acceptance of a purchase request for an item, the previous number of cancellations, the period during which the previous number of cancellations occurred, the time interval since the last cancellation, a creditworthiness indicator, the previous cancellation frequency, and whether the user device identifier is included in a list of managed abuser device identifiers; Determining whether to accept or reject the cancellation request based on the determined cancellation abuse indicator; A computer-implemented method comprising: 2. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 1, wherein the step of determining a cancellation abuse indicator associated with a user device identifier is such that the higher the number of previous cancellation requests for the user device identifier, the higher the likelihood that the cancellation request will be rejected. 3. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 1, further comprising, before the step of determining whether to accept or reject the cancellation request, determining whether additional information is required from the user device based on the determined cancellation abuse indicator. 4. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 3, further comprising sending one or more inquiries to the user device based on the result of determining whether additional information is required from the user device before accepting or rejecting the cancellation request, and the step of determining whether to accept or reject the cancellation request is based at least on the additional information received from the user device. 5. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 3, wherein the one or more inquiries to the user device are for user feedback regarding the item. 6. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 1, wherein if the cancellation request is accepted, accordingly, adjusting the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier for the item to be cancelled, and sending a notification of the cancellation to the merchant. 7. If the above cancellation request is approved, in response, the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier is adjusted in a state where there is substantially no receipt of payment by the payment system, and the item is digital content, the computer-implemented method according to paragraph 1. 8. The total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier is adjusted in a state where there is substantially no signal from the user device to confirm deletion of the item, the computer-implemented method according to paragraph 1. 9. The step of determining whether to approve or reject the above cancellation request is performed in a state where there is substantially no registration or login by the user associated with the user device to the payment system or the merchant computer accessible via the network, the computer-implemented method according to paragraph 1. 10. The step of determining whether to approve or reject the above cancellation request is performed in a state where there is substantially no identification of the user associated with the user device, the computer-implemented method according to paragraph 1. 11. The step of determining whether to approve or reject the above cancellation request is performed in a state where there is substantially no determination as to whether the merchant accessible via the network has sent the item to the user device, and the item is a subscription to digital content or digital service, the computer-implemented method according to paragraph 1. 12. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 1 further includes the step of recommending to the user at least one of (a) answering specific questions related to or unrelated to the digital content to be cancelled, (b) sharing the user's payment system account or specific purchased digital content with friends and / or family and providing the contact information to the payment system, (c) receiving a third-party questionnaire, and / or (d) causing some other or further action. 13. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 12, wherein, as long as the user agrees to one or more of the recommended items and successfully executes it, at least one of (i) accepting the user's cancellation request and / or (ii) granting some trust tokens is performed for the user. 14. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 13, wherein the trust tokens can be exchanged for free or discounted digital content and / or subscriptions, and / or to enable future cancellation of one or more purchases of digital content / subscriptions, and / or for other benefits. 15. The step of determining a cancellation abuse indicator associated with a user device identifier is based on the ratio of the number of requested cancellations associated with the user device identifier to the number of purchases made during the above session using a payment system, in at least one of a predetermined duration and a session of the time the user device is interacting with a website or a group of websites. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 1. 16. A computer-implemented method for a payment system, receiving, via a network, an identifier of a user device and information indicating requested items for purchase from a merchant accessible via the network by the user device; determining a creditworthiness indicator associated with the user device based on the user device identifier; when the creditworthiness indicator meets a predetermined condition, sending an approval signal for the requested purchase to the merchant accessible via the network without simultaneously demanding payment for the purchase; monitoring the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device; when the total outstanding balance has occurred over a period exceeding a predetermined time interval, sending a request signal for settlement of at least a portion of the total outstanding purchase balance to the user device; In response to receiving a cancellation request from a user device, determining a cancellation abuse indicator associated with the user device identifier based on at least one of the duration since acceptance of a purchase request commitment for an item, the total number of previous cancellations, the time interval since the last cancellation, a creditworthiness indicator, the frequency of previous cancellations, and whether the user device identifier is included in a list of managed abusive device identifiers; Based on the determined cancellation abuse indicator, determining whether to accept or reject the cancellation request; A computer-implemented method comprising the steps of: 17. The step of determining a cancellation abuse indicator associated with a user device identifier is such that the higher the number of previous cancellation requests regarding the user device identifier, the higher the likelihood that the cancellation request will be rejected, for the computer-implemented method according to paragraph 16. 18. Before the step of determining whether to accept or reject a cancellation request, the step of determining whether additional information is required from the user device based on the determined cancellation abuse indicator, for the computer-implemented method according to paragraph 16. 19. Further comprising sending one or more inquiries to the user device based on the result of determining whether additional information is required from the user device before accepting or rejecting the cancellation request, and the step of determining whether to accept or reject the cancellation request is based at least on the additional information received from the user device, for the computer-implemented method according to paragraph 18. 20. The one or more inquiries to the user device are for user feedback regarding the item, for the computer-implemented method according to paragraph 18. 21. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 16, further comprising the step of recommending to the user at least one of: (a) answering specific questions related to or unrelated to the digital content to be cancelled; (b) sharing the user's payment system account or specific purchased digital content with friends and / or family and providing their contact information to the payment system; (c) receiving a third-party questionnaire; and / or (d) taking any other or further action. 22. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 21, wherein, as long as the user agrees to and successfully performs one or more of the recommended items, the user is provided with at least one of: (i) acceptance of the user's cancellation request; and / or (ii) granting of some trust tokens. 23. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 22, wherein the trust tokens can be exchanged for free or discounted digital content and / or subscriptions, and / or to enable the future right to cancel one or more purchases of digital content, and / or for other benefits. 24. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 16, wherein, if the above cancellation request is accepted, accordingly, for the item to be cancelled, the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier is adjusted, and a notice of the above cancellation is sent to the merchant. 25. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 24, wherein, if the above cancellation request is accepted, accordingly, the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier is adjusted in a state where there is substantially no receipt of payment by the payment system, and the item is digital content. 26. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 24, wherein the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier is adjusted in a state where there is substantially no signal from the user device confirming the deletion of the item. 27. The step of making a decision to accept or reject the above cancellation request is performed in a state where there is substantially no registration or login by the user associated with the user device to the payment system or the merchant computer accessible via the network, and is the computer-implemented method described in paragraph 16. 28. The step of making a decision to accept or reject the above cancellation request is performed in a state where it is substantially impossible to identify the user associated with the user device, and is the computer-implemented method described in paragraph 16. 29. The step of making a decision to accept or reject the above cancellation request is performed in a state where there is substantially no sending of items by the merchant accessible via the network to the user device, and the item is a subscription to digital content or a digital service, and is the computer-implemented method described in paragraph 16. 30. The step of determining a cancellation abuse indicator associated with the user device identifier is based on the ratio of the number of requested cancellations associated with the user device identifier to the number of purchases made during the above session using the payment system, in at least one of a predetermined duration and the time the user device is interacting with a website or a group of websites, and is the computer-implemented method described in paragraph 16. 31. A computer-implemented method for a payment system, receiving, via a network, the identifier of the user device and information indicating the price of the requested digital content item for purchase from a merchant accessible via the network by the user device; monitoring the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device; when the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device does not exceed a predetermined threshold amount, sending an approval signal for the requested digital content item to the merchant accessible via the network without simultaneously demanding payment for the purchase; If the total outstanding purchase balance exceeds a predetermined threshold amount, send a request signal for settlement of at least a portion of the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier to the user device, and in response to receiving payment of at least a portion of the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier, send an approval signal for the requested digital content item to the merchant accessible via the network. (i) The number of digital content items purchased by a plurality of user devices including the user device, (ii) the number of cancellations committed for the purchased digital content to the plurality of user devices, and (iii) at least one of tracking the number of purchases in which the digital content has been transferred from at least one of the plurality of user devices to another user device, determining a user satisfaction indicator for the purchased digital content item. Based on the determined user satisfaction indicator, sending a notification indicating the user satisfaction indicator to the merchant providing the digital content item, then preparing a notification indicating the user satisfaction indicator for transmission to the user device attempting to purchase the digital content item using the payment system, then restricting the number of approval signals sent to the merchant for the requested digital content item, and performing at least one other action of sending a notification indicating the user satisfaction indicator to a network server providing an Internet search service. A computer-implemented method including the above. 32. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 31, wherein an increase in the number of committed cancellations of the digital content item has the effect of decreasing the user satisfaction indicator for the digital content item. 33. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 32, wherein the user satisfaction index for the digital content item is partially based on a cancellation ratio determined as the number of committed user cancellations for the digital content item relative to the number of committed user cancellations for all digital content items in a predetermined category of digital content items, and is determined as the number of committed user cancellations for the digital content item. 34. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 33, wherein the predetermined category of digital content items is digital publishing. 35. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 31, wherein an increase in the number of purchases in which the digital content item is transferred by a user device to another user device has the effect of increasing the user satisfaction index for the digital content item. 36. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 35, wherein an increase in the number of purchases in which neither or both of the committed cancellation or the transfer of the digital content item by a user device to another user device is present has the effect of increasing the user satisfaction index for the digital content item. 37. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 36, wherein an increase in the number of purchases in which the digital content item is transferred by a user device to another user device has the effect of increasing the user satisfaction index to a greater extent than an increase in the same number of purchases of the digital content item in which neither the committed cancellation nor the transfer of the digital content item to another user device is present. 38. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 31, wherein in response to receiving a notification indicating a user satisfaction index for digital content, a network server providing an Internet search service search service transmits the notification indicating the user satisfaction index to a ranking engine, and the ranking engine ranks digital content for search results for a user search request based at least in part on the user satisfaction index. 39. A computer-implemented method for a payment system, wherein Receiving, via a network, an identifier of a user device and information indicating a price of a requested digital content item for purchase from a merchant accessible via the network by the user device; Monitoring a total unpaid purchase balance associated with the user device; When the total unpaid purchase balance associated with the user device does not exceed a predetermined threshold amount, transmitting an approval signal for the requested digital content item to the merchant accessible via the network without simultaneously requesting payment for the purchase; When the total unpaid purchase balance exceeds the predetermined threshold amount, transmitting a request signal for settlement of at least a portion of the total unpaid purchase balance associated with the user device identifier to the user device and, in response to receiving payment of at least a portion of the total unpaid purchase balance associated with the user device identifier, transmitting an approval signal for the requested digital content item to the merchant accessible via the network; Determining a merchant satisfaction metric based on at least one of: (i) the number of digital content items purchased from a merchant by a plurality of user devices, including the digital content requested by the user device, (ii) the number of cancellations committed for the plurality of purchased digital content items to the plurality of user devices, (iii) the number of purchases in which at least one of the plurality of digital content items has been transferred from at least one of the plurality of user devices to another user device, and (iv) the number of user devices among the plurality of user devices that have purchased two or more digital content items from the merchant; Based on the determined merchant satisfaction index, sending a notice indicating the merchant satisfaction index to the merchant who provides the above digital content item, and then preparing a notice indicating the merchant satisfaction index for transmitting to a user device attempting to purchase one of a plurality of digital content items provided by the merchant using a payment system, and then restricting the number of approval signals transmitted to the merchant regarding the requested digital content item available from the merchant, and performing at least one other action of sending a notice indicating the merchant satisfaction index to a network server providing an Internet search service A computer-implemented method including 40. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 39, wherein an increase in the committed number of cancellations of digital content items purchased from a merchant has the effect of decreasing the merchant satisfaction index for the merchant described above. 41. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 40, wherein the merchant satisfaction index for a merchant is determined based on a cancellation ratio as the ratio of the committed cancellations for the purchase of digital content items purchased from the merchant to the ratio of the committed cancellations for the purchase of digital content items purchased from a plurality of merchants including the merchant in a predetermined category of digital content items. 42. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 41, wherein the predetermined category of digital content items is digital publishing. 43. The computer-implemented method according to paragraph 39, wherein an increase in the number of digital content item purchases from a merchant, where the above digital content item is transferred by a user device to another user device, has the effect of increasing the merchant satisfaction index for the merchant described above. 44. An increase in the number of purchases of digital content items from a merchant where neither or both a promised cancellation or transfer of the digital content item to another user device exists has the effect of increasing the merchant satisfaction metric for the merchant as described in paragraph 39. 45. An increase in the number of user devices that purchase two or more digital content items out of a plurality of digital content items from a merchant has the effect of increasing the merchant satisfaction metric for the merchant as described in paragraph 44. 46. In response to receiving a notification indicating a merchant satisfaction metric for a digital content item provided by a merchant, a network server that provides an Internet search service search service transmits the above notification indicating the merchant satisfaction metric to a ranking engine, and the ranking engine ranks digital content items provided by the merchant for search results at least partially based on the above merchant satisfaction metric. The computer-implemented method described in paragraph 39. 47. When the merchant satisfaction metric of a merchant is below a first predetermined threshold, the method further includes the step of restricting the approval signal transmitted over a predetermined period to a first amount in response to a request by a user device for a digital content item from the merchant. The computer-implemented method described in paragraph 39. 48. When a cancellation ratio determined as the ratio of the promised cancellation of the purchase of a digital content item from a merchant to the promised cancellation of the purchase of a digital content item from a plurality of merchants including the merchant in a predetermined category of digital content items exceeds a first threshold, the method further includes the step of restricting the approval signal transmitted over a predetermined period to a first amount in response to a request by a user device for a digital content item from the merchant. The computer-implemented method described in paragraph 39. 49. Further comprising, in response to the determined cancellation ratio exceeding a second predetermined threshold, restricting the approval signal transmitted over a predetermined period to a second amount, the second amount being less than the amount, and the second predetermined threshold being greater than the first predetermined threshold, the computer-implemented method according to paragraph 48.

Explanation of Signs

[0115] Reference Sign

[0120] 1 Internet

[0121] 10 Shopper System

[0122] 20 Online Shop

[0123] 30 Payment System

[0124] 31 Identification Device

[0125] 32 Interface Device

[0126] 33 Memory Device

[0127] 34 Processing Device

[0128] ID Identification Number

[0129] 101 Step 101: The payment system records the MAC address of the shopper system

[0130] 102 Step 102: Is the shopper system trustworthy?

[0131] 104 Step 104: The user conducts a purchase transaction

[0132] 105 Step 105: The online shop passes the associated entry

[0133] 106 Step 106: Does an account exist for the MAC address?

[0134] 107 Step 107: The payment system saves the debit order

[0135] 108 Step 108: Further purchases?

[0136] 111 Step 111: Payment request

[0137] Step 112: Is the user making a payment?

[0138] Step 113: Block access

[0139] Step 114: Create an account

[0140] 200 Cancellation request process

[0141] Step 210: Receive a cancellation request

[0142] Step 220: Determine the CAI

[0143] Step 230: Determine if the CAI exceeds the rejection threshold

[0144] Step 240: Send the rejection of the cancellation request to the user device

[0145] Step 250: Determine whether the CAI falls within the enhanced scrutiny range

[0146] Step 255: Send an inquiry to the user device

[0147] Step 260: Receive a response to the inquiry from the user device

[0148] Step 270: Approve or reject the cancellation request

[0149] Step 275: Send the rejection of the cancellation request to the user device

[0150] Step 280: Send the approval of the cancellation request to the user device and the merchant

[0151] Step 285: Adjust the outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier

[0152] 300 Method for determining and using user satisfaction indicators and merchant satisfaction indicators

[0153] Step 310: Receive the user device ID and the purchase price of the digital content of interest

[0154] 320 Step 320: Monitor the outstanding balance of the user device

[0155] 330 Step 330: Is outstanding balance + purchase price ≥ threshold?

[0156] 340 Step 340: Add the purchase price to the outstanding balance

[0157] 350 Step 350: Send an approval signal

[0158] 360 Step 360: Perform payment settlement operations

[0159] 370 Step 370: Has the payment been received?

[0160] 380 Step 380: Determine user satisfaction indicators and / or merchant satisfaction indicators

[0161] 390 Step 390: Perform further actions based on user satisfaction indicators and / or merchant satisfaction indicators

Claims

1. 1. A computer-implemented method for a payment system, comprising: receiving, via a network, an identifier of a user device and information indicating a price of an item requested for purchase by said user device from a network-accessible merchant; determining a trust metric associated with the user device based on the user device identifier; if the credit metric satisfies a predetermined condition, sending an approval signal to the network accessible merchant for the requested item without simultaneously seeking payment for the purchase; monitoring a total outstanding purchase balance associated with said user device; if the outstanding purchase balance exceeds a predetermined threshold amount, transmitting to the user device a request signal for settlement of at least a portion of the outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier; In response to receiving a cancellation request from the user device, determining a cancellation abuse indicator associated with the user device identifier based on at least one of a duration since acceptance of acceptance of a purchase request for the item, a number of previous cancellations, a period during which the number of previous cancellations occurred, a time interval since a last cancellation, the trust indicator, a frequency of previous cancellations, and whether the user device identifier is included in a list of managed abuser device identifiers; making a decision to grant or deny the cancellation request based on the determined cancellation abuse indicators; 10. A computer-implemented method comprising:

2. 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining a cancellation abuse indicator associated with the user device identifier is such that an increasing number of previous cancellation requests for the user device identifier increases the likelihood that the cancellation request will be denied.

3. 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether additional information is required from the user device based on the determined cancellation abuse indicators prior to making the decision to accept or reject the cancellation request.

4. 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, further comprising sending one or more queries to the user device based on the result of the determination of whether additional information is needed from the user device before accepting or rejecting the cancellation request, wherein the step of making the determination of whether to accept or reject the cancellation request is based at least on the additional information received from the user device.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , wherein the one or more queries to the user device are for user feedback regarding the item.

6. 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein if the cancellation request is granted, the outstanding purchase balance total associated with the user device identifier for the canceled item is adjusted accordingly and a notification of the cancellation is sent to the merchant.

7. 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: adjusting the outstanding purchase balance total associated with the user device identifier accordingly if the cancellation request is granted, substantially without receipt of payment by the payment system, and the item being digital content.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the outstanding purchase balance total associated with the user device identifier is adjusted substantially in the absence of a signal from the user device confirming the deletion of the item.

9. 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the step of making the determination whether to accept or reject the cancellation request occurs substantially without a user associated with the user device registering with or logging into the payment system or the network-accessible merchant computer.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the step of making the determination whether to accept or reject the cancellation request is performed without substantially identifying a user associated with the user device.

11. 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the step of making the determination whether to grant or deny the cancellation request occurs substantially independently of whether the network-accessible merchant has sent the item to the user device, the item being a subscription to digital content or a digital service.

12. 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising encouraging the user to at least one of: (a) answer certain questions related or unrelated to the digital content being canceled; (b) share the user's payment system account or certain purchased digital content with friends and / or family and provide their contact information to the payment system; (c) take a third-party survey; and / or (d) take some other or further action.

13. 13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the user is at least one of: (i) granted a cancellation request from the user; and / or (ii) granted a number of trust tokens, so long as the user agrees to and successfully completes one or more of the recommended items.

14. 14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the trust token can be exchanged for free or discounted digital content and / or subscriptions, and / or to enable future cancellation of one or more purchases of digital content and / or subscriptions, and / or for other benefits.

15. 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining a cancellation abuse indicator associated with the user device identifier is based on a ratio of a number of requested cancellations associated with a user device identifier for at least one of a predetermined duration and a session of time during which the user device interacts with a website or group of websites to a number of purchases made during the session using the payment system.

16. 1. A computer-implemented method for a payment system, comprising: receiving, over a network, an identifier of a user device and information indicating a requested item for purchase by said user device from a network-accessible merchant; determining a trust metric associated with the user device based on the user device identifier; if the creditworthiness metric satisfies a predetermined condition, transmitting an approval signal for the requested purchase to the network-accessible merchant without simultaneously seeking payment for the purchase; monitoring a total outstanding purchase balance associated with said user device; transmitting a request signal to the user device for settlement of at least a portion of the outstanding purchase balance total if the outstanding balance total has accrued for a period exceeding a predetermined time interval; In response to receiving a cancellation request from the user device, determining a cancellation abuse indicator associated with the user device identifier based on at least one of a duration since acceptance of a purchase request for the item, a total number of previous cancellations, a time interval since a last cancellation, the trust indicator, a frequency of previous cancellations, and whether the user device identifier is included in a list of managed abuser device identifiers; making a decision to grant or deny the cancellation request based on the determined cancellation abuse indicators; 10. A computer-implemented method comprising:

17. 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein the step of determining a cancellation abuse indicator associated with the user device identifier is such that the likelihood of the cancellation request being denied increases as the number of previous cancellation requests for the user device identifier increases.

18. 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, further comprising determining whether additional information is required from the user device based on the determined cancellation abuse indicators prior to making the decision to grant or deny the cancellation request.

19. 20. The computer-implemented method of claim 18, further comprising sending one or more queries to the user device based on the result of the determination of whether additional information is needed from the user device before accepting or rejecting the cancellation request, wherein the step of making the determination of whether to accept or reject the cancellation request is based at least on the additional information received from the user device.

20. 20. The computer-implemented method of claim 18, wherein the one or more queries to the user device are for user feedback regarding the item.

21. 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, further comprising encouraging the user to at least one of: (a) answer certain questions related or unrelated to the digital content being canceled; (b) share the user's payment system account or certain purchased digital content with friends and / or family and provide their contact information to the payment system; (c) take a third-party survey; and / or (d) take some other or further action.

22. 22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein the user is at least one of: (i) granted a cancellation request from the user; and / or (ii) granted a number of trust tokens, so long as the user agrees to and successfully completes one or more of the recommended items.

23. 23. The computer-implemented method of claim 22, wherein the trust token can be exchanged for free or discounted digital content and / or subscriptions, and / or to enable future rights to cancel one or more purchases of digital content, and / or for other benefits.

24. 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein if the cancellation request is granted, the outstanding purchase balance total associated with the user device identifier for the canceled item is adjusted accordingly and a notification of the cancellation is sent to the merchant.

25. 25. The computer-implemented method of claim 24, wherein if the cancellation request is granted, the outstanding purchase balance total associated with the user device identifier is adjusted accordingly without substantial receipt of payment by the payment system, and the item is digital content.

26. 25. The computer-implemented method of claim 24, wherein the outstanding purchase balance total associated with the user device identifier is adjusted substantially in the absence of a signal from the user device confirming the removal of the item.

27. 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein the step of making the determination whether to accept or reject the cancellation request occurs substantially without a user associated with the user device registering with or logging into the payment system or the network-accessible merchant computer.

28. 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein the step of making the determination whether to accept or reject the cancellation request occurs without substantially identifying a user associated with the user device.

29. 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein the step of making the determination whether to grant or deny the cancellation request occurs without the network-accessible merchant having substantially transmitted the item to the user device, the item being a subscription to digital content or a digital service.

30. 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein the step of determining a cancellation abuse indicator associated with the user device identifier is based on a ratio of a number of requested cancellations associated with a user device identifier for at least one of a predetermined duration and a session of time during which the user device interacts with a website or group of websites to a number of purchases made during the session using the payment system.

31. 1. A computer-implemented method for a payment system, comprising: receiving, via a network, an identifier of a user device and information indicating a price of a requested digital content item for purchase by said user device from a network-accessible merchant; monitoring a total outstanding purchase balance associated with said user device; sending an approval signal for the requested digital content item to the network-accessible merchant without simultaneously requesting payment for the purchase if the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device does not exceed a predetermined threshold amount; if the total outstanding purchase balance exceeds the predetermined threshold amount, transmitting a request signal to the user device for settlement of at least a portion of the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier, and in response to receiving payment of at least a portion of the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier, transmitting an approval signal for the requested digital content item to the network-accessible merchant; determining a user satisfaction index for the purchased digital content items based on at least one of tracking: (i) a number of purchases of the digital content items by a plurality of user devices including the user device; (ii) a number of cancellations of the purchased digital content granted to the plurality of user devices; and (iii) a number of purchases in which the digital content was transferred by at least one of the plurality of user devices to another user device; based on the determined user satisfaction index, sending a notification to the merchant providing the digital content item indicating the user satisfaction index, thereafter preparing a notification indicating the user satisfaction index for transmission to a user device attempting to purchase the digital content item using the payment system, thereafter limiting the number of approval signals sent to the merchant for the requested digital content item, and sending a notification indicating the user satisfaction index to a network server providing an internet search service; 10. A computer-implemented method comprising:

32. 32. The computer-implemented method of claim 31, wherein an increase in the number of granted cancellations of the digital content item has the effect of decreasing the user satisfaction index for the digital content item.

33. 33. The computer-implemented method of claim 32, wherein the user satisfaction index for the digital content item is based in part on a cancellation ratio determined as the number of accepted user cancellations for the digital content item relative to the number of accepted user cancellations for all digital content items in a given category of digital content items.

34. 34. The computer-implemented method of claim 33, wherein the predetermined category of digital content item is digital publishing.

35. 32. The computer-implemented method of claim 31, wherein an increase in the number of purchases in which the digital content item is transferred by the user device to other user devices has the effect of increasing the user satisfaction index for the digital content item.

36. 36. The computer-implemented method of claim 35, wherein an increase in the number of purchases that did not involve either an accepted cancellation or a transfer of the digital content item by a user device to another user device, or both, has the effect of increasing the user satisfaction index for the digital content item.

37. 37. The computer-implemented method of claim 36, wherein an increase in the number of purchases in which the digital content item was transferred by the user device to another user device has the effect of increasing the user satisfaction index more than an increase in the same number of purchases of the digital content item in which there was no accepted cancellation or transfer of the digital content item to another user device.

38. 32. The computer-implemented method of claim 31 , wherein in response to receiving the notification indicating the user satisfaction index for the digital content, the network server providing the Internet search service sends the notification indicating the user satisfaction index to a ranking engine, and the ranking engine ranks the digital content for search results in response to a user search request based at least in part on the user satisfaction index.

39. 1. A computer-implemented method for a payment system, comprising: receiving, via a network, an identifier of a user device and information indicating a price of a requested digital content item for purchase by said user device from a network-accessible merchant; monitoring a total outstanding purchase balance associated with said user device; sending an approval signal for the requested digital content item to the network-accessible merchant without simultaneously requesting payment for the purchase if the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device does not exceed a predetermined threshold amount; if the total outstanding purchase balance exceeds the predetermined threshold amount, transmitting a request signal to the user device for settlement of at least a portion of the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier, and in response to receiving payment of at least a portion of the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier, transmitting an approval signal for the requested digital content item to the network-accessible merchant; determining a merchant satisfaction index based on at least one of tracking: (i) a number of purchases of a plurality of digital content items from the merchant by a plurality of user devices, including the digital content requested by the user device; (ii) a number of cancellations of the purchased digital content items granted to the plurality of user devices; (iii) a number of purchases in which at least one of the plurality of digital content items is transferred by at least one of the plurality of user devices to another user device; and (iv) a number of user devices among the plurality of user devices that purchase two or more digital content items of the plurality of digital content items from the merchant; based on the determined merchant satisfaction index, sending a notification to the merchant providing the digital content item indicating the merchant satisfaction index; then using the payment system, preparing a notification indicating the merchant satisfaction index for transmission to a user device seeking to purchase one of the plurality of digital content items offered by the merchant; then limiting the number of approval signals sent to the merchant for the requested digital content item available from the merchant; and sending a notification indicating the merchant satisfaction index to a network server providing an internet search service.

10. A computer-implemented method comprising:

40. 40. The computer-implemented method of claim 39, wherein an increase in the number of authorized cancellations of digital content items purchased from the merchant has the effect of decreasing the merchant satisfaction index for the merchant.

41. 41. The computer-implemented method of claim 40, wherein the merchant satisfaction index for the merchant is based on a cancellation ratio determined as the ratio of accepted cancellations for purchases of digital content items purchased from the merchant to the ratio of accepted cancellations for purchases of digital content items purchased from a plurality of merchants, including the merchant, in a given category of digital content items.

42. 42. The computer-implemented method of claim 41, wherein the predetermined category of digital content item is digital publishing.

43. 40. The computer-implemented method of claim 39, wherein an increase in the number of digital content item purchases from the merchant in which the digital content items are transferred by the user device to other user devices has the effect of increasing the merchant satisfaction index for the merchant.

44. 40. The computer-implemented method of claim 39, wherein an increase in the number of digital content item purchases from the merchant that did not involve either an accepted cancellation or a transfer of the digital content item to another user device, or both, has the effect of increasing the merchant satisfaction index for the merchant.

45. 45. The computer-implemented method of claim 44, wherein an increase in the number of user devices purchasing two or more digital content items of the plurality of digital content items from the merchant has the effect of increasing the merchant satisfaction index for the merchant.

46. 40. The computer-implemented method of claim 39, wherein in response to receiving the notification indicating the merchant satisfaction index for the digital content item offered by the merchant, the network server providing the Internet search service search service sends the notification indicating the merchant satisfaction index to a ranking engine, and the ranking engine ranks the digital content item offered by the merchant for search results based at least in part on the merchant satisfaction index.

47. 40. The computer-implemented method of claim 39, further comprising limiting the transmitted acknowledgment signal to a first amount for a predetermined period of time in response to a request by a user device for a digital content item from the merchant if the merchant satisfaction index for the merchant is below a first predetermined threshold.

48. 40. The computer-implemented method of claim 39, further comprising limiting the transmitted acknowledgement signals to a first amount for a predetermined period of time in response to a request by a user device for a digital content item from the merchant if a cancellation ratio determined as a ratio of accepted cancellations for purchases of digital content items purchased from the merchant to a ratio of accepted cancellations for purchases of digital content items purchased from a plurality of merchants, including the merchant, in a predetermined category of digital content items exceeds a first threshold.

49. 49. The computer-implemented method of claim 48, further comprising limiting the transmitted acknowledgement signals to a second amount for a predetermined period of time in response to the determined cancellation ratio exceeding a second predetermined threshold, the second amount being less than the amount, and the second predetermined threshold being greater than the first predetermined threshold.

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