Consolidated Payment Platform Proxy Account Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
The proliferation of multiple bank cards, stored value cards, loyalty cards, and identification cards complicates consumers' financial lives by increasing the need for multiple cards and making it inconvenient to manage and access funds across various accounts.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that consolidates these accounts onto a single platform, allowing consumers to access and manage funds using a single device such as a 'plastic' card, phone, or biometric identification, enabling selection of payment options for transactions and allowing access to personal account information remotely.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple bank cards, stored value cards, loyalty cards, and identification cards are used to access different accounts, then account accessibility and payment options are improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate due to the need to carry and manage multiple cards
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate cards (bank cards, stored value cards, loyalty cards, identification cards) into a single consolidated card device. This single card contains multiple proxy account numbers that can be activated to access different underlying source accounts, eliminating the need for consumers to carry and manage multiple separate cards while maintaining access to all their financial accounts and payment options
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple cards are carried to access different accounts, then payment option flexibility is improved, but ease of operation worsens due to inconvenience of managing and selecting from multiple cards
Solution Approach 1:
The consolidated card device serves multiple functions by containing the capability to access various types of accounts (payment accounts, non-payment accounts, rewards accounts) through a single unified interface. The card can be activated with different proxy account numbers corresponding to different underlying accounts, allowing the consumer to use one card for all payment and access needs rather than carrying multiple specialized cards
3Ease of operation
If a single consolidated platform is used to access multiple accounts, then ease of operation is improved by eliminating multiple cards, but device complexity increases due to the need for a sophisticated platform to manage multiple proxy account numbers and underlying accounts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces proxy account numbers as intermediary elements that simplify the relationship between the single consolidated card and multiple underlying source accounts. Instead of the card directly managing complex relationships with multiple accounts, the proxy account numbers serve as simple intermediaries that can be activated on the card to access different underlying accounts, reducing the operational complexity for the consumer while enabling multi-account access
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems described herein can consolidate a plurality of a consumer's payment and non-payment source accounts into a consolidated platform with a customer identification or available proxy account numbers that can be assigned to source accounts. The source accounts can be, for example, credit card accounts, ATM accounts, debit card accounts, demand deposit accounts, stored-value accounts, merchant-loyalty card accounts, membership accounts, and identification card numbers. The consumer can access and modify any of the source accounts and manage funds across the source accounts by accessing the consolidated platform with a single access device or mode.