Analyzing an in-person transaction

Abstract

A method and system for approval of a payment card physical transaction. The location of a user's mobile device is determined and the physical transaction approved if a specified criteria is met. The specified criteria includes one or more of the following: location of the user mobile device within an inclusion zone; location of the user mobile device not within an exclusion zone; location of the merchant device within an inclusion zone; location of the merchant device not within an exclusion zone; and collocation of the user mobile device and the merchant device.

Description

[0001] Patent Application for

[0002] Analyzing an In-Person Transaction

[0003] PRIORITY CLAIM

[0004] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.

[0005] 63 / 750,377 filed January 28, 2025.

[0006] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0007] 1. Field of the Invention

[0008] This invention relates to systems and processes for analyzing in-person payment transactions, such as when a payment (e.g. credit / debit) card information is physically presented to a merchant for the purpose of executing a transaction.

[0009] 2. Description of the Relevant Art

[0010] The usage rate of cash for payment transactions has been declining for years. Most payment transactions are electronic, using payment processing cards (also known as payment cards), such as debit cards and credit cards. There are two main types of payment processing card transactions: (1) physical transactions where the payment card information is presented at a merchant location and (2) on-line or remote transactions. The former type of transaction may be referred to in the industry as a physical transaction or '‘card present” (“CP”) transaction. In a physical transaction or card-based transaction, non-human readable information is encoded in a physical payment card or in an electronic device (such as a mobile phone) and is electronically read. The non-human readable information may be encoded, for example, in a chip or a magnetic stripe of the physical payment card or within a transaction application on the mobile electronic device. In either case, the encoded information may be electronically read by, for example, a Point-Of-Sale (POS) payment processing reader. The transaction is executed based on the encoded, electronically read, non-human readable information.

[0011] Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 1 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLPThe second type of transaction includes a card-not-needed transaction. A card-not-needed transaction, as referred to herein, may be referred to as a ‘'card not needed” or "card not present” (“CNP”) in the industry even though the card being present or not present has no bearing on a card-not-needed transaction. A card-not-needed transaction is generally based on human readable information that is visible and printed on the front or back of the payment card. A user obtains the human readable information from the payment card. For example, a user may read or take a picture of the human readable information. The user typically submits the human readable information via manually inputting the human readable information using electronic means (such as a web interface or over the telephone). Transactions conducted over a telephone using either voice or fax technology also may be a card-not-needed transaction. A payment processing system executes the transaction based on the human readable i nformation.

[0012] Authentication by username and password is a traditional method of authentication. Multifactor Authentication (MFA), contactless payment and use of a personal identification number (PIN) are also often used to combat fraud. Multifactor authentication has become widely used and requires users to provide two or more ways to authenticate their identity. MFA, username / password, PIN use and contactless payment have proven effective in many situations to prevent fraud, including both physical and card-not-present remote transactions. However, such fraud prevention methods are not always available or inadequate.

[0013] The most common type of fraud in a physical transaction occurs when the fraudulent actor obtains possession of the payment card. In this case, the authorized user is not present at the time of the physical payment card transaction. Often, MFA techniques are not in place or are insufficient to detect and deter the fraudulent transaction. If the fraudulent actor is in possession of the payment card, contactless payment options will not deter the fraudulent transaction. Further, payment cards often do not require a PIN.

[0014] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Many of the problems outlined above are addressed by the methods and systems described herein for analyzing a physical transaction payment. More specifically, the methods and system provide for analyzing a physical transaction payment where a user Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 2 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLPpayment card information is physically presented to a merchant to initiate a payment card transaction. In some cases, a geolocation of a mobile electronic device corresponding to a payment account identified in the payment card transaction is determined and a location of a merchant device connected with the payment transaction is determined. The payment transaction is approved if the geolocation of the mobile electronic device meets specified criteria and is flagged if the geolocation of the mobile electronic device does not meet the specified criteria.

[0016] In some forms, the specified criteria includes an inclusion zone where a physical transaction is approved. In other forms, the inclusion zone comprises a geofenced region. In other embodiments, the specified criteria includes a user device location not within an exclusion zone where a physical transaction is not permitted. In still other forms, the criteria approving the payment transaction includes a determination that the location of the merchant device is not within an exclusion zone. In some embodiments, the criteria includes comparing the location of the merchant device and the location of the user device, where the specified criteria includes determining if the merchant and user device are collocated where a physical transaction is requested.

[0017] A system for analyzing a physical payment card transaction includes a database comprising payment card information of one or more financial accounts and information regarding mobile geolocatable devices respectively associated with users of each of the one or more financial accounts. The system further includes a geolocation tracking unit and a processing server with program instructions executable by a processor for analyzing transaction data of in-person payment transaction requests initiated at one or more merchant devices and further for performing any of the steps recited in the methods described herein. Moreover, the system includes a wireless communication network that connects the processing server to the mobile geolocatable devices. The processing server is also connected via a communication network to the merchant device although this communication network need not be wireless. Subsequent to physical presentment of payment card information to a merchant device, the geolocation of an associated mobile geolocatable device is sent to the processing server via the wireless network and the payment card transaction is approved if the geolocation meets a specified criteria or is flagged if the geolocation does not meet the specified criteria.

[0018] Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 3 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLPIn some cases, the specified criteria may include one or more of the following:

[0019] a first criteria comprising an inclusion zone where the payment card transaction is approved if the user mobile device location is within the inclusion zone;

[0020] a second criteria comprising a location not in an exclusion zone where the payment card transaction is approved if the user mobile device location is not within the exclusion zone;

[0021] a third criteria comprising collocation of the user mobile device and the merchant device;

[0022] a fourth criteria comprising an inclusion zone where the payment card transaction is approved if the merchant device location is within the inclusion zone;

[0023] a fifth criteria comprising a location not in an exclusion zone where the payment card transaction is approved if the merchant device location is not within the exclusion zone; and

[0024] a sixth criteria comprising multi factor authentication (MFA) where the payment card transaction is approved if the user mobile device meets the MFA.

[0025] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] Fig. 1 is a schematic of an embodiment of a communication network with at least one payment card physical transaction;

[0028] Fig. 2 is another schematic showing a physical transaction with network access;

[0029] Fig. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary user mobile device;

[0030] Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 4 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLPFig. 4 is a flow diagram depicting an embodiment of a method for analyzing an in-person payment transaction; and

[0031] Fig. 5 is a flow diagram depicting another embodiment of a method for analyzing an in-person payment transaction.

[0032] While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0033] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0034] Terms used herein have their commonly understood meaning in the art including those terms discussed above. For example, this application refers to physical transactions where the payment card information is present at a merchant point-of-sale device (via a card or contact-less payment) and to on-line or remote transactions where the payment card is not present at a merchant point-of-sale device. The present application uses the terms “platform” and “server” interchangeably and describes various functions associated with such a server, including data and applications residing on the server. Such functional descriptions does not imply that all functions could not reside on the same server or multiple servers or remote and distributed servers, or even functions shared between clients and servers as readily understood in the art. The term “criteria” may take a singular or plural form.

[0035] In general, the present application uses location of the authorized user, the payment card information and the merchant location in a number of different ways to deter fraud and provide analysis of a payment card physical transaction. In one aspect, a predefined geofenced area is set where a physical transaction is allowable or prohibited, i.e. inclusion or exclusion zones. In another embodiment, a predefined geofenced area is set where a physical transaction is allowable or prohibited, depending on the location of the user’s mobile device. In another embodiment, a predefined geofenced area is set where a physical Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 5 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLPtransaction is allowable or prohibited, depending on the location of the merchant's payment device. In another embodiment, a predefined geofenced area is set where a physical transaction is allowable or prohibited, depending on the co-location of the authorized user’s mobile device and the merchant’s payment device. In another embodiment, a physical transaction is allowable or prohibited, depending on the co-location of the authorized user’s mobile device and the merchant’s payment device. These different scenarios can be mixed and altered and various additional authentication techniques applied, such as MFA.

[0036] In any case, the analysis of the payment transaction requests is determined by satisfaction of one or more policy-defined constraints, independent of a probabilistic fraud score or likelihood assessment. The authorization constraints may be defined by an issuer, financial institution, or payment network policy. In some embodiments, the methods and systems described herein may be conducted by a financial institution of the user’s payment account. In such cases, the methods of analysis may be used to authorize or deny a transaction request. In other embodiments, the methods and system may be conducted by a third-party and the analysis results (i.e., to approve a transaction request or to flag a transaction request for further processing and / or escalation) may be sent to the financial institution to make the final decision on whether to authorize or deny a transaction request. As such, the recitation of approving a transaction request as used herein may be interchanged with authorizing a transaction request and the recitation of flagging a transaction request may be interchanged with denying a transaction request.

[0037] In the present application “location” is typically used in the absolute sense, i.e. a geolocation such as latitude / longitude. Earth-Centered Earth-Fixed (ECEF) coordinates, Universal Transverse Mercato (UTM) coordinates or using another coordinate system.

[0038] However, in some embodiments, location can be relative, such as determining if the merchant device and user mobile device are collocated. Collocation can be determined by comparing geolocations or by determining proximity, such as via proximity sensors, use of common cell towers, reading a QR code or using wireless transceivers such as near field communication (NFC), Bluetooth (BT). radio frequency identification (RFID), Wi-Fi. Use of such wireless transceivers is a matter of engineering choice depending on many factors such as availability, cost, range, power consumption, ease of implementation, ease of use, security, etc.

[0039] Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 6 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLPDevice ID is often used in the present application to uniquely identify a merchant or user device. Of course there are standards for such device identification, such as International Mobile Equipment Identification (IMEI), Universal Unique Identification (UUID), Unique Device Identification (UDID) and device serial number. Further, cell phones can store location information in a variety of ways, such as “Find My” features when enabled. In some embodiments, tracking and “Find My” features will be enabled. Additionally, some of the largest cell phone companies track their customers' locations and keep records for up to five years. This location information can be course (which cell tower was used) or highly accurate, e.g. an assisted GPS location.

[0040] Turning to the drawings, Figure 1 depicts a cell phone tower network connecting to a wide variety of devices. In particular, transaction 10 shows an authorized user 12 presenting a payment card 14 to a merchant 16. The user 12 is accompanied by his mobile device of cell phone 18. Thus, transaction 10 is a physical transaction where the payment card 14 is presented by authorized user 12. The transaction 10 is communicated via cell phone tower 20. Figure 1 also depicts a number of other types of transactions, such as transaction 22 via a user device, transaction 24 via a users computer, transaction 26 via a user’s HMD, transaction 28 via an online transaction, transaction 30 via an automobile, and transaction 32 via a smart watch.

[0041] In general, a mobile geolocatable device associated with a payment account used for the methods and systems of analyzing physical transactions considered herein may be any mobile electronic user device. A mobile electronic user device used for the methods and systems discussed herein can be, for example, a handheld computer, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant, goggles or glasses, a Head Mounted Device (HMD), contact lens, a cellular smartphone, a wrist-mounted computer, a camera having a global positioning system (GPS) and a radio, a GPS with a radio, a network appliance, a camera, a smart phone, an enhanced general packet radio service (EGPRS) mobile phone, a network base station, a media player, a navigation device, an email device, a game console, or other electronic device or a combination of any two or more of these data processing devices or other data processing.

[0042] Figure 2 shows in more detail a number of types of physical transactions 10, e.g. where the user presents payment card information to a merchant 16. In one example Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 7 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLPillustrated in Fig. 2, authorized user 44 accompanied by his payment card information (not shown) and smartphone 46 presents the credit card information to the merchant 16 in zone 40. In this example, zone 40 has been predesignated an inclusion zone where a physical transaction is allowable. The merchant 16 may directly access the internet 47 bypassing the wireless network 45 or the merchant 16 can access the internet 47 using the wireless network 45. In another example illustrated in Figure 2, a user 50 presenting payment card information (not shown) to a merchant 16 while located tn zone 42. In this example, zone 42 has been predesignated an exclusion zone where a physical transaction is prohibited. The device ID and location of cell phone 51 is passed through merchant 16 to server 48 where the payment card physical transaction is declined.

[0043] In another example depicted in Figure 2, a user 53 presenting payment card information (not shown) to a merchant 64 with neither the merchant 64 or user 53 located in a zone. In this example the approval criteria is collocation and the merchant 64 and user 53 are co-located, so the physical transaction is approved. The geofence for “co-location” is a design choice by the user, merchant or card processor and could, for example, be set as within 10 meters or 100 meters. The device ID and location of cell phone 53 is passed through wireless network 45 to server 48 where the payment card physical transaction is approved. Fig.2 also shows a database 49, which contains an association between a payment card identifier and the device ID. Upon receiving transaction data of an in-person electronic payment transaction request, server 48 accesses database 49 to identify a mobile geolocatable device associated with a user of a financial account identified in the received transaction data.

[0044] In more detail, Figure 3 is a block diagram of a user mobile device 18 (Fig. 1), such as a smart phone, which is a form factor for the device 18 discussed herein to illustrate certain aspects of the present invention. Alternatively, mobile device 18 can be, for example as suggested by Fig. 1, a handheld computer, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant, goggles or glasses, contact lens, a cellular telephone, a wrist-mounted computer, a camera having a GPS and a radio, a GPS with a radio, a network appliance, a camera, an enhanced general packet radio service (EGPRS) mobile phone, a network base station, a media player, a navigation device, an email device, a game console, or other electronic device or a combination of any two or more of these data processing devices or other data processing. In some embodiments, mobile device 18 may include an ambient temperature sensor.

[0045] Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 8 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLPIn some cases, mobile device 18 includes a touch-sensitive graphics display 102. The touch- sensitive display can implement liquid crystal display (LCD) technology, light emitting polymer display (LPD) technology, or some other display technology. The touch-sensitive display can be sensitive to haptic and / or tactile contact with a user. The touch- sensitive graphics display 102 can comprise a multi-touch-sensitive display. A multi-touch-sensitive display can, for example, process multiple simultaneous touch points, including processing data related to the pressure, degree and / or position of each touch point. Such processing facilitates gestures and interactions with multiple fingers, chording, and other interactions. Other touch-sensitive display technologies can also be used, e.g., a display in which contact is made using a stylus or other pointing device.

[0046] Mobile device 18 may include circuitry and sensors for supporting a location determining capability, such as that provided by the global positioning system (GPS) or other positioning system (e.g., Cell ID, systems using Wi-Fi access points, television signals, cellular grids, Uniform Resource Locators (URLs)). A positioning system (e.g., a GPS receiver 34, Fig. 3) can be integrated into mobile device 18 or provided as a separate device that can be coupled to the mobile device 18 through an interface (e.g., port device) to provide access to location-based services. Wireless components of mobile device 18 may include NFC, Bluetooth, RFID, or Wi-Fi. As an example, device 18 of Fig. 3 includes transceivers 35 comprising cellular and FM, while also including dedicated transceivers for NFC 36 and Bluetooth or Bluetooth LE 37.

[0047] The most common location technology is GPS and may be used on the user’s smartphone or other mobile device or the merchant’s payment card reader. As used herein, GPS — sometimes known as Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) — is meant to include all of the current and future positioning systems that include satellites, such as the U. S. Navistar, Globalnaya Navigazionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS), Galileo, European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MS AS), BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (China), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. The accuracy of the positions, particularly of the participants, can be improved using known techniques, often called differential techniques, such as WAAS (wide area), LAAS (local area), Carrier-Phase Enhancement (CPGPS), Space Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS); Wide Area GPS Enhancement (WAGE), or Relative Kinematic Positioning (RKP).

[0048] Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 9 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLPEven without differential correction, numerous improvements are increasing GPS accuracy, such as the increase in the satellite constellation, multiple frequencies (L1, L2, L5), modeling and assisted GPS (AGPS) improvements, software receivers, and ground station improvements. Of course, the positional degree of accuracy is driven by the requirements of the application. In some cases, sub five-meter accuracy provided by WAAS with Assisted GPS would normally be acceptable. In building a model, AGPS, WAAS, and post processing using time and differential correction can result in submeter position accuracy. Further, some “experiences” might be held indoors and the same message enhancement techniques described herein used. Such indoor positioning or location determining systems include AGPS, Wi-Fi (Skyhook), WI-FISLAM, Cell ID, pseudolites, repeaters, RSS on any electromagnetic signal (e.g. TV) and others known or developed. GPS, at least most versions, include elevation and time. Additionally, multiple GPS location measurements yield velocity.

[0049] The term “geofence” means a region associated with a particular location or object. Thus, a geofence might be fixed to a merchant location or a location of a mobile electronic device associated with a user of a financial account identified in the payment transaction data. An object such as a mobile device is typically geofenced using a positioning technology, such as GPS or Wi-Fi. However, geolocation can also be geo-referenced using machine vision. If machine vision is used (i.e. object recognition), applications can be “markerless” or use “markers,” sometimes known as “fiducials.” For example, a marker-based system might employ a QR code at the merchant which is recognized on the user’s smartphone or other type of mobile device to ensure that the merchant and the authorized user are co-located.

[0050] By way of example, in Figures 1 and 2 depict communication networks such as a data network (internet connection 47 of Fig. 2), a wireless network 45 (Figs 1 and 2), a telephony network (not shown), or any combination thereof. It is contemplated that the data network may be any local area network (LAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), wide area network (WAN), a public data network (e.g., the Internet), or any other suitable packet-switched network, such as a commercially owned, proprietary packet- switched network, e.g., a proprietary cable or fiber-optic network. In addition, the wireless network may be, for example, a cellular network and may employ various technologies including enhanced data rates for global evolution (EDGE), general packet radio service (GPRS), global system for Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 10 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLPmobile communications (GSM), Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS), universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), etc., as well as any other suitable wireless medium, e.g., worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), satellite, mobile ad-hoc network (MANET), and the like.

[0051] In Figure 4, a flow chart illustrating a preferred embodiment of the payment card physical transaction is shown. In Fig. 4, a physical transaction 10 is initiated when the payment card is presented to a merchant and a request received to process the physical transaction as at 70. At 72, the location of the user device is determined and the transaction declined if the location of the user device is in an exclusion zone. If the User device is not location in an exclusion zone, the location of the merchant device is determined at 74 and the transaction declined if the location of the merchant device is in an exclusion zone. If the merchant device is not located in an exclusion zone, at 76 the method determines if the merchant and user devices are collocated. If the devices are collocated, the physical card transaction is allowed to proceed. Location is typically determined by using device GPS, but other location technologies are possible. As shown in Figure 4, if the merchant and user devices are collocated as at 76, the location of each device is compared to an inclusion zone as at 78. In the embodiment of Fig. 4 the payment card transaction is allowed to proceed only if both devices are located within the inclusion zone. Inclusion zones would typically be an area set by the card processing authority and in some cases may be a three-dimensional sphere or even a polyhedral geofence. Further, Figure 4 includes additional authentication requirements after step 78, specifically the MFA test at 80. That is, the payment card transaction is only allowed to proceed if the MFA tests are successful. MFA is not required in some embodiments of the method.

[0052] It should be noted that the number of steps in the method of Figure 4 is design choice. For example, the payment approval may be allowed based on a single criteria. That criteria could be limited to a determination that the merchant and user devices are collocated as at 76. As another example, the single criteria could be limited to determining whether either device or both devices are located in an inclusion zone as at 78. As another example, the single criteria could be limited to determining whether either device or both devices are located in an exclusion zone as at 72 or 74. Additionally, multiple factors from Figure 4 could be Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 11 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLPincorporated into a criteria, such as allowing the transaction to proceed if the devices are collocated and the merchant device is not in an exclusion zone without using MFA.

[0053] Various alternatives should be readily apparent from the described embodiments. For example, while GPS is a common location technology, other location technologies can be used. Further, collocation might be determined simply by the user device recognizing the merchant device via Bluetooth, NFC, machine vision, proximity sensor or using a QR code.

[0054] As a nonlimiting example of operation, consider a physical payment transaction where the payment card information 14 is presented to a merchant 16 such as in Fig. 1. In this example, collocation is the criteria for approving the payment transaction. The presentation of payment card information 14 to the merchant device 16 triggers the request for approval. In one embodiment, the presence of the mobile device 18 within NFC range meets the collocation requirement. In another embodiment, the presence of the mobile device 18 within BT or BT range meets the collocation requirement. In another embodiment with tracking enabled, the presence of the mobile device 18 within a zone of cell towers meets the collocation requirement.

[0055] In another embodiment (see also Fig. 2) with tracking enabled, the merchant device 16 sends a query to server 48 where the payment card identifier is matched to a Device ID of the mobile device 18. The query is passed through the wireless network 45 to the matched mobile device 18. A GPS location is returned to server 48. If the mobile device 18 GPS location is within a specified range to the location of the merchant device 16 the collocation requirement is met and payment approved.

[0056] Other alternatives are useful. For example, one criteria might be ascertaining if the mobile device and merchant devices have the same velocity, e.g. from multiple location determinations. Typically, the velocity is zero and not moving, but could be a similar velocity if the transaction is occurring on a moving vehicle, e.g. bust, train, airplane, ship, etc. Elevation can be similarly used for a criteria, e.g. the elevation of the mobile device and merchant device should be approximately equal. Time can be similarly used for a criteria, e.g. the time of the transaction for the mobile device and merchant device should be approximately equal. Temperature can be similarly used for a criteria, e.g. the temperature of the mobile device and merchant device should be approximately equal. An example of

[0057] Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 12 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLPincorporating velocity, elevation, time and temperature in method for analyzing an in-person payment transaction is shown in the flowchart in Fig. 5 and described in more detail below.

[0058] Fig. 5 illustrates another embodiment of a method for analyzing an in-person payment transaction. As shown, the method includes physical transaction 10 initiated when payment card information is presented to a merchant and a request is received to process the physical transaction at block 70. At block 82, a determination is made on whether the merchant device and / or the user device associated with the payment card information is on a blacklist. A blacklist as used herein is list of unauthorized users, approvers, merchants, and / or devices. If the user or merchant is on the blacklist, the transaction request is flagged for further processing or escalation. If the user or merchant is not on the blacklist, the method continues to block 84 where a determination is made as to whether the user device and / or the merchant device is in an exclusion zone similar to processes of blocks 72 and 74 in Fig. 4. If either of the user device or merchant device is in an exclusion zone, the transaction request is flagged for further processing or escalation. If the user device or merchant device is not in an exclusion zone, the method continues to block 86 where a determination is made as to whether the user device and / or the merchant device is in an inclusion zone similar to process of block 78 in Fig. 4. If either of the user device or merchant device is not in an inclusion zone, the transaction request is flagged for further processing or escalation. If the user device and merchant device is in an inclusion zone, the method continues to block 88 where a determination is made as to whether the day and / or time of the transaction request is in an exclusion range.

[0059] As shown in Fig. 5, if the time and / or date of the transaction request is in an exclusion range, the transaction request is flagged for further processing or escalation. If the time and / or date of the transaction request is not in an exclusion range, the method continues to block 90 where a determination is made as to whether the day and / or time of the transaction request is in an inclusion range. If the time and / or date of the transaction request is not in an inclusion range, the transaction request is flagged for further processing or escalation. If the time and / or date of the transaction request is in an inclusion range, the method continues to block 92 where a determination is made as to whether the merchant device and / or the user device are collocated as similar to process of block 76 in Fig. 4. If the user device and merchant device are not collocated, the transaction request is flagged for further processing or escalation. If the user device and merchant device are collocated, the method continues to Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 13 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLPblock 94 where a determination is made as to whether the velocities of the user device and merchant device are within a predetermined range or within a predetermined difference from each other. Alternatively, the method at block 94 may evaluate the velocity of the user device relative to a preset velocity expected for the merchant device at its geolocation, the value of which may be specified in the transaction request received at block 70.

[0060] In either case, if the velocity of the user device is determined at block 94 not to be within an expected range relative to a velocity of the merchant device (i.e., they are not cospeed), the transaction request is flagged for further processing or escalation. If the user device and merchant device are co-speed, the method continues to block 96 where a determination is made as to whether the elevations of the user device and merchant device are within a predetermined range or within a predetermined difference from each other.

[0061] Alternatively, the method at block 96 may evaluate the elevation of the user device relative to a preset elevation expected for the merchant device at its geolocation, the value of which may be specified in the transaction request received at block 70. In either case, if the elevation of the user device is determined at block 96 not to be within expected range relative to an elevation of the merchant device (i.e., they are not co-elev ation), the transaction request is flagged for further processing or escalation. If the user device and merchant device are coelevation, the method continues to block 98 where a determination is made as to whether the temperatures of the user device and merchant device are within a predetermined range or within a predetermined difference from each other. Alternatively, the method at block 98 may evaluate the temperature of the user device relative to a preset temperature expected for the merchant device at its geolocation, the value of which may be specified in the transaction request received at block 70. In either case, if the temperature of the user device is determined at block 98 not to be within an expected range relative to the temperature of the merchant device (i.e., they are not co-temperature), the transaction request is flagged for further processing or escalation.

[0062] If the user device and merchant device are co-temperature at block 98, the method continues to block 100 where transaction date, time and location identified in the transaction request at block 70 is compared to route trace data of the user device, i.e., if the user has permitted location tracking on its device. As shown in block 102, a determination is made as to whether the merchant location is found in the route trace. If the merchant location is not found in the route trace, the transaction request is flagged for further processing or escalation, Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 14 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLPbut if it is, the method continues to block 100 where additional authentication requirements may be employed, specifically the MFA test at block 104. That is, the payment card transaction is only allowed to proceed if the MFA tests are successful. MFA is not required in some embodiments of the method. Furthermore, the method outlined in Fig. 5 may be modified to include less than the noted process and decision blocks. In particular, a method for analyzing a physical transaction request may include any number and configuration of blocks 82-104 and in any order. As such, the methods and systems disclosed herein should not be restricted to the embodiments shown in the figures.

[0063] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that this invention is believed to prevent or deter fraudulent physical transactions of various types. Further modifications and alternative embodiments of various aspects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this description. For example, although the methods and systems described herein are emphasized for use in approving a physical payment transaction from payment card information (such as a credit card or a debit card), the methods and systems may be used for use in approving use of other type of actions by other types of cards. For instance, the methods and systems described herein may be used to approve access to secure areas, withdrawing or depositing money to an account, or redeeming rewards or credit by access cards, gift cards, automated teller machine cards, reward cards and / or client loyalty cards. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the general manner of carrying out the invention. It is to be understood that the forms of the invention shown and described herein are to be taken as the presently preferred embodiments. Elements and materials may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein, parts and processes may be reversed, and certain features of the invention may be utilized independently, all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art after having the benefit of this description of the invention. Changes may be made in the elements described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the following claims.

[0064] Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 15 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLP

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method of approving an in-person payment transaction, comprising:receiving transaction data of an in-person electronic payment transaction initiated at a merchant device;determining a geolocation of the merchant device and / or a geolocation of an electronic user device corresponding to a payment account identified in the transaction data;determining whether geolocation criteria of the merchant device and / or the electronic user device is met, wherein the geolocation criteria is the determined geolocation of the merchant device and / or determined geolocation of the electronic user device being within a predetermined geolocation exclusion zone and / or not being within a predetermined geolocation inclusion zone;determining whether collocation criteria of the merchant device and / or the electronic user device is met, wherein the collocation criteria is the merchant device; and user mobile device being collocated;sending a code to approve the in-person electronic payment transaction upon determining the geolocation criteria and the collocation criteria is met; andsending a code to flag the in-person electronic payment transaction upon determining that either of the geolocation criteria and the collocation criteria is not met.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether the geolocation criteria is met is conducted prior to determining whether the collocation criteria is met.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether the geolocation criteria is met is conducted subsequent to determining whether the collocation criteria is met.Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 16 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLP4. The method of claim 1. wherein the step of determining whether the geolocation criteria is met comprises:creating a geofenced region around the determined geolocation of the electronic user device;determining whether the determined geolocation of the merchant device is within the geofenced region.

5. The method of claim 1. wherein the step of determining whether the geolocation criteria is met comprises:creating a geofenced region around the determined geolocation of the merchant device;determining whether the determined geolocation of the electronic user device is within the geofenced region.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether the collocation criteria is met comprises determining whether the geolocation of the merchant device and the geolocation of the electronic user device are in the same predetermined geolocation inclusion zone.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether the collocation criteria is met comprises determining whether a distance between the geolocation of the merchant device and the geolocation of the electronic user device is less than a predetermined threshold.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the merchant device and the electronic user device comprise wireless transceivers, and wherein the step of determining whether the collocation criteria is met comprises:sending instruction to either the merchant device or the electronic user device to send a signal to the other of the merchant device or the electronic user device; Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 17 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLPreceiving communication from the other of the merchant device or the electronic user device within a predetermined amount of time of the instruction being sent indicating the signal was received to confirm the collocation criteria is met; ornot receiving communication from the other of the merchant device or the electronic user device within the predetermined amount of time indicating collocation criteria is not met.

9. The method of claim 1. wherein the step of determining whether the collocation criteria is met comprises:sending instruction to the merchant device to display a data embedded code;sending instruction to the electronic user device to scan the data embedded code; andreceiving communication from the electronic user device within a predetermined amount of time of the instructions being sent indicating the data embedded code was scanned to confirm the collocation criteria is met; ornot receiving communication from the electronic user device within the predetermined amount of time indicating collocation criteria is not met.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending an authentication inquiry to the electronic user device, wherein the step of sending the code to approve the in-person electronic payment transaction is subsequent to receiving communication indicating a validated response to the authentication inquiry was provided at the electronic user device, and wherein sending the code to flag the in-person electronic payment transaction is upon determining that either of the geolocation criteria and the collocation criteria is not met or upon not receiving communication from the electronic user device regarding the authentication inquiry within a predetermined amount of time.Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 18 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLP11. The method of claim 1. further comprising:determining speed, elevation and / or temperature of the merchant device and the electronic user device at their determined geolocations; anddetermining whether environmental criteria of the merchant device and / or the electronic user device is met, wherein the environmental criteria is the difference of the determined speed, elevation and / or temperature of the merchant device and the electronic user device being less than a predetermined threshold;wherein the step of sending the code to approve the in-person electronic payment transaction is further upon determining the environmental criteria is met, and wherein sending the code to flag the in-person electronic payment transaction is upon determining that the geolocation criteria, the collocation criteria or the environmental criteria is not met.

12. A system for analyzing an in-person payment transaction, comprising:a database comprising payment card information of one or more financial accounts and information regarding mobile geolocatable devices respectively associated with users of each of the one or more financial accounts;a geolocation tracking unit;a processing server comprising program instructions executable by a processor for analyzing transaction data of in-person payment transaction requests initiated at one or more merchant devices and further for performing the steps recited in any one or more of claims 1-11 upon receiving transaction data of an in- person electronic payment transaction request; anda wireless communication network that connects the processing server to the mobile geolocatable devices.Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 19 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLP13. The system of claim 12, wherein the program instructions are further for prompting the geolocation unit to determine a geolocation of a merchant device identified in the transaction data.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the transaction data comprises a geolocation of a merchant device identified in the transaction data.

15. A method of approving an in-person payment transaction, comprising:receiving transaction data of an in-person electronic payment transaction initiated at a merchant device;determining a geolocation of a mobile geolocatable device corresponding to a payment account identified in the transaction data;sending one or more inquiries to the mobile geolocatable device to obtain speed, elevation and / or temperature of the mobile geolocatable device;sending a code to approve the in-person electronic payment transaction upon:ascertaining the geolocation of the mobile geolocatable device is within a predetermined geolocation exclusion zone, not within a predetermined geolocation inclusion zone, and / or is collocated with the merchant device; andascertaining the speed, elevation and / or temperature of the identified mobile geolocatable device is within a predetermined range of speed, elevation and / or temperature associated with the merchant device; andsending a code to flag the in-person electronic payment transaction upon:ascertaining the geolocation of the mobile geolocatable device is not within a predetermined geolocation exclusion zone, is within a predeterminedAtty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 20 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLPgeolocation inclusion zone, or is not collocated with the merchant device; orascertaining the speed, elevation and / or temperature of the identified mobile geolocatable device is within a predetermined range of speed, elevation and / or temperature associated with the merchant device.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising comparing the geolocation of the mobile geolocatable device to a geolocation of the merchant device to ascertain whether the mobile geolocatable device is collocated with the merchant device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the transaction data comprises the geolocation of the merchant device.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising determining the geolocation of the merchant device using positioning technology.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the merchant device is a mobile point-of-sale device.

20. A system for analyzing an in-person payment transaction, comprising:a database comprising payment card information of one or more financial accounts and information regarding mobile geolocatable devices respectively associated with users of each of the one or more financial accounts;a geolocation tracking unit;a processing server comprising program instructions executable by a processor for analyzing transaction data of in-person payment transaction requests initiated at one or more merchant devices and further for performing the steps recited in any one or more of claims 15-18 upon receiving transaction data of an in- person electronic payment transaction request; andAtty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 21 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLPa wireless communication network that connects the processing server to the mobile geolocatable devices.5Atty. Dkt. No. CLOQ-00201 Page 22 Egan, Enders & Huston, LLP

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