Methods for payment systems with improved security

Abstract

Methods for an electronic token-based payment system includes providing a deferred-payment service by a network-accessible deferred-payment server that performs the steps of processing authorization of digital content purchases for a user account without requiring payment at time of purchase, monitoring a total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user account, and transmitting a settlement request signal to a computer server associated with the financial institution having a credit card account associated with the user for settlement of at least a part of the total outstanding purchase balance when the total outstanding balance exceeds at least one of a predetermined threshold amount and / or accrued over a time that exceeds a predetermined time interval. The transmitted settlement request signal includes information indicative of the total outstanding purchase balance owed, and the electronic token associated with the user of the user account. The electronic token being obtained from a user information database containing electronic tokens associated with corresponding respective user accounts, each token being unique with respect to both a user account of the deferred-payment service for a user, and with respect to a credit card account issued by the financial institution for such user. The token including encrypted information of a characteristic of a user who is associated with the user account, in absence of any information of the user account identification or the credit card account identification, wherein the deferred-payment service has not been provided with, nor has access to, the credit card account identification.

Description

METHODS FOR PAYMENT SYSTEMS WITH IMPROVED SECURITYFIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention generally relates to methods for payment and merchant systems which facilitate payment of small monetary amounts by a user for the purchase of, for example, digital content or subscriptions for digital content, and specifically, unique solutions for enhanced security to the user in connection with such payment methods.BACKGROUND

[0002] Shopping systems are known wherein a plurality of web servers is mutually connected via a network, usually the internet, in order to enable a purchaser to purchase goods and / or services. Conventionally, the customer selects a particular virtual marketplace, seeks goods and services there, places them in a virtual shopping trolley and pays for the items at the end of the shopping procedure. The payment procedure is usually very complex, since it is necessary for the individual user or purchaser to be sufficiently authenticated. For this purpose, the name and address are usually requested. For the payment transaction, the user must enter account or credit card information which enables debiting of the payable amount. The process of registration, that is, input of name and address and / or account or credit card information is complex. A main problem lies therein that with small amounts from a few cents to a Euro (€0.01 to €1.00), customers are reluctant to register at all. The effort involved in order to obtain goods or information for a few cents on the market place is too great and is out of proportion to what is being purchased. Thus for payments in the region of under €1, there is no actual market, since it cannot come into existence due to the effort-to-reward ratio.

[0003] Additionally, the individual users would like to ensure that their data will be treated confidentially. Usually, users will only disclose their information when they trust the marketplace in question. It is therefore difficult for small businesses to establish such marketplaces or online shops.

[0004] For the monetary processing of purchases, service providers have now become established which offer payment systems with which one needs only to register once, in orderthen to be able to carry out corresponding payment transactions in numerous online shops via one such service provider. The registration for such central payment systems is again very complex. Furthermore, such a payment transaction incurs costs which, inter alia, the online shops must bear.

[0005] It is apparent overall that the obstacles and starting thresholds associated with such a purchase on the internet are so numerous and high that potential purchasers are often deterred from making such a purchase. This applies, in particular, for goods and services for the purchase of which only very small sums are involved. It is extremely problematic, for example, to demand full registration of a user in order to view a one-page test report which costs about 50 cents.

[0006] The inventor of the present invention conceived this payment system which ensures a secure payment transaction for use with, for example, a corresponding shopping system and a method for performing a plurality of payment transactions, as described in U.S. application Serial No. 15 / 806,945, filed November 8, 2017, granted as US Patent No. 11,170,378 on November 9, 2021, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Serial No. 14 / 283,885 filed May 21, 2014, which is a divisional of U.S. application Serial No. 13 / 394,485 filed March 6, 2012, now pending, which is a U.S. national phase of PCT Application No. PCT / EP2010 / 005435 filed September 3, 2010, which claims priority to DE 102009050985.2 filed October 28, 2009 and DE 102009040575.5 filed September 8, 2009, all the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference herein.

[0007] In particular, such payment system for at least one online shop system comprises: an identification device for recording at least one identification number of a shopper system; an interface device for receiving and confirming direct debit orders from the at least one online shop, wherein the debit orders comprise information relating to a debit amount, i.e., price, to be paid to the online shop; a memory device for storing the direct debit orders in conjunction with the associated identification numbers; a processing device which is configured to monitor the total of the debit amounts in relation to the identification number and to request a user of the shopper system to register after a predetermined time interval and / or on exceeding a predetermined value of the total payable, in order to settle at least part of the total payable.

[0008] An essential concept of such payment system is that it records a purchase made by a user in the form of a direct debit order, and also stores identification information which enables the preferably unique identification, i.e., identifier, of the shopper system used. Initially, therefore, no information is requested regarding the user of the shopper system. Theoretically, any user could carry out shopping and payment transactions with the shopper system.

[0009] Once a predetermined time interval has passed and / or a predetermined value of the total payable has been exceeded, that payment system requests the user to register in order to pay at least part of the total payable. The user can thus meanwhile shop entirely anonymously and completely secure against fraud. The individual purchases are associated with the shopper system used by him, for example, a user device such as a PC or a mobile communication device. Only once a predetermined period has elapsed or a predetermined total payable has been amassed, does the user have to disclose his identity or at least input information which enables settlement of the debt.

[0010] The payment system lowers to a minimum the entry threshold for chargeable content on the internet, since it enables the user to consume now and pay later. The user can accumulate a plurality of very small payable amounts (micro payments) and then pay these as soon as a relevant amount has accumulated. This also saves technical resources, since the associated measures do not have to be performed for every minimal payment transaction. Furthermore, a new market can be accessed with the payment system, such as the market which deals with payments characterized by very small monetary amounts (e.g. smaller than €1). Such payment system also make the processing of small payments economical. The minimum debit handling charges of banks are sometimes multiple times higher than the value of the content purchased (e.g. on average €0.20 per transaction). Such payment system can serve as a global shopping trolley (e.g. over a plurality of web sites) and can aggregate purchases. These are then settled cumulatively, thus reducing the relative charges per transaction to a minimum. The direct debit transaction is processed only once for e.g. 20 purchases, reducing the incidental costs incurred for performance of the direct debit. The processing device can be configured such that, until registration, said system does not request any personal data and, in particular, no payment information from the user of the shopper system prior to sending a system of the online shop anauthorization signal representing that the payment system does not perceive the shopper system as uncreditworthy.

[0011] The methods of such payment system facilitate payment of small monetary amounts by a user for the purchase of, for example, digital content or subscriptions for digital content, making the payment relatively secure for the user. Moreover, an improvement to such payment system described herein are unique electronic token-based solutions for further enhancing security from theft for this process.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The present disclosure provides enhanced security features and functionality not present in the existing methods of payment systems conceived by the present inventor described in the above-referenced disclosures.

[0013] An exemplary embodiment of the disclosed payment system method providing enhanced security includes the steps of (a) providing a deferred-payment service by a network-accessible deferred-payment server, the deferred payment service performing the steps of: (i) processing authorization of digital content purchases for a user account without requiring payment at time of purchase, (ii) monitoring a total of an outstanding purchase balance associated with the user account, and (iii) transmitting a settlement request signal to a computer server associated with the financial institution having a credit card account associated with the user for settlement of at least a part of the total outstanding purchase balance when the total outstanding balance will have exceeded at least one of a predetermined threshold amount and / or accrued over a period of time that exceeds a predetermined time interval. The disclosed payment system method, further comprises the steps of (b)) storing in a user information database accessible by the deferred- payment server, a plurality of electronic tokens associated with corresponding respective user accounts, each token being unique with respect to a user account of the deferred-payment service for a respective user, and with respect to a credit card account issued by the financial institution for such user. Each token comprises encrypted information of a characteristic of a user who is associated with the user account, in absence of any information of the user ac-count identification or the credit card account identification. In accordance with the disclosed method, the deferred- payment service has not been provided with, nor has access to, the credit card accountidentification; and wherein the settlement request signal comprises information indicative of the total outstanding purchase balance owed, and the electronic token associated with the user of the user account.

[0014] In another exemplary embodiment of the disclosed payment system method, the encryption protocol for generating the electronic tokens is known to at least the deferred-payment service and the financial institute.

[0015] In another exemplary embodiment of the disclosed payment system method, the token for the user account is generated by \an encryption computer server, and wherein the encryption computer server performs the steps of: (a) receiving from the deferred-payment server information indicative of the characteristic of a user who is associated with the user account; and an identifier of the user account; (b) receiving from a server associated with the financial institution information indicative of the characteristic of a user who is associated with the user account; and information indicative of the credit card account identification; and (c) generating the token using a predetermined encryption protocol based on the received information indicative of the characteristic of a user who is associated with the user account; an identifier of the user account; and the information indicative of the credit card account identification.

[0016] In yet another exemplary embodiment of the disclosed payment system method, the encryption computer server is at least one of the deferred-payment server, or a server accessible by the deferred-payment server.

[0017] In a further exemplary embodiment of the disclosed payment system method, the encryption computer server is at least one of a computer server associated accessible by a computer server of the financial institution.

[0018] In a still further exemplary embodiment of the disclosed payment system method, in response to receiving a cancelation request from a user device associated with the user account for digital content purchased and provided to the user device by a merchant, the deferred-payment service further performs the steps of: determining whether to grant or deny such cancelation request based on a predetermined criteria; and when the result of the performed determination is to grant the cancelation request, adjusting the total outstanding purchase balance associated withthe user account accordingly without requesting any chargeback by the financial institution for the credit card account associated with the user, as well as optionally, transmitting a notification to the merchant of such cancelation. Further, it is possible for such embodiment to further determine whether to grant or deny such cancelation request in substantial absence of any notification whether the network-accessible merchant transmitted the item to the user device, and wherein the item is digital content or subscription to a digital service.

[0019] In yet a further exemplary embodiment of the disclosed payment system method, the credit card account is associated with at least one of a credit card account, a debit card account or a gift card account, and optionally, wherein the financial institution issued the at least one of the credit card account, the debit card account or the gift card account to the user that is associated with the credit card account.

[0020] In another exemplary embodiment of the disclosed payment system method, the characteristic of the user is at least in part, at least one of a random character sequence or a pseudorandom character sequence, and wherein the character sequence includes at least one of numbers or letters. In a further embodiment of the disclosed payment system method, the characteristic of the user is based at least in part on information associated with the user that is in possession by the financial institution, including without limitation wherein such information that is in possession by the financial institution is based on information provided to the financial institution by the user.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The invention will now be described in greater detail using several exemplary embodiments and making reference to the drawings, in which:

[0022] Fig. 1 shows a shopping system comprising a shopper system, an online shop and a payment system;

[0023] Fig. 2 shows the individual components of an exemplary embodiment of the payment system of Fig. 1;

[0024] Fig. 3 shows exemplary database entries of the payment system of Figs. 1 and 2; and

[0025] Fig. 4 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary order- making process according to the disclosure.

[0026] Fig. 5 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary process that enables detection of users that abuse their exercising of cancelations of purchased items, and exemplary measures that may be taken against such users in subsequent cancelations in accordance with the disclosure.

[0027] Fig. 6 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary process for determining an advantageous user satisfaction indicator and merchant status indicator for performing further respective actions.

[0028] Fig. 7 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary process for providing enhanced security relying on electronic tokens in accordance with the disclosure.

[0029] In the following description, the same reference signs are used for the same and similarly acting parts.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Fig. 1 shows the shopping system according to the invention. Herein a user’s shopper system 10, for example, a user device such as a laptop, a PC or a mobile terminal is connected via a network, in the present case the internet 1, to an online shop 20 such as, for example, a network-accessible merchant. The online shop 20 and the shopper system 10 are also in communicative connection, via the internet 1, with the payment system server 30, which performs at least the functions and operations of a deferred-payment service. The payment system server 30, is alternatively referred to herein as the payment system 30 or deferred- payment system 30. A computer server 40 associated with a financial institution having a credit card account associated with the user is also connected to the internet 1. The computer server 40 having access to a user information database 50 and an encryption computer server 60. Normally, numerous other systems are connected to the internet 1.

[0031] The user information database 50 a plurality of electronic tokens stored therein. Each token being unique with respect to a user account of the deferred-payment service of a user, and with respect to a credit card account issued by the financial institution for such user. The encryption computer server 60 performs encryption operations at the request or on behalf of thefinancial institution computer server 40, as is described in greater detail below with regard to FIG. 7. In FIG. 1, the exemplary encryption computer server 60 is depicted accessible by the financial institution computer server 40 via, for example, a local area network for ease of illustration and understanding, and it should be readily understood that such encryption computer server 60 may be accessible by the financial institution computer server 40 and / or the deferred-payment server 30 via ay other networks, such as wide area networks including the internet 1 , or incorporated into the financial institution computer server 40 and / or the deferred- payment server 30 as included hardware and software, or just as an encryption function.

[0032] Fig. 2 shows individual components of the payment system 30. The payment system 30 according to the invention has an identification device 31 for recording at least one identifier, i.e., identification number of the shopper system 10, an interface device 32 for receiving and confirming direct debit 6 orders from the online shop 20, wherein the debit orders comprise information relating to a debit amount to be paid, i.e., purchase price, to the online shop 20, a memory device 32 for storing the direct debit orders in conjunction with the associated identification numbers ID and a processing device 34 for processing the incoming payment transactions.

[0033] The individual devices will now be described in greater detail by reference to the flow diagram in Fig. 4. An exemplary embodiment of a purchase processed by the payment system 30 according to the invention proceeds as follows:

[0034] A user enters particular internet addresses into the shopper system 10 operated by him, in the browser running therein. The browser establishes contact with the server(s) of the online shop 20 and represents an internet presence of the online shop 20. This internet presence contains an embedded object which is in communicative connection with the interface device 32 of the payment system 30. The payment system 30 can therefore record an identification number ID of the shopper system 10 by means of the embedded object. In the present case, for example, this is an MAC address of the shopper system 10. Thus, as made clear in step 101 of Fig. 4, the MAC address of the shopper system 10 is recorded.

[0035] It is subsequently checked whether the shopper system 10 is creditworthy (step 102) by, for example, determining a creditworthiness indicator. Such determination may be madeby, for example, the payment system 30, and particularly the processing device 34, determining whether an account exists for the received MAC address. If a corresponding account exists, it is determined whether debit amounts have already been added to this account. If this is the case, the individual debit amounts are totaled. If the debit amounts do not exceed a predetermined amount (e.g. €3), or if the oldest debit order was incurred more than a predetermined time period ago, for example, three months, a creditworthiness indicator is generated satisfying a predetermined condition enabling the payment system 30 to transmit an authorization signal to the online shop 20 indicating that it is user to continue with its purchase (step 104).

[0036] However, if the debit amounts exceed the predetermined amount (e.g. €3), or if the oldest debit order was more than a predetermined time interval, for example, three months ago, the user of the shopper system 10 is requested to settle the added debit amounts (step 111), which may entail performing certain steps described below with regard to Fig. 7. If the user pays the outstanding total payable (step 112), the creditworthiness indicator is generated satisfying the predetermined condition enabling the payment system 30 to transmit an authorization signal to the online shop that enables the user to continue with its purchase (step 104). Otherwise, the creditworthiness indicator is generated that would not satisfy the predetermined conditions and no authorization signal would be transmitted by the payment system 30 to the online shop 20, i.e., alerting the online shop 20 to deny the user for its requested purchase (step 113).

[0037] Moreover for determination of the creditworthiness indicator, the payment system 30 may additionally verify whether the identifier of the shopper system 10 is included in a maintained blacklist of identifiers of user devices which, for example, do not register after the predetermined time interval and / or exceed the predetermined total payable without settlement. Such blacklist may include user identifiers of shopper systems for other reasons including, for example, such identifiers represent stolen user devices, devices located or originated from outside of a specific territory or an embargoed country or region.

[0038] Accordingly, if the creditworthiness of the shopper system 10 is acceptable, the transmitted authorization signal alerts the online shop 20 that the user can make the requestedpurchase by means of the shopper system 10 (step 104). For example, a chargeable review of a cinema film or other digital content can be accessed. In another exemplary embodiment, the user can be enabled to undertake a telephone call over the internet 1, or activate or reserve a variety of other services.

[0039] In connection with completion of the purchase, for example, the online shop 20 passes the associated booking in the form of a direct debit order to the payment system 30, particularly to the interface device 32 (step 105). In step 106, it is checked whether an account already exists for the shopper system 10. In effect, it is determined whether an account has already been established by the payment system 30 for the read-out MAC address. If no account exists, a suitable account is established (step 114) ), which may entail performing certain steps described below with regard to Fig. 7. In step 107, the payment system 30 (in particular the memory device 33) stores the direct debit order in conjunction with the MAC address. An entry which gives information about which purchases have already been transacted with the recorded MAC address is therefore added to the created account.

[0040] The user of the shopper system 10 can then decide whether he wishes to undertake more purchases (step 108). If the user wishes, he can call up a further internet presence of a further online shop 20 by input of a further internet address. Then the recording of his MAC address is carried out once again and this is then passed on to the payment system 30 (step 101).

[0041] As the above exemplary embodiment makes clear, initially, the payment system 30 records the individual direct debit orders as anonymously as possible. The payment system 30 confirms each debit order to the online shop 20, such as by, for example, an authorization signal, so that the online shop 20 can essentially assume a completed payment. The payment system 30 can identify the shopper system 10 based purely on the MAC address.

[0042] The memory device 33 thus stores the direct debit order in conjunction with the corresponding MAC address. For this purpose, the payment system 30 comprises a corresponding database in which corresponding tables are kept. An exemplary extract from a table kept therein is shown in Fig. 3. Said table comprises, for example, three columns, specifically a first column which contains the identification of a particular direct debit order,a second column which contains the amount to be debited and a third column which contains the date on which the direct debit order was received by the payment system 30. Each line of the table in Fig. 3 corresponds to a direct debit order. Thus, it is possible to read from the table in Fig. 3 that on 01.07.2009, 20 Eurocents were debited for identification number 222. Furthermore, on 20 September 2009, 5 Eurocents were debited for the same MAC address.

[0043] The processing device 34 can use these entries to determine the total payable from the debit amounts for particular identification numbers ID. For example, the total payable for identification number 222 comes to 25 Eurocents.

[0044] Thus, the payment system 30 can be configured, for example, so that a user of a shopper system 10 has to settle his debts when they are greater than €1. Accordingly, in step 102 it is checked, for the user of the shopper system with the identification number 222, whether the total payable already amassed by said system is greater than €1. Since this is not the case in the exemplary embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the creditworthiness indicator is generated satisfying the predetermined condition enabling the payment system 30 to transmit an authorization signal to the online shop 20 to enable the user to make further purchases without having to settle his debts.

[0045] In the exemplary embodiment described above, in step 102, it is checked whether the shopper system 10 has already amassed a total payable that is greater than a particular value (for example, €1). In addition, the processing device 34 can check in step 102 whether the user of the shopper system 10 has used the payment system 30 for longer than a particular predetermined time interval. For example, the processing device 34 can check whether the first direct debit order of a particular identification number ID is older than 3 months. The payment system 30 can be configured such that in this case, an immediate demand for settlement of the outstanding amounts is issued.

[0046] The payment system 30 can also be configured such that said system offers the user the possibility to settle his amassed direct debit orders at any time. Preferably, the user is encouraged, by the offering of rebates, to make his actual payment to the payment system 30 at as early a time point as possible.

[0047] The payment system 30 can also comprise an account monitoring device which monitors actual incoming payments, and credits them to a shopper system 10. For example, a registration according to the invention can take place therein that the user enters a user name. In exchange, the payment system 30 shows him an account number and requests him to transfer the total payable to the corresponding account, stating his user name. The transferred amount is then credited to the account of the shopper system 10 used by him.

[0048] In a further exemplary embodiment, the user name or a payment reason reference is automatically generated. The user therefore remains as anonymous as possible.

[0049] In another exemplary embodiment, the user can input address data and his actual name and, together with these data, enter his account number, so that the payment system 30 can debit the direct debit orders amassed in the past. The entries can also be used to perform future direct debit orders either in the short term or in the form of a batch debit at the end of a month, a quarter, or a year.

[0050] In the exemplary embodiments described above, an MAC address was used to identify the shopper system 10. It should be obvious for a person skilled in the art that, in place of the MAC address, he can use an IP address, an identification number of an operating system, an identification number of a processor or other identification numbers that give access to the identity of the shopper system 10. It is also theoretically possible to use a plurality of these identification numbers ID in order to increase the reliability of the payment system 30. Furthermore, it is possible to use just parts of said identification numbers to generate a unique key which identifies the shopper system 10.Also, the payment system 30 may be configured to additionally receive from the online shop 20 information regarding the requested item for purchase by the shopper system 10, and further evaluate whether the user device has previously been provided access to such requested item.

[0051] In the exemplary embodiment according to Fig. 1, a shopping system is defined with only one shopper system 10 and only one online shop 20. Usually a plurality of shopper systems 10 access one online shop 20. Furthermore, a plurality of online shops 20 is present, which use one or more payment systems 30 according to the invention.

[0052] Exemplary embodiments have been described above wherein identification of the shopper system 10 is directed to a particular identification number ID which gives an MAC address, an IP address, an identification number of an operating system, an identification number of a processor or other identification numbers which give access to the identity of the shopper system 10, or comprises parts thereof. It is possible to undertake a combination of the methods. Therefore different identification numbers ID, relating, for example, to an MAC address or an IP address or an identification number of a processor can be requested. Finally, the identification numbers ID which are provided by the shopper system 10 are used.

[0053] It is also possible to request individual identification numbers ID according to a sequence. This sequence can be based on the probability with which a particular shopper system 10 provides the numbers or the character string. Thus the payment system 30 can first search for an MAC address. If this cannot be determined, then the processor identification number, or the like, is requested. It is also conceivable for a cookie to be set.

[0054] The user can thus be uniquely assigned a database by means of a digitally signed cookie. The signed data can comprise a combination value formed from all the previously known user data in order to make misuse more difficult. The cookie can be stored using a plurality of techniques on the shopper system 10 (e.g. as a HTTP or Flash Cookie) and thus, as far as possible, be secured against later deletion. If, on a later contact with the payment system 30, the cookie is deleted in a cookie store, it can be created anew. The cookie can also comprise a parameter which states whether the user is already registered or logged in. The user can log into an interface of the payment system 30 at any time in order to inspect his account information.

[0055] In a further embodiment of the invention, the payment system 30 can use a code provided by the user in order to identify himself to the payment system. The code can serve as an identification number ID and be used in place of a hardware identification number, for example, the MAC address, of the shopper system 10. It is also conceivable that the code input for the above-mentioned identification numbers ID, for example, a requested hardware identification number, is used.

[0056] The code can be, for example, an IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity). The user of the shopper system 10 enters the IMSI of his mobile telephone and the payment system 30 establishes an account relating thereto or adds the debit amounts to the existing account. The payment system 30 can verify the correctness of the code given — that is, the IMSI — in that said payment system sends a message, for example, by SMS (Short Message Service) to the relevant mobile telephone. The payment system 30 can then request the user to confirm receipt of the message, for example, by returning the message or input of a code, wherein use of the payment system 30 is prohibited if the message is not confirmed. Said verification can only take place once, preferably on establishment of the account, or at every payment transaction.

[0057] In order to minimize as far as possible the risk of non-paying users (for example: a user uses the payment system 30 until he is requested to settle his debts. He then fails to settle his debts, but dispenses with further use of the payment system 30), the payment system 30 can comprise an evaluation device for contributing to and / or generation of the creditworthiness indicator. Said evaluation device records statistical data concerning the direct debit orders and / or the identification numbers ID issued, preferably continuously. Further data which provide information concerning the type of purchases made and / or the location of the user can be recorded and evaluated. For example, the IP address of the user can be used in order to determine roughly his location. Furthermore, using the IP address of the internet providers used by the user, an individual with RIPE responsibility or the like can be determined. The evaluation device can use the collected statistical data to adapt the payment threshold.

[0058] For example, a user to whom, on the basis of his IP address, a group having statistically good creditworthiness is assigned, can undertake direct debit orders until his account has a negative balance of more than €2, whereas a user to whom, on the basis of his IP address, a group having poor creditworthiness is assigned, can only undertake direct debit orders up to a total payable of €1. Theoretically, the payment system 30 can entirely prevent a debit before the registration if the user is assigned to a group with very poor creditworthiness. The statistics are maintained by the evaluation device, preferably in a database, and can be analysed accordingly on first contact with the user, and used for determination of the creditworthiness indicator.

[0059] As explained above, the identification number ID can at least partially comprise or be derived from data stored in a cookie and kept in the shopper system 10. Preferably, the relevant data are stored multiple times on the shopper system 10, in order to prevent deletion of said data. For example, a plurality of cookies can be stored in the shopper system 10, wherein a first cookie is stored therein directly by the payment system 30 and a second cookie is stored there by means of the online shop 20. The payment system 30 can thus request the identification number ID directly from the shopper system 10 and compare the requested value with a value provided by the online shop 20. In order to increase security and anonymity, the identification number ID can be made available to the online shop 20 in an encoded form, so that it is not possible for the online shop 20 to make a direct allocation of the user to a particular identification number ID. As soon as the user visits the same online shop 20 once again, said shop requests the identification number ID and passes said number on to the payment system. The shopper system 10 can also be directed to a web site of the payment system 30, said web site requesting the further cookie with a further, or the same, identification number ID.

[0060] For a person skilled in the art in this field, it should be obvious that there are further possibilities for allocating the identification number ID to the shopper system 10. For example, the communication protocols on which the internet is based can be amended such that said protocols permit unambiguous conclusions about the shopper system used. Commonly used browsers employ caching of the requested web sites in order to be able to access said web sites rapidly and easily. It is necessary to provide individually cached elements with a (web) identification number so that on renewed call-up of a site by the shopper system 10, an updated version of the object provided with the identification number is requested. This request by the shopper system 10 enables the payment system 30 to identify the shopper system 10 uniquely. URLs can also be modified so that said URLs give the identification number ID or a portion thereof.

[0061] The disclosed payment service was described with the functions of the payment system 30 separate from the functions of the online shop 20. However, it readily should be understood that such payments systems may be incorporated into the operations of the online shop. For example, the operations of such an online shop may include: receiving, over a network, request information and an identifier of a shopper system, wherein the request information represents arequest for transmission of specific digital content to said the shopper system, with the digital content transmission subject to a fee; further receiving information from the shopper system indicating acceptance of the fee for such digital content; storing information related to the fee in association with the shopper system identifier; monitoring a total outstanding balance of fee(s) associated with the user device identifier; transmitting a request signal for settlement of at least a part of the total outstanding purchase balance when the total outstanding fees balance exceeds a predetermined threshold amount or when the total outstanding fees over a period of time exceeds a predetermined time interval; and transmitting the requested specific digital content to said user device when the total outstanding fees balance does not exceed the predetermined threshold amount or the total outstanding fees over a period of time does not exceed the predetermined time interval.Advanced Cancelation Functionality

[0062] FIG. 5 depicts a flow-diagram of an advantageous exemplary cancelation process 200 useable with the payment system of the present disclosure. In Fig. 5, the process 200 begins in step 210 with receipt of a cancelation or refund request from a user device that includes the user device identifier. In response to receiving this, the payment system performs, in step 220, determining a cancelation abuse identifier value (“CAI”) for the received user device identifier. The CAI for the user device identifier may be based on a least one of, for example, a time duration since acceptance of a grant of the purchase request for the item, number of prior cancelations, time period over which the number of prior cancelations has occurred, time interval since last cancelation, the credit worthiness indicator, frequency of prior cancelations, and whether the user device identifier is included in a maintained list of abuser device identifiers.

[0063] Upon determination of the CAI, the payment system then determines, in step 230, whether the CAI exceeds a deny threshold value. If the deny threshold value is exceeded, then the process 200 transmits a deny-cancelation-request message to the user device in step 240, and the process 200 ends. In the alternative, if the CAI does not exceed the deny threshold value in step 230, the payment then determines if the CAI is within a heightened scrutiny range in step 250. If the CAI is within such range, the process 200 proceeds to step 255 and transmits certain inquiries to the user device in connection with, for example, the satisfaction of the requested item, orderrequest / purchase, and / or reasons for cancelation. Exemplary inquiries useable for transmission to the user device in step 255 include, for example: “We see you do not like this digital content, please elaborate regarding why so the publisher can improve its offers” or “ Why would you like to return this content? Your answer will help to improve quality.”

[0064] The corresponding responses entered by the user and transmitted by the user device in reply to the inquiries transmitted in step 255 are then received by the payment system in step 260. In the alternative, if the process 200 determines in step 250 that the CAI is not within the heighted scrutiny region, the process 200 proceeds directly to step 270.

[0065] In step 270, the process 200 determines whether to grant or deny the cancelation request based on whether the CAI is not within the heighted scrutiny from step 250, or based on whether the responses to the inquiries are then received in step 260 satisfy certain criteria. If in step 270, it is determined to deny the cancelation request, the step 275 is performed by notifying by transmitting to the user device a deny-cancelation-request message accordingly. Conversely, if in step 270, it is determined to grant the cancelation request, step 280 is performed to notify user device that the cancelation request has been accepted, and to notify the merchant of the granted cancelation, which effectively informs the merchant that they will not receive any funds for the canceled item. It advantageous to perform the determination of step 270 to grant or deny such cancelation in substantial absence of (a) identifying a user associated with the user device or its identifier, (b) registration or login to the payment system or to the network-accessible merchant computer by a user associated with the user device or its identifier; and / or (c) whether the network- accessible merchant transmitted the item to the user device or its identifier.

[0066] After step 280 is performed, the process 200 proceeds to step 285 and adjusts the outstanding purchase balance associated with the user device identifier before ending such process. In accordance with the process 200, the cancelation may be advantageously independent of (a) whether the user device received the requested item of digital content or subscription under which digital content was provided to the user device; (b) whether the user device confirms deletion of any digital content received for the canceled item; and / or (c) in substantial absence of receipt of payment by the payment system.

[0067] As described above, one option for the determination of the CAI in step 220 is to advantageously base such CAI, at least in part, on the number of prior cancelation requests associated with that user device identifier in the total aggregate and / or over a particular time period, e.g., a number of days or months, such that as the number of prior cancelation requests increases, the CAI will increase potentially into the range of heightened scrutiny, or above the deny threshold.

[0068] In one particular exemplary embodiment, the CAI may be based on a user cancelation request ratio, e.g., the ratio of the number of requested cancelations associated with a user device identifier (or a user) over a period of time (such as, for example, one day, one week, one month or six months). Such user cancelation request ratio may be compared against a general user cancelation request ratio, wherein the general user cancelation request ratio may be based on, for example, a ratio of all user devices (or users) globally or within a particular geographic region, relative to the number of purchases made using the payment system over that period of time by such users. If such CAI slightly exceeds the general user cancelation request ratio by a predetermined amount, e.g., up to 15%, digital content items from the merchant would be subject to heightened scrutiny in step 250 of FIG. 3, or if the CAI far exceeds the general user cancelation request ratio by the predetermined amount, then such user’s cancelation request would be denied in steps 270, 275 of FIG. 3.

[0069] In another exemplary embodiment, the above-described CAI would be based on a user session cancelation request ratio, e.g., the ratio of the number of requested cancelations associated with a user device identifier (or a user) in at least one of a predetermined duration of time, e.g., specific time interval, or time of a single session during the user device is interacting with a website or group of websites, relative to the number of purchases made during such predetermined duration of time using the payment system.

[0070] A cancelation ratio for a particular digital content item, e.g., the ratio of the number of granted cancelations associated for that digital content item relative to a number of granted user cancelations for all digital content items in a predetermined category of digital content items, e.g., digital publishing, may be useful as a basis for one factor of a user satisfaction indicator as described below.

[0071] By tracking the cancelations of specific digital content items, and cancelations with regard to digital content items offered by a respective merchant, such as a publisher, the payment system can use such information as factors for assessing the quality of such digital content items, and merchants. Such assessed quality of the digital content or merchants is particularly advantageous where the cancelations occur within a day, a week, a month or up to six months, of the date of purchase.

[0072] The rate of cancelations of purchased digital content items from a particular merchant may be useful as a factor of a merchant satisfaction indicator of the quality of such digital content items offered by that merchant, whereby a low rate of cancelations may be indicative of the offering of higher quality digital content items, and a high rate of cancelations may be indicative of the offering of lower quality digital content. One exemplary method for quantizing the quality of the digital content items offered by a merchant is to determine a merchant cancelation request ratio for that merchant based on a ratio of the number of requested cancelations for that particular merchant over a period of time (such as, for example, one, three or six months), over that same period of time.

[0073] The merchant cancelation request ratio may also be useful as a measure of quality of that merchants offered digital content items, in the form of a merchant satisfaction indicator based on, for example, a comparison of the merchant cancelation request ratio to a category request ratio based on, for example, the ratio of the number of requested returns overall for merchants in the same predetermined category of digital content items as the merchant’s (such as, for example, digital publishing), relative to the number of purchases digital content items from all, or a representative portion of, merchants in that predetermined category made using the payment system over the same period of time.

[0074] Such merchant satisfaction indicator may be used by the payment system, for example, to limit or otherwise moderate the number of transmitted authorization signals for purchases requested by user devices in instances in which the merchant cancelation request ratio exceeds a category cancelation request ratio by a predetermined percentage, for example, 25% or more, until such merchant’s merchant satisfaction indicator improves. Further, if one or more items of digital content, or digital content offered by a particular merchant are subject to an exceedingly highnumbers of cancelation requests, the payment system may cease transmitting authorization signals for purchases of such items of digital content items, or digital content items offered by such merchant.

[0075] In an alternative embodiment, if the merchant cancelation request ratio exceeds the category cancelation request ratio by first predetermined percentage range of, for example, 15% to 25%, an automated or manual alert may be transmitted to the merchant that it is experiencing high cancelation rates generally or for a specific data content item, as the case may be, in conjunction with lowering the percentage of authorization signals transmitted by the payment system for the purchase of digital content items from that merchant to, for example, 50% of its then current authorization signal transmission rate. The message to the merchant may suggest the merchant consider to cease offering digital content items experiencing the high cancelation rates, or to reduce the price of those digital content items where cancelation feedback has indicated that the price of such digital content items was too high.

[0076] Then, if the merchant cancelation request ratio continues to increase relative to the category cancelation request ratio by a second percentage range of, for example, 25% to 35%, a second notification will be transmitted to the merchant accordingly, in conjunction with lowering the percentage of authorization signals provided by the payment system for the purchase of digital content items from that merchant will be reduced to, for example, 25% of its then current rate. Further, if the merchant cancelation request ratio continues to further increase relative to the category cancelation request ratio to greater than, for example, 35%, the payment system will cease transmitting authorization signals to the merchant for requests for digital content offered by that merchant.

[0077] The quality of the digital content items may further be based on other advantageous user satisfaction indicators for digital content purchases including, for example, tracking the instances where (a) the user device does not cancel a purchase, but forwards or otherwise shares such digital content with other user devices; (b) the user device does not cancel and does not forward or share the digital content with other users; and (c) a high cancelation rate occurs for particular digital content items. These user satisfaction indicators are likewise useable for the merchant satisfaction indicators for a merchant offering such digital content items. One othermerchant satisfaction indicator is the number of times user devices make multiple purchases of digital content items from a particular merchant within predetermined time period or periods, such as a day, a week, a month or up to six months, of the date of a first or subsequent purchase.

[0078] The purchase of digital content without cancelation by a user indicates a level of satisfaction with the purchased digital content by that user, while the purchase of digital content and forwarding same by the user is often indicative of a relatively higher level of satisfaction by the user. In like manner, the purchase of digital content from a merchant without cancelation by a user indicates a level of satisfaction with the digital content offered by that merchant, while the forwarding of purchased digital content from a merchant or purchases of more than one digital content item same by the user is a predetermined time period is often indicative of a relatively higher level quality of digital content offered by that merchant.

[0079] Based on the determined user satisfaction indicator, a processor of the payment system may perform at least one other action of (i) transmitting a notice indicative of the user satisfaction indicator to the merchant offering such digital content item, (ii) preparing a notice indicative of the user satisfaction indicator for transmission to user devices subsequently seeking to purchase such digital content item using the payment system, (iii) limiting a number of authorization signals subsequently transmitted to the merchant for the requested digital content item, and (iv) transmitting a notice indicative of the user satisfaction indicator for that digital content item to a network server providing an internet search service.

[0080] It is possible for the user satisfaction indicator to be based on, for example, a numerical or star rating system implemented by the payment system. In such example, a 5 star or 5 point user satisfaction indicator may be used wherein 5 stars or 5 points are awarded for each purchase of a digital content item (that are not canceled) that are forwarded or shared with another user device (or user), while 4 stars or 4 points are awarded for each purchase of a digital content item not canceled or forwarded, and 1 star or 1 point (or 0 stars or 0 points) is awarded for each grant of a cancelation request of a purchased digital content item. An average rating may then be based on the result of the sum of all the points or stars awarded for a digital content item divided by the number of purchases of such digital content item.

[0081] Such rating system may further be used in connection with the merchant satisfaction indicator, but with the addition of also awarding 5 stars or 5 points when a user device purchases multiple digital content items (that are not canceled) within a period of time of, for example, a day, a week, a month or up to six months.

[0082] Based on the determined user satisfaction indicator, the payment system may perform at least one other action of (i) transmitting a notice indicative of the merchant satisfaction indicator to the merchant, (ii) preparing a notice indicative of the merchant satisfaction indicator for transmission to user devices subsequently seeking to purchase one of the plurality of digital content items offered by the merchant using the payment system, (iii) limiting a number of authorization signals to be subsequently transmitted to the merchant for the requested digital content items available from the merchant, and transmitting a (iv) notice indicative of the merchant satisfaction indicator to network server providing an internet search service.

[0083] Further, the quality of the purchased digital content and / or the associated merchant may further be based on responses received from user devices in reply to short questionnaires that may be displayed in response to cancelation requests that includes a question, for example, of “why is the user attempting to cancel such digital content purchase?” Exemplary response options may include i) bad quality, ii) too expensive, iii) not addressing the topic I thought the digital content would cover; and / or iv) other.

[0084] As described above, a notice indicative of the user satisfaction indicator and / or merchant satisfaction indicator may, for example, be transmitted to network services providing internet search services, such as services available from, for example, Google LLC, Microsoft Corp, or Apple Inc., to effect a ranking and where digital content from such merchant may appear in the list of results generated in response to search query requested by a user device. Lor example, this advantageous quality measure may be useable as a resource for the ranking engine of the search systems and methods described in U.S. patent number 9,002,832, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Information indicative of the user satisfaction indicator and / or merchant satisfaction indicator may also be, for example, provided in the search results presented to the user device to enable its user to make an informed decision regarding whether to purchase certain digital content items.

[0085] FIG 6 depicts a flow diagram of an exemplary method 300 for determining and advantageously using the user satisfaction indicator and / or merchant satisfaction indicator for the benefit of the users in identifying and purchasing higher quality content and those merchants offering higher quality content. Referring to FIG. 6, in step 310, the payment system receives over a network, e.g., the internet, an identifier of a user device and information indicative of a price of a requested digital content item for purchase from a network- accessible merchant by that user device. Then, in step 320, the payment system monitors the outstanding balance that may be owed by the user device.

[0086] In step 330, the payments system determines whether the sum of the outstanding balance owed by the user device (or the user of a known user is associated with the user device) and the received purchase price for the digital content of interest exceeds a predetermined threshold amount, e.g. €3. If in step 330, it is determined that the calculated sum does not exceed the predetermined threshold amount, the method likewise proceeds to step 340 where the purchase is added to the outstanding balance owed to become an updated outstanding balance owed, and then, in step 350, the payment system transmits the authorization signal to the merchant for providing the user device with the digital content of interest.

[0087] However, if in step 330, it is determined that the sum of the outstanding balance owed by the user device and the received purchase price for the digital content of interest exceeds the predetermined threshold amount, the method likewise proceeds to step 360 for the performance of a settlement operation as described above for payment of at least part of the balance owed. Then, in step 370, if it is determined that no or insufficient payment is received the method 300 ends. Otherwise, if in step 370, it is confirmed that sufficient payment is received by the payment system, the method 300 proceeds to step 350 for transmission of the authorization signal to the merchant for providing the user device with the digital content of interest.

[0088] After transmitting the authorization signal in step 350, the method 300 determines the user satisfaction indicator and / or merchant satisfaction indicator as described above in step 380. The user satisfaction indicator for the purchased digital content item may be based on at least one of tracking (i) number of purchases of the digital content item by a plurality of user devicesincluding the user device; (ii) number of granted cancelations to the plurality of user devices of such purchased digital content, and (iii) number of purchases for which such digital content was forwarded by at least one of the plurality of user devices to another user device.

[0089] Similarly, the determined merchant satisfaction indicator may be 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 granted cancelations to the plurality of user devices of such purchased plurality of digital content items, (iii) a number of purchases for which at least one of the plurality of digital content items was forwarded by at least one of the plurality of user devices to another user device, and (iv) a number of user devices of the plurality of user devices that purchase more than one digital content item from the merchant.

[0090] It should be understood that step 380 may be performed shortly after step 350, or after a period of time to enable a user of the user device to determine if they wish to cancel the purchase, which may be on the order of serval minutes, e.g., 30 minutes, hours, e.g., 4 to 12 hours, or days, e.g., 1 to 14 days. In addition, the step 380 may advantageously be performed periodically or intermittently by the payment system to account for a sufficient number purchases and cancelations by many user devices to increase the amount of data processed for determining the user satisfaction indicator and / or merchant satisfaction indicator.

[0091] After the determination of the user satisfaction indicator and / or merchant satisfaction indicator in step 380, the method 300 proceeds to step 390, where based on the user satisfaction indicator and / or merchant satisfaction indicator, the payment system advantageously performs further actions to benefit the users and merchants. For example, with regard to the determined user satisfaction indicator, the payment system may perform at least one other action of (i) transmitting a notice indicative of the user satisfaction indicator to the merchant offering such digital content item, (ii) preparing a notice indicative of the user satisfaction indicator for transmission to user devices subsequently seeking to purchase such digital content item using the payment system, (iii) limiting a number of authorization signals subsequently transmitted to the merchant for the requested digital content item, and (iv) transmitting a notice indicative of the user satisfaction indicator to a network server providing an internet search service.

[0092] Correspondingly, with regard to the determined merchant satisfaction indicator, the payment system may perform at least one other action of transmitting a notice indicative of the merchant satisfaction indicator to the merchant offering such digital content item, preparing a notice indicative of the merchant satisfaction indicator for transmission to user devices subsequently seeking to purchase one of the plurality of digital content items offered by the merchant using the payment system, limiting a number of authorization signals to be subsequently transmitted to the merchant for the requested digital content items available from the merchant, and transmitting a notice indicative of the merchant satisfaction indicator to network server providing an internet search service.

[0093] After step 390, the method 300 ends.

[0094] The determination and tracking of the user satisfaction indicators and merchant satisfaction indicators and the above-noted actions to be taken based on such indicators incentives merchants to only provide digital content of higher quality and at a fair prices. The user is incentivized to cancel purchases of digital items of poor quality or excessively priced without any adverse consequences (assuming such user is not abusing such cancelations), and further may optionally be awarded redeemable trust tokens for her / his actions as further described below.

[0095] Further in regard to the method 200 of FIG 5, the payment system (or merchant offering the digital content or subscription utilizing such payment system) may provide alternative options to the user rather than just denying the user’s cancelation request in steps 240 and / or step 275, and may instead or in addition use such cancelation request to enable increase business for the payment system and / or merchant, and / or build trust with such user. To this end, rather than denying the user’s cancelation request, the payment system may provide options to the user to encourage the user to further interact with the payment system or other entities via the payment to build such trust including, for example, inviting the user to (a) answer certain questions related and / or unrelated to the digital content to be canceled; (b) share his / her payment system account, or certain purchased digital content with friends and / or family and providing the payment system with contact information therefor; (c) take a payment system or third party survey; and / or (d) take some other or further action. To the extent that the user agrees to and successfully follows through with one or more of these exemplary options, such user is perceived to be building trust with thepayment system and thereby the payment system may (i) grant the user’s request for cancelation and then performs steps 280 and 285; and / or (ii) grant to the user or user device a number of “trust tokens” (analogous to reward points.

[0096] Such trust tokens may then be used for acquiring free or discounted digital content and / or subscriptions, future cancelation of one or more purchases of digital content and / or subscriptions, and / or other benefits. Additional trust tokens may further be earned by the user or user device achieving threshold millstones 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 may further be earned by a user device or user contributing information regarding quality of digital content offered by merchants, such contribution being in the form of canceling purchased digital content items that were subject to high cancelation rates. In this manner, the user is rewarded for making the payment system aware of low quality digital content. These options are intended to incentivize the use of the payment system by the user or her / his friend and family, and / or the lawful collection of useful data.

[0097] The payment system 30 may further optionally limit when a user may request a cancelation including, for example, enabling a cancelation request (a) within a certain time period after purchase of the digital content, e.g., minutes, hours or days; (b) for a limited number of items purchased over a particular time duration, e.g., cancelation limit of three items over two weeks, or relative to the total number purchased, e.g., only one out of ten purchased items; and / or (c) for only a percentage of its purchase price, e.g., refund or credit of only 80% of the purchase price.

[0098] Enhanced Security Functionality

[0099] Fig. 7 depicts a flow-diagram of an advantageous exemplary deferred-payment service process 400 relying on encrypted software tokens to provide enhanced security relative to the payment service described above with regard to Fig. 4. In Fig. 7, the process 400 begins in step 410 by the providing the operations of the payment system 30 (depicted in FIG 1). Then, when creating the user account in step 114 of Fig. 4, the payment system 30 step 420 receives an encrypted software token from the financial institution server 40 that was generated, for example, by the encryption computer server 60 (depicted in Fig. 1) for a new user. Such encrypted softwaretoken is unique with respect to both the user account of the deferred-payment service for a user, and with respect to a credit card account issued by the financial institution for such user.

[0100] Such received token comprises encrypted information of a characteristic of a user who is associated with the user account, in absence of any information of the user account identification or the credit card account identification. The characteristic of the user may be at least in part, at least one of a random character sequence or a pseudo-random character sequence. Such character sequence may include at least one of numbers, letters or special characters created and assigned to the user, e.g., “#”, “$”, “A”, “&”,and / or “?”. Further the characteristic of the user may be based on certain information provided by the user, such as for example, color or make / model of first automobile, favorite pet’s name, and / or relatives’ names and / or birth dates.

[0101] Returning again to Fig. 7, after completion of step 420, the received encrypted software token is stored in the user information database 50 (depicted in Fig. 1) in step 430. Then, when settlement of at least a part of the total outstanding purchase balance is required in step 111 of Fig. 4, i.e., when the total outstanding balance will have exceeded at least one of a predetermined threshold amount and / or accrued over a period of time that exceeds a predetermined time interval, the method 400, performs the operations of step 440 by transmitting the settlement request signal to the computer server 40 associated with the financial institution having a credit card account associated with the user. The transmitted settlement request signal comprises information indicative of the outstanding purchase balance owed, and the electronic token associated with the user of the user account. The method 400 then performs the step 450 of confirming payment was made by the financial institution, such as by receipt of payment confirmation, and / or checking whether payment was made and / or received for the user’s deferred-payment system account.

[0102] It should be readily understood that the steps 420 and 430 of the method 400 may be performed when new user accounts are to be created and / or information for such accounts are modified. It should also be understood that the encryption protocol employed for generating the electronic tokens is preferably only known to the financial institute, and possibly only also to the deferred payment system server 30.

[0103] In a further embodiment concerning the above described cancelation requests may advantageously be processed to credit the amount owed for deferred payment without requiringburdensome chargebacks between the merchants and the financial institution that issued the credit card to the user. In an exemplary implementation of such an embodiment, the payment system server 30 performs a determination of whether to grant or deny such cancelation request based on a predetermined criteria, in response to receiving a cancelation request from a user device associated with the user account. The determination based on the predetermined criteria may be that described above with regard to Figs. 5 and 6.

[0104] When the corresponding result of the performed determination is to grant the cancelation request, the payment system server 30, would then adjust the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user account accordingly without requesting any chargebacks by the financial institution for the credit card account associated with the user. Such process for adjusting the outstanding purchase balance associated with the user account when a cancelation request is granted may further be with or without transmitting a notification of such cancelation to the corresponding merchant accordingly.

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

[0106] As used herein, the term “credit card account” associated with the user is intended to include a credit card account, a debit card account and / or a gift card account issued by at least one of the financial institution controlling the server 60, or some other financial institution.

[0107] The terms “processor” and “data processing apparatus” encompass all kinds of apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example a programmable processor, a computer, 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 the computer program in question, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or a combination of one or more of them.

[0108] The term “engine” refers to one or more software modules implemented on one or more computers in one or more locations that collectively provide certain well-defined functionality, which is implemented by algorithms implemented in the modules. The software of an engine can be an encoded in one or more blocks of functionality, such as a library, a platform, a software development kit, or an object. An engine can be implemented on any appropriate types of computing devices, e.g., servers, mobile phones, tablet computers, notebook computers, music players, e-book readers, laptop or desktop computers, PDAs, smart phones, or other stationary or portable devices, that includes one or more processors and computer-readable media. Additionally, two or more engines may be implemented on the same computing device or devices.

[0109] A computer program (which may also be referred to or described as a program, software, a software application, a module, a software module, a script, or code) can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, or declarative or procedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data, e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup language document, in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files, e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub-programs, or portions of code. A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

[0110] The processes and logic flows described in this specification can be performed by one or more programmable computers executing one or more computer programs to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performed by, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit).

[0111] Computers suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, can be based on general or special purpose microprocessors or both, or any other kind of central processing unit. Generally, a central processing unit will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a central processing unit for performing or executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computer need not have such devices. Moreover, a computer can be embedded in another device, e.g., a mobile telephone, 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, e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive, to name just a few.

[0112] Computer-readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

[0113] To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification 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 a trackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; andinput from the user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input. In addition, a computer can interact with a user by sending documents to and receiving documents from a device that is used by the user; for example, by sending web pages to a web browser on a user's client device in response to requests received from the web browser.

[0114] Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component, e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g., an application server, or that includes a front-end component, e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user can interact with an implementation of the subject matter described in this specification, or 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, e.g., a communication network. Examples of communication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a wide area network (“WAN”), e.g., the Internet.

[0115] The computing system can include clients and servers. A client and server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client- server relationship to each other.

[0116] While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any invention or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments of particular inventions. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

[0117] Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular ordershown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system modules and components in the embodiments described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.

[0118] An exemplary embodiment of the disclosed payment system method includes a system for facilitating secure deferred-payment transactions between autonomous software agents, each associated with a respective user device. The system enables a first agent to transmit a digital content request to a second agent, authorize deferred fulfillment of such request, and perform settlement operations between such agents based on either mutual content exchanges or net account reconciliation when a defined threshold or time interval is exceeded.

[0119] Another exemplary embodiment provides a peer-to-peer credit network wherein each agent maintains a dynamic trust relationship with other agents. Such trust values define allowable deferred-payment amounts per agent pairing and are dynamically updated based on behavior, including repayment reliability and cancelation ratios. The system performs balance offsetting and inter- agent reconciliation based on this trust graph.

[0120] In yet another embodiment, the disclosed system supports flexible agent roles by allowing any given entity to function simultaneously as both a buyer and a seller of digital content. The system maintains net balances per agent and dynamically adjusts their creditworthiness indicators based on content consumed versus content provided, allowing fluidity in transactional roles.

[0121] A further embodiment includes a schema-based smart contract framework for agent-to- agent transactions. A first agent transmits a contract schema defining terms for access, usage limits, or pricing conditions; such schema is validated and enforced by the payment server once accepted by the second agent. The contract may optionally include cancellation logic, refund parameters, or fallback conditions.

[0122] An additional embodiment enables transferable credit tokens. Upon authorization of a deferred purchase, the system issues a cryptographically signed token to the recipient agent. Said token can be reassigned to a third agent and redeemed therefor, supporting dynamic value exchanges across agent ecosystems. The token encapsulates settlement terms and originator metadata.

[0123] The system may further support predictive transaction models wherein an agent issues a declared intent signal to reserve credit for future purchases. The server reserves an appropriate portion of the agent’s balance and prioritizes subsequent requests in accordance with said intent, enabling frictionless delivery of critical or anticipated content.

[0124] In still another embodiment, agent credit thresholds are dynamically modulated based on computed reputation scores. Each agent’s reputation score is derived from transaction frequency, successful settlements, and cancelation ratios. Agents exceeding defined benchmarks may access higher credit limits; agents falling below may be restricted from further use until corrective activity occurs.

[0125] Another embodiment includes offline transaction support. An agent device operating in disconnected mode can generate an encrypted transaction intent token, store it locally, and later submit such token for server validation and deferred authorization upon reconnection. This enables mobile or offline-capable agents to participate in the payment ecosystem.

[0126] A pooled credit embodiment supports multiple agents sharing a collective deferred- payment balance. Agents identified as part of a trust group may initiate purchases using the shared balance, while the system logs individual activity for reputation analysis. This model is applicable to family units, corporate accounts, or agent collaboratives such as DAOs.

[0127] Particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. For example, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. As one example, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require the particular order shown, orsequential order, to achieve desirable results. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous.

[0128] It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments of the invention described above, as variations of the particular embodiments may be made and still fall within the scope of the appended claims.

[0129] The invention is further described by the following numbered paragraphs:1. A computer-implemented method for a payment system comprising the steps of: providing a deferred-payment service by a network-accessible deferred-payment server, the deferred payment service performing the steps of: processing authorization of digital content purchases for a user account without requiring payment at time of purchase, monitoring a total of an outstanding purchase balance associated with the user account, and transmitting a settlement request signal to a computer server associated with the financial institution having a credit card account associated with the user for settlement of at least a part of the total outstanding purchase balance when the total outstanding balance will have exceeded at least one of a predetermined threshold amount and / or accrued over a period of time that exceeds a predetermined time interval; and storing in a user information database accessible by the deferred-payment server, a plurality of electronic tokens associated with corresponding respective user accounts, each token being unique with respect to both a user account of the deferred-payment service for a user, and with respect to a credit card account issued by the financial institution for such user, wherein the token comprises encrypted information of a characteristic of a user who is associated with the user account, in absence of any information of the user account identification or the credit card account identification, and wherein the deferred-payment service has not been provided with, nor has access to, the credit card account identification; andwherein the settlement request signal comprises information indicative of the total outstanding purchase balance owed, and the electronic token associated with the user of the user account.2. The computer- implemented method of paragraph 1, wherein the encryption protocol for generating the electronic tokens is known to at least the deferred-payment service and the financial institute.3. The computer- implemented method of paragraph 1, wherein the token for the user account is received by the deferred-payment server from an encryption computer server, and wherein the encryption computer server performs the step of: receiving from the deferred-payment server information indicative of the characteristic of a user who is associated with the user account; and an identifier of the user account; receiving from a server associated with the financial institution information indicative of the characteristic of a user who is associated with the user account; and information indicative of the credit card account identification; and generating the token using a predetermined encryption protocol based on the received information indicative of the characteristic of a user who is associated with the user account; an identifier of the user account; and the information indicative of the credit card account identification.4. The computer- implemented method of paragraph 1, wherein the encryption computer server is at least one of the deferred-payment server, or a server accessible by the deferred-payment server.5. The computer- implemented method of paragraph 1, wherein the encryption computer server is at least one of a computer server associated accessible by a computer server of the financial institution.6. The computer- implemented method of paragraph 1, the deferred-payment service further performing the step of: in response to receiving a cancelation request from a user device associated with the user account for a purchase of digital content provided to the user device by amerchant, performing a determination of whether to grant or deny such cancelation request based on a predetermined criteria; and when the result of the performed determination is to grant the cancelation request, adjusting the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user account accordingly without requesting any chargeback by the financial institution for the credit card account associated with the user.7. The computer-implemented method of paragraph 6, the deferred payment service further performing the step of transmitting a notification to the merchant of such cancelation.8. The computer- implemented method of paragraph 6, wherein the step of performing the determination of whether to grant or deny such cancelation request is performed in substantial absence of notification whether the network-accessible merchant transmitted the item to the user device, and wherein the item is digital content or subscription to a digital service.9. The computer- implemented method of paragraph 1, wherein the credit card account is associated with at least one of a credit card account, a debit card account or a gift card account.10. The computer-implemented method of paragraph 9, wherein the financial institution issued the at least one of the credit card account, the debit card account or the gift card account to the user that is associated with the credit card account.11. The computer- implemented method of paragraph 1, wherein the characteristic of the user is at least in part, at least one of a random character sequence or a pseudo-random character sequence, and wherein the character sequence includes at least one of numbers, letters or special characters.12. The computer- implemented method of paragraph 1, wherein the characteristic of the user is based at least in part on information associated with the user that is in possession by the financial institution.13. The computer- implemented method of paragraph 12, wherein the information associated with the user that is in possession by the financial institution is based on information provided to the financial institution by the user.14. A method of facilitating secure deferred payment transactions between network-accessible autonomous agents, comprising:(a) enabling a first software agent associated with a first user device to transmit a purchase request for access to digital content provided by a second software agent associated with a second user device,(b) storing an authorization of such purchase request by a deferred-payment server without requiring immediate payment,(c) accumulating a plurality of such authorized requests associated with the first software agent in a deferred-payment database, and(d) performing a settlement operation between said agents when a predetermined threshold value or time interval is exceeded, wherein said settlement comprises at least one of a reciprocal provision of digital content or adjustment of an inter-agent balance.15. A system for enabling a peer-to-peer credit network comprising a plurality of autonomous agents, wherein:(a) each agent maintains a dynamic trust value with respect to one or more other agents,(b) such trust value determines a deferred payment limit for transactions initiated between said agents,(c) said trust value is updated based on transactional history and behavior between said agents, and(d) the system automatically reconciles outstanding obligations based on inter-agent trust graphs and agent-to-agent credit offsets.16. A method for enabling fluid transactional roles in a deferred-payment system, comprising:(a) allowing an entity operating as a first agent to both initiate purchase requests and receive payment authorizations for digital content,(b) associating a net balance for said agent as a function of content consumed and content provided,(c) performing a dynamic update of creditworthiness indicators based on net transactional behavior,wherein said agent can concurrently maintain both creditor and debtor status within said deferred-payment system.17. A method for facilitating automated contract negotiation between software agents, comprising:(a) receiving a proposed contract schema from a first agent comprising terms for deferred access to digital content,(b) validating such schema using a predefined schema compliance engine,(c) storing said schema within the deferred-payment system upon acceptance by a second agent,(d) executing automated enforcement and cancellation procedures in accordance with said schema.18. A method for enabling the transfer of tokenized deferred-payment obligations between agents, comprising:(a) generating a transferable electronic token associated with an outstanding balance between a first agent and a second agent,(b) allowing said second agent to reassign said token to a third agent in exchange for digital content or services,(c) performing a settlement of said balance when such token is redeemed by said third agent, wherein each token includes cryptographically signed metadata identifying the originating and redeeming agents, and a settlement value.19. A method for predictive allocation of deferred-payment resources, comprising:(a) receiving a transaction intent signal from a software agent indicating a planned future acquisition of digital content,(b) reserving a portion of the agent’s available deferred-payment credit in association with said intent signal,(c) optionally prioritizing said reserved transaction in system resource allocation and content delivery processes.20. A method for supporting offline agent-to-agent deferred transactions, comprising:(a) generating a cryptographically signed intent token on a first agent device while in a disconnected state,(b) storing said token locally in association with a digital content request,(c) upon network reconnection, transmitting said intent token to the deferred-payment server for validation and synchronization, wherein the payment system defers authorization and reconciliation until online verification is complete.21. A method for enabling pooled deferred-payment accounts, comprising:(a) creating a shared credit pool associated with a group of agent identifiers,(b) allowing any member agent to initiate transactions drawing against said pool,(c) recording individual transaction activity per agent while maintaining a common balance for settlement purposes.Reference signs1 Internet10 Shopper system20 Online shop30 Payment system31 Identification device32 Interface device33 Memory device34 Processing device40 Financial institution computer server50 User information database60 User information databaseID Identification numberStep 101: payment system records the MAC address of the shopper101 system102 Step 102: Is the shopper system creditworthy?104 Step 104: The user transacts a purchase105 Step 105: The online shop passes on an associated entry106 Step 106: Does an account exist for the MAC address?107 Step 107: The payment system stores the direct debit order108 Step 108: Further purchases?111 Step 111: Payment request112 Step 112: Is the user paying?113 Step 113: Block access114 Step 114: Create account200 Cancelation request process210 Step 210: receive cancelation request220 Step 220: determine CAI230 Step 230: CAI exceeding deny threshold determination240 Step 240: transmit deny-cancelation request to user deviceStep 250: determine whether CAI falls within heightened scrutiny rangeStep 255: transmit inquiries to user deviceStep 260: receive responses to inquiries from user deviceStep 270: grant or deny cancelation requestStep 275: transmit deny-cancelation request to user deviceStep 280: transmit grant-cancelation request to user device and merchantStep 285: adjust outstanding purchase balance associated with user device identifierMethod for determining and using user satisfaction indicator and merchant satisfaction indicatorStep 310: receive user device ID and purchase price of digital content of interestStep 320: monitor outstanding balance of user deviceStep 330: outstanding balance + purchase price > threshold?Step 340: add purchase price to outstanding balanceStep 350: transmit authorization signalStep 360: perform payment settlement operationStep 370: Payment received?Step 380: determine user satisfaction indicator and / or merchant satisfaction indicatorStep 390: based on user satisfaction indicator and / or merchant satisfaction indicator, perform further action(s)Method for providing a deferred-payment with enhanced securityStep 410: provide operations of a deferred-payment serviceStep 420: receive token from financial institution server for a respective userStep 430: store received electronic token in a user information databaseStep 440: transmit to financial institution server the total outstanding balance and the electronic token associated with the userStep 450: confirm payment was made by financial institution and reset user account balance owed accordingly

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A computer-implemented method for a payment system comprising the steps of: providing a deferred-payment service by a network-accessible deferred-payment server, the deferred payment service performing the steps of: processing authorization of digital content purchases for a user account without requiring payment at time of purchase, monitoring a total of an outstanding purchase balance associated with the user account, and transmitting a settlement request signal to a computer server associated with a financial institution having a credit card account associated with the user for settlement of at least a part of the total outstanding purchase balance when the total outstanding balance will have exceeded at least one of a predetermined threshold amount and / or accrued over a period of time that exceeds a predetermined time interval; and storing in a user information database accessible by the deferred-payment server, a plurality of electronic tokens associated with corresponding respective user accounts, each electronic token being unique with respect to a user account of the deferred-payment service for a user, and with a respect to a credit card account issued by the financial institution for such user, wherein the electronic token comprises encrypted information of a characteristic of a user who is associated with the user account, in absence of any information of a user account identification or a credit card account identification, and wherein the deferred-payment service has not been provided with, nor has access to, the credit card account identification; and wherein the settlement request signal comprises information indicative of the total outstanding purchase balance owed, and the electronic token associated with the user of the user account.

2. The computer- implemented method of claim 1, wherein an encryption protocol for generating the electronic tokens is known only to the financial institution.

3. The computer- implemented method of claim 2, wherein the encryption protocol for generating the electronic tokens is known to the deferred-payment service in addition to the financial institution.

4. The computer-implemented method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the electronic token for the user account is received by the deferred-payment server from an encryption computer server, and wherein the encryption computer server performs the steps of: receiving from the deferred-payment server information indicative of the characteristic of a user who is associated with the user account; and an identifier of the user account; receiving from a server associated with the financial institution information indicative of a characteristic of a user who is associated with the user account; and information indicative of the credit card account identification; and generating the electronic token using a predetermined encryption protocol based on the received information indicative of the characteristic of a user who is associated with the user account; an identifier of the user account; and the information indicative of the credit card account identification.

5. The computer- implemented method of claim 4, wherein the encryption computer server is at least one of the deferred-payment server, or a server accessible by the deferred-payment server.

6. The computer- implemented method of claim 4, wherein the encryption computer server is at least one of a computer server associated accessible by a computer server of the financial institution.

7. The computer-implemented method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the deferred- payment service further performing the step of: performing a determination of whether to grant or deny a cancelation request based on a predetermined criteria in response to receiving the cancelation request from a user device associated with the user account for a purchase of digital content previously provided to the user device by a merchant; and when the result of the performed determination is to grant the cancelation request, adjusting the total outstanding purchase balance associated with the user accountaccordingly without requesting any charge-back by the financial institution for the credit card account associated with the user.

8. The computer- implemented method of claim 7, wherein the deferred payment service further performing the step of transmitting a notification to the merchant of associated with the cancelation request.

9. The computer- implemented method of claims 7 or 8, wherein the step of performing the determination of whether to grant or deny the cancelation request is performed in substantial absence of a notification of whether the merchant transmitted the item to the user device, and wherein the item is a digital content or a subscription to a digital service.

10. The computer-implemented method of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the credit card account is associated with at least one of a credit card account, a debit card account or a gift card account.

11. The computer- implemented method of claim 10, wherein the financial institution issued the at least one of the credit card account, the debit card account or the gift card account to the user that is associated with the credit card account.

12. The computer- implemented method of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the characteristic of the user is at least in part, at least one of a random character sequence or a pseudo-random character sequence, and wherein the character sequence includes at least one of numbers or letters.

13. The computer- implemented method of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the characteristic of the user is based at least in part on information associated with the user that is in possession by the financial institution.

14. The computer- implemented method of claim 13, wherein the information associated with the user that is in possession by the financial institution is based on information provided to the financial institution by the user.

15. A computer- readable storage medium comprising instructions for, when executed on a computer, executing the method according to one of the preceding claims.

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