Location-Restricted Payment System Using Server-Side Authorization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional solutions for restricting payment usage based on location are overly restrictive and cumbersome, limiting the flexibility of payment systems, as they often require specialized credit cards for each merchant, which is inconvenient and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that allow account holders to restrict payment usage based on user location by associating authorized and unauthorized locations with an account, using options such as zip codes, maps, and merchant selection, enabling precise control over where and when payments can be made.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If specialized credit cards are provided for each merchant to restrict payment usage, then payment security and control are improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate due to requiring multiple cards
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by enabling a single credit card to serve multiple merchants through a centralized restriction system. Instead of requiring separate specialized cards for each merchant, the system allows one card to be programmatically restricted to specific merchants, locations, or time periods through a server-based configuration, thereby reducing the number of cards needed while maintaining security control
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary restriction server that mediates between the cardholder, merchants, and payment processing system. This server stores and enforces payment restrictions without requiring physical specialized cards for each merchant. The intermediary validates payment requests against stored restrictions, providing security control through a centralized digital system rather than through multiple physical cards
2Reliability
If specialized credit cards are provided for each merchant to restrict payment usage, then payment control is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to requiring users to carry multiple cards
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables a single credit card to function across multiple merchants by implementing universal restrictions stored on a server. The card can be used at any merchant that falls within the restricted parameters (merchant ID, location, time period) without requiring the user to switch between multiple specialized cards, thereby improving ease of operation while maintaining payment control
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses digital copying of restriction parameters from the server to validate payments. Instead of embedding unique physical restrictions in each specialized card, the system copies and applies restriction rules from a centralized database during transaction validation, allowing flexible control without requiring multiple physical card instances
3Reliability
If conventional location restriction methods are used, then payment security is improved, but adaptability deteriorates due to limited restriction options
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making payment restrictions flexible and changeable over time. Restrictions are not fixed but can be dynamically adjusted through the server-based system, allowing account holders to modify merchant IDs, geographic locations, and time periods as needed. This dynamic approach provides both security through enforceable restrictions and adaptability through easy modification of those restrictions
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables parameter changes by allowing restriction criteria to be modified in multiple dimensions: merchant identifiers, geographic coordinates, time periods, and payment amounts. The server stores and enforces these variable parameters, allowing the same card to have different restriction profiles for different situations, thereby improving adaptability while maintaining security through consistent parameter-based validation
Data Source
AI summary
A method for restricting a payment from an account based on a user location includes receiving at least one payment location restriction for an account from a user device over a network. The at least one payment location restriction includes at least one authorized user location or at least one unauthorized user location for making payments using the account. The at least one payment location restriction is associated with the account in a database. A request to make a payment using the account is received over the network. A current user location is determined. The request to make the payment is then authorized or denied based, at least partly, on whether the current user location is included in the at least one authorized user location or the at least one unauthorized user location.