Contactless Card Authentication for Secure Escrow Transactions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Websites facilitating classified advertisements for item sales, such as Craigslist and Facebook, face trust issues due to uncertainties about payment and item ownership during transactions.
Innovation Solution
A method involving short-range communication antennas on mobile devices to authenticate contactless cards of sellers and buyers, ensuring double trust by identifying personally identifiable information and bank/credit account numbers, and utilizing escrow accounts for secure transactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If anonymous posting is allowed on classified advertisement websites, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to trust issues between buyers and sellers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an escrow account system as an intermediary between buyers and sellers. The escrow account holds funds temporarily during transactions, ensuring that buyers can verify item condition before receiving money and sellers can confirm payment before releasing items. This intermediary mechanism resolves the trust issue while maintaining the ease of anonymous posting.
2Reliability
If escrow accounts are implemented for secure transactions, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional authentication and account management systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes existing mobile devices and contactless card systems perform multiple functions. The mobile device not only serves as a communication tool but also as an authentication device that reads contactless cards, verifies identities, and manages escrow account access. The contactless card system, already widely deployed, is utilized for both payment and identity verification, reducing the need for separate complex authentication hardware.
3Reliability
If multiple authentication steps are required for escrow provisioning, then reliability is improved, but loss of time increases during the transaction setup process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs authentication and escrow account provisioning actions in advance before the actual transaction occurs. Users authenticate their identities and set up escrow accounts during the listing creation phase rather than during the purchase phase. This preliminary authentication ensures that when a transaction occurs, the security verification is already complete, reducing the time required at the point of exchange.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for provisioning escrow and securing purchases can include receiving first encrypted data from a first contactless card of a seller, decrypting the first encrypted data to authenticate the first contactless card, identifying information of the seller, and responsive thereto, offering an item for sale at a purchase price via an online platform. To purchase the item for sale, second encrypted data can be received from a second contactless card of a buyer two times. First, the second encrypted data can be decrypted to authenticate the second contactless card, information of the buyer can be identified, and responsive thereto, an amount of money equal to the purchase price can be retrieved from the buyer and placed in an escrow account. Second, the second encrypted data can be decrypted to authenticate the second contactless card, and the money in the escrow account can be released to the seller.