Private Ledger Alias Routing for Privacy-Preserving P2P Transfers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current P2P payment methods requiring recipients to share private information such as email addresses or phone numbers are inconvenient and may not be suitable for use cases like fundraising, where privacy is a concern.
Innovation Solution
A distributed private ledger system where users create and share aliases, allowing transactions without revealing personal information, managed by a consortium of financial institutions, enabling secure and private fund transfers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If P2P payment methods use email addresses or phone numbers for transaction identification, then transaction ease of operation is improved, but user privacy protection deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the transaction identification process into two independent components: public aliases for transaction routing and private personal information for identity verification. This segmentation allows users to share only the public alias component while keeping the private information component confidential, thereby maintaining ease of operation without compromising privacy protection
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary alias system that mediates between the payer and payee. Instead of directly sharing personal information, users interact through aliases that serve as intermediaries. The ledger system maintains the mapping between aliases and personal information, enabling transactions to proceed without exposing private information, thus resolving the contradiction between operational ease and privacy protection
2Loss of information
If a distributed private ledger system is implemented to protect user privacy, then user privacy protection is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The distributed private ledger system performs multiple functions simultaneously: it maintains the alias-to-personal-information mapping, validates transactions, ensures privacy protection, and enables cross-institutional transfers. By consolidating these functions into a single multi-functional system, the patent reduces overall complexity compared to having separate systems for each function
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs self-service mechanisms where the distributed ledger automatically maintains the mapping between aliases and personal information, validates transaction authenticity, and routes transactions without requiring manual intervention. This automation reduces operational complexity while maintaining robust privacy protection capabilities
3Loss of information
If aliases are used instead of personal information for transactions, then user privacy protection is improved, but transaction reliability may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The distributed private ledger system incorporates feedback mechanisms where each node in the consortium validates transactions and maintains consistent records of alias-to-personal-information mappings. This distributed validation feedback ensures that even though personal information is hidden, the system maintains transaction reliability through multiple layers of verification and consensus
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing and registering aliases in the distributed ledger before transactions occur. The mapping between aliases and personal information is created and validated in advance, ensuring that when transactions take place, the reliability is maintained through pre-verified identities while privacy is protected during the actual transaction process
Data Source
AI summary
A distributed private ledger function of a server of a first consortium member receives data representing an alias for one of its customers from the customer and also receives data that represents an alias for a customer of a second member replicated by a distributed private ledger function of a server of the second member to all members of the consortium. Thereafter, the distributed private ledger function of the first member's server identifies a recipient account of the second member's customer based on an account pointer associated with the alias of the second member's customer and initiates a transfer of funds from a source account of the first member's customer corresponding to an account pointer associated with the alias for the first member's customer to the identified recipient account of the second member's customer.