Encrypted Payment Card Ownership Linking via Transaction Time Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems cannot determine common ownership between multiple payment card accounts when transaction information is encrypted, hindering financial institutions' ability to analyze consumer behavior and offer targeted services.
Innovation Solution
A computer-based method and system that identifies a target account number and its associated transaction times, compares these to candidate account numbers and their transaction times, and identifies common ownership by determining the absence of overlapping transactions between accounts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If payment card transaction data is encrypted to protect consumer information security, then information security is improved, but the ability to determine common ownership between multiple payment cards is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary approach by using encrypted account identifiers that preserve certain analytical properties. Instead of decrypting the data to identify ownership, the system uses the encrypted identifiers themselves as intermediaries to perform matching operations on encrypted transaction data, allowing ownership determination without exposing sensitive information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of data representation from plaintext account identifiers to encrypted account identifiers. This parameter change allows the system to maintain information security while still enabling analytical operations by transforming the data into a form that preserves necessary relationships for ownership determination without revealing sensitive information.
2Reliability
If transaction data is anonymized to protect consumer privacy, then consumer privacy is improved, but the ability to analyze consumer behavior and offer targeted services is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses encrypted account identifiers as intermediaries that allow behavioral analysis without exposing personal information. By performing matching operations on encrypted data, the system can analyze consumer behavior patterns and determine ownership relationships while maintaining consumer privacy through the intermediary encrypted representation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a cryptographic copy or representation of the account identifier that preserves the necessary information for analysis while removing personally identifiable information. This copying approach allows the system to work with anonymized data that retains analytical value for understanding consumer behavior.
3Reliability
If encrypted account identifiers are used to protect data security, then data security is improved, but the complexity of determining common ownership between accounts increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-service approach where the encrypted account identifiers inherently contain the information needed for matching operations. The system performs matching directly on the encrypted identifiers without requiring external decryption or complex cryptographic operations, allowing the data structure itself to serve the matching function.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing the parameter of the identifier from plaintext to encrypted form, the system simplifies the overall architecture by eliminating the need for separate decryption steps. The encrypted identifier becomes a self-contained element that can be directly used in matching operations, reducing system complexity despite the added cryptographic layer.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-based method for associating ownership of anonymous payment cards uses a computer device including a processor in communication with a transaction database. The method includes identifying a target account number for a payment card from the transaction database, identifying a set of transaction times associated with the target account number from the transaction database, and comparing the target account number to each candidate account number of a set of candidate account numbers from the transaction database. Comparing the target account number includes identifying a first candidate set of transaction times associated with a first candidate account number of the set of candidate account numbers, comparing the target set of transaction times to the first candidate set of transaction times, and identifying the first candidate account number as a match candidate if the target set of transaction times and first candidate set of transaction times do not include overlapping transactions.