Mirror Authorization Server for Multi-Participant Online Payments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional online payment systems are unable to handle multiple transactions contributing to a single payment without requiring substantial modifications to the merchant server architecture, which is complex and poses a technical and financial risk.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of a mirror authorization server that creates and manages virtual prepaid accounts, allowing for instantaneous or deferred crediting of merchants' bank accounts, enabling multiple customer computers to contribute to a single payment without altering the existing merchant server architecture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the merchant server architecture is substantially modified to handle multiple transactions contributing to a single payment, then the system can manage multiple participants contributing to a single payment, but the device complexity and technical risk increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a buffer bank account as an intermediary component between customers and the merchant. This buffer account temporarily holds funds from multiple customers before final settlement to the merchant, allowing the merchant server to maintain its simple conventional architecture while still supporting multiple participants contributing to a single payment. The buffer account absorbs the complexity of managing multiple transactions, shielding the merchant server from architectural modifications.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the merchant server architecture is substantially modified to manage virtual prepaid accounts, then the system can process multiple transactions from various participants, but the ease of manufacture and implementation decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer bank account serves as a pre-established intermediary that simplifies implementation. Instead of modifying the merchant server to create and manage virtual prepaid accounts, the buffer account is set up in advance to receive funds from multiple customers and automatically manage the aggregation process. This eliminates the need for complex account management modules in the merchant server while enabling multi-participant payment processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The buffer bank account is established and configured before the payment transaction occurs. This preliminary setup includes pre-defining the account structure, authorization rules, and settlement mechanisms. By preparing the intermediary infrastructure in advance, the system avoids the need for complex real-time account creation and management during the transaction process, significantly easing implementation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a buffer bank account is introduced to handle multiple transactions, then the system can support multiple participants contributing to a single payment, but the online payment definition changes to include a financial intermediary
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer bank account is designed to mirror the functionality of a direct payment system while adding multi-participant support. It copies the essential payment processing functions (fund transfer, authorization, settlement) but extends them to handle multiple customer accounts. The buffer account maintains the same security and reliability standards as direct payments, ensuring that the fundamental payment integrity is preserved even with the added intermediary layer.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for online payments over the Internet, able to handle several transactions coming from various participants and contributing to a single payment on a merchant's bank account. In many cases, the modifications designed to make a merchant server capable of managing transactions from several participants contributing to a single payment are difficult, even impossible, to carry out since the server's architecture is imposed by the structure of the e-commerce platform used. A server (4), called mirror authorization server, is added and connected to a set typically formed by a customer computer (1), a merchant server (2) and a bank authorization server (3). In particular, the mirror authorization server is used to replace the actual bank authorization server for the purpose of performing certain operations.